U.S. lawmakers from both the House and Senate Agriculture Committees announced yesterday evening that they have reached a bipartisan agreement on a new five-year farm bill, officially known as the Agricultural Act of 2014. Final votes are expected in both the House of Representatives and the Senate later this week.
The National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) yesterday released a report, based on documents obtained from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), concluding that the FDA has allowed livestock and poultry growers to continue to use antibiotics in production even though they posed a "high risk" of exposing humans to antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today reported that a Royal Caribbean cruise ship ended a 10-day Caribbean cruise yesterday after 577 passengers and 49 crew members came down with gastrointestinal illness symptoms. The cause of the outbreak is yet to be determined, according to the CDC.
On Jan. 20, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) implemented a streamlined import document review process. The CFIA is removing the requirement for pre-clearance of the FSIS Form 9135-3, Certificate for Export of Meat and Poultry Products to Canada. This change will also apply to FSIS 9060-7 and FSIS 9060-18 issued for natural casings. As of Feb. 17, the implementation of this change will be complete and the CFIA will no longer process pre-clearance review requests of export certificates or documentation.
Yesterday on its website, Consumer Reports published a Special Report titled, "Caramel color: The health risk that may be in your soda." Noting that "some types of this artificial coloring contain a potentially carcinogenic chemical called 4-methylimidazole (4-MEI)," the article went on to explain that Consumer Reports had run tests on 12-ounce samples of several different cola drinks. The organization found that two products, Pepsi One and Malta Goya, had more than 29 micrograms of 4-MEI per can or bottle, and has asked the California Attorney General to investigate whether these sodas should carry a warning label as per Proposition 65.
Fourteen elementary schools in Hamamatsu reopened on Jan. 22, about a week after they were closed because some 1,000 children and teachers developed symptoms of food poisoning from norovirus-tainted bread.
The UK's Food Standards Agency (FSA) reported today that it has acted on recommendations from a government review by making it easier for businesses to appeal against food safety and food standards decisions and advice issued by local authorities. The recommendations were part of the government’s Focus on Enforcement Review that considered enforcement of regulation in small food manufacturing businesses.
Covance, Inc. today announced that it will expand its nutritional chemistry and food safety (NCFS) services by opening a new 10,000-square-foot laboratory this summer within its existing facility in Harrogate, England. The new lab will complement existing laboratories in Madison, WI; Battle Creek, MI; Greenfield, IN; and Singapore.
Life Technologies Corporation today announced that the AFNOR Certification system of France has issued the sector-leading NF Validation quality mark for the Pathatrix® 10 Pooling Salmonella spp. Kit linked to MicroSEQ® Salmonella spp. Detection Kit. Company officials said the approval provides further validation of the alternative cost-effective solution for the accurate detection of Salmonella in a variety of sample matrices, noting that the Pathatrix® 10 Pooling Salmonella spp. Kit received AOAC PTM approval earlier this year.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Jan. 17 warned consumers not to eat oysters harvested from Copano Bay in Texas, as those oysters have been linked to an outbreak of norovirus in Louisiana.