A preliminary study revealed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) yesterday maps exactly where gaps exist in the local meat processing infrastructure by showing the availability of slaughter facilities for small and very small
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small farm food safety
What’s Wrong with the Tester Amendments
On April 14, 2010, Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) announced that he is introducing two amendments to the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, S. 510. The aim of the amendments is to ease the burden that…
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FSIS Measures Worry Meat Processors
Late last year, Deputy Agriculture Secretary Kathleen Merrigan, in the first ever live Facebook chat between the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the public, assured small meat processors and meat lockers that her…
Farmers Gain in Senate Food Safety Battle
An update on the pending food safety bill, with an outline of key amendments and discussion on the proposed exemption for small farms
Several amendments aimed at lessening the impact on small farms will be…
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Libertarian Farmers Lobby Against S. 510
It is not every day you find Amish farmers serving raw milk in the U.S. Senate. But this week a group of libertarian, small, sustainable, organic farmers were serving up the unpasteurized milk–which the U.S.
USDA Reaches Out To Small Meat Producers
As part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” effort to “create new economic opportunities by better connecting consumers with local producers,” the agency’s Food Safety and…
Small Growers Concerned About FDA Reform
Small-scale produce farmers are keeping a wary eye on proposed federal food safety legislation, fearful that if the final bill calls for cumbersome paperwork, high registration fees for those involved in interstate commerce, and an…
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USDA: No One is Exempt From Food Safety
‘No one is exempt from food safety,’ but USDA, FDA show sensitivity to small farmer concerns
Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Kathleen Merrigan addressed food safety concerns last week in the first online event for the…
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