Food Traceability Report articles from February 2010

Food Traceability Report archives from February 2010

Traceability solution providers bemoan tough sell to U.S. food firms.(REGULATORY WATCH)
February 1, 2010... Despite a wide array of technologies and pressure from trade associations and Congress, U.S. food firms are reluctant to adopt traceability solutions, speakers told the Traceability Interoperability Summit, Jan. 21-22, in Denver sponsored by the...

Brazil consolidates traceability by combining databases.
February 1, 2010... Brazilian sanitation and trade officials hope to kill several birds with one stone by consolidating origin, processing, sanitation, and transit data into a single database linking all players in the supply chain with consumers. The system...

Unnatural acts.(ADVENTITIOUS TRACES)(Brief article)
February 1, 2010... UNNATURAL ACTS: Bob Hibbert, a veteran Washington lawyer with the firm K&L Gates, last May memorably compared USDA's tedious process for defining the term "natural" to throwing feathers from one side of the room to the other. It hasn't...

Sustainable biotech.(ADVENTITIOUS TRACES)
February 1, 2010... SUSTAINABLE BIOTECH: The International Society of Bioethics has awarded its 2009 prize to a paper titled "More sustainable food: genetically modified seeds in organic farming" authored by Mertxe de Renobales Scheifler, a molecular biologist at...

Sinaloa goes global.(ADVENTITIOUS TRACES)(Brief article)
February 1, 2010... SINALOA GOES GLOBAL: The Mexican Association of Standards for Electronic Commerce (AMECE) launched its GS1 Global Traceability initiative by issuing sanitation compliance certificates to three Mexican meat exporters located in the state of...

New Zealand goes mandatory.(ADVENTITIOUS TRACES)
February 1, 2010... NEW ZEALAND GOES MANDATORY: Most industry groups in New Zealand welcomed the government's announcement Jan. 27 that it will make a livestock tracing scheme compulsory and pay for it, according to the New Zealand Press Association. Agriculture...

Sustainable seven.(ADVENTITIOUS TRACES)
February 1, 2010... SUSTAINABLE SEVEN: The Wisconsin-based Leonardo Academy has announced the appointment of seven new members to its SCS-001 Sustainable Agriculture Standards Committee, which is charged with developing a sustainable agriculture standard for...

Supreme Court decides to take Roundup Ready alfalfa case.(GRAINS)
February 1, 2010... The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear Monsanto's appeal of a lower court decision banning the planting of transgenic Roundup Ready alfalfa pending completion of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) by USDA's Animal and Plant Health...

European traders see growing impact of slow biotech approvals.
February 1, 2010... Although the European Union approved fewer transgenic crops for import last year than in the peak year of 2007, those varieties that did pass the bar were far more important, according to industry sources. The trade association EuropaBio...

Biotech varieties seen forcing U.S. wheat prices down 40%.
February 1, 2010... Introduction of genetically engineered varieties would drastically drop the price of wheat for U.S. farmers by 40% or more, according to a report released last month by the Western Organization of Resource Councils, a regional network...

USDA's Doug Bailey outlines meat and poultry traceability initiative.(MEAT, POULTRY & FISH)
February 1, 2010... Doug Bailey, chief information officer for USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service, last month outlined a public-private initiative to create traceability guidance for the meat and poultry industry similar to the Produce Traceability Initiative...

Coalition asks Vilsack for tougher meat tracback measures.
February 1, 2010... The Safe Food Coalition is once again pleading with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to address how USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service handles samples of raw meat products that test positive for E. coli O157:H7. In a Jan. 26 letter to...

Cattle industry groups propose principles for animal disease traceability.
February 1, 2010... Eight cattle industry groups led by the Livestock Marketing Association have presented to USDA and Congress 12 principles they say should be integrated into any cattle disease traceability system. At a roundtable discussion meeting, Nov. 4-5,...

McDonald's supports Canadian cattle traceability.
February 1, 2010... McDonald's Restaurants of Canada is supporting the Canadian government in its effort to implement mandatory livestock traceability by 2011, according to Farm Credit Canada. "McDonald's believes that a robust, national traceability system is...

Nicaragua's traceability implementation slows to a crawl.
February 1, 2010... Proponents of Nicaragua's national cattle/beef traceability system were bubbling with optimism when it was inaugurated in 2008, but the global economic downturn has forced implementation into low gear. Juan Carlos Miranda, who heads the...

American Meat Institute says COOL violates U.S. trade obligations.(LABELING)
February 1, 2010... Mandatory country-of-origin labeling (COOL) violates the United States' international trade obligations, the American Meat Institute has instructed the U.S. Trade Representative. AMI is responding to a Dec. 4 Federal Register notice seeking...

AMI comments on COOL reignite feud with R-CALF.
February 1, 2010... The American Meat institute's comments opposing mandatory country-of-origin labeling (COOL) have reignited a long-simmering feud with R-CALF USA, the Montana-based cattlemen's organization. Bill Bullard, R-CALF CEO, tells Food Traceability...

R-CALF USA challenges AMI's comments on COOL.
February 1, 2010... R-CALF USA, the Montana-based cattlemen's organization, says it has provided the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative with information challenging the American Meat Institute's claim that mandatory country-of-origin labeling (COOL)...

Fresh produce continues to score poorly on COOL audits, USDA says.
February 1, 2010... Poorly labeled fresh fruits and vegetables remain the leading items that cause retailers to fail compliance checks with the country-of-origin labeling (COOL) program, a USDA official told a webinar sponsored by the Produce Marketing Association...

Is a single standard the cure for traceability ills?(TRACEABILITY TOOLBOX)
February 1, 2010... "What the traceability industry needs right now is a single traceability standard." This idea was put forth by several speakers at the Traceability Interoperability Summit in Denver last month (see stories on Pages 1 and 6). They argued that...

Plaintiffs seek ban on cultivation of Roundup Ready sugar beets.(REGULATORY WATCH)
February 1, 2010... As expected, attorneys for the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Food Safety and its ally Earthjustice have filed court papers seeking a ban on Roundup Ready sugar beets. The petition calls for a moratorium on all planting, production and use of...

Organic Trade Association opens D.C. office to enhance advocacy.(ORGANICS)
February 1, 2010... The Organic Trade Association (OTA), headquartered in Greenfield, Mass., has opened an office in Washington, D.C., to enhance its advocacy efforts in the nation's capital. "OTA is very excited about achieving this milestone at the beginning...

Free traceability software.(PRODUCTS & SERVICES)
February 1, 2010... FoodLogiQ, based in Research Triangle Park, N.C., is launching a free version of an innovative application for growers, produce buyers and consumers. This technology solution makes the goal of farm-to-fork traceability achievable for family...

Product recall system.(PRODUCTS & SERVICES)
February 1, 2010... FoodTrack Inc., based in Wellington, Fla., has announced development of a new, patent pending product recall system designed to mitigate risk, protect consumer health and improve the effectiveness of the product recall process. Available later...

Organic research grants.(PRODUCTS & SERVICES)
February 1, 2010... USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture plans to release requests for applications for up to $800 million of grant funds through the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative later this month. NIFA grants represent an opportunity for...

Permanent identification and traceability.(PRODUCTS & SERVICES)
February 1, 2010... Agri-traceabilite International (ATI) designs and implements a permanent identification and traceability system for agri-food products in Quebec, Canada. ATI products include Reference Systemes' FastAuctionSoftware, which claims to manage a...

Traceability users conference.(PRODUCTS & SERVICES)(Conference news)
February 1, 2010... Sparta Systems, Inc., based in Holmdel, N.J., will hold its eighth annual user conference, TrackWise Connection 2010, March 15-19, at the Eden Roc Hotel and Spa in Miami Beach, Fla. This year's event will unite quality professionals from all...

Organic dairy farmers urge adoption of access-to-pasture rule.
February 1, 2010... Organic dairy farmers organized by the Wisconsin-based watchdog Cornucopia Institute are petitioning President Obama and the White House Office of Management and Budget to swiftly adopt a final rule for access to pasture by organic dairy cows....