In response to a petition for a constitutional injunction from a group of Mexican potato growers, a federal district court in Los Mochis, Mexico, has banned the import of U.S. potatoes to “preserve food sovereignty and the health of Mexican crop fields.” The growers reportedly argued that imported potatoes create a risk of crop disease and that Mexican agricultural authorities had failed to take preventive action. See New York Times, August 4, 2017. Issue 644
Category Archives Legislation, Regulations and Standards
According to a warning letter from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) tax that took effect in the Chicago metropolitan area on August 2, 2017, violates the federal Food and Nutrition Act, putting Illinois at risk of losing its food-stamp funds. Some retailers could not update point-of-sale systems to exempt SSB purchases made with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funds before the tax went into effect, so Cook County Department of Revenue officials told retailers they could refund the taxes at a customer service desk or other location on the premises. However, USDA told the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) in an August 7 letter that retailers cannot charge tax to SNAP recipients at any time and that providing an immediate refund does not cure the violation of federal law. USDA also stated that it notified Cook County officials that the workaround was “unacceptable” as…
The chairman of French wine merchant Raphaël Michel has been indicted on charges that he masterminded a scheme to label nearly 4 million cases of ordinary table wine as Rhône Valley wines, including Châteaunneuf-du-Pape and Côtes du Rhône. Guillaume Ryckwaert has been charged with fraud, deception and violations of consumer and tax codes. Several other company executives were taken into custody in Marseilles but released without charges. Agents of the French National Customs Judicial Service discovered the alleged scheme during a company audit in 2016. See The Times, August 4, 2017.
Rep. Ann Kuster (D-N.H.) has introduced a bill that aims to help farmers transition to organic agriculture and boost American production of organic products to reduce dependence on imports. The Homegrown Organic Act of 2017 would amend the Food Security Act of 1985 by modifying existing conservation programs to help farmers who are working toward organic certification. It would also remove a payment limit under the Environmental Quality Incentives Program Organic Initiative, which provides financial assistance for implementing environmentally friendly practices. In addition, the bill would expand the Conservation Stewardship Program, providing assistance to farms in transition as well as those already in organic production. The bill has been referred to the House Committee on Agriculture. Issue 643
Three men have been convicted and sentenced for their roles in a conspiracy to sell at least 30 metric tons of horse meat as beef. The owner of a Danish supplier was sentenced to 3.5 years, while the company’s accountant received a suspended sentence. In addition, the owner of a London meat processor was given a 4.5- year sentence. The fraud was discovered in 2013, when the Food Safety Authority of Ireland found horse meat in a shipment detained for inspection in Northern Ireland. According to The Guardian, inspectors found microchips for three horses previously owned as pets or riding horses. The scheme reportedly may have involved as many as 50,000 horses from across Europe. Additional details about the scheme appear in Issues 560 and 641 of this Update. Issue 643
In the absence of action by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), consumer-advocacy and dairy trade groups are disputing whether plant-based beverages, such as those made from soy or almonds, can be called “milk.” The Good Food Institute (GFI) sent a July 31, 2017, letter to FDA requesting action on a 1997 citizen petition filed by the Soyfoods Association of America seeking recognition of the term “soy milk.” The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) answered with a statement the same day, saying the effort to alter food-labeling standards “falsely suggests that the products are nutritionally equivalent.” Although FDA has previously issued letters to producers of plant-based beverages warning that their use of the term “milk” is improper because such products do not contain dairy, the agency has never responded to the 1997 petition. NMPF argued that GFI “is mistaken” for trying to revive the 1997 petition and that “[n]othing…
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) has sent a letter to Scott Gottlieb, commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), calling for an investigation into the use of phthalates in food and fast-food packaging. Citing a Journal of American Medicine Association Pediatrics report, Schumer argues that the health risks of phthalates are known but FDA has done little to protect the public. “Consumers are not giving these everyday packaging products a second thought,” Schumer said in a July 30, 2017, press release. “They assume they are safe—and they should be, especially when their reach extends to millions upon millions of Americans. So, the FDA must take my order for a fast food packaging investigation very seriously and take this long-sitting health data off the backburner.” Issue 643
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has reportedly indicated the EU will issue guidelines discouraging companies from selling apparently identical food products across Europe but using inferior ingredients in the foods sold in the eastern part of the continent. The Czech Republic's agriculture minister has asserted that his country is Europe's "garbage can" because companies produce their foods with cheaper ingredients but sell them with identical branding. Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia have also objected to the practice, which multiple studies have purportedly confirmed. Juncker reportedly said the EU would issue guidelines on how to interpret existing rules in September 2017 and did not rule out further legislation to combat the discrimination. See Reuters, July 27, 2017. Issue 642
Europol has announced the arrests of 66 people following a four-year investigation into an organized-crime group accused of selling horsemeat "not suitable for consumption" as beef products. The investigation began in 2013 after Irish authorities found products sold as beef burgers that contained horsemeat and led to a Dutch man in Spain alleged to be the leader of the scheme. According to Europol's July 16, 2017, press release, "Investigators concluded that the Spanish element of this organisation was a small part of the whole European structure controlled by the Dutch suspect." Issue 641
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators has introduced a bill that would require labeling of genetically engineered (GE) salmon and independent scientific review of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's environmental assessment of GE fish produced for human consumption. “The primary purpose of this bill is to ensure that consumers have all the facts and can make an informed decision when they are purchasing salmon. There’s a huge difference between ‘Frankenfish’ and the wild, healthy, sustainably-caught, delicious real thing—and I want to make sure folks are aware of that," Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said in a July 14, 2017, press release. "I will not accept that this ‘fake fish’ will be sold in stores without clear labeling.” Issue 641
