Jeff Kaliel is a Washington, D.C.-based attorney and partner at Kaliel PLLC, where he has practiced class action litigation in the consumer financial services sector since 2017. A graduate of Yale Law School and an Iraq War veteran who served in the United States Army, Jeff Kaliel has helped consumers recover hundreds of millions of dollars from banks and lenders through class action settlements. His career highlights include Farrell v. Bank of America, which resulted in a $66 million settlement and a change to the bank’s overdraft fee policies, as well as cases involving Capital One, Arvest Bank, and United Community Bank. He has served as lead class counsel in nationwide and state-specific lawsuits, winning contested class certification motions and collaborating with economics and technology experts on damages models. In 2015, he was recognized as a Washington, D.C. Rising Star by Super Lawyers.
The National Consumers League (NCL) is the oldest consumer advocacy organization in the United States. Founded in 1899, it is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that advances consumers’ rights on issues such as privacy, medication information, and food safety.
In August 2026, NCL joined other members of the Safe Food Coalition in calling on Congress to reverse the delay affecting new federal food-traceability requirements. The coalition pointed to the ongoing Cyclospora outbreak as evidence of the need for faster and more effective traceability.
In its letter to congressional leaders, the coalition asked Congress to rescind an appropriations rider that prevents federal funds from being used to administer or enforce the FDA’s Food Traceability Rule before July 20, 2028. The rule had previously carried a January 20, 2026 compliance date after the FDA finalized it in 2022 under the Food Safety Modernization Act.
The FTR establishes additional traceability recordkeeping requirements for people and organizations that manufacture, process, pack, and hold foods on the Food Traceability List (FTL). These foods include plant foods like leafy greens, fresh melons, and fresh-cut fruits and animal products like cheese, finfish, and crustaceans. These requirements make it easier to visualize a product’s supply chain, helping officials to quickly identify the source of contaminated food.
The coalition argues that the existing “one-forward, one-back” traceability approach can slow investigations because businesses are not required to provide end-to-end supply-chain information. It says those limitations can contribute to overly broad recalls or public advisories when investigators cannot quickly narrow an outbreak to particular products or sources.
The coalition pointed to the Cyclospora outbreak as an example, saying it had been associated with nearly 30,000 illnesses and two deaths. At least one illness cluster had been linked to iceberg lettuce grown and processed at a Taylor Farms de Mexico facility. The coalition argued that gaps in traceability left investigators and consumers uncertain about whether that represented the outbreak’s only source.
The coalition said the uncertainty had damaged consumer confidence in fresh produce. It cited a survey in which 40 percent of consumers reported changing their buying habits in response to the outbreak and pointed to declining sales of carrots, cauliflower, spinach, and Brussels sprouts. The coalition also argued that consumers eating less “real food” represented an additional public-health concern.
The coalition also argued that the delay creates uncertainty after years of research, collaboration, and investment in stronger traceability. It pointed to retailers including Kroger, Albertsons, and Walmart, which it said had already implemented programs incorporating the FDA’s traceability requirements, and in some cases had gone beyond them.
The coalition argued that stronger traceability could help restore consumer confidence by giving public-health officials better tools during foodborne-illness investigations. Its letter urged Congress to rescind the funding freeze rather than wait until July 2028 for the rule to be administered and enforced. Organizations that joined NCL as signatories in the letter to Congress included Center for Food Safety, Consumer Federation of America, Center for Science in the Public Interest, and Consumer Reports.
About Jeff Kaliel
Jeff Kaliel is a Washington, D.C.-based attorney and partner at Kaliel PLLC who has practiced class action litigation in the consumer financial services sector since 2017. A Yale Law School graduate and Iraq War veteran who served in the U.S. Army, he has represented consumers in cases against major banks and credit unions, including a $66 million settlement with Bank of America. He was named a Washington, D.C. Rising Star by Super Lawyers in 2015.
