Category: Issue 438
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California Group Plans GMO-Labeling Ballot Initiative
A California organization has reportedly gathered enough signatures to put a genetically modified organism (GMO) labeling initiative on the state ballot during the November 6, 2012, general election. According to a May 2, 2012, press release, the Committee for the Right to Know has registered 971,126 signatures, of which 555,236 must prove valid for the…
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Environment Action Program to Address Nanomaterials and Endocrine Disruptors
The European Parliament recently adopted a resolution setting priorities for the Seventh Environmental Action Program (7EAP) and urging the Commission to present a 7EAP proposal “without delay.” Set to expire July 22, 2012, the Sixth EAP (6EAP) aimed to provide “an overarching framework for environment policy” and substantially consolidated environmental regulations, although it failed to…
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Labor Department Withdraws Child Agricultural Labor Proposal
In response to “thousands of comments expressing concerns about the effect of the proposed rules on small family-owned farms,” the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has withdrawn a proposal intended to reduce injuries among children working on farms by, among other matters, prohibiting them from using certain equipment. Instead, the Departments of Labor and Agriculture…
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TTB Proposes Designating Cachaça as Type of Rum
The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) has issued a proposed rule that would amend the standards of identity for distilled spirits to include Cachaça as a type within the class designation for rum. Responding to two petitions from the Brazilian Embassy, TTB has concluded that it is appropriate to recognize Cachaça, which…
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CDC Links Human Salmonella Outbreak to Tainted Dog Food
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 14 people in nine states have purportedly been stricken with a Salmonella strain identical to that found in “multiple brands of dry pet food produced by Diamond Pet Foods at a single manufacturing facility in South Carolina.” CDC’s May 3, 2012, announcement indicates that the strain,…
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California Senator Requests Federal “Meat Glue” Investigation
California Senator Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) has sent a May 3, 2012, letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food Safety and Inspection Service, asking the agency to investigate the restaurant industry’s use of transglutaminase or “meat glue” to allegedly bind together “disparate parts of meat products to form a larger piece of meat.” Citing…