The National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection meets in Washington Jan. 7-8, 2014 to review safe handling instructions on food labels. FSIS also wants feedback on its Establishment-Specific Data Release Strategic Plan and will take comments through Feb. 8, 2014.
Section archive
Page 3 of 6
Law & Regulations
Food laws and regulations.
- All desks
- Abortion
- Accutane
- Acetaminophen
- Acid Reflux
- Acidic Foods
- Acne
- Acrylamide
- Acupuncture
- Additives
- ADHD
- Adiposity
- Advisories
- Aerobic Exercise
- Aflatoxin
- Agave
- Agent Orange
- Aging
- Agriculture
- AIDS
- Air Pollution
- Airline Passengers
- Airport
- ALA
- Alcohol
- Alcoholic Beverage
- Alerts
- Allergy
- Alli
- Aloe Vera
- ALS
- Alternative Medicine
- Aluminum
- Alzheimer's
- Amalgam
- AMD
- Ampyra
- Amygdala
- Anal Cancer
- And
- Anemia
- Angiogenesis
- Animal Protein
- Animals
- Anorexia
- Anthocyanins
- Anthrax
- Anti-Angiogenesis
- Anti-Obesity
- Antibacterial
- Antibiotic
Law & Regulations
FSIS Releases Comprehensive Strategy to Reduce Salmonella
FSIS released a Salmonella Action Plan for meat and poultry, which it ties to an estimated 1.3 million illnesses a year. Its top priority is modernizing poultry slaughter inspection, which the agency says could prevent at least 5,000 illnesses annually, plus expanded sampling.
Law & Regulations
FDA Releases Food Code 2013
The FDA released the 8th edition of its Food Code, the model it offers state, local, tribal and territorial governments for regulating food service, retail food stores and vending. The 2013 edition marks the Code's 20th anniversary and reflects input from the 2012 Conference for Food Protection.
Law & Regulations
FDA Targets Trans Fat in Processed Foods
The FDA first required trans fat on Nutrition Facts labels in 2006, but many processed foods still contain partially hydrogenated oils. An editor's note warns the label can mislead, since a serving with up to 0.5 gram may be called trans fat free, and says to read the ingredients.
Law & Regulations
Take Action: The Farm Bill Is Back On The Table
House and Senate conferees have begun reconciling their Farm Bill versions. The House text would improve federal coordination and monitoring on declining honey bee and native pollinator populations, but the short-term extension left organic farmers' certification cost-share program without funding.
Law & Regulations
Legalizing Raw Milk Takes Center Stage at Wisconsin's Capital (PR)
Wisconsin is weighing Senate Bill 236 and Assembly Bill 287, which would allow farmers to sell raw milk directly to consumers. The Cornucopia Institute's Mark Kastel planned to testify that the group takes no position on raw milk's health claims but sees prosecutions of small farmers as wasteful.
Law & Regulations
GAO Study Finds Serious Flaws in Privatized Poultry Inspection
The GAO found methodological flaws in the HIMP pilot that USDA's inspection service used to justify privatizing poultry inspection in some 200 plants. The proposed rule would replace most federal inspectors with company employees and speed up lines.
Law & Regulations
FDA defines “gluten-free” for food labeling
The FDA published a rule defining "gluten-free" for voluntary food labeling: a food must contain less than 20 parts per million of gluten, a standard that also covers "no gluten," "free of gluten" and "without gluten." Manufacturers have a year to bring labels into compliance.
Law & Regulations
FDA Consumer: Strengthening Oversight of Imported Foods
FDA proposed Foreign Supplier Verification and Accredited Third Party Certification rules under the Food Safety Modernization Act, shifting oversight of imported food toward prevention abroad rather than inspection at US ports. Imports make up 15% of the US food supply.
Law & Regulations
FDA poised to release guidance restricting outdoor access for organic poultry (favoring industrial-scale factory farms over family farms)
The FDA is releasing draft guidance for organic egg producers on complying with its 2010 salmonella rule, with a 60-day comment period. Critics say it targets outdoor access and wild birds, a low risk factor, rather than cages, flies, large flocks and forced molting.
Law & Regulations
Historic Victory in Connecticut! First U.S. GMO Labeling Law Passed!
Connecticut's HB 6527 became law on June 3, 2013 after a unanimous Senate vote and a 134-3 House vote. A House rewrite that would have gutted the bill was reversed in negotiations, and organizers credit a phone and social media campaign by GMO Free CT with flipping votes.
Law & Regulations
Specialty Crops Advance in Senate Farm Bill
The Senate passed the Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2013 by 66-27, preserving specialty crop programs covering research, market promotion and nutrition. United Fresh praised the vote and said it will work with the House to keep the funding.
Law & Regulations
Senate Supports Specialty Crops With Passage of Farm Bill
The Senate passed the Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2013 by 66-27, preserving Specialty Crop Block Grants and the Specialty Crop Research Initiative. Grower groups welcomed the vote and urged the House to pass its own version.
Law & Regulations
Senate-Passed Farm Bill Nibbles Around Edges of Broken Food System (PR)
Food & Water Watch's Wenonah Hauter says the farm bill the Senate passed does nothing about mergers and consolidation in food and agribusiness. She criticizes an adopted amendment barring some ex-felons and their children from food stamps, and notes growing Senate support for GE labeling.
Law & Regulations
GE News: Connecticut first state to require GMO labeling
A Genetic Engineering News issue reports the Connecticut Senate amended and passed HB 6527 on June 2, 2013, making the state the first to pass a GMO labeling bill, after negotiations among the Senate, House and governor's office produced a compromise backed by all four leaders.
Law & Regulations
Tell Congress to Support the New Federal Labeling Bill
Senator Barbara Boxer and Congressman Peter DeFazio will introduce federal legislation requiring labels on all genetically engineered foods, the first such Senate bill in over a decade. The alert asks readers to email their members of Congress to co-sponsor it.
Law & Regulations
Flavored Milk; Petition to Amend the Standard of Identity for Milk and 17 Additional Dairy Products
FDA is taking comments, data and information on a petition from the International Dairy Foods Association and the National Milk Producers Federation to allow any safe and suitable sweetener as an optional ingredient in milk and 17 other dairy products. Comments close May 21, 2013.
Law & Regulations
Raw cow milk bill in Arkansas
An Arkansas group asks supporters to press legislators to co-sponsor HB1536, which would extend the state's incidental raw goat milk sales law to cow milk and raise the monthly limit from 100 to 500 gallons. Buyers would still have to purchase directly from the farm.
105 stories