April 2, 2019

Romaine Task Force Advises Updates to Labeling Q/A Document

The Romaine Task Force Subcommittee working to refine language associated with voluntary regional labeling of romaine products has updated their Q & A document to no longer require suppliers and distributors to include the harvest date on the labels of romaine products, as long as a date of harvest can be determined using existing dates associated with the product.

As we reported here, on January 9, 2019, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) along with the Centers for Disease Control provided an update related to the outbreak of E.coli 0157:H7 infections linked to romaine lettuce where the FDA recommended suppliers and distributors to continue labeling romaine lettuce with its harvest location and date after declaring the end of the outbreak. The labeling is voluntary, and it is the intent of the Task Force to position labeling as an interim step until better traceback mechanisms are in place.

For more information on romaine labeling, please contact Bryan Nickerson at (949)885-2392