Safety & Security: Page 275

E-Commerce Solutions

Illinois Lawmakers Crack Down on Unlicensed E-Commerce Wine Shipments

The legislation represents the alcohol industry's attempt to protect the so-called three-tier system against unlicensed wine shippers sending booze to Illinois customers and merchants illegally bringing alcohol across state borders without paying taxes.

When you buy a six-pack or a bottle of wine or tequila at a store in Illinois, you're participating in the three-tier system in its most traditional format. A wholesaler sold that alcohol to the store after buying it from the manufacturer.

Georgia Port Authority Receives $44 Million for Rail Expansion

Georgia Ports Authority

The $44 million award, made possible through the Nationally Significant Freight and Highway Projects (NSFHP) Program, is a significant portion of a total $128 million project known as the Port of Savannah International Multi-modal Connector.

Currently, 18 percent of the containers handled at Garden City Terminal (above) moves on Class I railroads Norfolk Southern and CSX.

Cal-Maine Foods to Acquire Foodonics International's Egg Production Assets

The assets to be acquired include commercial egg production and processing facilities with capacity for approximately 1.6 million laying hens and related feed production, milling and distribution facilities in Georgia, Alabama and Florida.

In addition, Cal-Maine Foods will acquire the Egg-Land’s Best, Inc. franchise with licensing rights for portions of certain markets in Alabama, Florida and Georgia as well as Puerto Rico, Bahamas and Cuba.

McDonald’s Removes Artificial Preservatives from Breakfast Menu Items

McDonald's Corp.

The menu upgrades are the latest attempt by the fast-food chain to remake its image for a customer base that's become more concerned with eating healthful and natural food.

McDonald's spokeswoman Becca Hary said the company got rid of an artificial preservative used in the cooking oil for McNuggets and now makes McNuggets themselves with 'ingredients that sound more familiar to people,' such as pea starch and rice starch. Sodium phosphates, a common food additive that helps keep meat moist, are gone from the chicken meat, but not the breading.

‘Supermarket Guru': GMO Labeling Rule Falls Short in Addressing Bioengineering Concerns

According to Phil Lempert, the new GMO Labeling bill signed into law last week is more troubling in that there are no penalties for lack of compliance, and no authority to recall products that are not properly labeled.

One thing is for sure is that the legislation as written will require food packages to declare, through a QR code, a symbol, 800# or plain text whether a food contains genetically engineered ingredients.

USDA Announces Reopening of Brazilian Market to U.S. Beef Exports

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has reached an agreement with Brazil's Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply to allow access for U.S. beef and beef products to the Brazilian market for the first time since 2003.

Both countries will immediately begin updating their administrative procedures in order to allow trade to resume. U.S. companies will need to complete Brazil's regular facilities registration process.

Yusen Logistics Opens Temperature-Controlled DC in Cambodia

Yusen Logistics (Americas) Inc.

The 33,000-sqaure-foot facility, which is almost double the capacity of the existing warehouse, includes a 4,237-square-foot temperature-controlled storage area.

Yusen will also offer a consolidated delivery service available to customers in Phnom Penh on a daily basis, excluding weekends. Yusen Logistics will also provide the same service for chilled and frozen goods using cold-storage boxes and will ensure product quality is maintained up to the point of delivery. (Phnom Penh Distribution Center above).

Obama Signs GMO Labeling Law; Industry Applauds, Activists Criticize

FMI - The Food Industry Association

While the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) and the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) applauded the signing, an activist group, FoodDemocracyNow!, said it will challenge the law.

President Obama on Friday signed S. 764 into law, setting in place one national standard for GMO disclosure that brings consistency, certainty and an end to restrictions on interstate commerce facing retailers, manufacturers and customers.

Schumer Calls on FDA to Overhaul Food Recall Process

Food & Drug Administration (FDA)

U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer of New York has called on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to overhaul its food recall process because it is taking too long to get tainted food off the shelves.

Schumer said potentially dangerous food can remain on sale for months before the agency issues mandatory recalls.

Emerging Technologies

How Bitcoin Technology Can Build Trust in the Food Supply Chain

Provenance, a small U.K. B2B software startup, is experimenting with proving tuna caught in Indonesia is being delivered to Japanese restaurants, using info on sensors or RFID tags and local certification, recorded in the blockchain, to track the fish.

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Feds Drop Proposal to Give Freight Trains Priority Over Amtrak

The surface transportation board ultimately concluded Thursday that current law does say that passenger trains are to be given preference over freight trains on shared tracks.

Amtrak argued that if the policy change had been implemented, long-distance and commuter trains would have seen a substantial increase in delays, since nearly 97 percent of the passenger railroad's route miles operate on host railroad tracks that are not owned by Amtrak. Freight rail companies, however, said the effort would have allowed railways to determine the priority of trains on a case-by-case basis.

Fleet Management

Hyperloop to Unveil First Major Prototype

Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HyperloopTT)

The site will also house a new Transponics test lab, which will continue to innovate on the propulsion system that launches a Hyperloop vehicle to high speeds.

Hyperloop One has announced the opening of Hyperloop One Metalworks, the first Hyperloop manufacturing plant in the world.

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