** Congress Looking at FDA to Release All Natural Guidelines **                                                                                                                                                                                                     

By: Brent E. Johnson                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Set of watercolor green logo. Leaves, badges, branches wreath, plants elements. Hand drawn painting. Sign label,textured emblem set. Organic design template.

 Are the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) “natural” guidelines imminent? As we have blogged about in the past, one well-worn path plaintiffs’ counsel have taken is to bring suit against a company using “natural” in its food labelling – set-up against plaintiff’s own particular (and sometime peculiar) definition of what a natural food or ingredient is.  The absence of FDA guidance has given room to maneuver on both sides of the issue in “natural” litigation.  In 2015, FDA opened a comment period on new regulations regarding the use of the term “natural” in food labeling, but there has been radio silence since (notwithstanding a growing volume of cases filed on the subject).  Notably, in a recent bill report accompanying the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, 2018 (H.R. REP. 115-232, 1), the House Committee on Appropriations directed “FDA to provide a report within 60 days of enactment of this Act on the actions and timeframe for defining ‘natural’ so that there is a uniform national standard for the labeling claims and consumers and food producers have certainty about the meaning of the term.” H.R. Rep. No. 115-232, at 72 (2017).  This appropriations bill, though formally introduced, remains pending in Congress – accordingly, the putative 60 day deadline for reporting to the committee has not yet commenced.  Nonetheless, it is a good sign that the issue has the attention of Congress (and in particular the committee that controls funding).  See discussion Rosillo v. Annie’s Homegrown Inc., No. 17-CV-02474-JSW, 2017 WL 5256345, at *3–4 (N.D. Cal. Oct. 17, 2017) (staying all natural case under primary jurisdiction doctrine).