Food Labels
Farm, consumer groups ask USDA to reinstate ‘grass-fed beef’ label
Two months after USDA terminated a voluntary program for labeling grass-fed beef, nine farm and consumer groups asked the department to spell out the conditions for using the term.
Impasse on GMO labeling: state pre-emption meets mandatory disclosure
A third major food company, Mars Inc., says it will put GMO labels on its products nationwide and pointed to Vermont's first-in-the-nation labeling law as the impetus.
Will GMO labeling prompt a party-line committee vote?
Heading toward a bill-drafting session on Thursday over preempting state GMO food-labeling laws, a party-line split appeared likely. No Democrats had spoken in support of chairman Pat Roberts' plan and no Republicans were opposed publicly to it.
GMO food-label negotiations continue
Although he put legislation to pre-empt state GMO food-labeling laws on the table, Senate Agriculture chairman Pat Roberts is apparently willing to modify the proposal. Said an aide: "Negotiations are ongoing."
Mandatory GMO labeling is price of pre-emption, says Vilsack
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who tried to broker a compromise on GMO food labeling, says labeling must be mandatory nationwide to avoid the chaos of states and food processors deciding on their own what to label and how.
Roberts calls committee vote on GMO label pre-emption
After weeks of fruitless talks with Democrats, Senate Agriculture Committee chairman Pat Roberts said the committee will vote on Thursday on his proposal to prevent states and local governments from requiring special labels on food made with genetically modified organisms.
Senate bill ties state pre-emption to mandatory GMO labeling
Four Senate Democrats proposed mandatory nationwide labeling of foods made with genetically modified organisms as a substitute for state or local regulation.
Roberts aims to recruit Democratic votes for GMO pre-emption
To win Senate passage of his bill to pre-empt state GMO food-labeling laws, Agriculture Committee chairman Pat Roberts says he'll need 60 votes -- enough to quash a filibuster -- and that means recruiting a substantial number of Democratic votes.
USDA removes beef and pork from COOL requirements
Meat packers and retailers are free of the requirement to identify the origin of beef and pork sold in supermarkets, according to a notice scheduled to appear today in the Federal Register.
GMO-label pre-emption unpalatable on its own, says senator
North Dakota Sen. Heidi Heitkamp says legislation that pre-empts state laws without other action on GMO food labeling would see little support in the Senate. "I don't think you're going to be able to sell that," Heitkamp told Agri-Pulse.
FDA blocks import of GE salmon
Complying with a congressional directive, the FDA barred imports of genetically engineered salmon, "months after approving the first such animal as safe to eat," says the website Regulatory Focus.
Clock is ticking on GMO food labeling
The food industry is bankrolling a publicity blitz against mandatory GMO food labels that includes "a six-figure campaign that is running ads in prime time on network and cable TV in and around the nation’s capital," says the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
Senators fear ‘anti-consumer loopholes’ in GMA’s SmartLabel
Americans "have a right to easy access of basic information about their food," said six Democratic senators, including presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders, in questioning the food-industry initiative to use QR codes on packages to divulge data such as genetically engineered ingredients.
USDA drops marketing standard for grass-fed livestock
Six years after it set up a labeling program for grass-fed meat, the USDA terminated the program, as of Tuesday, concluding that it "does not facilitate the marketing of agricultural products in a manner that is useful to stakeholders or consumers."
Congress could send COOL repeal to Obama today
By the end of the day, the Senate could give final congressional approval to a $1.1 trillion government funding bill that includes repeal of a meat-labeling law that has driven a wedge between the United States and its two biggest trading partners, Canada and Mexico. Repeal of mandatory country-of-origin labeling (COOL), also a goal of U.S. meatpackers and foodmakers, would defuse the threat of up to $1.01 billion in retaliatory tariffs against U.S. manufactured and agricultural products.
Sugar-beet growers face opposition on GMOs
Almost all of the U.S. sugar beet harvest comes from GMO varieties. At the annual meeting of the Minn-Dak Farmers Cooperative, president Kurt Wickstrom told members to be aware of anti-GMO sentiment among consumers, says Agweek.
COOL repeal, GMO pre-emption in the year-end mix
The catch-all government spending bill that will be among the final pieces of legislation to pass Congress this year might be a vehicle for repeal of the country-of-origin label and the federal pre-emption of state GMO labeling laws, said Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley.
After WTO ruling, U.S. lawmakers gallop to repeal COOL
Congress may vote this week to repeal the U.S. law that requires packages of meat to say where the animals were born, raised and slaughtered. The drive for repeal, at a standstill in the Senate since summer, was spurred into action after the WTO said Canada and Mexico could impose $1.01 billion a year in retaliatory tariffs on U.S. manufactured and agricultural goods, from mattresses, office furniture and pipes to wine, meat and grain.
DC’s food lobby splinters amid squabbles
The Grocery Manufacturers Association, a giant among trade groups, is beginning to bleed members, with Nestlé the latest foodmaker to pull out, says Politico. "Complacency and a lack of leadership" at GMA are a factor, along with the hurly-burly of competing for sales in an evolving marketplace, it says.