As Farm Bill Becomes Law, COOL Concerns Continue

With the bulk of the farm bill becoming law last week, mandatory country-of-origin labeling (COOL) will finally become a reality. - Posted 5/27/08 by AHB

Congress Overrides Veto On Most Farm Bill Provisions

Both houses of Congress had overridden President Bush's farm bill veto, but will still have to do some re-voting to address the 34 missing pages of trade legislation inadvertently dropped from the vetoed version. - Posted 5/27/08 by AHB

Bush Vetoes Farm Bill, Override Expected Soon

As expected, President Bush formally vetoed the 2007 farm bill today. - Posted 5/21/08 by AHB

FSIS Releases Compliance Guideline For Salmonella And Campylobacter

USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service has posted the second edition of the compliance guideline for salmonella and has added guidelines for controlling campylobacter. - Posted 5/21/08 by AHB

USDA To Ban Downer Cattle Slaughter

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer announced his intention to ban slaughter of cattle at federally inspected facilities that go down after initial inspection. - Posted 5/20/08 by AHB

State-Inspected Meat Across State Lines Could Be 18 Months Away

According to final 2007 farm bill language that was passed by both houses of Congress last week, a provision that would allow some state-inspected processors with 25 or fewer employees to ship product across state lines could still be 18 months away. - Posted 5/20/08 by AHB

House Passes Farm Bill By Wide Margin

The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed the 2007 farm bill by a 318-to-106 vote, indicating the possibility of enough congressional support to garner the two-thirds majority needed to override a presidential veto. - Posted 5/15/08 by AHB

Bush Issues Statement On Farm Bill Veto, Calls For Current Law Extension

President Bush on Tuesday issued a statement explaining his decision to veto the 2007 farm bill once it is passed by Congress and again called for a one-year extension of current law. - Posted 5/14/08 by AHB

HSUS Shoots Video Of Downed Cattle At Auction Houses

The Humane Society of the United States said it met with Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer last week to discuss videos it shot during April and May of downer cattle being ignored or mistreated at auction houses in Maryland, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Texas. - Posted 5/8/08 by AHB

Statement Of Dr. Richard Raymond Regarding The Safety Of The U.S. Food Supply

USDA Under Secretary for Food Safety addresses the safety of the U.S. food suppy. - Posted 5/5/08 by AHB

FDA Plans To Significantly Increase Staffing

The agency intends to hire hundreds with science and medical backgrounds to enhance the agency's ability to ens ure food and product safety. - Posted 5/2/08 by AHB

Congress Seeks Two-Week Farm Bill Extension

Both houses of Congress voted Thursday to extend current farm legislation for two more weeks to May 16 as agriculture committee conferees continue to try to hammer out new legislation that must pass Administration objections to become law. - Posted 5/2/08 by AHB

New Study Calls U.S. Meat Inspection Practices Outdated

There are major gaps in the nation's food safety system, including outdated practices around meat and poultry inspection, according to a new study released by the non-profit health advocacy group Trust for America's Health (TFAH). - Posted 5/1/08 by AHB

AMI Launches Updated COOL Website

The American Meat Institute has unveiled an updated version of its country-of-origin labeling Web site, www.countryoforiginlabel.org. - Posted 5/1/08 by AHB

School Lunch Suppliers Complying After Humane Handling Audit: USDA

U.S. beef processors implicated in a USDA audit of slaughterhouses in the wake of the Hallmark/Westland recall have remedied the problems that prompted the agency's Food Safety and Inspection Service to issue reprimands. - Posted 5/1/08 by AHB