The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) will require meat and poultry producers and importers to wait for negative test results of food-borne pathogens before releasing products into the marketplace, starting 60 days from Dec. 7, 2012. The new regulations apply to non-intact raw beef and ready-to-eat products containing meat or…
DetailsU.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer’s (R-Mo.) measure to eliminate the requirement that ATMs display duplicative signs disclosing their fees has been sent to President Obama for his signature as part of a bill passed overwhelmingly by the House and cleared this week by the Senate. Right now, ATM operators are required to post both a notice…
DetailsWhy 21? The concept that a person becomes a full adult at age 21 dates back centuries in English common law, the age at which a person could, among other things, vote and become a knight. Since a person was an official adult at age 21, it seemed to make sense that they could drink…
DetailsThe Food and Drug Administration has released its annual Regulatory Agenda, which states that the agency intends to issue a proposed rule to regulate other tobacco products (OTP) under the terms of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. Currently, the FDA regulates cigarettes, roll-your-own tobacco, and smokeless tobacco products. The other tobacco products…
DetailsThe SNAP/Food Stamp Program is the largest nutrition assistance program administered by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The goal of the program is to alleviate hunger and malnutrition…by increasing food purchasing power for all eligible households who apply for participation. Through the electronic benefit transfer systems (EBT), the use of food stamp coupons…
DetailsThe recent fiscal cliff tax vote also extended the 2008 Farm Bill for another year, but leaves the need for a five-year farm bill unmet. “Our mantra was farm bill now,” says Bob Stallman, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, after a recent speech. “But we saw as the clock ticked that getting an…
DetailsSeveral important new swipe fee developments are upon us. First, class counsel may begin sending out notices of the settlement to the approximately 8 million merchants in the class, perhaps as early as, January 29. These notices are different from the unsolicited notices that you may have received from various “settlement firms” that are not…
DetailsNew York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania stand to become the next North Dakota with fracking, Stateline.org reports. Overall, the U.S. will likely rank first in the world for producing oil and exporting natural gas by 2020. However, in order to cash-in on the energy market, this trio of Eastern states will need to reconsider how they…
DetailsThe D.C. Court of Appeals ruled last week that President Obama’s January 2012 recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) were unconstitutional, thereby throwing into doubt a significant amount of the bureau’s activities conducted last year, CQ Roll Call reports. Specifically, because President Obama appointed Richard Cordray to head the NLRB, legal analysts…
DetailsA new brief from the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC)—SNAP and Public Health: The Role of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programin Improving the Health and Well-Being of Americans—walks readers through research demonstrating the critical role SNAP plays in reducing hunger and improving health. Overall, the brief demonstrates that poverty and food insecurity have serious…
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