US Regulations¶

FSMA 204 Compliance Date Timeline: Why the 2028 Extension Requires Immediate Action

When the FDA announced an industry-wide extension for Section 204 of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA 204), pushing the compliance deadline to July 20, 2028, a collective sigh of relief echoed across the US food and agriculture sector.

Many growers, processors, and distributors moved their traceability projects to the back burner, assuming they had years to figure out how to track Key Data Elements (KDEs) across their supply chains.

This assumption is a massive commercial miscalculation. While the federal government will not enforce the rule until 2028, the commercial market is enforcing it right now. If your organization handles foods on the Food Traceability List (FTL), waiting until 2027 to implement a FSMA 204 food traceability software will likely cost you your biggest retail contracts.

UFLPA Supply Chain Traceability: How to Clear US Customs and Prove Compliance

Since the enactment of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has detained billions of dollars worth of goods entering the United States.

The scope of enforcement is vast and expanding, heavily impacting industries such as textiles, solar panels, electronics, automotive parts, and agricultural products.

Unlike standard trade enforcement where a company is presumed innocent until proven guilty, the UFLPA operates on a strict rebuttable presumption: any goods mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region are legally presumed to be made with forced labor and are barred from US entry.

To clear a detained shipment or proactively secure your US trade lanes, the burden of proof is entirely on you. You must provide "clear and convincing evidence" that your products do not contain any inputs from Xinjiang. This requires building a comprehensive, multi-tier UFLPA compliance statement and traceability file. Here is how to map your supply chain and satisfy US Customs.

California Proposition 65 Compliance: Label Requirements and Safe Harbor Warnings

If your business ships physical products to California, list items on Amazon US, or sells through major retail distributors, you are subject to one of the most litigious consumer laws in the United States: California Proposition 65 (Prop 65).

Officially known as the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, Prop 65 requires businesses to provide a "clear and reasonable" warning to California consumers before exposing them to any of over 900 naturally occurring or synthetic chemicals known to cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm.

What makes Prop 65 uniquely dangerous is its enforcement mechanism. Unlike most laws enforced by government agencies, Prop 65 allows private citizens and advocacy groups to sue businesses on behalf of the public—creating a lucrative industry for plaintiff attorneys operating on contingency fees.

In 2024 alone, businesses paid over $30 million in settlements to resolve private Prop 65 lawsuits. To protect your business from these "bounty-hunter" lawsuits, you must understand how to audit your products and apply compliant safe harbor warnings.