Global Food Crisis Looms
The ongoing drought in the Midwest will soon trigger a global food crisis, Bloomberg reports. In response, the International Food Policy Research Institute is asking the United States to stop…
FDA Increases Tobacco Compliance Efforts
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is boosting its compliance inspections and making retailer compliance checks a priority. In recent years the agency has increased its number of inspectors from…
USDA Tackles SNAP Fraud
Agriculture Under Secretary Kevin Concannon recently announced new strategies to further improve program integrity in SNAP and hold those misusing benefits accountable. The measures include tougher financial sanctions for the…
Stimulus Grants Used to Lobby for Tobacco Taxes?
The National Association of Tobacco Outlets joined the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce in calling for a detailed response from Kathleen Sebelius, U.S. Health and Human Services Department…
RYO Tobacco Machine Industry Loses Appeal
Last week, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned an injunction preventing the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) from treating retailers with RYO machines as tobacco manufacturers.…
EPA Pushed to Suspend Ethanol Mandate
Following pressure from four governors and more than 150 lawmakers, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says it is considering whether to suspend the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) and is…
Court of Appeals Blocks Graphic Labels
A U.S. appeals court last week struck down a law that requires tobacco companies to use graphic health warnings, such as of a man exhaling smoke through a hole in…
NACS Represents Industry on International Code Council
NACS is again representing the convenience and fuel retailing industry in the standards development arena, having been accepted as a full voting member onto the International Code Council (ASC A117)…
New Standards for Fuel Economy
Last week, the Obama administration finalized standards that will increase fuel economy to the equivalent of 54.5 mpg for cars and light-duty trucks by model year 2025. When combined with…
FDA Hosts Tobacco Compliance Webinar
Last week’s FDA Center for Tobacco Compliance (CTP) webinar for tobacco retailers provided an overview of a new document that CTP began sending to retailers in July 2012. The document,…