The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food Safety and Inspection Service is convening a September 25, 2014, public meeting in Washington, D.C., to receive public comments about draft positions to be discussed at the 21st Session of the Codex Committee on Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems of the Codex Alimentarius Commission in Brisbane, Australia, on October 13-17. Issues on the September 25 meeting agenda include (i) a discussion paper on Principles and Guidelines for Monitoring Regulatory Performance of National Food Control Systems and (ii) draft amendments to Guidelines for the Exchange of Information between Countries on Rejections of Imported Food. USDA and the Food and Drug Administration have a public meeting slated for October 23 in Washington, D.C., to provide information and receive public comments about draft positions to be discussed at the 46th Session of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene in Lima, Peru, on November…
Tag Archives imports
In response to recent sanctions related to the conflict in Ukraine, Russia has prohibited food imports from the United States, European Union, Australia, Norway, and Canada. The ban extends to meat, fish, produce, and milk products and will remain in place for one year. Although alcohol was not included in the announced food import bans, the Russian consumer protection agency, Rospotrebnadzor, has reportedly threatened to prohibit the import of Kentucky Gentleman bourbon, citing potential carcinogens. In July 2014, Russia banned the import of soy products, cornmeal, dairy products, and canned foods from Ukraine and most fruit and vegetables from Poland. Some Russians have been critical of the ban and its projected effects on the Russian food supply. “[L]iterally every [Russian] family will be affected,” Yevsey Gurvich, head of Russian company Economic Expert Group, told The Washington Post. Russian bans of food imports have frequently coincided with their political tensions. Information…
A group of 17 U.S. senators has submitted a letter to the Commerce Department warning that a proposed suspension agreement imposing quotas on Mexican sugar imports would violate the North American Free Trade Agreement, “threaten the viability of American food manufacturers and raise food prices for American families.” Led by Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Pat Toomey (R-Penn.), the group includes Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.). Following petitions by members of the American Sugar Alliance, the Commerce Department launched an April 2014 investigation into allegations that Mexico’s mills are dumping subsidized sweetener in the United States, and the department is reportedly due to decide whether to impose duties on Mexican imports soon. “This mutual market access is beneficial to the United States: U.S. growers and refiners do not produce enough sugar to meet the demands of U.S. consumers, and imports are necessary to keep America’s food manufacturers…
A recent New York Times article highlighting the apparent fragility of the lime harvest has blamed a recent shortage on “weather, disease and even Mexican criminals,” warning that increased wholesale prices have only compounded the problem. According to citrus researcher David Karp, a citrus greening disease known as huanglongbing (HLB) has already infiltrated groves in Mexico, which supplies 95 percent of the limes consumed in the United States. In addition to reducing the Key lime harvest by one-third in the past three years, the presence of HLB in Colima has stoked fears that the disease will spread to Persian limes located in Veracruz and other Mexican states. In addition, as industry leaders told Karp, the current shortfall has not only induced farmers to strip their trees early “to cash in on sky-high prices,” but attracted the attention of criminal cartels that have reportedly started “plundering fruit from groves and hijacking…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued draft guidance for the food industry titled “Guidance for Industry: Prior Notice of Imported Food Questions and Answers (Edition 3).” Intended to address questions received since publication of the second edition in May 2004, the guidance includes information related to the Food Safety Modernization Act, which requires prior notice indicating whether a food article has been refused entry by any country. FDA will accept comments at any time, but suggests submitting them by May 30, 2014, to ensure consideration before the agency begins work on the final version. See Federal Register, March 31, 2014. Issue 519
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has announced a final rule intended to bring its import regulations for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in line with “internationally-accepted scientific literature and standards set by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).” According to a November 1, 2013, press release, the new rule will require APHIS to use OIE criteria and categories to determine BSE risk classification when setting import policy for a particular country. It will also allow APHIS “to conduct its own assessment when deemed necessary, such as when a country is not yet classified by the OIE for BSE risk and requests that APHIS conduct a risk evaluation using criteria equivalent to that used by OIE.” “This action will bring our BSE import regulations in line with international standards, which call for countries to base their trade policies on the actual risk of animals…
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced an upcoming public meeting slated for September 19-20, 2013, in Washington, D.C., to discuss regulations proposed under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) that would establish Food Supplier Verification Programs as well as new rules for accrediting third-party auditors and certification bodies. Intended to ensure “that imported food meets the same safety standards as food produced domestically,” the proposed rules would (i) require importers “to verify that their foreign suppliers are implementing the modern, prevention-oriented food safety practices called for by [FMSA],” and (ii) “strengthen the quality, objectivity, and transparency of foreign food safety audits on which many U.S. food companies currently rely.” FDA will accept advanced registrations from individuals who wish to participate in person by September 10, 2013. Additional details about the proposed rules appear in Issue 492 of this Update. See Federal Register, August 16, 2013.
A Florida-based import-export company has filed for Chapter 7 protection in bankruptcy court, listing more than $204 million in liabilities from litigation over its role in the import from China of powdered milk contaminated with melamine. In re Exim Brickell, LLC, No. 13-28502 (U.S. Bankruptcy Ct., S.D. Fla., filed August 3, 2013). Exim Brickell, LLC declared $300 in office furniture as its only asset. According to a news source, the 2008 tainted Chinese milk scandal, which affected hundreds of thousands of children in that country and killed six, resulted n verdicts and legal fees against the company as a result of litigation involving a Venezuelan company that recently won an appeal in their breach of contract dispute. See Law360, August 7, 2013. In a related development, a new milk contamination scandal has developed in China over whey protein concentrate potentially contaminated with the C. botulinum bacterium. The dairy farm near…
The Food and Drug Administration has debarred seafood importer Richard Stowell from importing food into the United States for three years based on his felony conviction for instructing his company’s employees to mislabel shrimp from Thailand and Malaysia as shrimp from Ecuador and Honduras and then selling it to a supermarket chain. Stowell pleaded guilty to three felony counts in July 2011 and failed to respond to the notice of proposed debarment. See Federal Register, February 26, 2013.
A U.S. attorney in Illinois has announced charges filed against two companies and five individuals in a five-year investigation of imports that allegedly circumvented $180 million in anti-dumping duties on honey from China and involved purportedly “adulterated” honey containing the antibiotics chloramphenicol and tetracycline. Groeb Farms, Inc., described as the largest industrial honey supplier in the United States, knowingly avoided more than $78.8 million in antidumping duties by buying mislabeled honey imported from China and has agreed to pay a $2 million fine and “to dispose of any illegally-entered Chinese-origin honey in its possession.” It will also institute a corporate compliance program to ensure supply chain integrity and conduct “reasonable inquiries to safeguard against any illegal activity.” Jun Yang, Urbain Tran and Hung Yi Lin were all charged with brokering or transporting illegal Chinese-origin honey in the United States. Yang will plead guilty and has agreed to a fine of $250,000…
