Food Laws and Regulations in the United States

Course Code: FSC 811

Credits: 3 credits

This course covers the law regulating the manufacture, distribution, and sale of food products in the United States. Topics include the regulation of labeling, food additives, dietary supplements, genetic modification, HACCP, civil and criminal liability for defective products, inspections, importation, inspections, enforcement, and many other issues of concern in the regulation of food in the United States. The course is designed to give the student a better understanding of the issues involved in the regulation of foods and a general understanding of the full scope of food regulation in the United States.

This course is taught by Professor Neal Fortin, Director of the Institute for Food Laws and Regulations. Students will gain skills and experience at integrating this knowledge and information for application in real world situations.

Most of the course readings come from the textbook, Food Regulation: Law, Science, Policy, and Practice, 3rd edition. However, purchase of the book is optional because all required readings are provided as PDFs. (The author royalties from sales of this book to the class go to a student scholarship fund at Michigan State University.)

At the end of this course, the student will:

Understand the history and general organization of food regulation in the United States.
Be familiar with the role of the federal agencies with regulatory roles regarding food, such as the FDA, USDA, and FTC.
Be able to use Internet-based resources to locate relevant U.S. food laws and regulations.
Possess an organized understanding of the U.S. requirements for food labeling, health claims, food additives, adulteration, importation, exportation, and public and private enforcement of food standards.
Know how to find specific requirements in federal U.S. laws and regulations.
Be aware of current food law issues and be able to discuss them.
Understand critical regulatory issues and their impact on food laws by use of case studies.
Participate in an international network of legal, regulatory, and scientific professionals regarding food law issues.

Topics covered are subject to change each semester, but generally include:

An Introduction to Food Regulation in the United States
Food Labeling Generally
Nutrition Facts Labeling and Nutrient Content Claims
Health Claims
Esthetic and Economic Adulteration
Regulation of Unintended Components of Food
Regulation of Intentional Components of Food
Review of the Regulation of Food
Dietary Supplements
Regulation of Modern Biotechnology with Food
Importation of Food into the US
Federal Inspections
Federal Enforcement
Private Actions; State Enforcement

Schedule:

This course is offered fall and spring semesters.

Tips for first time enrollees:

Here is the direct link to apply: https://explore.msu.edu/apply/

Make sure you choose “first-time user” and then “NON-DEGREE” from the dropdown. There is no application fee for our program, so if you get to an area where it asks you to pay an application fee, then you are not in the correct process. Also, DO NOT CLICK THE BOX that asks if you are going to be taking classes in the global food law program. That question is referring to courses through the College of Law and saying “yes” to that question will only delay your application processing."

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