By former USDA Secretary John R. Block The World Trade Organization ruled this week that Canada and Mexico can impose retaliatory tariffs on our exports to their countries to the tune of more than 1 billion dollars per year. This is serious. It can cost pork producers, cattlemen, and our whole ag industry a lot of […]
John Block: Repeal COOL Read More »
New House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) is getting a lot of attention for a speech he made on December 3 outlining his 2016 goal for a pro-growth agenda – creating jobs, raising wages, fixing the tax code, trade agreements, and national security. In that speech, he also suggested that he would like to “…combine a
Speaker Ryan Suggests SNAP May Be On the 2016 Agenda Read More »
By former USDA Secretary John R. Block On the one hand, it makes me smile, and on the other, it makes me scratch my head. A lot of people are not sure if this Congress will get their business done without shutting down the government. I think they will avoid a shut down, but the process
John Block: This & That – The Politics of the Day Read More »
By Marshall Matz, as published in Agri-Pulse Today’s transportation and communication systems were totally unimaginable when the Wright brothers traveled to Kitty Hawk or Alexander Bell invented the telephone. The same can be said for agriculture. Americans were 90% farmers during the Revolution and over 50% farmers when President Lincoln established the United States Department of Agriculture
Following a request from the U.S. Trade Representative, the International Trade Commission (ITC) has instituted an investigation, Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement: Likely Impact on the U.S. Economy and on Specific Industry Sectors, under section 105(c) of the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015 (19 U.S.C. 4204(c)), to assess the likely impact of the
ITC to Study Economic Effects of TPP, Invites Stakeholders to Participate Read More »
By former USDA Secretary John R. Block Last week, six former U.S. Secretaries of Agriculture released a letter urging the Congress to pass the Trans Pacific Partnership trade agreement. Support for passage is bipartisan and enthusiastic. Standing together, you have: Secretary Ed Schafer, Secretary Mike Johanns, Secretary Ann Veneman, Secretary Dan Glickman, Secretary Mike Espy, Secretary
For over two decades, when assessing the propriety of a “natural”-type claim (e.g., “natural,” “all natural,” “100% natural,” “from nature,” “naturally grown,” or “naturally sourced”) made in food labeling, FDA has applied an informal definition set forth in the preamble to a final rule implementing the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990. See generally
By former USDA Secretary John R. Block USDA and HHS are close to issuing the 2015 version of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The Guidelines, issued every five years, must be based on “the preponderance of the scientific and medical knowledge current at the time the report is issued.” That is a pretty high standard and
John Block: 2015 Dietary Guidelines – Will They Be Credible? Read More »
As we detailed in an earlier blog post, the White House issued a July 2nd executive memorandum on “Modernizing the Regulatory System for Biotechnology Products.” The memo directs the relevant federal agencies – FDA, USDA, and EPA – to update the federal government’s Coordinated Framework for the Regulation of Biotechnology, which was created in 1986 and last
GMO Regulatory Reform: The Way Forward Read More »
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released three more major final rules implementing the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). The final rules are: Standards for the Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption (Produce Safety rule); Foreign Supplier Verification Programs for Importers of Food for Humans and Animals (FSVP rule);
FDA’s Fortification Policy is set forth at 21 C.F.R. § 104.20. It essentially sets forth principles for the rational addition of nutrients to foods. It provides: [FDA] does not encourage indiscriminate addition of nutrients to foods, nor does it consider it appropriate to fortify fresh produce; meat, poultry, or fish products; sugars; or snack foods
Clarification of FDA’s Fortification Policy Read More »
By former USDA Secretary John R. Block The Trans Pacific Partnership Trade Agreement is sitting in Congress now. It was not an easy process to get the deal this far. If we can find the votes to pass it, it will be a big win for the American farmer. Now, on the Atlantic side, we are
John Block: European Trade Deal Read More »
By former CPSC Commissioner Nancy Nord Did anyone else notice CPSC’s recent recall of ceramic mugs? The agency is concerned about 4400 mugs with hairline cracks. The hazard is not that they could break and cut the user, or that there could be sanitary issues with germs being trapped in the cracks, but that hot liquids might
Killer Coffee Mugs?! Really?! Read More »
By former USDA Secretary John R. Block Pick up the paper, turn on the TV, and someone pretending to know what they are talking about will be telling us what to eat and what not to eat. I remember 30 years ago when I was Secretary of Agriculture and a number of food experts were waving
John Block: Meat – A Carcinogen Read More »
FDA today announced that it has filed a petition submitted by the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) to amend the food additive regulations to provide for the safe use of partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs) in limited food applications. Readers may recall that FDA issued a declaratory order in June 2015 announcing its final determination that PHOs
Partially Hydrogenated Oils – GMA Petition to Allow Limited Uses Clears a Hurdle Read More »
By former CPSC Commissioner Nancy Nord Everyone needs to clean out the attic from time to time. Through that process, you often come across things that you want to keep, that need to be repaired in order to be useful and that are just out of date and can be tossed. With that in mind,
Writing a Regulatory Punch List Read More »
In the last several months, there has been a lot of attention on a number of separate issues and events which impact global food security across a range of activities, yet they have not been drawn together. From Pope Francis’ visit to the United States and the announcement of the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development
Global Food Security: Next Steps Read More »
By former USDA Secretary John R. Block We read and hear so much about our weak economy. The stock market is going through a correction. Well, that is what is happening on the farm, too. Not just our farms, but European farms also. U.S. farmers are looking at a 36% plunge in net farm income –
John Block: Agriculture Today Read More »
All ready-to-eat processors, whether regulated by the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) or the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), will have the environment, food contact surfaces, and products sampled for Listeria monocytogenes. While many facilities dread this, there is no secret to being prepared for a regulatory sampling. Establishments should expect that the regulatory
Doom and Gloom: “Check the Room” Read More »
On September 28, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued an advance publication of its revisions to the Worker Protection Standard (WPS) for farmworkers. The revised WPS imposes new requirements for farm owners to protect workers against the risks of exposure to pesticides. The Final Rule becomes effective 60 days after publication in the Federal Register,
New EPA Worker Protection Standard for Farmworkers Read More »
By former USDA Secretary John R. Block After six years of negotiations with 11 Pacific Rim nations, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement has been approved. Regulations will be harmonized and tariffs reduced. Trade will expand between the countries. The nations involved represent 40 percent of the global economy. That is huge. However, it’s not done
Previous blogs have addressed Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS), what it is and its regulatory and public health uses. With use of WGS expanding at an amazing rate, an update is both appropriate and necessary. We recommend that everyone in the food industry keep an eye on this technology as it is now the method being
Whole Genome Sequencing Update Read More »
On behalf of the Agriculture practice group at OFW Law, following is a copy of our Fall 2015 newsletter. We hope you find it useful. To receive this periodic newsletter by e-mail, please contact Carrie Morgan.
Regulatory Round-Up Newsletter, Fall 2015 Read More »
In a highly surprising and most unusual decision, FDA on Monday denied a broad-based industry request for an extension for 90 days of the comment periods relating to FDA’s supplemental proposal on “added sugars.” The proposal would establish a Daily Reference Value (DRV) for “added sugars” and require the Nutrition Facts panel to declare the
Sugar Labeling Proposal – FDA Not Too Sweet Read More »
Consumer Product manufacturers that offer warranties should take note of new options available to them under the E-Warranty Act of 2015 (S. 1359, 114th Cong. § 3 (2015)), signed into law by President Obama on September 24, 2015. The new law amends the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act of 1975 to allow manufacturers to make their warranties
E-Warranty Act Changes Landscape for Consumer Product Warranties Read More »
By former USDA Secretary John R. Block There is nothing more exciting, exhilarating, or rewarding than bringing in the harvest. After a whole year of planning, buying seed, plant protection chemicals, working the soil, applying fertilizer and planting the crops, then you pray for rain when needed and pray that rain stops before the river floods
John Block: Farm vs. D.C. Read More »
By former CPSC Commissioner Nancy Nord, as published on The Hill’s Congress Blog The legislative agenda of the 114th Congress shows a growing concern that regulatory activities of both independent and executive branch agencies have pushed the envelope with respect to both their legal authority and sound regulatory policy. The Regulatory Accountability Act (S. 2006),
Regulatory Reform Bills Could Improve Agency Rulemaking Read More »
By Marshall Matz and Jolyda O. Swaim, as published in Agri-Pulse We love our pets! There are approximately 80 million dogs in the United States and a similar number of cats. More than half of all American households share their home with at least one cat or dog. Evidence is conclusive that pets contribute to our well-being, both
Pets Are Us: Safety First Read More »
Today, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) announced to House Republicans that he is retiring from Congress at the end of October. Boehner, now in his fifth year as Speaker of the House, faced a challenge no other House Speaker had faced in over a century: A Motion to Vacate the Chair spearheaded by a small, conservative
House Speaker John Boehner Announces Retirement, Ending Motion to Vacate the Chair Read More »
FDA has scheduled a public meeting in Chicago on Tuesday, October 20, 2015, from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m., (Central), as a follow-up to its recent publication of final rules establishing preventive controls requirements for human and animal foods. The public meeting will be broadcast as a live webinar, too. It is intended to provide
FDA Public Meeting/Webinar on FSMA Preventive Controls Final Rules (and Beyond) Read More »
By former CPSC Commissioner Nancy Nord The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) may want to help people sleep better at night, but their actions are more likely to keep people up or give them nightmares. This past week the CPSC re-announced a recall of portable, adult bed handles because the original announcement garnered such a low response
The Public Isn’t Buying What the CPSC Is Selling Read More »
FDA has published a Federal Register Notice announcing a significant change in how it prospectively will handle public comments submitted on rulemakings and other docketed matters by individuals in their individual capacity. Since the adoption of the government-wide electronic portal system for submitting and posting comments, FDA generally has not posted public comments submitted by
FDA Dockets Transparency To Be Enhanced Read More »
Just when you thought FDA menu labeling requirements were final and had preempted state and local laws, New York City’s (NYC) Board of Health approved on September 9 a new sodium warning label. The new law requires “covered establishments” (including restaurants with 15 or more locations nationally, doing business under the same name and
New York City Does It Again, Requiring a High Sodium Warning Read More »
Yes, it is recognized that as part of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) verification, a responsible plant person is “reviewing records generated” as part of the HACCP program. In addition, the plant has someone that conducts pre-shipment review of records prior to product leaving the facility. However, the question remains – do you take
Dr. Doom: Do You Take Time to Review Records? Read More »
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today published a Federal Register Notice soliciting comments on its GRAS Notification (GRASN) Program. “GRAS” is an acronym for the phrase “generally recognized as safe.” Under sections 201(s) and 409 of the FD&C Act, any substance that is intentionally added to food is a food additive, which is
FDA Notice Provides a “Backdoor” for Commenting on GRAS Notification Program Read More »
