On Dec. 7 the Foreign Agricultural Service issued the following GAIN reports:
On Dec. 6 the Foreign Agricultural Service issued the following GAIN reports:
The Food Safety and Inspection Service revised export requirements and plant lists for the following countries for Nov. 30 - Dec. 6:
The Food Safety and Inspection Service said it's adopting a policy, effective Feb. 8, to no longer allow meat and poultry products, including imported products, to enter into U.S. commerce until all test results have been received by FSIS. The agency will withhold its determination as to whether the imported or domestic products are not adulterated until it receives the results of sampling, it said. Importers will, however, be able to move products away from the border pending test results as long as the product moves under company seal and does not enter into U.S. commerce. According to FSIS, this proposed policy will reduce the number of recalls and reduce the amount of unsafe food that reaches store shelves.
On Dec. 5 the Foreign Agricultural Service issued the following GAIN reports:
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced changes Dec. 5 to Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) electronic manuals. While some changes are minor, other changes may affect the admissibility of the plant products, including fruits, vegetables, and flowers.
On Dec. 4 the Foreign Agricultural Service issued the following GAIN reports:
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced changes Dec. 4 to Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) electronic manuals. While some changes are minor, other changes may affect the admissibility of the plant products, including fruits, vegetables, and flowers.
The Food Safety and Inspection Service issued a public health alert for 4,865 pounds of frozen butter chicken and rice products manufactured by Aliya’s Foods and imported from Canada after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency ordered a recall. Trader Joe’s imported the products, which may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. The product being recalled is considered ready-to-eat (RTE) and subject to pathogen testing since FSIS has zero-tolerance for pathogens in RTE foods at time of production, even if that food requires heating for proper serving.
The Food Safety and Inspection Service is toughening standards for not-ready-to-eat (NRTE) ground or otherwise comminuted chicken and turkey products, in response to several salmonella outbreaks in 2011, it said in a notice to be published in the Dec. 6 Federal Register. FSIS ordered manufacturers of these products to reassess their Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) plans for these products, and said it will begin verifying whether manufacturers have done so starting about Feb. 4. FSIS also announced how it will determine whether the association of NRTE meat or poultry product with an outbreak would make subsequently-produced like product adulterated. Finally, FSIS said it’s expanding coverage of its Salmonella Verification Sampling Program for Raw Meat and Poultry product, as well as application of its Category 1 performance measure for certain products. Comments are due to FSIS by Feb. 4.