On Dec. 21 the Foreign Agricultural Service posted the following GAIN reports:
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced changes Dec. 20-21 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. 20 the Foreign Agricultural Service posted the following GAIN reports:
The Agricultural Marketing Service is amending 18 U.S. Standards for canned vegetables to simplify the names of grade standards, it said in a notice (here). Rather than have two names for every grade, such as “U.S. Grade A” or “U.S. Fancy,” each of the standards will now only be referred to by the letter grade, i.e., “U.S. Grade A,” “U.S. Grade B” and “U.S. Grade C.” AMS is making the change, which takes effect Jan. 20, in standards for canned asparagus, beets, carrots, chili sauce, cream-style corn, hominy, leafy greens, okra, okra and tomatoes, onions, peas and carrots, field and black-eyed peas, pimientos, pumpkin, sauerkraut, spinach, summer squash and succotash.
On Dec. 16-19 the Foreign Agricultural Service posted the following GAIN reports:
The Agricultural Marketing Service is amending its regulations to provide for electronic submission of inspection applications for imports subject to federal marketing orders, in an interim final rule (here). Imports of commodities regulated under marketing orders are prohibited unless they meet comparable grade, size, quality or maturity requirements as those in effect for domestically produced commodities. The interim final rule allows submission of the information required in AMS form SC-357, “Initial Inspection Request for Regulated Imported Commodities,” via the International Trade Data System, AMS said. The change takes effect Dec. 22. AMS also seeks comments on the interim final rule, due by Feb. 19.
The Food Safety and Inspection Service set Jan. 1, 2020, as the uniform compliance date for any new meat and poultry product labeling regulations issued between Jan. 1, 2017, and Dec. 31, 2018, in a final rule (here). FSIS periodically announces uniform compliance dates for new meat and poultry product labeling regulations to minimize the economic impact of label changes.
On Dec. 14-15 the Foreign Agricultural Service posted the following GAIN reports:
The Department of Agriculture's Commodity Credit Corporation announced Special Import Quota #13 for upland cotton will be established on Dec. 22, allowing importation of 13,866,053 kilograms (63,686 bales) (here). It will apply to upland cotton purchased not later than March 21, 2017, and entered into the U.S. by June 19, 2017. The quota is equivalent to one week's consumption of cotton by domestic mills at the seasonally adjusted average rate for the period August through October, the most recent three months for which data are available.
On Dec. 13 the Foreign Agricultural Service posted the following GAIN reports: