News & Insights

Blog filter without “News” blog type

John Block: GMO Legislation

By former USDA Secretary John R. Block Nancy Reagan was laid to rest this week. She was a very elegant...

The Leap Year Effect at the CPSC

By former CPSC Commissioner Nancy Nord Leap year occurs every four years when an additional day is added to the...

“Dietary Supplement” is a Proper Statement of Identity

FDA has revised a guidance document to acknowledge that “Dietary Supplement” alone properly may be used as the statement of...

The Zika-Agriculture Connection

By Marshall Matz, as published in Agri-Pulse Q. Is there a connection between the Zika virus and global food security?A....

RMA’s 2.2 Percent “Improper Payment” Rate: Why this Matters.

At the recent crop insurance industry conference in Indian Wells, California, Brandon Willis, administrator of USDA’s Risk Management Agency or...

SNAP, Crackle, Pot! Kentucky Federal Court Holds FNS Cannot Deny a Retailer’s Food Stamp Authorization for Misdemeanor Marijuana Conviction

USDA’s Food & Nutrition Service (FNS) is authorized to administer the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (“SNAP”). This $80 billion program,...

Medical Privacy Update: HHS Guidance on Permitted Uses and Disclosures of PHI for Treatment and Health Care Operations

Late last week, HHS’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) issued...

Interstate Structure to Oversee and Regulate Medical Marijuana

There is a need for an interstate structure to provide coordination and regulatory oversight of medical marijuana (cannabis) use in...

Regulatory Round-Up Newsletter, Winter 2016

On behalf of the Agriculture practice group at OFW Law, following is a copy of our Winter 2016 newsletter. We...

Wheat Faces a Double Challenge

By Marshall Matz, as published in Agri-Pulse. These comments were first presented to the National Association of Wheat Growers. The...

OFW Law Trial Team Wins Five Hog Nuisance Cases in Indiana

Beginning in late 2009 and early 2010, attorneys Richard Hailey of Indianapolis, Charles Speer and Britt Bieri of Kansas City,...

For Crop Insurance AIPs, a New Financial Environment

USDA’s Federal crop insurance program has benefited from a unique public-private partnership that is one of the most successful in...

It’s Not What You Call It – It’s How You Manage It

By OFW Law and HACCP Consulting Group Under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)...

Arbitration in Federal Crop Insurance AIP-Farmer Disputes

This past year, USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA), which administers the Federal crop insurance program on behalf of USDA’s Federal...

John Block Reports: A Case Against Mandatory GMO Labeling

OFW Law founding principal Richard L. Frank fills in for former USDA Secretary John R. Block: Hello everybody out there...

Bernie on Agriculture

By Marshall Matz, as published in Agri-Pulse Earlier this month, I summarized the agriculture positions of the candidates for President...

Doom and Gloom Suggest “Keeping Watch on Listeria”

Dr. Doom and Ms. Gloom have been addressing the fact that both FSIS and FDA are paying more attention to...

Senate Agriculture Committee Approves the Improving Child Nutrition Integrity and Access Act of 2016

They did it. Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) have...

Take a Look at CPSC’s Regulatory Robot

Last week the CPSC’s Office of Small Business Ombudsman unveiled a new tool to help businesses marketing new consumer products...

John Block: Dietary Guidelines

By former USDA Secretary John R. Block I asked a couple of friends of mine in Illinois and Kansas –...

“The Guidance Is Coming” . . . For Real! OCR Issues Guidance On Individuals’ Right to Access

In our last blog on medical privacy, we noted that HHS’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) promised that a number...

Flo and H’Jean (aka Doom and Gloom)

Last year, Dr. Doom and Ms. Gloom offered tips for facility maintenance and repair to assist facilities in being prepared...

2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans Released… And Some Thought Already Being Given to the 2020 Guidelines!

The Secretaries of Agriculture and Health and Human Services have released the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) following what...

Medical Privacy Update and 2015 Retrospective

MEDICAL PRIVACY UPDATE: New PHI Disclosures Permitted for Firearm Background Checks Earlier today, HHS published a Final Rule modifying the...