FSMA and Grain Elevators

FSMA and Grain Elevators

FSMA rules can apply to just about any entity in the animal or human food supply chain, from the producers to packagers to transporters and anyone in between. But do the new rules apply to typical grain elevators? In this blog post, I answer that question: usually no, because typical grain elevators are exempt from the most common FSMA regulations.

Read More

What Do the Controversial New GIPSA Rules Really Say...and Does it Matter?

What Do the Controversial New GIPSA Rules Really Say...and Does it Matter?

New GIPSA rules were announced on Tuesday. There are plenty of opinions out there criticizing and praising the regulations, but what do the new rules really say? And, with the incoming Trump administration, does it matter?

Read More

Food Safety Modernization Act: The Produce Rule

Food Safety Modernization Act: The Produce Rule

After years of legislative wrangling, rule-making, and extensive public feedback, the US Food and Drug Administration is finally implementing the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). The FSMA authorizes new regulations for farmers who grow certain kinds of fresh produce and for certain facilities that process food. The Standards for the Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption (known more commonly as the “Produce Rule”) can have an enormous effect on farmers. 

Read More

Gene Editing Regulation in the EU

Gene Editing Regulation in the EU

Gene editing (GE) is a game-changer for those in science, agriculture, or really for anyone who eats food. Heat, disease, and drought resistant cattle, corn, pigs, and barley are already in the works. They are a way forward for farmers trying to feed our growing population in a changing climate. Right now the EU is struggling to decide how to regulate GE organisms--by reviewing the product, or by asking questions about the creation of the product. I think the EU--and the US--should follow Canada's lead and should regulate GE organisms based on the actual product. 

Read More

New Guidance for Genetically Engineered Organisms: What Does it Mean?

New Guidance for Genetically Engineered Organisms: What Does it Mean?

The USDA Animal Plant and Health Inspection Services just announced new guidance for extension requests for genetically engineered organisms. What does this mean for the public? Hopefully, it will lead to shorter review times, flexibility in extension requests, and more predictability from the government review processes. This should mean more innovation and less red tape.

Read More