WASHINGTON – National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) Chief Veterinarian Kathy Simmons issued the following statement regarding the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) final animal disease traceability (ADT) rule, which was announced by Secretary Vilsack this afternoon.   “NCBA has been an industry leader […]

US – The United States’ mandatory country-of-origin labeling (COOL) program was back in the news last week as the World Trade Organization (WTO) announced a deadline of 23 May 2013 for compliance after its ruling that the program violates international trade agreements, writes Steve Meyer in his weekly “Market Preview” […]

Before long, nearly everyone in the food supply chain should have tools to trace products back to the point of origin. It’s the law, and it’s good for business.   Over the summer, cantaloupes tainted by two strains of salmonella entered the food supply chain, killing at least three people […]

The Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) programme is a State and national industry-led effort that provides guidelines to support the production of quality beef. The goal of the program is to raise consumer confidence in beef quality through recommended management techniques and a commitment to quality within segments of the beef […]

The Pilot Traceability Project was announced as of last week. This project is intended to provide a structure for tracing ingredients back to their source in the event of a recall.   In the wake of recent recalls the progress of implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) has […]

Earlier this year, President Obama signed the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) (P.L. 111-353), a law that will overhaul U.S. food safety for the first time since the Great Depression.   The legislation passed in response to a growing public concern about the integrity of both local and imported […]

Threats to our food supply are real. The Food Safety Modernization Act hopes to mitigate the risk to Americans. HOW CAN FOOD PACKAGING OPERATIONS COPE with the added burden of regulatory requirements? The most sweeping change to U.S. food safety laws in 70 years was enacted on Jan. 4, 2011, […]

As difficult as it may be to believe, some consumers are apparently confused over the difference between source marking and traceability. As difficult as it may be to believe, some consumers are apparently confused over the difference between source marking and traceability. That, at least, is the opinion of Angela […]