Samuel D. Jockel

Food and Dietary Supplements

• Counseling marketers of human and animal food and dietary supplements on regulatory compliance and risk mitigation strategies associated with product labeling and advertising claims.
• Counseling clients on the regulatory and litigation landscape surrounding the development and marketing of novel products, including alternative proteins, bioengineered foods, and CBD-containing products.
• Drafting public comments on behalf of clients in response to rulemaking proceedings, including in response to the FDA’s proposed update to the use of the term “healthy” on food labeling.
• Negotiating various transactional agreements including purchase orders, purchase agreements, and distribution agreements on behalf of companies across the supply chain. 
• Providing strategic regulatory support to companies facing threatened or actual consumer class action, NGO, and competitor litigation. Representative matters include a broad spectrum of challenges to labeling and marketing claims, including health halo and natural claims, product origin claims, environmental and “green” claims, ingredient (flavor, protein, sugar) claims, and the presence of alleged chemical contaminants, such as PFAS.
• Advising food retailers, including restaurants, kitchens, and third-party delivery services on navigating local and state food and food packaging regulatory requirements.
• Advising brick-and-mortar and online food retailers on compliance with USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
• Counsel to infant formula manufacturers on compliance with FDA requirements, including navigation of the FDA’s 2022 enforcement discretion policy.
• Assisting clients in the evaluation of the regulatory status of human and animal food ingredients and food contact substances, including in preparation of GRAS self-determinations and in food additive petitions.
• Advising ingredient suppliers, food processors, and food warehouses on food safety obligations under the Food Safety Modernization Act, including preparing food safety plans for compliance with Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Controls requirements.

Sam Jockel focuses his practice on regulatory, policy, and litigation matters involving the FDA, the USDA, the FTC, and state regulatory agencies related to food, beverages, cosmetics, dietary supplements, animal products, and drugs. From ingredient suppliers to manufacturers to distributors to retailers, Sam’s approach to counseling clients leverages his prior service as a trial attorney in USDA’s Office of the General Counsel and an Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education Fellow at the FDA. While at the USDA, Sam received the General Counsel’s Award for Excellence.

Sam advises clients on a range of matters, including product and ingredient commercialization, regulatory compliance, import and export, supply chain management, and labeling and advertising. Sam counsels clients across multiple product categories through enforcement actions and potential crises, including in response to import detentions, inspectional findings, recalls, warning letters, and civil and criminal investigations and actions. Sam also has substantial experience on USDA regulatory issues, including on bioengineered food disclosure, the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA), and organic labeling (AMS); meat, poultry, and egg products regulatory matters (FSIS); the import of animal and plant products, animal welfare (APHIS); and on SNAP compliance (FNS).

Bar Admissions

• Pennsylvania
• District of Columbia

Education

• Boston College (J.D., 2014)
• Johns Hopkins University (B.A., 2011)

Memberships