United Fresh 2013 will feature the FreshTech Learning Center with a session entitled “The Produce Traceability Intitative (PTI): Past, Present & Future”   When the Produce Traceability Initiative (PTI) was launched, steering committee members anticipated the industry would be able to complete all milestones toward a whole-chain, electronic traceability system […]

Produce Traceability Initiative supporters are reveling in a recent Food and Drug Administration-commissioned report that supports the industry’s work on traceability.   The report enters discussion as the industry awaits the FDA’s traceability rules. The March 4 “Pilot Projects for Improving Product Tracing along the Food Supply System Final Report” […]

With the comment period set to expire April 4, the FDA extended the deadline for comments until July 3.   The Institute of Food Technologists on March 4 issued a 334-page report, “Pilot Projects for Improving Product Tracing along the Food Supply System,” focusing on processed foods and high-risk fresh […]

The reaction of Canada’s government to USDA’s proposed “fix” for mandatory country-of-origin labeling was predictable and swift, write Steve Meyer and Len Steiner.   Canadian Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz stated, among other things, that Canada was “extremely disappointed with the proposed regulatory changes” and that Canada would consider all options, […]

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has issued a proposed modification to the rules required for the labeling of muscle cut commodities covered under the Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) program, writes Sarah Mikesell, 5m senior editor.   Under the proposed rule, origin designations for animals slaughtered in the US […]

National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) President Scott George, a cattleman from Cody Wyo., issued the following statement regarding the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) proposed amendment to the mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) rule:   “NCBA has maintained that there is no regulatory fix that can be put […]

Today Colorado’s Jared Polis will announce, outside a reborn organic retail store in Boulder, that he is introducing a federal bill in Congress to mandate the labeling of food containing genetically modified organisms in all 50 states.   And next Tuesday, the Maryland House Health and Government Operations Committee will […]

US – Organic certification verifies that livestock are raised according to the USDA organic regulations throughout their lives.   Like other organic products, organic livestock must be: Organic livestock standards Farmers and ranchers must accommodate the health and natural behavior of their animals year-round. For example, organic livestock must be: […]

US – National Farmers Union (NFU) and the United States Cattlemen’s Association (USCA), have released a legal analysis that details the available options for successful US compliance of a recent World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling on County-of-Origin labeling (COOL).   “The comprehensive legal analysis demonstrates that the USDA can come […]

Few Western countries have laws explicitly regulating kosher or halal products—chiefly meat produced by the ritual slaughter of animals, subject to particular standards of health or hygiene. Governments prefer to rely on private companies and market forces to do the job.   KEEPING the government’s nose out of anything with […]