Federal

To satisfy Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) inspectors, feed mill employees should know and be able to explain the reasoning behind all the steps in an animal feed safety plan, said Cassandra Jones, Ph.D., associate professor at Kansas State University, in an interview after her presentation at the Feed and Pet Food Joint Conference, on September 19 in St. Louis. Jones has observed a recurring problem when she helps feed mill facilities preparing for FSMA inspections. [node:read-more:link]

The Trump administration is planning to  do away with an Obama-era regulation that restricted a known greenhouse gas from being used as a refrigerant in household appliances. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) late Wednesday announced it's proposing a rule to rescind a 2016 regulation that would have phased out the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in appliances. The chemical is frequently used as a refrigerant substitute in air conditioners and refrigerators. [node:read-more:link]

China reached into the U.S. heartland in its escalating trade war over President Donald Trump's tariffs, using an advertising supplement to highlight the impact on the state's soybean farmers as "the fruit of a president's folly." The four-page section in Sunday’s Des Moines Register, which carried the label “paid for and prepared solely by China Daily, an official publication of the People’s Republic of China,” featured such articles as one outlining how the trade dispute is forcing Chinese importers to turn to South America instead of the U.S. [node:read-more:link]

Beijing has accused Washington of bullying tactics and economic intimidation, while restating its own stance that only cooperation on trade issues will produce results, in the government’s most comprehensive statement of its trade war stance to date. The white paper released by the official Xinhua New Agency came after Beijing declined on Saturday the US invitation to hold talks to try to resolve the ongoing trade dispute and only an hour after the latest round of US tariffs on US$200 billion of Chinese imports kicked in. [node:read-more:link]

It is evident that the initiative of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin supported by U. S. financial and business leaders to reach an accord with China over trade issues is impeded by implacable opposition by elements in the Administration favoring escalation in tariffs. The President has proposed placing tariffs on an addition $200 billion in Chinese products exported to the U.S. with anticipated retaliatory action by China. Unilateral imposition of tariffs on exports to the U.S. will clearly serve as a barrier to continued negotiations. [node:read-more:link]

My quart of fat free King Supers milk says right on the front label: “Our farmers promise not to use rbST. FDA has determined there is no significant difference between milk from rbST-treated cows and non-rbST-treated cows.” Good for FDA. But the label still implies something must be bad in milk from rbST-treated cows.Now Perdue Farms has come out with a new label that is FSIS approved and that they are hoping will appeal to the millennials. I assure you it does not appeal to an old baby boomer who looks for truth in advertising. [node:read-more:link]

The signing of a renegotiated free-trade agreement between the U.S. and South Korea is spurring optimism that export markets for American farm goods won’t shut down and may even expand. President Donald Trump and his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in signed the agreement Monday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, the first major trade deal the U.S. president has forged amid rising trade tensions. It’s welcome news for U.S. [node:read-more:link]

The Office of Management and Budget has received USDA’s final rule for the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard, according to the National Law Review. The bill mandating establishment of the standard was passed by Congress in summer 2016. [node:read-more:link]

The safety of the American food supply is one of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s highest priorities. A key part of our work in this space focuses on implementing the principles and measures of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). The actions directed by FSMA are designed to prevent foodborne illness and food safety problems from happening. As part of these efforts, we conduct surveys that involve collecting a robust sample of certain food commodities available in the U.S. marketplace to monitor for the presence of foodborne pathogens. [node:read-more:link]

The Arizona LGMA (Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement) is entering its upcoming growing season with improved food safety practices in light of the E. coli outbreak earlier this year associated with romaine.  The updated Food Safety Metrics include: more rigorous risk assessments to address intense weather conditions; additional measures for the production of leafy greens near concentrated animal feeding operations; more prescriptive requirements for the cleaning and sanitizing of harvest equipment;, and stronger traceback requirements. [node:read-more:link]