Category: Department of Agriculture
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Nebraska-Based Organics Certifier Suspended from Operating in China
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Organics Program (NOP) has announced a settlement agreement with one of the nation’s leading organic certifiers, which had allegedly allowed inspections of Chinese organic food operations by auditors with a conflict of interest. Under the agreement, Nebraska-based Organic Crop Improvement Association (OCIA) will be prohibited from certifying organic operations…
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Dietary Advisory Committee Calls for Dietary Improvements, Food Environment Changes
The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee has released its recommendations to the secretaries of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), outlining proposed changes to the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. This report recommends 2010 guideline revisions that will implement “a lifestyle approach including a total diet that is energy balanced…
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FSIS Seeks Input on Food Safety Standards for Codex Consideration
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has announced the 33rd Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission slated for July 5-9, 2010, in Geneva, Switzerland. FSIS seeks public comments before the meeting on “those standards that are currently under consideration or planned for consideration and recommendations for new standards.” The standards…
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APHIS Seeks Comments on GM Sugar Beet Assessment
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has published a notice of its intent to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) on genetically modified (GM) sugar beets. The agency had previously deregulated sugar beets genetically modified for glyphosate resistance without preparing an EIS and was ordered in September 2009 by…
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USDA Announces Ambitious Honey Bee Research Initiative
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced an ambitious research effort “to determine the prevalence of parasites and disease-causing microorganisms that may be contributing to the decline of honey bee colonies nationwide.” According to a June 7, 2010, news release, the agency’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and Agricultural Research Service (ARS)…
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USDA and DOJ Hold Second Workshop on Competition Issues
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Department of Justice (DOJ) recently held the second workshop in a series dedicated to competition and regulatory issues in agriculture. Held in Normal, Alabama, the forum reportedly focused on the poultry industry and featured the remarks of U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, as…
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FSIS Sets New Performance Standards for Salmonella and Campylobacter
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has issued a new set of performance standards to reduce the incidence of Salmonella and Campylobacter bacteria in young chickens and turkeys. The new standards hold poultry slaughterhouses more accountable by decreasing the number of samples allowed to test positive for the pathogens. After…
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White House Child Obesity Task Force Issues Action Plan
While the president’s Task Force on Childhood Obesity released its action plan with 70 specific recommendations to significant praise and fanfare this week, nutrition professor and author Marion Nestle questioned whether the ideas will actually work given their reliance on voluntary collaboration and participation. She said in her blog, “Voluntary, as evidence demonstrates, does not…