Bryan Anderson Authors Article Examining How Proposed FDA Food-Safety Rules Could Affect Importer-Supplier Relationships

Bryan J. Anderson, Chicago-based member of Dykema’s Litigation Department whose practice focuses on product liability defense and class action matters, authored an article—“Proposed FDA Food-Safety Rules May Create Strains on Importer-Supplier Relationships”—that appears in the September 16, 2013 online edition of the American Bar Association Section of Litigation Products Liability newsletter.

In the article, Anderson calls attention to the Food & Drug Administration’s proposed Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP) that would not only require importers of most foods to develop and implement plans that feature on-site auditing, sampling and testing of food and review of foreign suppliers’ food-safety records, but to potentially make those results available to third parties and/or regulatory agencies.

Anderson points out that this proposed record sharing—to date, not commonly included in an importer-foreign supplier agreement—“may cause tension” between the two parties, as suppliers “may become reluctant to share information with importers.”