A group of advocacy organizations has sent a letter asking the leaders of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry to "fully support organic agriculture in the Farm Bill and to oppose any changes that would undermine the organic standards and the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB)." The organizations urge the committee to refrain from changing the board's authority or composition, which could "harm the integrity of the organic program, undermine consumer trust in the organic label, and severely damage the reputation of the industry as a whole." The letter also includes a number of requests to fund various organic-farming programs.
Category Archives Legislation, Regulations and Standards
The U.K. Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld a challenge to a bus poster sponsored by Viva, a vegan-advocacy group, that claimed the hormones in cow's milk have been "linked to cancer." Viva asserted that consumers interpret the words “linked to” as a phrase “commonly used to express an association between two factors when there was a potential or likely relationship but not an absolute causative relationship." The group submitted several research papers in support of the ad claim, but ASA was unconvinced by each study, citing unrelated or overly broad subject matters as well as the inclusion of self-reported data. ASA concluded that "the claim 'milk contains 35 hormones, including oestrogen … some of these are linked to cancer', as it would be understood by consumers to mean that due to the presence of hormones, drinking cow’s milk could increase a person’s risk of developing cancer, had not been substantiated and…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has confirmed its 2015 decision removing partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs) from generally recognized as safe status by denying a food additive petition seeking approval for the use of PHOs in some foods. The agency also extended the June 2018 compliance date for removing PHOs from food, citing trade associations that "informed us that, due to shelf lives ranging from 3 to 24 months, a variety of products containing non-petitioned uses of PHOs will be in distribution on, and for some time after, the compliance date in the final order," according to the Federal Register announcement. For products manufactured before June 18, 2018, the enforcement date will be January 1, 2020. FDA has also extended the compliance date for the uses of PHOs in the food additive petition, including (i) use as a solvent or carrier for flavoring or coloring agents; (ii) use as a processing aid;…
The Missouri legislature has passed an agriculture bill that would prohibit companies from labeling lab-grown and plant-based products as "meat." The bill bans "misleading or deceptive practices" in the sale of meat, including "misrepresenting a product as meat that is not derived from harvested production livestock or poultry." Missouri Governor Eric Greitens must sign the bill by July 15, 2018. Similar measures have been debated at the federal level, and the U.S. Cattlemen's Association filed a petition in February 2018 urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture to establish beef labeling that would limit the use of "beef" and "meat" on products not derived from animals.
The Organic Trade Association (OTA) has announced a program that "provides organic businesses with a risk-based approach for developing and implementing a written strategic plan to assure the authenticity of organic products." Each of the pilot program's participants "will concentrate on one product or ingredient" or "a specific location" then seek feedback from other stakeholders in the supply chain, according to OTA's press release. The plan will focus on (i) "identifying and assessing specific weaknesses or vulnerabilities in their business that pose the most risk of fraud"; (ii) "identifying and taking measures to reduce those vulnerabilities to deter fraud"; (iii) "establishing a monitoring program to ensure the fraud prevention measures are in place"; and (iv) "developing a complaint system to be used when fraud is suspected or detected."
The U.S. House of Representatives has voted against the 2018 Farm Bill in a 213-198 vote. Dissenting voters apparently cited a number of issues, with some rejecting the bill's changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and others protesting the legislature's failure to enact unrelated immigration measures. Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R- La.) reportedly indicated that the House will vote on the bill again in late June 2018. Before the vote, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) introduced an amendment to the bill that would have prevented federal agencies from regulating the interstate traffic of unpasteurized milk sold for human consumption. The bill was rejected 331-79.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced "a step-by-step guide for the elimination of industrially-produced trans-fatty acids from the global food supply." The plan consists of six steps represented by the acronym REPLACE: (i) "review" sources of trans fat and the landscape for policy change; (ii) "promote" the replacement of trans fats; (iii) "legislate" regulatory actions to eliminate trans fats; (iv) "assess" trans fat content in the food supply; (v) "create" awareness; and (vi) "enforce" compliance. "The world is now embarking on the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition, using it as a driver for improved access to healthy food and nutrition," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a press release. "WHO is also using this milestone to work with governments, the food industry, academia and civil society to make food systems healthier for future generations, including by eliminating industrially-produced trans fats."
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced the termination of a rulemaking proceeding that "proposed to establish a national research and promotion program for certified organic products under authority of the Commodity Promotion, Research and Information Act of 1996." The Organic Trade Association proposed the program in 2015, and USDA accepted comments on the proposal in 2017. "In response to the proposed rule, USDA received almost 15,000 comments," according to the announcement. "The comments revealed that there is a split within the industry in terms of support for the proposed program. While some comments voiced support for a collective industry program, other comments stated that industry was not aligned in backing the proposal. Opponents raised concerns about the proposed program, including how the de minimis level would eliminate a majority of organic farmers from the program; the disproportionate impact on high value commodities as assessments would be tied to…
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has reviewed data on glyphosate residues on crops and determined that "current exposure levels are not expected to pose a risk to human health." The review includes two reports examining crops grown for human consumption as well as crops used in animal feed. EFSA reportedly relied on comparisons between the diets of EU adults and children and the glyphosate intake values the agency recommended in 2015.
U.S. Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and Angus King (I-Maine) have introduced a bill that "would allow meat and poultry products inspected by state Meat and Poultry Inspection (MPI) programs to be sold across state lines," according to a press release. The senators assert that although the inspection programs of 27 states meet or exceed federal inspection standards and the meat is processed through facilities approved by the Food Safety and Inspection Service, the products are not allowed to be sold across state lines. "Our bipartisan, commonsense bill will create new markets for producers and give consumers more choices at the grocery store, while continuing to maintain the high quality and safety standards necessary to keep consumers healthy," Rounds was quoted as saying.
