Category: Issue 478
-
AMS Issues Draft Guidance on Materials for Organic Crop Production
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has announced the availability of draft guidance concerning (i) “the classification of materials under USDA organic regulations (7 CFR part 205)” and (ii) “materials for use in organic crop production.” In particular, the first set of guidance “details the procedures and decision trees for classifying…
-
FSIS Orders Additional “Species Testing” on EU Meat Imports
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) recently issued a notice directing import inspectors to increase “species sampling and testing” on products from countries affected by the European Union’s ongoing investigation into beef contaminated with horsemeat. According to the new order, FSIS has scheduled “increased species sampling for product from Iceland, Ireland,…
-
Federal Audit Faults FSIS for Failure to Test Mechanically Tenderized Beef for E. Coli
A U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General audit report titled “FSIS E. coli Testing of Boxed Beef” concludes that the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) must reevaluate its E. coli testing methodology and “take additional steps to ensure that beef to be ground throughout the production process—from Federally inspected slaughter establishments to…