A third state was hauled into federal court Wednesday where it will have to defend its recently enacted law to protect the privacy of animal agriculture under the force of criminal law. North Carolina joined Idaho and Utah in being forced to defend an “ag-gag” law, legislation designed to make
Continue Reading Activists challenge NC’s new ‘ag-gag’ law in federal court
More Poultry Producers Expected to Switch to New Inspection System in 2016
Enlistments in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s New Poultry Inspection System (NPIS) will likely increase in the new year after the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on Dec. 21 tossed a legal challenge to the program. The optional NPIS offers the biggest change in poultry inspection since the
Continue Reading More Poultry Producers Expected to Switch to New Inspection System in 2016
Organic Industry Wants Biotechnology Regulated By Process, Not Product
About 40 activist organizations that usually can be counted upon to rally with the organic industry against genetically engineered (GE) plants and animals did just that on Monday. They weighed in with a letter to USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) for the federal regulation of biotechnology products.
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Food & Water Watch Sues USDA Over New Poultry Inspection Rule
Food & Water Watch (FWW) filed a lawsuit against the Department of Agriculture on Thursday that would stop the implementation of the agency’s New Poultry Inspection System (NPIS). The new poultry inspection rule, announced July 31, requires additional microbiological testing at all poultry processing facilities and introduces a fifth
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Consumer Group Again Calls on FSIS to Address Food Safety Inspector Shortages
Food & Water Watch (FWW) continues to prod the U.S. Department of Agriculture about shortages of food safety inspectors. In a letter sent to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Monday, FWW Executive Director Wenonah Hauter cited incidents of understaffing in the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), which she said
Continue Reading Consumer Group Again Calls on FSIS to Address Food Safety Inspector Shortages
USDA Petitioned to Block Imported Meat From Privatized Inspection Systems
Food and Water Watch has petitioned the U.S. Department of Agriculture to revoke equivalency status for four meat inspection programs in Canada, Australia and New Zealand because they have replaced government meat inspectors with company employees. The Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) “has based its equivalency determinations for these inspection
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FDA Allows Irradiation in Crustaceans for Foodborne Pathogen Control
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will allow irradiation on crab, shrimp, lobster, crayfish and prawns to control foodborne pathogens and extend shelf life. After a safety assessment considered potential toxicity, the effect of irradiation on nutrients, and potential microbiological risk, the agency decided to amend current food additive regulations
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Meat Industry Loses Attempt to Block Country-of-Origin Labeling
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia is allowing Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) of the born, raised and slaughtered production step on meat to continue. COOL took effect last year, but the meat industry had tried to block the rule. Today, the court denied a preliminary
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Is Country-of-Origin Labeling a Food Safety Issue?
Country-of-origin labeling (COOL) is not a food safety issue. Except when it is. The law requires that much of our food be labeled with its source country, but the requirement that meat be labeled with the specific country where the animal was born, raised and slaughtered is currently an issue
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USDA Email Reveals Poultry Industry Plans to Monitor Pathogens
U.S. Department of Agriculture inspectors should not interfere with poultry industry efforts to collect chicken samples from processing facilities for a program intended to set pathogen reduction goals, according to an internal email from an administrator within the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). The email, which was sent
Continue Reading USDA Email Reveals Poultry Industry Plans to Monitor Pathogens