Category: Department of Agriculture
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FDA Finds Low Lead Levels in Canned Fruit, Juices
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has reportedly “completed its most recent check of amounts of lead in some commercial juice and food products that contain fruit,” finding no cause for consumer concern. FDA tested apple juice, grape juice, peach slices, pears, mixed fruit, and fruit cocktail in response to a 2009 study by the…
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Michael Moss, “While Warning About Fat, U.S. Pushes Cheese Sales,” The New York Times, November 6, 2010
“Americans now eat an average of 33 pounds of cheese a year, nearly triple the 1970 rate,” writes New York Times investigative reporter Michael Moss in this article about Dairy Management Inc., a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) “marketing creation” with a $140 million annual budget “largely financed by a government-mandated fee on the dairy…
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Anti-Pesticide Group Calls for Anti-Nanotech Comments to National Organic Program
Beyond Pesticides, a Washington, D.C.-based organization opposed to the use of pesticides, has issued a call for comments to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Program (NOP) supporting recommendations by the National Organic Standards Board that would prohibit the use of engineered nanomaterials from certified organic products. According to the organization’s blog, the board…
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USDA Completes Draft Assessment of GE Sugar Beets
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has published a notice inviting public comment on its draft environmental assessment for genetically engineered (GE) sugar beets. Comments must be submitted by December 6, 2010. APHIS conducted the assessment in response to a request that it partially deregulate GE…
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Poultry-Import and COOL Disputes on WTO Calendar
The United States has reportedly decided not to file an appeal from a World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling that its ban on Chinese poultry imports, imposed in 2004 upon fears of an avian flu outbreak, was illegal. According to a news source, this ends the trade dispute. While the legislative ban expired within five years,…
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Public Interest Group Seeks White House Documents on Scientific Integrity Policies
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) has filed a complaint in federal court under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), seeking documents from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) related to the development of policies to protect scientific integrity in federal agencies, such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the…
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NOP Issues Draft Guidance for Certifying Agents and Certified Operations
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service has announced the availability of five draft guidance documents for National Organic Program (NOP) certifying agents and certified operations. The documents cover the following topics: (i) Compost and Vermicompost in Organic Crop Production (NOP 5021); (ii) Wild Crop Harvesting (NOP 5022); (iii) Outdoor Access for Organic Poultry…
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FSIS Issues In-Plant Video Monitoring Draft Guidelines
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has issued draft guidelines for video monitoring at federally inspected meat and poultry plants. Although the guidelines do not require in-plant video monitoring, such practices can be used to help strengthen food safety and humane animal-handling practices, and to monitor product inventory and…