Perdue makes Codex a trade office, dismembers GIPSA
After a pause for additional discussion, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue signed a reorganizational memorandum that puts the U.S. Codex Office under the control of USDA's chief trade officer and eliminates the Grain Inspection and Packers and Stockyards Administration as a stand-alone agency, with its duties absorbed by the much larger Agricultural Marketing Service. Both moves were protested as undue kowtowing to agribusinesses when Perdue announced them during the Labor Day lull.
Critics say Perdue putting trade ahead of food safety
Farm groups applauded when Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue changed USDA's organizational tree to create the post of undersecretary for trade. Now, Perdue is hearing complaints about his decision to give the undersecretary control over the Codex Alimentarius office — Latin for "Food Code" — that speaks for the United States in setting international food safety rules, says Politico.