The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service issued emails Aug. 20 announcing changes to some 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 Codex Task Force on Animal Feeding is asking for comments on the draft Guidelines on Application of Risk Assessment for Feed (here), said the Food Safety and Inspection Service. Parties interested in contributing to the U.S. response should send their comments to the U.S. Codex Office (USCodex@fsis.usda.gov) by Nov. 9. International organizations may send their comments directly to secretariatTFAF@blw.admin.ch with a copy to the Codex Secretariat (codex@fao.org), by Nov. 15.

Mandatory wholesale pork reporting will begin Jan. 7, 2013, said the Agricultural Marketing Service. On that date, packers will be required to submit the price of each sale, quantity, and other characteristics (e.g., type of sale, item description, destination) that AMS will use to produce market reports that will be disseminated to the public. A final rule set for publication in the Aug. 22 Federal Register will implement the new requirements, pursuant to the Mandatory Price Reporting Act of 2010, which added wholesale pork cuts to the commodities required to be reported by larger packers through the livestock mandatory reporting program. Cattle, swine, sheep, boxed beef, boxed lamb, and imported lamb meat already are covered under the program, AMS said.

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service issued emails Aug. 17 announcing changes to some 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 Aug. 17 the Foreign Agricultural Service issued the following GAIN reports:

The Codex Committee on Contaminants in Foods (CCCF) is inviting member countries and observer organizations to participate in an electronic working group to draft an annex for the prevention and reduction of Aflatoxins and Ochratoxin A contamination in sorghum, reported the Food Safety and Inspection Service. This annex should cover the stages of primary production, storage and distribution to the point of usage of sorghum. The annex will be proposed for the existing Code of Practice for the Prevention and Reduction of Mycotoxin Contamination in Cereals (CAC/RCP 51-2003). The working group will be led by Nigeria, and co-chaired by Sudan. Parties in the U.S. that are interested in contributing to the U.S. participation in this electronic working group should contact the U.S. Codex Office (USCodex@fsis.usda.gov).

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service issued emails Aug. 16 announcing changes to some 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 Aug. 16 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 Aug. 10-16

Imports of tomatoes containing vines, stems or calyces from tomato leafminer-infested countries will no longer be allowed by the Animal Plant Health and Inspection Service effective Sept. 13, APHIS said in a federal order issued Aug. 14. The federal order also updated the trapping requirements for tomato leafminer, Tuta absoluta, for detection and surveillance. This federal order updates and replaces the previous Tuta absoluta Federal Order DA-26, dated May 5, 2011.