Category: U.S. Government and Regulatory Agencies
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USDA Schedules Meeting of GIPSA Advisory Committee
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has scheduled a November 4-5, 2014, public meeting of the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) Advisory Committee at the National Grain Center in Kansas City, Missouri. Issues for discussion at the meeting will reportedly include the reauthorization status and standardization of user fees paid by official agencies;…
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NAD Refers Talking Rain to FTC After Insufficient Advertising Changes
The National Advertising Division (NAD) has referred Talking Rain Beverage Co. to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) after the company failed to comply with a previous NAD determination finding that certain aspects of its advertising could be misleading. After a July 2014 NAD investigation, Talking Rain’s advertising for Sparkling ICE—which it presents as “the adventurous…
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NOP Adds Biodegradable Biobased Mulch Film to National List
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Program (NOP) has issued a final rule amending the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances (National List), which governs the use of synthetic and nonsynthetic substances in organic crop production and processing. Effective October 30, 2014, the final rule adds biodegradable biobased mulch film to the National List…
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Citizen Petition Calls on USDA to Declare Salmonella Strains Adulterants
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has filed a citizen petition with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) seeking a declaration that four antibiotic-resistant (ABR) strains of Salmonella are adulterants under federal law. This is CSPI’s second petition on the matter and attempts to respond to data gaps identified by USDA’s Food…
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Poultry Inspection Rules Changes Challenged
Nonprofit consumer advocacy organization Food & Water Watch, Inc. and two of its members have filed an action against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and its Food Safety and Inspection Service seeking to enjoin their new National Poultry Inspection System (NPIS) rules. Food & Water Watch, Inc. v. Vilsack, No. 14-1547 (D.D.C., filed September 11,…
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NOSB to Consider BPA Ban for Organic Food Packaging
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Program has announced a public meeting of the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) on October 28-30, 2014, in Louisville, Kentucky. The meeting will include recommendations from the board’s six subcommittees on a wide range of topics, including “substances petitioned to the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances…
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Codex Meeting to Focus on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses
The U.S. Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration have scheduled an October 28, 2014, public meeting in Washington, D.C., to solicit comments about draft positions to be considered at the 36th Session of the Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses (CCNFSDU) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission in Bali, Indonesia,…
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Members of Congress Appeal to FTC on Children’s Food Advertising
A group of U.S. senators and a group of U.S. representatives, all Democrats, each sent an identical letter to Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Edith Ramirez calling for a report on 2014 food and beverage marketing expenditures aimed at children. They found it “unacceptable” that FTC “is not actively working on projects focused on food…