Food & Beverage Litigation & Regulatory Update

Category: Department of Agriculture

  • Environmental Groups and Farmers Challenge GM Sugar Beet Permits

    After the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that it had begun issuing permits to sugar beet seed producers to plant genetically modified (GM) crops this fall, the Center for Food Safety and a number of other groups filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging the action. When Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the agency’s “next…

  • USDA Publishes Handbook to Aid Organic Businesses

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Program (NOP) has prepared a handbook that provides guidance and instructions for those who own, manage or certify organic businesses. In addition to federal regulations and recordkeeping requirements, the first-edition handbook covers topics that include: (i) “the allowance of green waste in organic production systems”; (ii) “approval of…

  • Salmonella-Contaminated Egg Outbreak Sparks Investigations and Recriminations

    Responding to media reports that workers at the egg facilities linked to a recent nationwide Salmonella outbreak complained about food safety problems, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has written to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack asking whether these complaints were investigated and whether the agency has a process for reporting safety violations. Grassley…

  • USDA Approves Continued Methionine Use in Organic Poultry Production

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Program (NOP) has issued an interim final rule that extends until October 1, 2012, the allowance for methionine in organic poultry production. Effective October 1, 2010, the interim rule allows organic operations to use synthetic methionine at the following maximum limits per ton of poultry feed: (i) four…

  • FDA Issues Draft and Final Guidance for Menu Labeling Laws

    The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released draft and final guidance to assist restaurateurs and vending machine operators in implementing the labeling provisions set out in section 4205 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. The Act requires food retail establishments with 20 or more locations to post the calorie content for…

  • FDA to Hold Public Consultations for GE Salmon

    The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced two public meetings to consider the labeling of food derived from genetically engineered (GE) salmon. During the first meeting slated for September 19-20, 2010, the Veterinary Medicine Advisory Committee will address general scientific issues surrounding GE animals, statutory and regulatory constraints, and “a new animal drug application…

  • House Members Seek Documents, Schedule Hearing on Tainted-Egg Recall

    Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), who chairs the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) appropriations subcommittee, is seeking information from the agencies about the unfolding Salmonella outbreak linked to two Iowa egg producers. Representatives Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) have also stepped into the massive egg recall, requesting information from…

  • Obama to Appoint Key Food Safety Official

    President Barack Obama (D) recently announced his intention to “recess appoint” Elisabeth Hagen as the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) under secretary for food safety. According to a White House press release, Hagen is among four key administrative nominees who have waited an average of 303 days for Senate confirmation. Obama said he chose to…