The U.S Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service and it’s National Organic Program, have announced a public listening session for stakeholders to share their recommendations on the organic program’s’s rulemaking priorities and outstanding recommendations received from the National Organic Standards Board.
The session is scheduled to be held virtually on
Continue Reading USDA announces public comment session for input on organic program
Beef has “It’s what’s for dinner.” Pork has “The Other White Meat.” And Dairy has “Milk Does A Body Good.”
The USDA’s “check-off” programs are behind those famous slogans, but you won’t soon be hearing one for organic food. Tuesday the U.S. Department of Agriculture terminated proceedings begun under the
Continue Reading USDA hits the brakes on proposal to set up organic ‘check-off’
Critics are continuing to noodle Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue’s plan to reorganize his large department, finding things they don’t like about it. Perdue’s desire to move U.S. involvement in world food standards to USDA’s trade office, taking it away from food safety,
Continue Reading Opponents say USDA reorganization has multiple problems
Consumers buying pricey organic produce would likely be upset if they knew the imported fruits and vegetables they pay premium prices for are sometimes doused with chemicals when they reach the United States.
A new report by USDA’s Inspector General looks at the National Organic Program’s international “arrangements and agreements”
Continue Reading Inspector General again finds weaknesses in organic imports
There’s no food safety argument to be made for cage-free eggs versus those from chickens in other types of housing, according to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. Nor are cage-free eggs more nutritious.
In what animal activists see as a defeat, a three-judge appeals panel for
Continue Reading Cage-free hens don’t improve egg food safety, nutrition levels
According to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report published last week, the ground beef supplied to school lunches contains “significantly less” Salmonella contamination than products sold on the commercial market. USDA’s Economic Research Service examined the impact of food-safety standards imposed by the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) on suppliers of
Continue Reading Ground Beef in School Lunches Meets Stricter Microbial Standards
The White House put out its “Current Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions” for Fall 2013 on Nov. 26, and it lists a number of food safety issues that the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will be dealing with
Continue Reading Fall 2013 White House Regulatory Plan Includes Many Food Safety Rules
The Federal Register today is publishing a new Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) rule written to bring the United States into compliance with World Trade Organization agreements. The new rule from USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service modifies labeling requirements for muscle cuts of meat and amends the definition of what constitutes
Continue Reading New COOL Rule Published Today in Federal Register
