Food & Chemicals Unpacked

About Food & Chemicals Unpacked

Food & Chemicals Unpacked is your go-to podcast for hot topics impacting the food and chemical industry. Join our hosts, Keller and Heckman Partners Mark Thompson and Katie Skaggs, as they provide a bird’s eye view of the emerging legal and scientific issues surrounding the food, chemical, packaging, and related consumer product industries in an easily digestible and accessible format. Food & Chemicals Unpacked provides clear and concise updates on legislative developments, new regulations, and other non-governmental initiatives that impact these industries. Each episode will present critical information on these topics along with supporting resources from Keller and Heckman’s website blogs, including Packaginglaw.com, The Daily Intake (our food blog), and The Continuum of Risk (our tobacco and e-vapor blog).

Publisher

Mark Thompson and Katie Skaggs

Category

business

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

1 Feb 2022

Latest episode

2 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

26 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   2 Oct 2026

   Stake in the GRAS: Companies Weigh FDA’s Proposed Rule on the GRAS Exemption

   In this episode, Keller and Heckman Partner Devon Hill joins the podcast to take a deep dive into FDA’s newly proposed GRAS rule and its potential impact on the food-contact materials industry. We discuss how the GRAS exemption has traditionally been used, the role of self-GRAS determinations, and the FDA’s proposal to require mandatory notification of those determinations. Join us as we examine what these changes could mean for the future of regulatory oversight of food contact substances.

2. 

   13 Aug 2026

   The Nicotine Scene: PMTAs, Pouches, and Policy

   In this episode, Keller and Heckman Partner Azim Chowdhury returns to the podcast to discuss FDA’s evolving regulation of tobacco and nicotine products, with a focus on flavored vaping products, e-cigarettes, and oral nicotine pouches. Azim provides updates and insights on PMTA authorizations and the legal standards companies must satisfy to bring products to market. Join us as we explore recent litigation, new FDA guidance, and landmark authorization decisions that may shape the future of flavored ENDS and nicotine pouches in the United States.

3. 

   29 May 2026

   USA on Display: How "Made in America" Claims Are Regulated

   “Made in the USA”—or maybe just claiming to be “Born in the U.S.A.”— simple claim, complicated rules. Keller and Heckman Partner Rick Mann, Counsel Antonia Stamenova-Dancheva, and Associate Anushka Stein join the hosts to unpack the evolving legal landscape of the distinction between advertising claims and country-of-origin rules, as well as key federal and state requirements such as the FTC’s Made in USA Labeling Rule, the Buy America Act, and California’s stricter standard. The group also breaks down the latest executive order and what it signals for enforcement, examines trends in FTC activity and rising class action litigation, and shares practical steps companies can take now.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

9 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

3 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 12 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

3

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

51

Contact Food & Chemicals Unpacked

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.