Regulations: Page 79

Vermont’s GMO Label Law Takes Effect Today

Vermont’s law requiring nearly all food labels to disclose genetically engineered ingredients takes effect today.

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Pet Food Company Recalls Cat Food Over Salmonella And Listeria

Three flavors of Rad Cat Raw Diet pet foods are being recalled from 48 U.S. states and Western Canada because they might be contaminated with Salmonella and/or Listeria monocytogenes, posing a health hazard to humans and pets.

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Waste Reduction

Global Standard To Measure Food Waste

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

The backers of the standard, launched at the Global Green Growth Forum in Copenhagen, hope governments will adopt it to measure progress under the new Sustainable Development Goals.

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CSPI Sues FDA For Failing To Regulate Lethal Shellfish

Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI)

CSPI claims without this safety standard, in the next year, an estimated 30 people will become seriously ill, and 15 of them will die, after consuming raw shellfish that contain the bacteria, called Vibrio vulnificus (V. vulnificus), according to CSPI.

The majority of the illnesses have been linked to the eating of raw oysters.

Growers Eye FSMA Enforcement

Most produce growers, packers, processors or sellers will be subject to the rule, with staggered compliance deadlines ranging from two to four years, depending on the size of the operation.

Published in the Federal Register on Nov. 27, 2015, the final version of the Produce Safety Rule “establishes, for the first time, science-based minimum standards for the safe growing, harvesting, packing and holding of fruits and vegetables grown for human consumption,” according to the Food and Drug Administration.

FDA Issues Draft Guidance For Qualified Facilities Under FSMA Preventive Controls Rules

Food & Drug Administration (FDA)

A business that meets the definition of a “qualified facility” is subject to modified requirements of the preventive controls rules.

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Most Food And Beverage Pros Confident About Meeting FSMA Rules

Sparta Systems, Inc.

Nearly half (43 percent) of the 150 food and beverage professionals that Hamilton, N.J.-based Sparta Systems polled think the regulations will increase visibility and safety throughout the supply chain.

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Feds Investigate Dole Salad Contamination, Drawing Calls For Better Accountability

Dole Food Company

The Justice Department has launched a criminal investigation into Dole Food Co. over a listeria outbreak linked to four deaths in the U.S. and Canada and multiple other illnesses.

U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., the ranking Democrat on the subcommittee responsible for funding the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, said Dole’s continued operation of the plant was “an outrage.”

CDC Warns About Cronobacter Contamination In Powdered Infant Formula

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Cronobacter has been found in various dry foods, such as formula, powdered milk, herbal teas and starches. It has also been found in sewer water and may be found in other places, too, according to the CDC.

Cronobacter bacteria can cause severe blood infections or meningitis, an inflammation of the membranes that protect the brain and spine. Infants two months of age and younger are most likely to develop meningitis if they are infected with Cronobacter.

Ocean Ports & Carriers

U.S. Coast Guard Clarifies Container Weight Policy

International Maritime Organization (IMO)

The Coast Guard filed this equivalency due to apparent misunderstandings about the sufficient flexibility in the SOLAS regulation to allow for various methods of calculating, verifying and communicating verified gross mass, VGM.

It is the Coast Guard’s desire to put at ease carriers who have voiced concerns regarding the SOLAS amendments and the associated voluntary implementation guidelines, said Rear Admiral Paul Thomas, assistant commandant for prevention policy.

Aldi Removes Major Pesticides, Joining The Nation’s Healthiest Grocers

Aldi said it would drop products with any of eight major pesticides: Deltamethrin, Chlorpyrifos, Clothianidin, Cypermethrin, Imidacloprid, Thiamethoxam, Sulfoxaflo and Fipronil.

The move is being applauded by health-food aficionados for the healthy aspects of eating foods without pesticides and because those pesticides are considered harmful to bees.

Company Recalls Frozen Vegetable Blends Over Listeria

Several other retail grocery chains have recalled certain Pictsweet brand frozen vegetables because of possible Listeria contamination from onions, including Giant Food, Wegmans, Martin’s, Tops, Stop & Shop and Food Lion.

At least two frozen vegetable blends produced by the Pictsweet Co. are under recall because chopped onions in the products may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

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