Category: Issue 331
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Fifth Circuit Limits Application of Packers and Stockyards Act
A fractured Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has determined that claims alleging violation of the Packers and Stockyards Act of 1921 must be supported by proof of injury, or likelihood of injury, to competition. Wheeler v. Pilgrim’s Pride Corp., No. 07-40651 (5th Cir., decided December 15, 2009). The issue arose from a complaint filed by…
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OEHHA Proposes Pilot Program for Food Retailers to Provide Prop. 65 Warnings to Consumers
The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) of California’s Environmental Protection Agency has proposed implementing Proposition 65 (Prop. 65) food warnings as a pilot program that will expire in 4-5 years. The proposal was presented during the agency’s last informal stakeholder meeting before final regulatory language is drafted. Under Prop. 65, warnings must be provided…
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EU Signs Deal on Banana Imports, Ending Long-Running Trade Dispute
EU ambassadors this week signed an agreement with Latin American and U.S. officials to end “a 15-year dispute over EU banana imports,” according to a December 15, 2009, press release, which described the impasse as “the longest trade dispute in history.” The European Union has apparently agreed to “gradually cut its import tariff on bananas…
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USDA, Dairy Producers Pledge to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack recently announced an agreement with dairy producers “to accelerate adoption of innovative manure-to-energy projects,” with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 25 percent by 2020. USDA has vowed to work with farmers and the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy to develop and implement anaerobic…
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FSIS Proposes Labeling Rule for Single-Ingredient Meat and Poultry Products
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has published a supplemental proposed rule that would “require nutrition labeling of the major cuts of single-ingredient, raw meat and poultry products, unless an exemption applies.” FSIS proposed a similar rule in January 2001, and this notice responds to public comments already submitted and…
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USDA Closes Complaint in Wrongful Organic Advertisement Charge Against Target Corp.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) National Organic Program has reportedly closed its investigation of Target Corp. for erroneously including in newspaper advertisements organic labeling on Silk® soy milk products. The Cornucopia Institute, which charged the retailer with violating federal organic regulations, apparently made public a letter obtained from the USDA indicating that Target admitted…
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APHIS Prepares Draft EIS on GE Alfalfa, Public Comments Solicited
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), responding to a directive issued by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, has prepared a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) on genetically engineered (GE) alfalfa. The agency has preliminarily determined that granting GE alfalfa nonregulated status will have “no significant impact on the…
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FDA Bars Seafood Dealer from Importing Food for 20 Years
According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a food importer from Virginia, who was sentenced to five years in prison for conspiring to import falsely labeled catfish from Vietnam to avoid paying import tariffs, has been barred from importing food into the United States for the next 20 years. This action apparently marks the…