It’s difficult to summarize what happened on the animal antibiotics front this year. There were lots of pledges, lots of discussions and lots of reports, but not very many actions. Still, we still wanted to recap what happened in the 2015 regarding animal antibiotics. The Centers for Disease Control and
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White House Releases Fall 2015 Regulatory Plan
The White House has released its “Current Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions” for fall 2015, which provides an overview of the Obama administration’s regulatory plans for the coming year. Two final rules expected to be released next month by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s
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Senators Still Want Answers From Antibiotic Resistance Task Force
Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) are still waiting for answers to animal antibiotics questions posed eight months ago. The senators originally wrote to the co-chairs of the Interagency Task Force for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria in December 2014 wanting to know about how the task
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Letter From the Editor: Legacy or Not, FSMA Funds Needed Now
Last week, former Food Safety News Washington, D.C., correspondent Helena Bottemiller Evich reached a bold conclusion — namely that the Obama administration has missed out on the opportunity to include food safety in any legacy it can claim. Writing now for POLITICO Pro Agriculture, Helena turned out a “must-read” piece
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President Declares Federal Policy for ‘Responsible Use’ of Antibiotics in Food Production
According to a memorandum signed by President Obama on Tuesday, it is now the policy of the federal government to encourage responsible use of antibiotics in the production of meat and poultry. The memorandum supports the supply chain for these products by directing federal departments and agencies to create a
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White House Wants to Nearly Double Funding for Antibiotic Resistance Fight
President Obama wants to nearly double — to more than $1.2 billion — federal funding for combating and preventing antibiotic resistance. The administration is expected to release its full 2016 budget proposal next week, but a fact sheet released Tuesday provided a blueprint for investments in fighting antibiotic resistance —
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Regulatory Accountability Act Passes House, President Threatens Veto
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the newest version of the Regulatory Accountability Act (RAA) in a 250-175 vote on Tuesday. The bill reforms the government’s process for analyzing and formulating new regulations and guidance documents. Proponents of the bill argue that it will reduce costs and increase transparency in
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2014 in Review: Animal Antibiotics
Food Safety News wrote a lot about antibiotic resistance this year — particularly the debate surrounding the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) plan to phase out the use of certain antibiotics in food animals, introduced in December 2013, and conversations sparked by the 16-month outbreak of multi-drug-resistant Salmonella Heidelberg linked
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Groups Call on Seafood Fraud Task Force to Require ‘Robust’ Traceability
Earlier this summer, the White House established a Presidential Task Force on Combating Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing and Seafood Fraud and requested comments from the public to help inform and advise the task force in developing recommendations for the president. “Seafood fraud” refers to any action that misrepresents or
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FDA Proposal to Put ‘Added Sugars’ in Nutrition Facts Panel Sparks Debate
Last week, legal analysts for OFW Law published a blog arguing that “Added Sugars” should not be included in the Food and Drug Administration’s revamp of the Nutrition Facts panel. “The White House seems to be pushing FDA to require more, including the disclosure of ‘Added Sugars,’ which may
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