The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agriculture Marketing Service has issued a proposed rule that would amend the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances (National List) to reflect the recommendations of the National Organic Program Board (NOPB). The National List “identifies the synthetic substances that may be used and the nonsynthetic (natural) substances that may not be used in organic production,” as well as identifying “synthetic, nonsynthetic nonagricultural and nonorganic agricultural substances that may be used in organic handling.” The proposed rule would alter the National List to “amend the annotation for one exempted material (tetracycline) and add one substance (sulfurous acid) for use in organic crop production.” AMS will accept comments on the proposed rule until March 15, 2010. See Federal Register, January 12, 2009.
Category Archives Department of Agriculture
The American Soybean Association has reportedly submitted comments expressing concerns about agribusiness concentration to the Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in response to their recent initiative on competition and regulatory issues in the agriculture industry. According to ASA President Rob Joslin, “In recent years, we have seen increased consolidation in various agricultural industries. Many farmers have questioned why high levels of concentration have not been more thoroughly reviewed and analyzed by the federal government to determine their impact on competition.” See Southeast Farm Press, January 11, 2010. The agencies announced that they would be holding a number of joint public workshops to explore these issues in a November 2009 news release. Discussions about issues for crop farmers, “including seed technology, vertical integration, market transparency and buyer power” will take place in Ankeny, Iowa, on March 12, 2010; production contracts, concentration and buyer power in the poultry industry…
The New York Times recently published an investigative report that questions the safety of beef processed with ammonia to kill E. coli and Salmonella. According to the article, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has exempted one company, Beef Products Inc. (BPI), from routine testing requirements since 2007 because the processor apparently claimed that its ammonia treatment destroyed pathogens “to an undetectable level.” A supplier for fast-food chains and the school lunch program, BPI also purportedly indicated that its ammoniated trimmings, when mixed with untreated meat, would sterilize ground beef. “Given the technology, we firmly believe that the two pathogens of major concern—E. coli O157:H7 and salmonella—are on the verge of elimination,” BPI founder Eldon Roth allegedly told USDA in 2001. “But government and industry records obtained by The New York Times show that in testing for the school lunch program, E. coli and salmonella pathogens have been found dozens…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Food Safety and the Agricultural Marketing Service have announced a January 13, 2010, public meeting in Washington, D.C., to provide information and receive comments on draft U.S. positions to be discussed at the 9th Session of the Codex Committee on Milk and Milk Products (CCMMP) February 1-5 in Auckland, New Zealand. Agenda items include discussion of the draft amendment to the fermented milks standard, draft standard for processed cheese and purported inconsistencies in food additive provisions. See Federal Register, January 8, 2010.
Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) has responded to the recent recall of 248,000 pounds of blade-tenderized steaks by urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) “to require labeling that clearly identifies mechanically tenderized beef and pork products for all processing facilities, retailers and consumers.” USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) issued the Class I recall after concluding that beef products originating from an Owasso, Oklahoma, establishment might be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7. Working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, FSIS apparently determined “that there is an association between non-intact steaks (blade tenderized prior to further processing) and illnesses in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, South Dakota and Washington.” See FSIS Recall Notice, December 24, 2009. According to DeLauro, however, “USDA has been aware of the E. coli risks associated with mechanically tenderized steaks as early as 1999, but has refused to act.” She has also chided the Obama…
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) has published a report discussing the failure of federal agencies to comply with the Congressional Review Act, which has, since 1996, required that they submit their final rules to both houses of Congress and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) before they can take effect. According to the report, CRS has identified some 1,000 final rules published in the Federal Register during seven of the past 10 years and not submitted to GAO and/or Congress. Among the “missing” rules were (i) a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) rule on national school lunch procurement requirements, (ii) a USDA rule on the Farm Service Agency’s direct farm loan programs, (iii) a USDA rule on farm program payment limitations and eligibility under the CCC program, (iv) the Environmental Protection Agency’s April 2009 rule on its “Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program,” describing the policies and procedures the agency intended to adopt…
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack recently announced an agreement with dairy producers “to accelerate adoption of innovative manure-to-energy projects,” with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 25 percent by 2020. USDA has vowed to work with farmers and the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy to develop and implement anaerobic digester technology, “a proven method of converting waste products, such as manure, into electricity.” According to USDA, only 2 percent of U.S. dairies that are candidates for a profitable digester are currently utilizing the technology, which can generate enough electricity to power 200 homes. The agency’s memorandum of understanding reportedly pledges to “increase the number of anaerobic digesters supported by USDA programs,” as well as develop “new technologies to help dairies reduce greenhouse gas emissions.” “Use of manure to electricity technology is a win for everyone because it provides an untapped source of income for…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has published a supplemental proposed rule that would “require nutrition labeling of the major cuts of single-ingredient, raw meat and poultry products, unless an exemption applies.” FSIS proposed a similar rule in January 2001, and this notice responds to public comments already submitted and “explains how the Agency intends to proceed with a final rule.” Under the proposal, the nutrition facts label would contain information about serving size, calorie content, fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrates, fiber, protein, and vitamins. Additional public comments are solicited and must be submitted by February 16, 2010.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) National Organic Program has reportedly closed its investigation of Target Corp. for erroneously including in newspaper advertisements organic labeling on Silk® soy milk products. The Cornucopia Institute, which charged the retailer with violating federal organic regulations, apparently made public a letter obtained from the USDA indicating that Target admitted the error and is reviewing its processes to ensure the mistake is not repeated. Further details about the institute’s complaint appear in issue 324 of this Update. The organic industry watchdog has been taking a number of initiatives to bring to the public’s attention that the company making Silk® soy milk switched this year from organic to conventional soy beans. See Star Tribune, December 14, 2009; Cornucopia News, December 2009.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), responding to a directive issued by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, has prepared a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) on genetically engineered (GE) alfalfa. The agency has preliminarily determined that granting GE alfalfa nonregulated status will have “no significant impact on the human environment.” The draft, which runs more than 1,400 pages, will be available for a 60-day public comment period once it is published in the Federal Register. The agency will conduct four public meetings on the proposed EIS; they will take place in January and February 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada; Kearney, Nebraska; Lincoln, Nebraska; and Washington, D.C. The GE crop at issue is referred to as Roundup Ready® alfalfa, engineered to be resistant to the herbicide glyphosate. The Ninth Circuit enjoined Monsanto from selling the GE seed and farmers from planting it until APHIS…
