On Sept. 26 the Foreign Agricultural Service issued the following GAIN reports:

On Sept. 25 the Foreign Agricultural Service issued the following GAIN reports:

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service issued emails Sept. 25 announcing changes 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 Agricultural Marketing Service issued an interim rule, effective Oct. 21, to renew without change the exemption (allowed use) for vitamins and minerals on the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances for organic products. AMS said it is continuing to review comments requested in a Jan. 12 proposed rule on the 2012 sunset review on vitamins and minerals in organic products, which proposed to continue the exemption for nutrient vitamins and minerals on the National List for 5 years. However, it is extending the exemption In light of the impending Oct. 21 sunset date. Comments on this interim rule are due by Dec. 26.

The Humane Society filed a challenge Sept. 24 of the National Pork Board’s use of “checkoff” producer assessments collected from pork producers and importers, alleging that the 2006 purchase of the “Pork: The Other White Meat” trademark constitutes a gift from the Pork Board to the National Pork Producers Council that is being used to frustrate Humane Society initiatives. The Pork Board is paying $3 million over 20 years for the trademark, contributing as much as 32 percent of the NPPC’s budget, the Humane Society said. The payments allow the Pork Board and the NPPC to evade federal restrictions against the use of pork checkoff dollars for purposes of influencing legislation and government policy, it said.

France is set to pass a bill banning Bisphenol A (BPA) in food packaging, according to the Foreign Agricultural Service. The law would ban, as of Jan. 1, 2013, production, import, export, and distribution of any food packaging containing BPA. The bill has already been passed by the French National Assembly, and a French Senate committee will begin examining the bill on Oct. 3. A full vote will probably take place on Oct. 15, FAS said. French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault announced that the French government will support final approval of the bill.

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service issued emails Sept. 24 announcing changes 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 Sept. 24 the Foreign Agricultural Service issued the following GAIN reports:

On Sept. 21 the Foreign Agricultural Service issued the following GAIN reports:

The Codex Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods (CCRVDF) invited member countries and observer organizations to participate in a working group to revise the draft report on performance criteria for multi-residue analytical methods submitted to the 20th CCRVDF for inclusion as an Appendix to the Guidelines for the Design and Implementation of National Regulatory Food Safety Assurance Programmes Associated with the Use of Veterinary Drugs in Food Producing Animals (CAC/GL 71-2009), said the Food Safety and Inspection Service. The working group will also develop a generic validation protocol for these methods for consideration at the next Session of the CCRVDF. The goal of the working group is to have several rounds of comments, with the final document to be circulated by the Codex Secretariat by the end of April 2013. Member countries and observer organizations interested in participating should provide the name(s), official title, and email address of their representative(s) to Dr. Jack Kay (j.kay@vmd.defra.gsi.gov.uk) by Oct. 15.