FDA tweaks food safety rules due next year [Associated Press]
The
government said Friday it will rewrite sweeping new food safety rules after
farmers complained that earlier proposals could hurt business. New proposals by
the Food and Drug Administration would make it easier for farmers to meet water
quality standards and allow farmers to harvest crops sooner after using raw
manure as fertilizer. The FDA proposed the revised rules Friday, and the final
rules are due next fall….But after complaints from farmers big and small who
said the rules were too burdensome, the new proposal would lower some standards
for the amount of bacteria that can be found in irrigation water and reduce the
frequency with which it is tested. The proposal also reduces the amount of time
required between using raw manure and harvest and allows farmers to hold
produce in a packing house without facing further regulations. The smallest
farms would CONTINUE to be exempted from the rules.
U.S.
aims to curb peril of antibiotic resistance [New York Times]
The
Obama administration on Thursday announced measures to tackle the growing
threat of antibiotic resistance, outlining a national strategy that includes
incentives for the development of new drugs, tighter stewardship of existing
ones, and improvements in tracking the use of ANTIBIOTICS and the microbes that
are resistant to them. The actions are the first major White House effort to
confront a public health crisis that takes at least 23,000 lives a year, and
many experts were pleased that a president had finally focused on the issue.
But some said the strategy fell short in not recommending tougher measures against
the overuse of ANTIBIOTICS in agriculture, which, they argue, is a big part of
the problem….Under the order, Mr. Obama created a national task force to be led
by the secretaries of health and HUMAN SERVICES, defense and agriculture, and
he required that they deliver a five-year action plan by Feb. 15.
Congress
keeps California water talks flowing [Fresno Bee]
Secret
California water bill negotiations have a "55% to 60% chance" of
success during the fast-fading 113th Congress, Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer
said Thursday. In her first extended public comments on the closely held water
talks, Boxer voiced cautious optimism even as she criticized House Republicans
for trying to exclude Northern California Democrats. "I'm very
hopeful," Boxer told reporters. "I would say the discussions are
going well." Some negotiators convened as recently as Sunday in an effort
to narrow remaining differences, Boxer revealed. Like everyone else involved in
the ongoing negotiations, she carefully avoided discussing any specifics and
declined to identify what the major sticking points might be.
Another
dry winter for Valley [Visalia Times-Delta]
The
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Climate Prediction Center
reported Thursday the drought is going to remain or get worse with winter rain
and snow expected to remain below average in most of California, Nevada and
Oregon….Those conditions could lead to higher prices for fruits, vegetables and
nuts at grocery stores, agriculture trade groups say….Even for farmers with
water, the drought is having a big effects on their crops, said Joe Garcia, field
supervisor for citrus farms in Tulare and Kern counties.
"You
can see it in all the trees," he said pointing to leaves that were curling
and aren't as richly green as they normally should be at this time of year —
all signs of how much their irrigation has been cut back.
Beer
fight brewing over EPA rule [The Hill]
A
battle is brewing in the beer industry over a new regulation from the
Environmental Protection Agency that spells out the agency’s authority to
regulate bodies of water. Dozens of small craft brewers, such as Sierra Nevada
and New Belgium, are rallying behind the EPA’s proposed Waters of the U.S.
rule, arguing it will help ensure that they have clean water for their
products. But farmers who supply beer ingredients like barley, wheat and hops,
say the rule has the potential to massively cut production on their lands,
raising beer prices in the process. The divide has put trade groups for the
beer industry in a tough spot, caught between what one industry lobbyist
described as “competing interests.”
Agencies
meet for close-up look at whether pesticides harm bees [Modesto Bee]
About
100 people zipped themselves into beekeeping suits Thursday to see what’s
troubling the hives. The California Department of Pesticide Regulation held an
event near Modesto that dealt with whether pest-control chemicals are harming
the bees that pollinate many crops in the state and beyond. A few commercial
beekeepers showed how to examine the colonies for problems, which might include
disease, malnutrition, PARASITES, pesticide damage and more. The lessons were
mainly for pesticide regulators from the state agency and 16 county agricultural
commissioner’s offices, all of them dressed in the protective garb….The
pesticide issue is sensitive. On the one hand, most farmers rely on the
chemicals to ensure that insects do not reduce their crops. On the other hand,
many crops rely on pollination by bees, which allows their blossoms to develop
into almonds, apples, cucumbers, melons and many other foods.
Ag
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