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Krista Hekking

Krista Hekking is an associate in the firm’s Los Angeles office where she is a member of the Food, Drug, and Device Practice Group. She provides strategic advice to food and dietary supplement manufacturers on a range of product development issues to minimize risk of regulatory enforcement and class action litigation. Krista stays abreast of litigation trends and food regulatory developments to provide guidance on food labeling and marketing. She counsels clients regarding favorable regulatory categories for food marketing, whether as conventional foods, dietary supplements, or medical foods, and provides guidance on regulatory requirements for each, including those related to product claims and safety substantiation.

Krista works closely with her transactional colleagues to assist food manufacturers in drafting and negotiating co-manufacturing, supply, and similar agreements. She also assists clients in navigating and successfully resolving food recalls, regulatory enforcement, and inspections. Krista works with local counsel across the globe to help clients meet regulatory requirements, respond to legislative and regulatory proposals, and resolve issues related to enforcement.

August 21, 2024, Covington Alert

On August 15, 2024, the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) Center for Food Safety and Nutrition (CFSAN) took another important step in its sodium reduction efforts by issuing a Draft Guidance that contains new voluntary targets for sodium reduction in foods. The Draft Guidance builds on FDA’s October 2021 Final Guidance on Voluntary Sodium Reduction Goals, which established short-term voluntary targets for reducing sodium in commercially processed, packaged and prepared food. The Draft Guidance proposes new three-year sodium reduction targets for 16 overarching food categories and 163 subcategories that are commercially processed and packaged, or prepared in food service establishments such as restaurants. 

Background

Average sodium intake in the United States is currently almost 50% more than the recommended limit.[1]  To help reduce sodium across the food supply, FDA has taken an iterative, step-wise approach that includes establishing voluntary sodium targets for industry, monitoring and evaluating progress, and engaging with stakeholders.

FDA’s sodium reduction efforts began in 2016, when it released draft guidance on the agency’s short-term and long-term goals for sodium reduction in a variety of commercially processed, packaged, or prepared foods. FDA issued final guidance on this topic in October 2021 (Final Guidance), in which it set a goal of reducing average sodium intake from over 3,400 mg/day to 3,000 mg/day. As of 2022, about 40% of the targets set for foods in the Final Guidance had been reached.[2]  FDA has deemed the Final Guidance “Phase I” of its sodium reduction efforts.Continue Reading FDA Issues Draft Guidance on New Voluntary Targets for Sodium Reduction in Foods