Category: Issue 338
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French Court Imposes Fines and Suspended Sentences in Wine Scam
A court in Carcassonne, France, has reportedly found French winemakers and traders guilty of deliberately and repeatedly mislabeling wine as a more expensive grape variety to get a better price from E. & J. Gallo under its Red Bicyclette® brand. French customs officials apparently discovered the swindle when they found that the amount of “pinot…
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Federal Court Denies Request for Delay of COOL Implementation
A federal court in Washington has reportedly denied a feedlot company’s request to invalidate or delay implementation of the country-of-origin labeling (COOL) regulations adopted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 2008. Easterday Ranches, Inc. v. USDA, No. __ (E.D. Wash., decided February 5, 2010). According to news sources, the company argued that the COOL…
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EPA Extends Comment Deadline on Proposal to Expand Reach of 10X Safety Factor
In response to requests by chemical industry interests, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has extended the deadline for comments on its proposal to apply a 10-fold (10X) safety factor to its pesticide risk assessments in relation to the exposure of agricultural workers and their children in agricultural fields. CropLife America and the American Chemistry Council…
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FDA Seeks Comments on Proposed Collection of Information on Foods from New Plant Varieties
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has published a notice seeking public comments on its proposed collection of information on foods derived from new plant varieties including those created through biotechnology. Comments must be submitted by April 19, 2010. The types of information that developers of new plant varieties would be required to provide to…
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FDA Submits Proposed Animal Drug Information Collection to OMB
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has submitted a proposed collection of information involving antimicrobial animal drugs to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act. According to the Federal Register notice, a 2008 amendment to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act requires that “the sponsor…
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USDA and FDA to Coordinate Produce Safety Efforts
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have issued a joint statement to announce a collaborative effort to improve the safety and quality of fresh produce. As part of the announcement, the agencies report that USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service “is in the midst of evaluating a proposed marketing agreement…
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USDA Issues Final Rule Setting Pasture Requirements for Organic Livestock
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Agricultural Marketing Service has issued a final rule that amends National Organic Program (NOP) regulations to establish “a pasture practice standard for ruminant animals.” Seeking “to satisfy consumer expectations that ruminant livestock animals graze on pastures during the grazing season,” the final rule requires producers to (i) “provide year-round access…
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FTC Issues Omega-3 Fatty Acid Warning Letters; Seeks Evidence for Health Claims
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced that it sent letters to 11 unnamed companies in late January 2010, warning that their promotions and product packaging for omega-3 fatty acid supplements may violate the law “by making baseless claims about how the supplements benefit children’s brain and vision function and development.” FTC apparently gave the…