The Center for Food Safety (CFS) has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) alleging that the agency has routinely failed to respond to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for records related to genetically engineered (GE) crops. Ctr. for Food Safety v. Animal & Plant Health Inspection Serv., No. 15-1377 (D.D.C., filed August 25, 2015). CFS asserts that APHIS has unlawfully delayed its responses to at least 29 FOIA requests or appeals related to its decision to withdraw proposed regulations that would update existing management of GE crops. “APHIS has a track record of irresponsible and inadequate regulation of GE crops,” CFS Staff Attorney Cristina Stella said in an August 25, 2015, press release. “In the absence of thorough government oversight, public access to information about these crops becomes all the more critical. This lawsuit is necessary to stop…
Category Archives Department of Agriculture
U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) have authored an August 17, 2015, letter expressing concern that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Defense have not yet responded to an executive order establishing a Presidential Advisory Council on Combatting Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria. According to the letter, which claims that food animal production accounts for 75 percent of “medically important antibiotics sold each year,” the appointed agencies have failed to provide a formal response or approve nominations for advisory council members. In particular, the senators ask that the final council include at least three experts from outside the food industry. “As noted in our December 2014 letter, representatives from industrial animal producers associations and the veterinary drug industry have publically voiced doubts about the need to reduce antibiotic use in animals and about the impact that the…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have announced a September 24, 2015, public meeting in College Park, Maryland, to discuss draft U.S. positions for consideration at the 34th Session of the Codex Committee on Fish and Fishery Products (CCFFP) slated for October 19-24 in Alesund, Norway. The CCFFP develops global standards for fresh, frozen (including quick frozen) or otherwise processed fish, crustaceans and molluscs. Agenda items at the September gathering will include draft codes of practice for processing of fish sauce and processing of fresh and quick-frozen raw scallops as well as proposed food additive provisions in standards for fish and fishery products. See Federal Register, July 30, 2015. Issue 575
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is soliciting nominations for five open slots on the National Genetic Resources Advisory Council (NRGAC), a subcommittee of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory Board. NRGAC members are charged with recommending policies for collecting, maintaining and utilizing genetic resources as well as considering approaches for their conservation. The agency is specifically looking for three candidates with scientific backgrounds (i.e., agricultural sciences, environmental sciences, natural resource sciences, health sciences, nutritional sciences) and two candidates representing the general public. The deadline for nominations is August 28, 2015. See Federal Register, August 10, 2015. Issue 575
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that a provision in the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, a U.S. Department of Agriculture program that regulates U.S. production and sales of raisins, amounts to a constitutional taking and requires just compensation to plaintiffs and other raisin farmers. Horne v. USDA, No. 14-275 (U.S., decided June 22, 2015). The decision focused on whether a taking of personal property (here, the raisins) fell under the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which requires just compensation and has historically applied to real property such as land. The majority opinion, delivered by Chief Justice John Roberts, began by detailing the program, which required raisin farmers to turn over a portion of their crop yields each year to avoid oversaturating the market and causing a drop in raisin prices. The government then used those yields in social programs like school lunches or sold them overseas. The…
In a recent journal article, a Babson College marketing law professor discusses legal disputes over the labeling of food as “natural,” noting drawbacks of using courts as public policy developers on the issue. Ross D. Petty, “‘Natural’ Claims in Food Advertising: Policy Implications of Filling the Regulatory Void with Consumer Class Action Lawsuits,” Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, Spring 2015. Petty provides a history of the debate and litigation over use of the terms “natural” and “unprocessed” on food labels, beginning with U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) actions against Sugar in The Raw® and Hawaiian Punch® in the 1970s. The article also details efforts by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Department of Agriculture (USDA) to define “natural,” “synthetic,” “healthy” and “good source.” Petty highlights industry self-regulation, such as the processes established by the National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, as a venue for…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyard Administration (GIPSA) is soliciting nominations for individuals to fill five pending vacancies on the USDA Grain Inspection Committee. The 15-member group representing grain producers, processors and exporters, among other stakeholders, meets twice a year to guide GIPSA in delivering its mandates under the U.S. Grain Standards Act. See Federal Register, May 26, 2015. Issue 566
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food Safety & Inspection Service (FSIS) has issued guidance about new labeling requirements for raw or partially cooked mechanically tenderized beef products, including those injected with marinade or solution. In addition to stating that the products have been mechanically, blade or needle tenderized, the labels must also provide cooking instructions to ensure their proper handling by household consumers, restaurants and similar venues. Because mechanical tenderization has been linked to the possible introduction of pathogens into the interior of beef products, certain cooking time and temperature combinations can prevent foodborne illness. The labeling mandate takes effect in May 2016 or one year after the new requirements are published in the Federal Register. See USDA Press Release, May 13, 2015. Issue 565
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is convening a public meeting of the General Conference Committee of the National Poultry Improvement Plan on July 23, 2015, in Salt Lake City, Utah. The group of industry and state agency representatives will reportedly discuss (i) approved tests and (ii) updates regarding avian influenza, Salmonella and Mycoplasma. See Federal Register, May 1, 2015. Issue 564
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Agricultural Marketing Service has proposed revisions to the origin of livestock requirements that govern the transition of dairy animals to organic production. Clarifying that a producer can transition dairy animals into organic production only once, the amendments would ensure that “after completion of this one-time transition, any new dairy animals that a producer adds to a dairy farm would need to be managed organically from the last third of gestation or sourced from dairy animals that already completed their transition into organic production.” The proposed rule also includes provisions for the management of breeder stock on organic livestock farms. “This proposed rule would create greater consistency in the implementation of a standard for the transition of dairy animals into organic production and for the management of breeder stock,” explains AMS in an April 28, 2014, Federal Register notice. “This proposed rule would update the regulation…
