Tag: import/export
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FDA Report Focuses on Safety of Imported Products
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released a report describing its efforts to ensure the safety of imported food, drugs, medical devices, and other regulated products. Titled “Global Engagement,” the report asserts that FDA-regulated products originate from more than 150 countries, 130,000 importers and 300,000 foreign facilities. According to FDA, food imports have grown…
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Canada Proposes Amendments to Meat-Inspection Regulations
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has proposed amendments to its federal meat inspection rules to better align them with the regulations and policies of major trading partners such as the United States and the European Union. According to CFIA, the plan updates a 1990 rule but does not lower food safety standards. Instead, among other…
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UK’s FSA Announces Moratorium on “Desinewed Meat”
The U.K. Food Standards Agency (FSA) has announced a moratorium on the production of “desinewed meat” (DSM) from cattle, sheep and goats after the European Commission decided “that DSM does not comply with European Union [EU] single market legislation.” Produced using “a low pressure technique” to remove meat from bone but retain the structural integrity…
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USDA Proposes Updated Bovine Import Regulations to Open Trade Barriers
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has issued a 66-page proposed rule that would update import rules for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). The topic was discussed in Issue 427 of this Update. Current U.S. trade rules prohibit beef imports from countries that have outbreaks or high risks of…
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U.S., Canada and EU Agree to End Beef Growth Hormone Rift
According to news sources, a 25-year-old trade dispute pitting European Union (EU) laws prohibiting the import of beef treated with growth hormones and U.S. and Canadian trade sanctions imposing hundreds of millions of dollars of duties on EU exports of Roquefort cheese, truffles, chocolates, and other comestibles has been resolved. The U.S. and Canadian tariffs…
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Polish Authorities Recall Food Tainted with Road Salt
Polish officials have reportedly withdrawn from commerce more than 500,000 pounds of food possibly contaminated with industrial salt intended for de-icing roads in winter conditions. According to media sources, Poland’s Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested five individuals accused of selling road salt to food processors for use in dairy, fish, meat, and baked goods.…
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CDC Claims Outbreaks Linked to Imported Foods on the Rise
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released an analysis showing that disease outbreaks linked to imported foods apparently increased in 2009 and 2010. CDC experts reviewed data collected by the Foodborne Disease Outbreak Surveillance System from 2005 to 2010, finding that 39 outbreaks and 2,348 illnesses were tied to imported foods from…
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U.S., EU Announce Organic Trade Partnership
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has announced a “historic new partnership” with the European Union that recognizes its organic standards as essentially equivalent to those administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Effective June 1, 2012, the trade agreement will allow organic products certified by EU or USDA officials to be…