Category: Issue 449
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Federal Magistrate Refuses FDA Request for Stay in Livestock Antibiotics Dispute
A federal magistrate judge in New York has determined that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must begin proceedings to withdraw its approval of the use of certain antibiotics in livestock for non-therapeutic purposes on the agency’s timeline, thus denying FDA’s request for a stay while the matter is pending on appeal before the Second…
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Ninth Circuit Allows Dairy Farmers to Pursue Damages for Misreported Milk Pricing Data
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has determined that the “filed rate doctrine” does not bar the state law-based claims of dairy farmers alleging that milk marketing cooperatives (handlers) provided erroneous reports to the federal government which relied on them to set a minimum price structure for raw milk sales; as a result, the farmers…
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EFSA Publishes Guidance on Health Claims
The European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA’s) Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA Panel) has issued two guidance documents establishing “the scientific requirements for the substantiation of health claims related to functions of the nervous system, including psychological functions, and those related to physical performance.” In particular, the new guidance documents address “which claimed…
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USPTO Issues Rule to Adopt Changes from International Accord on Registration of Marks
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued a final rule that incorporates certain changes that took effect in January 2012 under the Nice Agreement Concerning the Classification of Goods and Services for the Purpose of the Registration of Marks, to which the United States is a signatory. Among other matters, (i) Class 5…
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USDA’s Biotech Advisory Committee to Discuss Compensation for GE Cross-Contamination
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced an August 27-28, 2012, meeting of its Advisory Committee on Biotechnology and 21st Century Agriculture (AC21) in Washington, D.C. USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack has specifically asked the committee to report on the types of compensation mechanisms that could be used “to address economic losses by farmers in…
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Senators Request Corn Ethanol Waiver
U.S. Senators Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) and Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) recently wrote a letter to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson, asking the agency to use its waiver authority “to adjust the corn grain-ethanol mandate of the Renewable Fuel Standards (RFS)” in light of ongoing drought conditions. Signed by 26 senators, the bipartisan letter…