Nonprofit consumer advocacy organization Food & Water Watch, Inc. and two of its members have filed an action against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and its Food Safety and Inspection Service seeking to enjoin their new National Poultry Inspection System (NPIS) rules. Food & Water Watch, Inc. v. Vilsack, No. 14-1547 (D.D.C., filed September 11, 2014). Details about the rules, which take effect October 20, 2014, appear in Issue 532 of this Update. The plaintiffs allege that the rules violate the Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA) and Administrative Procedure Act (APA). They interpret the PPIA as requiring “that federal inspectors critically appraise all chicken and turkey carcasses and viscera,” and set forth how increased line speeds and rules giving poultry employees, without training or certification, the authority to inspect and remove adulterated birds or parts from processing lines before inspectors see them violate this requirement. Without actual inspection of every bird,…
Category Archives Issue 538
Following a seven-week trial in Albany, Georgia, a jury has reportedly convicted former Peanut Corp. of America owner Stewart Parnell, his brother Michael Parnell and quality assurance manager Mary Wilkerson on charges stemming from a 2008-2009 Salmonella outbreak that sickened hundreds of people nationwide and was linked to nine deaths. United States v. Parnell, No. 13-cr-12 (U.S. Dist. Ct., M.D. Ga., Albany Div., verdict entered September 19, 2014). Details about the mail and wire fraud, obstruction and conspiracy charges appear in Issue 472 of this Update. The conspiracy and obstruction charges each carry a potential sentence of 20 years in prison; sentencing will occur at a later date. Two former plant managers who were also charged entered guilty pleas that required them to cooperate with the prosecution. According to a news source, this could be the first time that corporate executives and facility workers have gone to trial in the…
The California Environmental Protection Agency’s (Cal/EPA’s) Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) is requesting public input for ways of improving the implementing regulations of the state’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (Prop. 65). More specifically, the agency invites stakeholders’ ideas about (i) alternative risk levels for chemicals in foods; (ii) revisions to the Naturally Occurring regulation; (iii) revisions and a restructuring of the Safe Use Determination process; (iv) clarification of the regulatory provisions on averaging exposures; (v) chemicals for priority consideration in the development of or update of Safe Harbor levels; (vi) new interpretive guidance; and (vii) the use of data on postnatal developmental exposures. OEHHA must receive comments and supporting documentation by 5 p.m. on November 17, 2014. Issue 538
The National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO) is joining with the European Commission over the next year to host meetings for the six U.S.-EU Communities of Research (CORs) that focus on environmental, health and safety concerns related to nanomaterials. CORs were established as a means by which scientists can share protocols and identify research gaps and obstacles. Before September 30, 2015, the CORs will hold teleconferences and Webinars addressing (i) exposure through product life, with material characterization; (ii) ecotoxicity testing and predictive models, with material characterization; (iii) predictive modeling for human health, with material characterization; (iv) databases and ontologies; (v) risk assessment; and (vi) risk management and control. More details about the upcoming meetings will be posted here. See Federal Register, September 18, 2014. Issue 538
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