Category: U.S. Government and Regulatory Agencies
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USDA Final Rule Amends Nondiscrimination Regulations
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has issued a final rule clarifying “the roles and responsibilities of USDA’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (OASCR) and USDA agencies in enforcing nondiscrimination in programs or activities conducted by USDA.” Intended to “strengthen the agency’s civil rights compliance and complaint processing activities to better protect…
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Food Industry Presses Politicians to Support Meat-Label Repeal
Several major food companies have sent a letter to four U.S. senators and representatives urging Congress to direct Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to suspend revised country-of-origin labeling (COOL) rules on muscle cuts of meat because they discriminate against Canada and Mexico. The letter argues that if the WTO determines that the rule violates U.S.…
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U.S. Codex Delegates Schedule Meeting to Discuss Processed Fruit, Vegetables
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Food Safety and the Agricultural Marketing Service have announced an August 12, 2014, public meeting in Washington, D.C., to provide information and discuss draft U.S. positions to be discussed at the 27th Session of the Codex Committee on Processed Fruits and Vegetables slated for September 8-12 in Philadelphia.…
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Court Denies Black Farmers’ Intervention in Female & Hispanic Discrimination Suits
A federal court in the District of Columbia has denied the request of the Black Farmers & Agriculturalists Association, Inc. to intervene in lawsuits brought by female and Hispanic farmers against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) alleging gender and race bias in the administration of farm loan and disaster benefit programs. Love v. Vilsack,…
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USDA Formalizes Swine Virus Reporting Requirement
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has issued an order requiring pork producers, veterinarians and diagnostic laboratories to report new incidents of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv) and porcine deltacoronavirus to state health officials or USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. The order formalizes measures announced in April to combat the spread of PEDv,…
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CSPI Seeks Action on Pathogen Petition
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has filed a complaint against the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Food Safety and Inspection Service, seeking a declaration that the agencies have unreasonably delayed taking action on its May 2011 petition requesting that certain strains of antibiotic-resistant (ABR) Salmonella in ground meat and poultry be…
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Animal Rights Group Says Food-Label Claims Not Verified
According to a new Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) report titled “Label Confusion: How ‘Humane’ and ‘Sustainable’ Claims on Meat Packages Deceive Consumers,” the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) fails to verify the accuracy of label claims on most meat and poultry products sold in the United States. The report suggests that food label claims used…
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FSIS Issues Final Rule for Meat and Poultry Products that Contain “Added Solutions”
With an aim to “improve public awareness of product identities by providing truthful and accurate labeling of meat and poultry products,” the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has submitted its final rule for labeling products that contain an “added solution” to the federal Office of Management and Budget for review. Observing…