The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has announced a January 18, 2012, public meeting in Washington, D.C., to consider draft U.S. positions to be presented during the 6th session of the Ad Hoc Intergovernmental Task Force on Animal Feeding of the Codex Alimentarius Commission on February 20-24 in Berne, Switzerland. The January agenda includes discussion of draft risk assessment guidelines for feed and a proposed list of feed hazards. See Federal Register, November 17, 2011.
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A federal court in California has entered an order granting the motion of conventional alfalfa farmers and environmental groups for an award of attorney’s fees and costs in litigation that successfully challenged a U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) decision to de-regulate genetically engineered (GE) alfalfa without conducting an environmental impact statement under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Geertson Seed Farms v. Johanns, No. 06-01075 (N.D. Cal., decided November 8, 2011). While the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately reversed lower court rulings in the case as to the scope of relief granted, the core determination that APHIS had violated NEPA survived the appeal. Due to the “limited” nature of the plaintiffs’ success, the court imposed a 10-percent reduction on their request and ordered a total award of $1.6 million. The defendant had argued that the plaintiffs were entitled to $829,422 only.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has issued a final rule amending the definitions and standards of classes of poultry ready for market. Effective January 1, 2014, the measure aims to “ensure that the labeling of poultry products is truthful and not misleading.” According to FSIS, poultry classes have been defined mostly by the bird’s age and sex, but improvements in poultry feeding and management have reduced the “grow-out” period for some classes, allowing producers to have the birds ready for sale much quicker. The new classifications, which have been in the rulemaking process since 2003, reflect “more accurately and clearly describe the characteristics of poultry in the market today,” FSIS noted. The new classifications lower the age of poultry ready for market in five classes—roaster or roasting chickens, broiler or fryer chickens, Rock Cornish game hens, capons, and fryer-roaster turkeys. Roaster chickens, for example,…
The U.S. Senate has reportedly adopted an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2012 Senate Agriculture Appropriations bill that would prevent the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) from reducing the amount of potatoes and other starches in school meals. According to Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine), who authored the bipartisan measure, USDA earlier this year “proposed a rule that would limit servings of a certain category of vegetables that includes white potatoes, green peas, lima beans, and corn, to a total of one-cup per week in the National School Lunch Program,” while also prohibiting “this category of vegetables from the School Breakfast Program altogether.” The amendment blocks USDA from eliminating these vegetables but keeps the requirement “that school meals be consistent with the most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans.” As a result, USDA and schools will reportedly retain the flexibility to regulate cooking methods and make “reasonable and suitable substitutions among affordable fresh…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has issued a proposed rule that would amend and republish “the list of selected agents and toxins that have the potential to pose a severe threat to animal or plant health, or to animal or plant products.” The Agricultural Bioterrorism Protection Act of 2002 requires APHIS to review the list on a biennial basis and submit revisions as necessary. Among the criteria APHIS considers when determining the status of an agent or toxin are (i) the effects of exposure on animal or plant health and on the “production and marketability” of an animal or plant product, (ii) the pathogenicity of the agent or toxin, (iii) the ability to treat or prevent any illness caused by the agent or toxin, and (iv) any other factors deemed essential for the protection of animal and plant health. The agency requests comments…
The Office for the Under Secretary for Food Safety, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration have announced an October 4, 2011, public meeting in Washington, D.C., to provide information and receive public comments on draft U.S. positions to be discussed at the 19th session of the Codex Committee on Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems (CCFICS) on October 17-21 in Cairns, Australia. CCFICS is responsible for such things as “harmonizing methods and procedures which protect the health of consumers, ensure fair trading practices and facilitate international trade in foodstuffs.” Agenda items include relevant activities of the World Health Organization and draft guidelines for national food-control systems. See Federal Register, September 27, 2011.
A coalition of meat, poultry and egg industry interests recently submitted a letter to the congressional Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, also known as the “Super Committee,” urging it to reject a proposed U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) fiscal year 2012 budget that would impose “user fees” on industry for government-mandated food safety inspection programs. Claiming that the inspection programs have been funded by taxpayers for more than a century, the trade associations contend that “user fees” would affect the price of meat, effectively imposing a regressive tax on low- and middle-income families who “spend a higher portion of their income on food than do wealthier Americans.” The letter does not indicate how government food safety inspections can be maintained if the Super Committee, tasked with making significant reductions in the U.S. deficit, slashes USDA’s budget. Meanwhile, Republican presidential candidate and Minnesota congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R) reportedly called for…
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) have established new dockets “to obtain comments, data and evidence relevant to the dietary intake of sodium as well as current and emerging approaches designed to promote sodium reduction.” FDA and FSIS have warned that current sodium consumption “is substantially higher than what has been recommended by scientific and public health agencies and organizations,” including the Institute of Medicine and the USDA in its 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. According to the September 15, 2011, Federal Register notice, “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported in 2010 that over 80 percent of adults (>=20 years) recommended to consume less than 2,300 mg/d [milligrams per diem] of sodium in fact consumed more than 2,300 mg/d.” The new dockets invite stakeholders and other interested persons to provide information about (i) “current and…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) recently announced its intention to prohibit six serogroups of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) in addition to E. coli O157:H7. According to FSIS, the agency plans to begin testing for the additional STEC on March 5, 2012, at which time those six strains will be deemed adulterants and barred from commerce under the Federal Meat Inspection Act if detected in raw ground beef, its components or tenderized steak. “As a result of today’s action, if the E. coli serogroups O26, O103, O45, O111, O121 and O145 are found in raw ground beef or its precursors, those products will be prohibited from entering commerce,” stated a September 13, 2011, USDA press release, which also solicits comments on the policy change for 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued a September 2011 report claiming that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) have failed to obtain credible data on the use of antibiotics in food animals, as well as the presence of resistant bacteria in animals and retail meat. After examining the extent to which U.S. agencies have addressed this area of concern, GAO apparently found major gaps in the information needed to understand how livestock antibiotics can contribute “to the emergence of resistant bacteria that may affect humans.” In particular, the report faulted the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for failing to adequately monitor a 2010 voluntary strategy designed to limit “approved uses of antibiotics” and increase “veterinary supervision of use.” According to GAO, “FDA does not collect the antibiotic use data, including the purpose of use, needed to measure the strategy’s effectiveness.”…
