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Food safety lawyer Bill Marler says he has prepared seven petitions to the FDA and USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, covering infant formula, raw milk cheese, sprouts, poultry, outbreak investigations and recall information. The supplied material describes the requests and their rationale, but does not establish that all seven petitions have been filed or that either agency has acted on them.
The petitions concern powdered infant formula, raw milk cheese and sprouts, as well as poultry rules and agency access to animal feeding operations linked to outbreaks. Others ask the FDA to identify firms implicated in outbreaks and publish store-level recipient information for certain food recalls. Marler describes the efforts as a push to put public-health advice and previously announced policies into formal rules or written standards.
One proposal would add botulinum neurotoxin-producing clostridia to required finished-product testing for powdered infant formula and require testing of dairy ingredients used to make it. Marler cites outbreaks involving ByHeart and Nara Organics, saying that since 2023, 52 infants have been hospitalized with botulism and the organism was found in a dairy ingredient. He says 46 parents of 24 affected infants are co-petitioners; the material does not independently document those figures.
Other petitions would require warning labels on raw milk cheese and packaged raw or lightly cooked sprouts. The cheese proposal also asks the FDA to complete its review of the 60-day aging rule and require cheesemakers relying on aging to validate that it reduces pathogens. The poultry petition asks FSIS to treat Salmonella at or above 1 CFU per gram as an adulterant in raw ground chicken and turkey and raw chicken parts, or, alternatively, to apply that designation to three named serotypes. It also asks the agency to begin verification sampling.
Food safety · Regulatory proposals
Seven Petitions.
One Message.
Tell us what you know, test for what kills, and warn people before they eat it. Food safety lawyer Bill Marler says he has prepared seven petitions for the FDA and USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).
01 / The requests
Seven proposals, three public goals
The platform spans food products and agency practices. The available account describes several requests in detail and gives only a partial description of the retail recall proposal.
Test · Infant formula
Expand formula testing
Add botulinum neurotoxin-producing clostridia to finished-product testing and test dairy ingredients used in powdered formula.
Warn · Raw milk cheese
Put warnings on labels
Require warning labels and complete the review of the 60-day aging rule; require cheesemakers to validate pathogen reduction when relying on aging.
Warn · Sprouts
Label raw or lightly cooked sprouts
Require consumer warnings on packaged raw or lightly cooked sprouts.
Test · Poultry
Set a Salmonella standard
Ask FSIS to treat Salmonella at or above 1 CFU/g in specified raw poultry as an adulterant—or apply the designation to three named serotypes—and begin verification sampling.
Investigate · Outbreaks
Enable targeted sampling
Seek authority for access to certain animal feeding operations formally implicated in multistate outbreaks.
Disclose · Investigations
Set a naming standard
Ask FDA to establish a written standard for identifying firms implicated in foodborne illness outbreaks.
Disclose · Class I recalls
Publish store-level recipients
Seek retail consignee lists for certain FDA-regulated Class I recalls, modeled on USDA meat and poultry recall disclosures. The supplied description is incomplete.
02 / Earlier agency actions
What the proposals point back to
Marler says the petitions respond to rules, past agency actions, or policies he considers incomplete or unevenly applied.
Existing testing table
The account says powdered formula makers must test for Cronobacter and Salmonella. Marler says botulism-causing clostridia are not included.
Aging rule under review
The source dates the 60-day aging rule to the 1940s and cites an FDA review announced in 2013.
Changing policy timeline
The source says FSIS made a 1 CFU/g determination for breaded stuffed raw chicken in May 2024. Broader rulemaking was withdrawn in April 2025; announced sampling was postponed indefinitely in December 2025.
03 / Why the requests matter
From evidence to public action
If adopted, the proposals could affect what consumers see, what products are tested, and what information investigators and the public can access.
What the source does—and does not—establish
Marler cites outbreaks involving ByHeart and Nara Organics, saying that since 2023, 52 infants have been hospitalized with botulism and the organism was found in a dairy ingredient. The account says 46 parents of 24 affected infants are co-petitioners. These figures are not independently documented in the supplied material. It also provides no filing dates, docket numbers, agency acknowledgments, or FDA and FSIS responses. The retail consignee proposal is described only in part.
04 / Questions readers may ask
What happens next?
Formal filings and agency notices are the clearest way to track whether proposals move toward action.
Have all seven petitions been filed?
The supplied account says Marler has worked on seven petitions, but does not confirm formal submission of each one.
Are the requested changes already in effect?
No adoption is reported. The requests remain proposals; existing policies are the relevant baseline described by the source.
What is the next verifiable step?
Look for published petition texts, agency docket entries, acknowledgments, and formal FDA or FSIS notices.
When will agencies act?
The source gives no timetable. Agencies could respond, seek comment, begin rulemaking, or take no immediate action.
The rules affect warnings and outbreak response
If adopted, the proposals could change what consumers see on food packaging, which products are tested and what information becomes public during recalls and outbreak investigations. Warnings on cheese and sprouts would put agency advice at the point of purchase or consumption; expanded formula testing could add controls for a pathogen not included in the testing table described by Marler.
The requests also concern how quickly investigators can trace foodborne illness to a source. A written standard for naming implicated firms and authority to collect samples at certain animal feeding operations could affect the evidence available during an outbreak. These are proposed changes, not current policy: the source does not report that the agencies have accepted the petitions or adopted their requested measures.
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Earlier agency actions shape the requests
Marler says the petitions seek action on matters agencies have previously addressed, promised or applied unevenly. He points to an FDA rule requiring powdered formula makers to test for Cronobacter and Salmonella, while saying botulism-causing clostridia are not included. For raw milk cheese, the proposal challenges the 60-day aging rule, which the source says dates to the 1940s, and cites an FDA review announced in 2013.
For poultry, the account says FSIS determined in May 2024 that Salmonella at or above 1 CFU/g is an adulterant in breaded stuffed raw chicken products. A broader rulemaking was withdrawn in April 2025, according to the source, and announced verification sampling was postponed indefinitely in December 2025. The petition asks FSIS to extend the approach or, at minimum, begin sampling.
The remaining requests address outbreak investigations and disclosures. Marler cites FDA’s access to a feedlot during the 2018 Yuma romaine investigation, where the agency reportedly collected six samples, and argues for limited access when an operation has been formally implicated in a multistate outbreak. He also says federal agencies have named firms in some past outbreaks but lack a written standard. The seventh petition concerns retail consignee lists for FDA-regulated Class I recalls, modeled on USDA’s publication of store information for meat and poultry recalls.
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Filing status and agency responses
The supplied platform does not provide filing dates, docket numbers or agency acknowledgments for all seven petitions. It also ends partway through its description of the retail-consignee proposal, so the full request and its supporting rationale cannot be established from this material alone. The account does not include responses from the FDA or FSIS, or independent confirmation of the outbreak and hospitalization figures it cites.
It is also unclear whether the agencies will open proceedings, issue responses or change existing rules. The petitions seek different actions, and a request for a rule or policy change does not itself establish that the agency has agreed to act.
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Agency decisions will determine the outcome
The next verifiable developments would be confirmation of which petitions have been formally filed, publication of their texts and any FDA or FSIS response. The agencies could acknowledge or deny requests, seek public comment, begin rulemaking, or take no immediate action; the supplied material does not identify a timetable.
Readers can track the proposals by looking for agency docket entries and formal notices, rather than treating the requested policies as rules already in effect. Until regulators act, existing testing, labeling, outbreak-disclosure and recall practices remain the relevant baseline described in the source.
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Key Questions
What are the seven petitions about?
They seek changes involving infant-formula testing, raw milk cheese and sprout warnings, poultry Salmonella policy, outbreak sampling access, naming firms implicated in outbreaks, and retail lists for Class I recalls. The supplied text describes the seventh request only partly.
Have all seven petitions been filed?
The source says Marler has been working on seven petitions, but it does not give filing dates or docket numbers for all of them. It is not possible from the material provided to confirm that all seven have been formally submitted.
Are the requested food safety changes already in effect?
No. They are proposals to the FDA and FSIS. The source does not report that either agency has adopted them or changed current rules.
What would the infant-formula petition require?
It asks the FDA to add botulinum neurotoxin-producing clostridia to required finished-product testing and to require testing of dairy ingredients used in formula. The source says 46 parents of 24 infants are co-petitioners.
What happens next?
The agencies would need to respond or take other formal action. The source gives no timetable, so the next step and timing remain unclear; docket postings or agency notices would provide confirmation.
Source: rss
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