Category: U.S. Government and Regulatory Agencies
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FTC Complaint Targets Fast-Food Ads in “Family-Friendly” YouTube Kids App
A coalition of consumer groups led by the Center for Digital Democracy, Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC) and Center for Science in the Public Interest have filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), alleging that Google’s YouTube Kids application mixes “advertising and programming in ways that deceive young children, who, unlike adults,…
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USDA Schedules Meeting of GIPSA Advisory Committee
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has scheduled an April 7-8, 2015, public meeting of the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) Advisory Committee at the National Grain Center in Kansas City, Missouri. Topics of discussion will reportedly include service delivery updates, utilizing new technology to conduct inspections, quality assurance updates, and the reauthorization…
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WHO Sets Daily Recommended Guidelines for Added Sugars
The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended that adults and children reduce their daily intake of added sugars to less than 10 percent of their total daily energy intake. In addition, WHO calls for consumers to limit their consumption of added sugars to less than 25 grams (6 teaspoons) for further health benefits. The new…
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NOSB to Tackle Robust Agenda at April 2015 Meeting
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service is hosting an April 27-30, 2015, public meeting of the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) in La Jolla, California. The event will serve as NOSB’s final review of substances with sunset dates in 2016, and sessions will include those covering reports from the Materials, Livestock, Crops and…
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USDA Seeks Public Comment on Biological Agents and Toxins Posing Serious Danger to Animal and Plant Health
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is soliciting public comment on its current list of select agents and toxins with the potential to pose a severe threat to animal or plant health or to animal or plant products. The agency’s biennial review and republication of the list is required…
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FTC Challenges Proposed Sysco-US Foods Merger
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed an administrative complaint arguing that a proposed merger of US Foods and Sysco would violate antitrust laws, resulting in higher prices and diminished service for the companies’ customers. In re Sysco Corp., No. 9364 (FTC, filed February 19, 2015). The complaint asserts that a merger of Sysco and…
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Dietary Guidelines Committee Submits Report to HHS and USDA
The 14-member committee charged with developing the federal government’s “2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans” has issued its report containing recommendations for promoting consumption of foods and beverages that assist in maintaining a healthy weight and preventing disease. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Department of Agriculture (USDA) are soliciting written comments…
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Food & Water Watch Challenge to New Poultry Inspection System Dismissed
Finding a lack of standing, a D.C. federal court has dismissed Food & Water Watch’s lawsuit alleging that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) New Poultry Inspection System (NPIS) is inconsistent with the Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA), which requires USDA to ensure that poultry products are wholesome, unadulterated and properly marked, labeled and packaged.…