EAS Blog
EAS Independent Consultants and staff provide in-depth regulatory expertise and authoritative reporting on a variety of compliance requirements for industries that EAS serves. Our experts break down complicated topics into easily understandable summaries and analysis. Subscribe to our newsletter and receive these monthly updates directly in your in-box.
EAS Webinar: Dietary Supplements and FSMA, Fallacy or Fact?
Since the passage of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) in 2011, dietary supplements are now subject to many aspects of the seven major regulations that were issued by FDA to support enforcement of FSMA. One of the most important of these regulations being 21 CFR 117, Current Good...
Strategic Product Development a Key Component of Regulatory Compliance
Did You Know? Product development is more than just labeling, it is a holistic approach from ideation through commercialization that strategically looks at the category in which the product is intended to be marketed and those regulatory requirements surrounding it. Are there claims being made...
EAS Webinar – Qualified Individuals – FDA’s Final Link in the Chain of Food Safety and Food Imports
EAS Independent Advisor for Import Operations, Domenic Veneziano and EAS Independent Advisor for FSMA, Charles Breen are collaborating for a complimentary EAS webinar discussing the requirements of a Qualified Individual per FDA requirements. Join us on April 3, 2019, at 1 pm Eastern to learn...
Sustainable Packaging Discussed in Natural Products Insider
Thomas Dunn has authored an article for Natural Products Insider on sustainable packaging for natural foods. Packaging for natural food products must protect food quality and safety while also connoting clean labels and sustainability, he says.
EAS Interview for Article on Food Labeling in Supermarket Perimeter Magazine
EAS Independent Consultant April Kates was interviewed for a recently published article on Food Labeling published in Supermarket Perimeter. EAS is very pleased to have such a strong team of labeling consultants who are often called upon for sharing their expertise.
EAS Offers Webinar on Developing New Infant Formula Notification
The submission stage of a New Infant Formula Notification may seem like the beginning of the end of a years-long process of research and strategic development. But, without all the right documentation in place, this last step prior to product launch can be unnecessarily delayed for those companies...
Hemp Products & Confusion Over FDA Remains
Cannabis Industry Journal https://cannabisindustryjournal.com/column/hemp-products-confusion-over-fda-remains/ February 27, 2019 Charlotte Peyton
Food Labeling (Interviewed)
Supermarket Perimeter http://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/sp/2019_02_01/index.php#/70 February 25, 2019 April Kates
Sustainable Packaging for Natural Foods
Natural Products Insider https://www.naturalproductsinsider.com/co-packing/sustainable-packaging-natural-foods February 19, 2019 Thomas Dunn
Hemp and CBD Regulatory Fact Sheet
EAS Consulting Group Offers Expert Witness Services to Food and Drug Attorneys
In the industries regulated by FDA compliance issues are of great importance. When disputes arise, the regulatory compliance status of a product or facility is often a key issue and can make a significant difference in how the matter will be resolved. In such cases, it is critical to have the...
Effectively Partnering With a Contract Laboratory (Slide show)
Natural Products Insider https://www.naturalproductsinsider.com/contract-manufacturing/effectively-partnering-contract-laboratory-slide-show February 5, 2019 Tara Lin Couch, Ph.D.
EAS Webinar on Regulatory Challenges of Submitting New Infant Formula Notifications
The submission stage of a New Infant Formula Notification may seem like the beginning of the end of a years-long process of research and strategic development. But, without all the right documentation in place, this last step prior to product launch can be unnecessarily delayed for those companies...
What Does the 2018 Farm Bill Say About Sugar, Honey, and Agave?
By James Hoadley, Ph.D. Each month EAS Independent Consultants answer one question sent in by our readers. This month’s question is answered by James Hoadley, Ph.D., an expert in food and supplement labeling and content claims and long-time instructor for our popular Food and Dietary Supplement...
Natural Products Insider – Unboxing Everything About Packaging
Independent Consultant Thomas Dunn discusses packaging trends in an article for Natural Products Insider. Packaging is an important component of overall product design as it protects, preserves, escorts and describes the products consumed. As consumers demand more sustainable packaging, companies...
EAS Announces Next GMP Compliance for Laboratories Seminar in Denver
EAS Senior Director for Dietary Supplement Consulting Services, Tara Lin Couch, Ph.D. will instruct the next EAS seminar on Good Manufacturing Practices for Dietary Supplement Laboratories April 23, 2019 in Denver, CO. This one-day intensive program will discuss FDA’s current GMP requirements for...
Slack Fill – EAS Experts are Here to Help
There has been an increasingly growing volume of litigation in the slack fill area. This is a daunting issue for food manufacturers and is complicated by a dearth of clear guidance which ultimately leads to a lack of understanding of the many competing requirements and increases a company’s risk...
Own Label Distributor Responsibilities Discussed in Natural Products Insider
Senior Director for Dietary Supplement and Tobacco Services, Tara Lin Couch, Ph.D. was interviewed for an article in Natural Products Insider on Own Label Distributors and challenges of industry to establish product specifications. According to FDA data, in fiscal year 2018, about 24 percent of...
Food Safety Magazine Part II of Series on FSMA Training
Independent Consultant Mehrdad Tajkarimi has published part two of his three-part series in Food Safety Magazine on designing food safety training programs to meet FSMA compliance expectations. Food safety training is critical, not only in meeting FDA requirements, but in protecting consumers and...
January 2019 Drug and Device Corner
With the Federal Register (FR) publication unavailable, the FDA has published Safety and Performance-Based Pathway on the Guidance Document webpage. Full details will be available in the Federal Register once that site is again functioning. The existing Docket Number for this document is ...
Pharmaceutical GMPs for Safer Products and Swifter Approvals
EAS published a blog on the International Society of Pharmaceutical Engineers’ iSpeak blog on how GMPs and data integrity align for safer products and swifter approvals. FDA has noted that in recent years, findings from pharma facility inspections show increasing challenges with meeting data...
Qualified Individual and Preventive Controls Qualified Individual – What’s the Difference?
By Charles Breen The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Preventive Control for Human Foods (PCHF) regulation (21 CFR 117) signed into law in 2011 offers a wealth of opportunity (and a requirement) for companies to improve their food safety procedures and protocols through the implementation of a...
How GMPs & Data Integrity Align for Safer Products & Swifter Approvals
ISPE iSpeak blog https://ispe.org/pharmaceutical-engineering/ispeak/how-gmps-data-integrity-align-safer-products-swifter-approvals January 23, 2019 Amy Scanlin
Own-Label Distributors of Supplements Still Failing to Produce Product Specifications
Natural Products Insider https://www.naturalproductsinsider.com/regulatory/own-label-distributors-supplements-still-failing-produce-product-specifications January 22, 2019 Tara Lin Couch, Ph.D.
Steps to Develop Compliant SOPs Discussed in AHPA Report
The December American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) Report (subscription required) included an EAS authored article on steps to develop fully compliant Standard Operating Procedures. Though the development and detail of each SOP is at the discretion of individual companies, they should...
FDA Encourages Innovation and Safety as Part of Medical Device Regulatory Overhaul
EAS authored an article in MedTech Intelligence on FDA’s efforts at encouraging innovation while keeping a close eye on safety as part of a medical device regulatory overhaul. FDA is working to retire outdated predicates for 510(k) submissions as well as improve their post-market surveillance...
Couch Shares Thoughts on Contract Laboratory Best Practices as Part of Insider Q&A
Senior Director for Dietary Supplement and Tobacco Services, Tara Lin Couch, Ph.D. participated in a discussion with other industry leaders on best practices for contract laboratories in a recent Natural Products Insider. Contract labs are often enlisted to certify that products are fully and...
2019 Produce Compliance Dates for FSMA
By Charles Breen, EAS Independent Advisor for FSMA Consulting Services January 28, 2019, marks the compliance date for four categories of produce growers: Sprouts from Very Small Farms (with certain exemptions), Sprouts from Very Small Farms eligible for a qualified exemption to comply with...
Dietary Supplement Specifications Development – Still Challenging the Industry Ten Years Later
By Tamika Cathey Specifications Development, as defined in FDA’s Good Manufacturing Practices for dietary supplements (21 CFR §111) have posed one of the biggest challenges to industry since the inception of the requirements in June 2007. Specifically, 21 CFR §111.70 requires manufacturers to...
December 2018 Drug and Device Corner
Guidance Document updates on the FDA website All centers: Developing and Labeling In vitro Companion Diagnostic Devices for a Specific Group or Class of Oncology Therapeutic Products CDER: Noncirrhotic Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis With Liver Fibrosis: Developing Drugs for Treatment Post-Complete...