Meeting | Virtual

Event Title

FDA Public Meeting - Challenges and Solutions in Lot-Level Food Traceability

November 6, 2026

Date:: November 6, 2026
Time:: 12:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. ET

Attend

The FDA is hosting a virtual public meeting on November 6, 2026, to give the public an opportunity to share information on implementation of the Food Traceability Rule and areas of remaining concern, specifically as they relate to lot-level tracking and potential flexibilities for compliance.

This meeting is part of a series of engagements being held in accordance with a directive from Congress in the Continuing Appropriations, Agriculture, Legislative Branch, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Extensions Act of 2026 (the Continuing Appropriations Act).

Background

The FDA final rule on Requirements for Additional Traceability Records for Certain Foods (Food Traceability Rule) requires persons who manufacture, process, pack, or hold food on FDA’s Food Traceability List to maintain and (in some cases) provide to their supply chain partners key data elements for certain critical tracking events in the food supply chain. The requirements in the rule will allow for faster identification and rapid removal of potentially contaminated food from the market, resulting in fewer foodborne illnesses and deaths.

The original compliance date for all persons subject to the recordkeeping requirements of the Food Traceability Rule was January 20, 2026. The FDA proposed to extend the compliance date for the rule by 30 months to July 20, 2028. Subsequently, the Continuing Appropriations Act directed the FDA not to enforce the Food Traceability Rule prior to that same date of July 20, 2028. The FDA intends to comply with this congressional directive.

The Continuing Appropriations Act also required the FDA to engage quarterly with regulated entities — including farms, restaurants, retail food establishments, and warehouses distributing to retail food establishments and restaurants — to identify and implement, as appropriate, flexibilities for satisfying the Food Traceability Rule’s lot-level tracking requirement. The FDA held a public meeting on June 15, 2026, as part of the agency’s efforts to fulfill part of this directive. Ahead of that meeting the FDA opened a docket for comment and released the following materials to help inform the discussion:

The Federal Register notice announcing the November 6 public meeting includes a high-level summary of feedback received on the above discussion paper. All of the comments that FDA received on the discussion paper can be accessed by searching Docket No. FDA-2014-N-0053 on www.regulations.gov. The goal of this upcoming public meeting is to hear additional stakeholder perspectives on lot-level food traceability efforts and implementation challenges. We encourage those participating in this public meeting to consider the questions posed in the discussion paper, stakeholder responses to these questions submitted to the docket, and any new ideas regarding flexibilities as you develop your remarks for this meeting. We also welcome additional comments or presentation materials to be submitted to the docket for consideration.

Registration

The virtual public meeting is free and open to the public, but registration is necessary to attend. General registration will remain open until November 5, 2026. Individuals who want to speak during the public comment period must register by October 26, 2026. Same day registration is not allowed. Instructions for joining the virtual meeting will be provided upon registration.

All presentations must be given orally; slides or visuals will not be able to be accommodated on the virtual platform.

No commercial or promotional material will be permitted to be presented or distributed at the public meeting.

REGISTER

Questions?

For general questions about the meeting, contact the Public Engagement Staff at PublicEngagement@fda.hhs.gov.