Category: Department of Justice
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Senate Judiciary Chair Wants Answers About Peanut Corp. Investigation
Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) has requested that Attorney General Eric Holder provide an update on the Justice Department’s criminal investigation into the 2009 Salmonella outbreak involving contaminated peanuts from Peanut Corp. of America (PCA) facilities. As Leahy reminds Holder in his February 22, 2011, letter, the outbreak was linked to the deaths of nine people…
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Federal Court Urges Parties to Negotiate in USDA Gender Discrimination Case
According to a news source, a district court in the District of Columbia has denied a request seeking an order that the Justice Department submit a proposal for settling claims of loan program discrimination filed by female farmers against the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Instead, the court apparently urged the lawyers representing the litigants to…
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Salmonella-Contaminated Egg Outbreak Sparks Investigations and Recriminations
Responding to media reports that workers at the egg facilities linked to a recent nationwide Salmonella outbreak complained about food safety problems, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has written to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack asking whether these complaints were investigated and whether the agency has a process for reporting safety violations. Grassley…
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DOJ Hearings on Concentration in Agriculture Continue
Hundreds of farmers reportedly attended one in a continuing series of Department of Justice (DOJ) hearings on antitrust issues in agriculture. The focus of the meeting held at the University of Wisconsin-Madison was on the dairy industry. According to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, the number of dairy farms has fallen from 111,000 in 2000…
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USDA and DOJ Hold Second Workshop on Competition Issues
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Department of Justice (DOJ) recently held the second workshop in a series dedicated to competition and regulatory issues in agriculture. Held in Normal, Alabama, the forum reportedly focused on the poultry industry and featured the remarks of U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, as…
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Soybean Interests Call for USDA to More Closely Examine Competition in Agriculture
The American Soybean Association has reportedly submitted comments expressing concerns about agribusiness concentration to the Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in response to their recent initiative on competition and regulatory issues in the agriculture industry. According to ASA President Rob Joslin, “In recent years, we have seen increased consolidation in various…
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USDA and DOJ Announce Public Meeting on Agriculture and Antitrust Enforcement
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) have announced a series of public workshops “to explore the competition issues affecting the agricultural sector in the 21st century and the appropriate role for antitrust and regulatory enforcement in that sector.” Organized in response to “concerns about changes in the agricultural marketplace,…
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DOJ Seeks Injunction in Adulterated Food Case
Acting on behalf of an apparently energized Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a complaint for injunction against a New Jersey company and its owner seeking to halt the manufacture and sale of their dietary supplement products, in part, for failure to comply with good manufacturing practice requirements. U.S.…