Before Christmas, I hosted the annual Cabinet Secretaries lunch at the famous Blair House. The Blair House is right across the street from the White House. It provides overnight lodging for dignitaries visiting the President. In fact, the Blair House is where President Reagan held his first Cabinet meeting in January 1981 before he had […]
John Block: Cabinet Luncheon 2014 Read More »
Dr. Janey Thornton, the USDA Deputy Under-Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services, has resigned her post effective at close of business Friday, January 9, 2015. She will be returning to Kentucky to turn her attention to important family needs. Also, Sam Kass has left the White House as Executive Director of Let’s Move! and
Two Obama Nutrition Leaders Move On Read More »
Year 2014 is history now. It seemed like a lot of bad things happened. After fighting in the Middle East for more than a decade to neutralize the terrorists and bring stability to Iraq, overnight Islamic State militants took over half of Syria and Iraq. The sacrifices made over there have gone up in flames.
John Block: Look Back at 2014 Read More »
As we say goodbye to 2014 and welcome 2015, it’s time for a little backward and forward looking. Here’s what we saw in the 2014 rear view mirror in our little corner of the Universe devoted to the regulatory aspects of foods, drugs, medical devices, agriculture, and the like. In January, the Food and Drug
2014 was certainly an interesting year to be involved in agriculture. We got to see supply and demand in full effect. Good weather sent grain prices tumbling while continuing tight supplies have kept cattle prices soaring. The Republicans made strong gains and will enter 2015 with control of both the House and Senate. While I
10 Things to Watch in 2015 Read More »
By Marshall L. Matz, as published in Agri-Pulse The United Nations-Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has declared 2015 the International Year of Soils. The year kicked off on December 5, 2014, with events in Rome, New York and Chile, all in an effort to raise awareness and promote more sustainable use of this critical resource. “Healthy soils
2015: The Year of Soils Read More »
Getting ready for holiday “get togethers”, one often finds themselves in a rush or behind on preparing the food for the party. Don’t let tardiness be the reason the party attendees end up with a case of foodborne illness. Don’t rush cooking of product; I am certain the guests would rather wait a few minutes
Don’t Rush the Holiday Preparations – Make Certain the Meat is Properly Cooked Read More »
Congress has completed action on the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2015 (the Act), which funds eleven of the twelve regular Appropriation bills through September 30, 2015, the balance of fiscal 2015. Funding for the Homeland Security bill is provided under a Continuing Resolution through February 27. The House approved the Act on Thursday, December 11,
OFW Law’s John Dillard will be kicking off this year’s Ohio Food, Agriculture and Environmental Law Webinar Series with a discussion on two cutting-edge topics affecting agriculture: agricultural drones and “big data.” Mr. Dillard’s webinar will provide a brief primer on the current and potential applications for drone technology in agriculture. He will also discuss
Free Webinar on Big Data and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Read More »
By Nina Fedoroff, Ken Cassman and Marshall L. Matz, as published in the Des Moines Register The Ghost of Christmas Future is the most fearsome character in “The Christmas Carol,” Charles Dickens’ beloved Christmas story, giving Scrooge a glimpse of his bleak future. Horrified, Scrooge changes his selfish lifestyle in a heartbeat. An abundant Thanksgiving 2014 is
The Ghost of Thanksgiving Future Read More »
It is that time of year again. I don’t cook –and I continue to provide food safety advice for those of you that do. Ah, it must be Thanksgiving. Last year I provided some tips on thawing and cooking your Thanksgiving turkey. I encourage you to review those tips if you have any questions on
Recently, Olsson Frank Weeda Terman Matz, P.C., otherwise known as “OFW Law,” celebrated 35 years of business with colleagues, family, friends and clients. We were extremely proud to share this milestone with those who have helped make OFW Law one of the leading firms practicing USDA and FDA law today. Although OFW Law has expanded
Celebrating 35 Years of Success: USDA Practice Team Read More »
By Marshall L. Matz, as published in Agri-Pulse The “Feed the Future” initiative is aimed at improving agriculture productivity and economic development around the world. Bipartisan legislation has been introduced in the both the House and Senate to make this discretionary program permanent. The legislation (H.R. 5656; S.2909) has the support of private sector corporations as well
Feed the Future: A Bipartisan Opportunity Read More »
By Marshall L. Matz and Peter B. Matz, as published by the National Farmers Union Kudos to National Farmers Union for recognizing the link between family farming and meeting the challenge of global food security. Family farms are indeed the key to ending world hunger. First, for purposes of this blog, let’s define a smallholder farmer as anyone
Family Farms in Africa Read More »
OFW Law founding principal Richard L. Frank fills in for former USDA Secretary John R. Block. There are a variety of disturbing questions surrounding the Dietary Guidelines for Americans now being drafted for release in 2015. The questions relate to whether the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee should focus its review and recommendations on the current science on nutrition
Phil: Rick, it’s hard to believe that 35 years have passed since we started this firm as a two-lawyer shop in 1979. Rick: It sure is. I remember working with you at the law firm I joined fresh out of the University of Michigan Law School, and which you had joined several years earlier out
Phil Olsson and Rick Frank on 35 Years of Life at OFW Read More »
At last – the mid-term election is behind us. President Obama had said that although he was not on the ballot, his policies were. The nation’s voters repudiated those policies. Republicans were voted in and Democrats voted out. Some races are still in dispute, but Republicans have already secured more than enough new Senate seats
John Block: Mid-Term Elections Read More »
By Marshall L. Matz and Peter B. Matz, as published in Agri-Pulse On September 29, the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Director-General José Graziano da Silva issued a call for climate smart agriculture and a “paradigm shift towards sustainable agriculture and family farming.” It is a theme we have seen in a number of recent reports by leading organizations, including:
Climate Smart, Sustainable Agriculture Read More »
When asked to visit an establishment to assess compliance, my first step is always to ask for data. Establishment food safety data, laboratory results, regulatory data, audits…. What story is being told? Is there a trend in the making? Upward trend? Downward trend? It is important for establishments that are regulated by the Food Safety
Data Driven Decision Making by Dr. Doom Read More »
This week, OFW Law founding principal Richard L. Frank fills in for former USDA Secretary John R. Block. There are a variety of disturbing questions surrounding the Dietary Guidelines for Americans now being drafted for release in 2015. The questions relate to whether the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee should focus its review and recommendations on scientific advances in
By John R. Block, as published in the Des Moines Register Every day millions of shoppers are paying out as much as 50 or 100 percent more to buy organic foods for themselves and their families. I have friends who make these choices because they have no reason to question claims on labels, in advertising and
Consumers are Misled About Organic Safety Read More »
The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) plans, effective November 10, 2014, to halt issuing export certificates for FDA-regulated foods that contain an egg product(s) as an ingredient because USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) now provides this service. FDA regulates the safe production, sanitary processing, and labeling of food products containing egg products. Nevertheless,
Export Certificates for FDA-Regulated Foods Containing Egg Products as an Ingredient Read More »
By Marshall L. Matz, as published in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch According to Forbes Magazine, Mr. Strive Masiyiwa is the Bill Gates of Africa. The Econet Wireless Group headed by Masiyiwa and based in South Africa now operates in 17 countries, employs 6,000 and generates $3 billion a year. Yet Masiyiwa believes it is agriculture development that
The 2014 Global Child Nutrition Forum is fast approaching and, while space is limited, there is still opportunity to attend, exhibit and/or sponsor the Forum. This year’s event is being held by the Global Child Nutrition Foundation and World Food Program outside Johannesburg, South Africa, from September 29-October 3. This conference is held annually to
2014 Global Child Nutrition Forum, Sept. 29-Oct. 3 Read More »
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has published a Federal Register notice requesting comments on a possible federal standard of identity for honey. Although the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is the agency that would be responsible for developing a standard of identity for honey, the 2014 Farm Bill charged the
What should we be eating? We are getting hammered from every angle about what is good for us versus what is bad. Too many carbs, stay away from red meat, don’t trust GE foods, sugar will make you fat. The government wants to regulate. We have been through this before but never with the intensity
Today, I want to talk to you about the deficit – not the dollar deficit. That’s for another day. I want to talk about the deficit of action, the deficit of responsibility. The U.S. Congress and the President have failed the people. The end of this fiscal year is fast approaching and the Congress (once
John Block: Getting Nothing Done Read More »
By Marshall L. Matz and Nathaniel B. Fretz, as published by Agri-Pulse There is a new question surrounding the Dietary Guidelines for Americans now being drafted for release in 2015. The question is whether the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee should continue to focus their review and recommendations on scientific advances in nutrition and diet or should they venture
The Next Dietary Guidelines Debate Read More »
The White House’s role with USDA’s regulations for school foods and the WIC feeding program has been widely reported. Lesser known is the White House involvement in FDA food labeling policy. To commemorate the anniversary of the Let’s Move! campaign, the first lady hosted a week-long series of events in March, one of which included
Anyone who has been involved in the quality assurance and food safety side of the food business for any length of time knows that one of the top items on the list of those that will keep you awake at night is whether or not your product “hold” or retention program will be effective in
Ms. Gloom Wants to Know: Does Your Product Hold Program Really “Hold” When Needed? Read More »
The great battle for the 2014 Farm Bill is thankfully over, but that hasn’t stopped the U.S. Congress from continuing to tinker with Federal Crop Insurance. Most recently, in late May, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees each voted to report their versions of bills to fund USDA in fiscal 2015, and each took the
Crop Insurance Appropriations – A Clue for the next SRA? Read More »
As described by Dennis Johnson in his recent article from our Regulatory Round-Up Newsletter, the current human illness rate for E. coli O157:H7 has not gone down as documented by the Centers for Disease Control and is, in fact, trending upwards. This is very concerning. Our firm has been advocating that the beef industry be aware of this
Pontifications by Dr. Doom Read More »
On behalf of OFW Law’s Agriculture practice group, here is a copy of our new newsletter. We hope you find it useful. To receive this periodic newsletter by e-mail, please contact Carrie Morgan at cmorgan@ofwlaw.com.
Regulatory Round-Up Newsletter, Spring 2014 Read More »
By Marshall L. Matz, as published in Agri-Pulse Organic foods are “in.” Analysts estimate that U.S. organic food sales have reached $35 billion, or over 4% of all the foods consumed at home. While that means 96% of the foods we consume are not “USDA Organic,” 4% is statistically significant. Produce and dairy are the top two
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced a public meeting on June 26, 2014 to discuss its two pending proposed rules to update the Nutrition Facts label (and the Supplement Facts label for dietary supplements). Those proposed rules are: Food Labeling: Revision of the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels Food Labeling: Serving Sizes of
FDA Announces Public Meeting on Nutrition Labeling Proposed Rules Read More »
