Category: Issue 320

  • Federal Court Finds APHIS Error in Deregulating GE Sugar Beets

    A federal court in California has determined that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) erred when it deregulated a genetically engineered (GE) sugar beet without preparing an environmental impact statement. Ctr. for Food Safety v. Vilsack, No. 08-00484 (N.D. Cal., decided September 21, 2009). Thus, the court granted the motion…

  • New York City Planning Commission Approves Plan to Add Supermarkets to Poor Areas

    The New York City Planning Commission has reportedly approved a proposal that would offer zoning and tax incentives “to encourage the development of full-service grocery stores that devote a certain amount of space to fresh produce, meats, dairy and other perishables,” according to a September 24, 2009, article in The New York Times. The plan would…

  • FTC Plans Study Aimed at Food Marketing to Children, Adolescents

    The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) plans to conduct a study of food marketing to children and adolescents for a follow-up report to its 2008 study titled “Marketing Food to Children and Adolescents: A Review of Industry Expenditures, Activities, and Self-Regulation.” FTC seeks public comments by November 23, 2009, on proposed information requests to approximately 45…

  • FDA Hearing to Target Internet Promotion of Regulated Medical Products

    The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced a public hearing for November 12-13, 2009, to discuss issues related to ways the internet and social media tools are used to promote FDA-regulated medical products, including prescription drugs for humans and animals. Comments from “consumers, patients, caregivers, health care professionals, patient groups, internet vendors, advertising agencies,…

  • N.Y. Lawmaker Asks GAO to Review Data on Antibiotic Use in Animals

    U.S. Representative Louise Slaughter (D-New York) has asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to review federal efforts to collect data on antibiotic use in animals. In a letter to Acting Comptroller General Gene Dodaro, Slaughter asked for the study because a 2005 GAO report found that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Centers for…