Category: Legislation, Regulations and Standards
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Cooke Aquaculture Fined $332,000 For Puget Sound Salmon Pen Collapse
The Washington Department of Ecology has reportedly fined Cooke Aquaculture $332,000 for violations of state water quality laws related to a net pen failure that released approximately 250,000 farmed Atlantic salmon into Puget Sound. Cooke initially blamed the failure on high tides coinciding with the August 2017 solar eclipse; state investigators determined that the pen collapsed…
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FSIS Denies Request to Waive Line Speeds for Chicken Processing
The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture has denied a petition from the National Chicken Council seeking to waive the line speed limit of 140 birds per minute in processing plants. FSIS told the council that processors of young chicken are permitted to run at higher speeds if they…
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House Panel Questions FDA Officials on Food-Recall Audit
One day after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued draft guidance on proposals to expedite product warnings and recalls, FDA and other health officials testified before the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations about the results of an audit faulting the agency for the failure of the recall process to ensure food safety. Conducted…
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Panera Petitions FDA to Define “Egg”
Panera Bread has reportedly petitioned the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to establish a clear definition of the term “egg” after learning that agency rules dictate that “no regulation shall be promulgated” to define eggs. The company asserts that under existing regulations, restaurants can sell processed substances containing artificial flavorings, gums, coloring and fillers…
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Organic Group Objects to Withdrawal of OLPP
A group of organic food producers, retailers and certifiers has published a full-page advertisement in The Washington Post containing the text of a letter to Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue expressing the group’s objection to the withdrawal of the Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices Rule. In the letter, the group says the elimination of the rule…
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EU To Update Fishing Rules, Ban Electric Pulse Fishing
The EU has voted to update and combine more than 30 existing fishing regulations, including the addition of a ban on electric pulse fishing and new regional measures tailored to meet the needs of industries in each sea area. The law would provide common rules governing fishing gear and methods, restrictions on fishing in certain…
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FDA Releases 2018 Strategic Policy Roadmap
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released a strategic policy roadmap for 2018 identifying four primary areas on which the agency will focus this year: (i) combating addiction; (ii) improving public health; (iii) ensuring consumers are better-informed about diet, health and nutrition; and (iv) strengthening the agency’s workforce and upgrading its technological resources. In…
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EFSA Reevaluates Silicon Dioxide Safety
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has issued a scientific opinion reevaluating the safety of silicon dioxide used as a food additive, concluding that the available information is insufficient to confirm the current acceptable daily intake. The panel reportedly found no indication of adverse effects or genotoxicity, but it questioned a long-term study indicating silicon dioxide…