Tag: import/export
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Food Safety News Examines Honey Trade
“A third or more of all the honey consumed in the U.S. is likely to have been smuggled in from China and may be tainted with illegal antibiotics and heavy metals,” writes reporter Andrew Schneider in an August 15, 2011, Food Safety News article investigating the U.S. honey trade. Building on earlier media stories such…
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U.S. and Mexico Resolve Cross-Border Trucking Dispute Under NAFTA
The United States and Mexico have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that resolves a long-haul, cross-border trucking dispute involving “retaliatory tariffs” on more than $2 billion in U.S. exports, including food and agricultural products. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), the July 6, 2011, agreement will “lift tariffs and put safety first.”…
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WTO Panel Issues Preliminary Ruling Against COOL
The World Trade Organization (WTO) has reportedly issued a preliminary ruling that U.S. country-of-origin labeling (COOL) laws violate the organization’s Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade. According to Feedstuffs, a WTO panel found that COOL “constitutes an illegal, non-tariff trade barrier that treats U.S. livestock and perishable commodities more favorably than livestock, fruits and vegetables…
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Advocacy Group Urges Government Action on Food Exports from China
Food & Water Watch has issued a report cautioning that potentially unsafe food from China may likely provide the next food safety scare in the United States. Titled “A Decade of Dangerous Food Imports from China,” the report describes “where [Chinese] food manufacturers are legendary for cutting corners, substituting dangerous ingredients, and compromising safety in…
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Imported Food Safety Target of IOM Meeting
The Institute of Medicine’s (IOM’s) Food and Nutrition Board has announced a June 7, 2011, meeting that will focus on the safety of imported foods “with the purposed of engaging science, technology, and policy personnel representing the global food supply chain, government agencies, and academia.” Titled “Food Forum Meeting on Supply Chain and Policy/Regulatory Approaches…
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FDA Oversight of Imported Seafood Lacking, Says GAO
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued a report criticizing the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) oversight of imported seafood safety. Noting that about one-half of imported seafood comes from fish farms that may use antibiotics to prevent bacterial infections, the report claims that “residues of some drugs can cause cancer and antibiotic resistance.” Titled…
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FDA Announces First Regulations Under Food Safety Modernization Act
FDA has issued the first two new regulations under the Food Safety Modernization Act. Effective July 3, 2011, the interim final rules are designed to strengthen FDA’s ability to help prevent potentially unsafe food from reaching U.S. consumers. The first rule amends FDA regulations concerning the detention of food for human or animal consumption. It…
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Federal Prosecutors Settle Charges Against Beef Exporters
U.S. attorneys in New York have reportedly secured court approval of a consent decree with three companies that allegedly exported meat containing vertebral column to Japan in violation of U.S. trade requirements. The settlement resolves an action filed in March 2011 alleging that the companies exported veal containing ineligible bone and tissue fragments, which action…