The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have announced a joint public meeting to discuss "the use of cell culture technology to develop products derived from livestock and poultry." The meeting, which will be held October 23-24, 2018, will focus on "the potential hazards, oversight considerations, and labeling" of the product category. Following a conference hosted by the Good Food Institute, cell-based meat brand representatives reportedly agreed to "abandon[] the term 'clean meat' in favor of cell-based meat." "We discussed the pros and cons of the term 'clean meat,' and decided to shift our label to 'cell-based meat,'" a conference attendee reportedly told Food Navigator. "Traditional meat companies can be our biggest ally if they want to work with us. We can help them transition from industrial animal agriculture to cell-based meat. Cell-based meat is a better label to bring them on board."
Category Archives Department of Agriculture
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced the intention to establish a 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee and has solicited nominations for membership. The committee will consist of 13 to 20 members and will begin meeting in late 2018 or early 2019. The U.S. Codex Office will hold a public meeting on September 26, 2018, to receive public comments on U.S. positions for the Codex Committee on Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has lowered the age requirement for poultry carcasses to be classified as "roaster chickens." The previous standard required chickens to be eight weeks old and weight 5.5 pounds; according to a petition from the National Chicken Council, this standard prevented companies from labeling and marketing chickens as "roasters" even if they "met all the physical attributes apart from the minimum age requirement." Because of "continuous improvements in breeding and poultry management techniques," producers are able "to raise chickens with the characteristics of roasters in under 8 weeks," AMS has determined. The change took effect on August 6, 2018, the notice's publication date.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has proposed an amendment to a rule requiring that livestock carcasses be “marked with the official inspection legend at the time of inspection in a slaughter establishment” if the carcasses will be processed further at the same location. According to FSIS, the rule was established when slaughterhouses would ship carcasses to different locations for further processing; under “contemporary practices,” “a slaughter establishment typically moves [a carcass], under control, to another department in the same establishment for further processing.” As a result, “marking the carcass on the slaughter floor is often unnecessary,” FSIS asserts. Comments on the proposed rule will be accepted until October 1, 2018.
As part of a proposal to reorganize several federal agencies, the Trump administration has recommended that food-safety regulatory oversight be shifted to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), combining the agency's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) with the current food purview of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). According to the proposal, the Government Accountability Office found that the existing approach "has caused inconsistent oversight, ineffective coordination, and inefficient use of resources" and recommends "merging Federal food safety functions as a potential solution to this fragmentation." For example, the administration suggests, "[W]hile FSIS has regulatory responsibility for the safety of liquid eggs, FDA has regulatory responsibility for the safety of eggs while they are inside of their shells; FDA regulates cheese pizza, but if there is pepperoni on top, it falls under the jurisdiction of FSIS; FDA regulates closed-faced meat sandwiches, while FSIS regulates open-faced meat sandwiches." The proposed USDA agency, the…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced that April 2018 proposed changes to the National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP) will be adopted. The amendments update several provisions, including "those concerning NPIP participation, voting requirements, testing procedures, and standards."
The American Grassfed Association and the Organization for Competitive Markets (OCM) have filed a petition urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to change its policy allowing meat produced outside of the United States to be labeled as a product of the country if it passes through an agency-inspected plant. The groups call for a change to USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service Policy Book, which allows a label to bear "Product of U.S.A." if the food is "processed" within the United States. They argue that the section should be clarified to instruct that a label can bear the phrase if "it can be determined that significant ingredients having a bearing on consumer preference such as meat, vegetables, fruits, dairy products, etc., are of domestic origin (minor ingredients such as spices and flavorings are not included). In this case, the labels should be approved with the understanding that such ingredients…
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 Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has released the proposed National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard, which would establish "a mandatory uniform national standard for disclosure of information to consumers." The proposal defines “bioengineered food” as food “that contains genetic material that has been modified through in vitro recombinant deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) techniques" "for which the modification could not otherwise be obtained through conventional breeding or found in nature.” AMS seeks comments on "how to interpret the statutory definition of 'bioengineering,' and thus the scope of the regulatory definition of 'bioengineered food,'" according to the announcement. "In particular, AMS is interested in any additional studies conducted on this issue, the cost of implementation under each policy, and whether certain policies describing the scope of foods subject to the disclosure standard would lower costs to affected entities." Comments on the proposed rule must be received by July…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has proposed amending the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances to approve elemental sulfur for use in organic livestock production as a topical parasiticide for fleas, ticks and mites. The proposal would also reclassify potassium acid tartrate from a non-agricultural substance to an agricultural substance and require use of the ingredient's organic form when commercially available. Public comment on the proposed rule must be received by June 29, 2018.
