Risk/Compliance: Page 193

FDA Announces Grant Award To Establish Regional Centers For Food Safety Training, Outreach And Technical Assistance

Food & Drug Administration (FDA)

FDA announced the award for the second two regional centers, with Iowa State University receiving the grant to establish the North Central Center and the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College the grant to establish The Northeast Center.

Fd Alogo

Millennials Push Demand For ‘Clean’ Labels On Food

The food movement that gained momentum last year is barreling into 2016, with manufacturers, retailers and restaurants continuing to announce switches to more natural foods with fewer artificial ingredients.

Original label (left) versus the proposed new nutrition facts label (right).

Court Allows Class Action Suit Against Canadian Food Company Over E.Coli

Lawyers who filed the class action in 2013 said an Alberta court has approved the settlement amount and a protocol for distribution of the funds.

An independent review found the 2012 outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 that led to the largest beef recall in Canadian history was due to a lax approach to food safety on the part of XL Foods. The independent panel also said XL Foods was not prepared to handle a large recall.

Google Launches Fresh Grocery Deliveries In California

The service is part of Google Express, which partners with retailers in some U.S. cities to deliver goods to consumers within hours of an order.

Google said it would begin delivering produce, meat, eggs and other perishable goods on Wednesday in parts of San Francisco and Los Angeles. The service is part of Google Express, which partners with retailers in some U.S. cities to deliver goods to consumers within hours of an order.

Emerging Technologies

IBM Develops Blockchain Technology To Make Businesses More Efficient, Including Food Supply Chain

The company is launching what it’s calling “blockchain-as-a-service,” or a set of tools for "creating, deploying, running, and monitoring blockchain applications on the IBM Cloud.”

IBM has announced that it is working to make blockchain technology—which was refined and popularized by the digital currency bitcoin—easier for businesses to use for financial and non-financial purposes, including delivering food.

Lipari Foods Recalls Pistachios Distributed In Midwest Over Salmonella

The products were distributed to food service and retail stores throughout Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Wisconsin and West Virginia.

Lipari Foods, LLC, of Warren, Mich., has issued a voluntary recall of various raw pistachio products packaged by sister company JLM due to potential Salmonella risk

FDA To Test Milk, Eggs, Corn, Soybeans And More For Glyphosate

Food & Drug Administration (FDA)

The FDA’s move comes amid growing public concern about the safety of the herbicide, and comes after the U.S Government Accountability Office rebuked the agency for failing to do such assessments and for not disclosing that short-coming to the public.

FDA officials dubbed the issue “sensitive” and declined to provide details of the plans, but FDA spokeswoman Lauren Sucher said the agency was moving forward to test for glyphosate for the first time in the agency’s history.

Five Ways Brands Can Create Consumer Trust in the Food Industry

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC)

Consumer trust and confidence is one of the biggest issues facing the food industry.

Clinton Moloney is advisory leader for sustainable business solutions at PwC US.

U.S. And Cuba Restore Air Travel Between Nations

The move is expected to set off a scramble among U.S. carriers to win route rights to serve Havana, which will be capped at 20 round trips a day from anywhere in the U.S.

US Cuba 54c68a9cc5f9e

Asia Watches As GMO Legal Challenge Threatens Philippines Food Supply

Government agencies are scrambling to set new regulations on GMOs by Feb. 23 after the Southeast Asian nation's top court late last year demanded an overhaul of existing rules, halting GM planting and issuance of new GM import permits.

With some current import permits starting to expire from March and corn farmers set to begin sowing in May, five government agencies are pushing to sign new rules by next Tuesday to avoid disrupting food supply in a year when voters will choose the country's next leader.

Nebraska Says Meatpackers Can Own Hogs; Change Draws Debate For Small Farms

The law, signed by Gov. Pete Ricketts after being passed 34-14 by state legislators February 5, reverses a measure that went into effect in 1999 that restricted corporate ownership of land and farms to protect small, family farms.

Nebraska, the sixth-largest hog producer in the United States, has had a sharp decline in recent years in the number of farms that sell hogs.

Court Rules Federal Law Pre-empts California Meat Labeling Law

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit on Feb. 12 upheld the Aug. 19, 2013 decision by U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill that “permanently enjoined and restrained” California officials from enforcing the slack fill requirements.

“Slack fill” is the empty space between meat and poultry products and their packaging. After state enforcement actions, Del Real challenged the California Fair Packaging and Labeling Act (CFPLA) on grounds it is preempted for meat and poultry products regulated by the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) and the federal Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA).

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