In response to “thousands of comments expressing concerns about the effect of the proposed rules on small family-owned farms,” the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has withdrawn a proposal intended to reduce injuries among children working on farms by, among other matters, prohibiting them from using certain equipment. Instead, the Departments of Labor and Agriculture “will work with rural stakeholders—such as the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Farmers Union, the Future Farmers of America, and 4-H—to develop an educational program to reduce accidents to young workers and promote safer agricultural working practices.” Information about the proposed rule and a proposed “parental exemption,” that did not apparently satisfy critics, appears in Issue 425 of this Update. See DOL News Release, April 26, 2012.
Category Archives Issue 438
The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) has issued a proposed rule that would amend the standards of identity for distilled spirits to include Cachaça as a type within the class designation for rum. Responding to two petitions from the Brazilian Embassy, TTB has concluded that it is appropriate to recognize Cachaça, which derives from cane sugar, “as a distinctive product of Brazil” provided it is manufactured “in compliance with the laws of Brazil regulating the manufacture of Cachaça for consumption in that country.” The proposed rule would apparently allow the distilled spirit to be marketed as “Cachaça” without the term “rum” on the label, “just as a product labeled with the type designation of ‘Cognac’ is not required to also bear the class designation ‘brandy.’” In keeping with Brazilian regulations, TTB would also refuse the Cachaça designation to distilled spirits that use any corn or corn syrup…
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 14 people in nine states have purportedly been stricken with a Salmonella strain identical to that found in “multiple brands of dry pet food produced by Diamond Pet Foods at a single manufacturing facility in South Carolina.” CDC’s May 3, 2012, announcement indicates that the strain, Salmonella infantis, is rare and could have infected humans after contact with dry pet food or with an animal that has eaten it. Five of those afflicted have apparently been hospitalized. The Salmonella was first detected by the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development during a routine retail testing of dry pet food, and the company has voluntarily recalled three of its dry dog food products since then.
California Senator Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) has sent a May 3, 2012, letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food Safety and Inspection Service, asking the agency to investigate the restaurant industry’s use of transglutaminase or “meat glue” to allegedly bind together “disparate parts of meat products to form a larger piece of meat.” Citing unnamed media reports, Lieu claims that caterers and other facilities sometimes use transglutaminase to combine meat scraps into whole steaks, which are then sold as more expensive cuts like filet mignon. According to the letter, this practice not only deceives customers who believe they have purchased a higher quality product, but purportedly poses a health risk insofar as “reformed” steak may contain contaminated meat that is not thoroughly cooked or served rare. “I respectfully request the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service to thoroughly investigate the industry’s use of meat glue, the possible dangers posed…
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