The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), which had sought in 2011 to increase protections for children working in agriculture, has agreed to ”re-propose the portion of its regulation on child labor in agriculture interpreting the ‘parental exemption.’” The original proposal sought to update a 40-year-old rule in light of data showing that “children are significantly more likely to be killed while performing agricultural work than while working in all other industries combined.” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack applauded the action, saying, “The Labor Department listened to farmers and ranchers across the country. This announcement and the additional opportunity for comment represent a common-sense approach to strengthen our agricultural economy while keeping kids safe.” Critical responses from a number of lawmakers and the agricultural sector led DOL to reconsider its action. Under the revised rule, children of any age employed by their parent or a person standing in the place of the…
Category Archives Legislation, Regulations and Standards
A federal court in the District of Columbia has determined that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) had the authority to and properly promulgated a rule “requiring that almonds produced domestically be pasteurized or chemically treated against bacteria.” Koretoff v. Vilsack, No. 08-1558 (D.D.C., decided January 18, 2012). So ruling, the court granted USDA’s motion for summary judgment. Further information about the challenge brought by U.S. almond growers appears in Issue 274 of this Update. The almond rule was adopted in response to Salmonella outbreaks traced to raw almonds in 2001 and 2004. USDA adopted it under the authority of the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937 and the California Almond Marketing Order (Almond Order), promulgated in 1950. At issue in the dispute between the U.S. almond growers and USDA was whether safety regulations are encompassed by the law’s use of the term “quality,” over which USDA specifically has regulatory…
A federal court in Iowa has denied a motion seeking to preliminarily enjoin the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from enforcing regulations prohibiting the interstate sale of raw milk. Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund v. Sebelius, No. 10-4018 (N.D. Iowa, decided January 23, 2012). The plaintiffs, who either produce or consume raw milk, filed their motion under the All Writs Act, claiming that FDA has taken enforcement actions against third parties in other jurisdictions while the plaintiffs’ lawsuit challenging the validity of the rules is pending and that such action usurps the court’s jurisdiction to decide whether the interstate sale of raw milk is legal. According to the court, “[t]he plaintiffs have not cited, and I have not found, any authority for the proposition that the first federal court to entertain a challenge to a federal regulation has the power to forestall enforcement of that regulation by a federal agency in other…
California’s Office of Administrative Law has approved a no significant risk level for the chemical 4-Methylimidazole (4-MEI) proposed by California EPA’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA). Beginning February 8, 2012, no Proposition 65 warning will be required for exposures to 4-MEI at or below 29 micrograms per day. The action follows a December 2011 court determination that OEHHA complied with the law when it found that 4-MEI, a chemical present in many common foods and beverages, is a carcinogen known to the state to cause cancer. Used in the manufacture of various products such as pharmaceuticals, the chemical is a by-product of fermentation often found in soy sauce, roasted coffee and the caramel coloring added to colas and beer. Additional information about the court challenge and ruling appears in Issue 420 of this Update.
The European Commission (EC) has proposed a new data protection framework seeking to streamline existing directives and strengthen individuals’ online privacy rights. Titled “Safeguarding Privacy in a Connected World: A European Data Protection Framework for the 21st Century,” the proposed regulations would provide “a single set of rules” within the European Union (EU) and also apply to companies “active in the EU market” that handle personal data abroad. In particular, the framework would stipulate “increased responsibility and accountability for those processing personal data” such as names, photos, information posted on social networking sites, or computer IP and email addresses. Under the proposed rules, companies must obtain explicit user consent to gather personal data and must report within 24 hours (or as soon as possible) any security breach to a national supervisory authority, which “will be empowered to fine companies that violate EU data protection rules… up to €1 million or…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety Inspection Service and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have announced a February 14, 2012, public meeting in Arlington, Virginia, to provide information and receive public comments on draft U.S. positions to be discussed at the 44th Session of the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues (CCPR) on April 23-28 in Shanghai, China. CCPR is responsible for establishing maximum pesticide-residue limits in specific food items, food groups or in “certain animal feeding stuffs moving in international trade where this is justified for reasons of protection of human health.” See Federal Register, January 23, 2012.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has issued a final rule updating the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs “to align them with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.” Effective March 26, 2012, the rule seeks to reduce childhood obesity by requiring schools to (i) “increase the availability of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free and low-fat fluid milk in school meals”; (ii) “reduce the levels of sodium, saturated fat and trans fat in meals”; and (iii) “meet the nutrition needs of school children within their calorie requirements.” According to USDA, the new standards reflect the recommendations of an Institute of Medicine expert panel as well as 132,000 public comments. Estimated to add $3.2 billion to school meal costs over five years, the final rule only partially implements the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act (HHFKA) of 2010, which also includes a mandate to set nutritional standards for foods and beverages…
Four members of the U.S. House of Representatives have introduced bipartisan legislation (H.R. 3798) that would provide “a uniform national standard for the housing and treatment of egg-laying hens.” According to the bill’s lead author, Representative Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.), the Egg Products Inspection Act Amendments of 2012 would also bring sustainability to the egg industry by avoiding a “problematic patchwork of state laws.” Noting that the proposed measure formalizes a 2011 agreement between the United Egg Producers and The Humane Society of the United States, Schrader said the proposal would require egg producers to nearly double the housing space allotted to egg-laying hens and make other “significant animal welfare improvements” within a 15- to 18-year phase-in period. More specifically, the legislation advocates (i) replacing conventional cages with “enriched colony housing systems” that feature perches, nesting boxes and scratching areas; (ii) labeling on egg cartons that discloses the method used to…
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Institute of Medicine (IOM) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) have joined HBO, Kaiser Permanente and the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation in launching a new national campaign to curb obesity rates. According to a January 13, 2012, IOM press release, “The Weight of the Nation” initiative aims to “shed light on the facts and myths of this urgent public health issue and explore how obesity is impacting our nation and health care system.” The campaign evidently features policy action kits and several media pieces, including a four-part documentary to be aired May 14 and 15, 2012, on HBO, as well as a forthcoming IOM report funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation “that will review progress made so far to implement strategies to curb obesity and recommend selected actions aimed at accelerating progress in the near future.” In particular, the IOM…
A group of environmentalists is reportedly seeking to qualify a voter initiative in California that would require special labels on foods containing genetically engineered (GE) ingredients. With 504,760 signatures needed by June 4, 2012, to be eligible for the November 6 ballot, the environmentalists claim that the Environmental Protection Agency and other agencies have not adequately regulated GE material. “After 20 years of biotech bullying and force-feeding unlabeled and hazardous genetically modified foods to animals and humans—aided and abetted by the Clinton, Bush, and Obama administrations—a critical mass of food and health activists have decided it’s time to move beyond small skirmishes and losing battles and go on the offensive,” asserted Ronnie Cummins, national director of the Organic Consumers Association, one of the organizations supporting the petition. Cummins evidently hopes the initiative will mimic California’s Proposition 65, a 1986 voter initiative that requires consumer warnings about exposures to chemicals known…
