Tag: imports
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Senators Urge Commerce Department Against Quotas on Mexican Sugar Imports
A group of 17 U.S. senators has submitted a letter to the Commerce Department warning that a proposed suspension agreement imposing quotas on Mexican sugar imports would violate the North American Free Trade Agreement, “threaten the viability of American food manufacturers and raise food prices for American families.” Led by Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and…
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David Karp, “Is the Lime an Endangered Species?,” The New York Times, March 29, 2014
A recent New York Times article highlighting the apparent fragility of the lime harvest has blamed a recent shortage on “weather, disease and even Mexican criminals,” warning that increased wholesale prices have only compounded the problem. According to citrus researcher David Karp, a citrus greening disease known as huanglongbing (HLB) has already infiltrated groves in…
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FDA Issues Industry Guidance on Prior Notice of Imported Foods
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued draft guidance for the food industry titled “Guidance for Industry: Prior Notice of Imported Food Questions and Answers (Edition 3).” Intended to address questions received since publication of the second edition in May 2004, the guidance includes information related to the Food Safety Modernization Act, which…
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APHIS Finalizes Import Rules for BSE Risk Classification
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has announced a final rule intended to bring its import regulations for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in line with “internationally-accepted scientific literature and standards set by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).” According to a November 1, 2013, press release, the new…
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FDA Public Meeting to Discuss FSMA Changes
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced an upcoming public meeting slated for September 19-20, 2013, in Washington, D.C., to discuss regulations proposed under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) that would establish Food Supplier Verification Programs as well as new rules for accrediting third-party auditors and certification bodies. Intended to ensure “that imported…
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Florida Melamine-Tainted Milk Importer Seeks Bankruptcy Protection
A Florida-based import-export company has filed for Chapter 7 protection in bankruptcy court, listing more than $204 million in liabilities from litigation over its role in the import from China of powdered milk contaminated with melamine. In re Exim Brickell, LLC, No. 13-28502 (U.S. Bankruptcy Ct., S.D. Fla., filed August 3, 2013). Exim Brickell, LLC…
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FDA Debars Importer After Guilty Plea for Seafood Mislabeling
The Food and Drug Administration has debarred seafood importer Richard Stowell from importing food into the United States for three years based on his felony conviction for instructing his company’s employees to mislabel shrimp from Thailand and Malaysia as shrimp from Ecuador and Honduras and then selling it to a supermarket chain. Stowell pleaded guilty…
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Criminal Charges Follow Investigation into Illegal Importation of Honey
A U.S. attorney in Illinois has announced charges filed against two companies and five individuals in a five-year investigation of imports that allegedly circumvented $180 million in anti-dumping duties on honey from China and involved purportedly “adulterated” honey containing the antibiotics chloramphenicol and tetracycline. Groeb Farms, Inc., described as the largest industrial honey supplier in the…