An Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) deputy administrator reportedly told a House science oversight subcommittee that the agency plans to rely more often on independent peer review panels when seeking scientific advice or conflict resolution. According to a news source, this could potentially speed external review of EPA studies and cut agency costs. Such review would reportedly reverse a policy under the Bush administration of automatically referring problematic scientific risk studies to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) for peer review.

EPA Assistant Deputy Administrator for Science Kevin Teichman reportedly testified during a June 11, 2009, hearing, that the agency “very carefully consider[s] the complexity of the given assessment as to which form of peer review that we would use. More times than not, we’ll convene a peer review panel, which would have a face-to-face meeting, that might go through a contractor choosing the panelists, or it might be our own Science Advisory Group.” Teichman suggested that recourse to the NAS would be “rare.” See Inside EPA, June 19, 2009.

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For decades, manufacturers, distributors and retailers at every link in the food chain have come to Shook, Hardy & Bacon to partner with a legal team that understands the issues they face in today's evolving food production industry. Shook attorneys work with some of the world's largest food, beverage and agribusiness companies to establish preventative measures, conduct internal audits, develop public relations strategies, and advance tort reform initiatives.

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