Category: Department of Agriculture
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Federal Court Refuses to Enjoin Amended COOL Rules
A federal court in the District of Columbia has denied the American Meat Institute’s motion for a preliminary injunction in a challenge to the amended country-of-origin labeling (COOL) rules adopted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Agricultural Marketing Service in response to a World Trade Organization (WTO) determination that the original rules violated the…
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USDA Announces Public Meeting of NOSB
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Agricultural Marketing Service has announced an October 22-24, 2013, public meeting of the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) in Louisville, Kentucky. The meeting will address “several petitions pertaining to changes to the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances, including several substances for use in aquaculture, streptomycin for use…
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USDA Criticized for Proposed Changes to Poultry and Hog Inspection
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently issued a report finding that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) did not adequately evaluate the impact of proposed poultry and hog inspection changes that would replace some USDA inspectors on slaughter lines with plant personnel tasked with ensuring quality and safety standards.…
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USDA Seeks Comments on Salmonella Testing Process
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has issued a request for comments regarding changes to its procedure for Salmonella verification sampling of raw beef products. Among other things, FSIS stated that it will (i) begin “analyzing for Salmonella all raw beef samples that it collects for Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli…
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DeLauro Targets Failure of USDA’s Computerized Sampling System
U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) has sent an August 23, 2013, letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Under Secretary for Food Safety Elisabeth Hagen about “the ongoing problems with the Public Health Information System (PHIS) used by the Food Safety [and] Inspection Service (FSIS).” Citing reports that PHIS recently experienced a system-wide shutdown that…
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COOL Dispute Intensifies Before D.C. Court and WTO
A federal court in the District of Columbia will consider on August 27, 2013, whether to issue a preliminary injunction to stop the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) from implementing country-of-origin labeling (COOL) program changes required by a 2011 World Trade Organization (WTO) determination that, as initially drafted, the rules gave less favorable treatment to…
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NOP to Modify Rules Governing Use of Substances in Organic Crop Production and Processing
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Program (NOP) has issued a proposed rule that would amend the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances to permit the use of biodegradable biobased mulch film in organic crop production and the use of Citrus hystrix and curry leaves in organic processing. NOP has also proposed removing…
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FSIS Extends Comment Period on Proposed Rule for Mechanically Tenderized Beef
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has extended the comment period for a proposed rule that would require “mechanically tenderized” labeling for raw or partially cooked needle- or blade-tenderized beef products, “including beef products injected with marinade or solution.” According to FSIS, the rule would also require the labels of…