Category: Issue 284
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Appeals Court Refuses to Reconsider Whole Foods Decision
According to a press report, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has refused the request of Whole Foods Market, Inc. that the court reconsider, en banc, a July 2008 decision by a three-judge appellate court panel reviving the Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust challenge to the company’s merger with Wild Oats Markets, Inc. More information about…
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Kansas Agriculture Department Holds Final Hearing on “Hormone-Free” Milk
The Kansas Department of Agriculture this week held its final hearing on a regulation that would ban labels advertising a dairy product as “rBGH free,” “rBST free” or “artificial growth hormone free.” As of January 2010, the measure would also require products marketed as “derived from cows not supplemented with growth hormones” to carry disclaimer…
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Toronto Bans Sale of Bottled Water on City Property
Toronto’s city council has approved a ban on the sale and distribution of bottled water at city facilities, making it the largest city in the world to impose such a ban. The council also approved a measure requiring shoppers to pay five Canadian cents for plastic bags and business owners to offer reusable bags and…
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China Estimates 300,000 Infants Sickened by Melamine-Tainted Formula
China has reportedly estimated that nearly 300,000 infants were sickened and six died after ingesting melamine-tainted formula linked to kidney stones and renal failure. The government has increased the number of illnesses six-fold from its first calculations and doubled the death toll as the Health Ministry investigated fatalities purportedly involving infant formula. “The new figures…
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GAO Launches New Web Page to Highlight Food Safety Priorities
GAO has launched a new “Urgent Issues” Web page that outlines food safety priorities and possible government actions to secure the national food supply. According to GAO, “the fragmented nature of the federal food oversight system undermines the government’s ability to (i) plan more strategically to inspect food product process, (ii) identify and react more…
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Rumors of “Cow Tax” on Methane Emissions Prompt Opposition to EPA Plan
Farmers have reportedly reacted unfavorably to an EPA proposal that would regulate greenhouse gases from “stationary sources,” including cows and other livestock, as well as cars. The “advanced notice of proposed rulemaking” suggested that farms exceeding a 100-tons-per-year emission limit–those with more than 25 dairy cows, 50 beef cattle or 200 hogs–would need to obtain…
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FDA Issues One-Year Progress Report on Food Protection Plan
FDA this week released a progress report on the Food Protection Plan launched in November 2007 to address “both food safety and food defense for domestic and imported products.” The report states that federal regulators are “working collaboratively across the agency to implement the three-core elements of protection: prevention, intervention and response.” It particularly notes…
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USDA Asks Pork Producers for Input on Pork Checkoff Program
USDA is asking the pork industry to decide whether to hold a referendum on the Pork Checkoff Program, a mandatory promotion fund overseen by the National Pork Board and the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service. The agency’s request for referendum gives pork producers and importers between December 8 and January 2, 2009, to vote in favor…