Rachel A. Bond

Rachel Bond counsels domestic and international clients on complex regulatory compliance matters involving food contact materials, packaging, chemicals, and other products regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and related regulatory authorities worldwide. She helps companies understand technical regulatory requirements, manage compliance risks, and bring innovative products to market.

Drawing on both legal and scientific expertise, Rachel advises businesses across the supply chain, including chemical suppliers, packaging manufacturers, converters, brand owners, and startups, on a range of materials, including polymers, additives, coatings, adhesives, printing inks, paper, and other regulated products and components. Her clients range from multinational corporations to entrepreneurial companies developing novel products and technologies.

Rachel helps clients address complex regulatory questions involving legal, scientific, and business considerations. She regularly advises on FDA requirements applicable to food contact substances, including Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) determinations, food contact notifications, indirect food additive regulations, and other market access strategies. When premarket authorization is required or strategically advantageous, she assists companies in obtaining regulatory clearances in jurisdictions around the world, including the United States, Canada, South America, and the European Union (EU). She also develops regulatory strategies for products that do not require explicit premarket approval.

In addition, Rachel counsels clients on good manufacturing practice (GMP) issues, product stewardship, and recalls. She advises on regulatory developments affecting packaging and consumer products and regularly helps clients evaluate and respond to emerging state requirements, including extended producer responsibility (EPR) programs, chemical restrictions, and other reporting and compliance obligations.

Rachel translates technical, scientific, and regulatory requirements into practical guidance. Her background in biology informs her work on complex scientific matters, and her experience in government relations and legislative affairs before law school gives her insight into how policy is developed and how new regulatory frameworks emerge.

Rachel is a contributing author to packaginglaw.com, as well as related industry publications, and is frequently invited to speak at conferences on food contact and packaging EPR matters.

Representative Matters

• Provided guidance on the proper application of the GRAS principle in the U.S. and worked with clients on the feasibility of establishing a self-determined GRAS position to efficiently bring new products to market
• Prepared and obtained effective FDA Food Contact Notifications (FCNs) for a broad range of substances, including a highly complex product straddling the intersection of food contact and medical devices with significant benefits to patient health 
• Navigated post-market reviews of food contact substances and worked with industry and FDA officials to ensure an adequate transition time for the orderly phase-out of high-profile substances used in food contact materials
• Advised on the use of post-consumer recycled plastics in food contact applications, including preparation of No Objection Letter (NOL) requests to FDA, to clear recycling technologies for food contact use and help clients and industry meet recycled content commitments and sustainability goals
• Counseled clients on rapidly evolving packaging EPR laws, including analyses of producer responsibility and exemption applicability for broad-ranging and highly complex product portfolios, advising and assisting with registration and reporting of sensitive business information, and monitoring and advising on new regulatory and litigation-related developments

Awards

• The Best Lawyers in America^®: FDA Law, 2025 - 2027