Jul 23, 2019NAMI's Annual Hot Dog Lunch Hits Grand Slam on Capitol Hill.
More than 50 members of Congress and over 1,000 congressional staff, meat industry representatives and members of the media filled the Rayburn House Office Building Courtyard on Capitol Hill last Wednesday to celebrate July as National Hot Dog Month at the Meat Institute Annual Hot Dog Lunch.
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Jul 23, 2019FSIS Denies Petition for Cancer Warning Label on Meat and Poultry Products.
The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) denied a petition submitted by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) that requested warning labels be placed on processed meat and poultry products that warned consumers of an increased risk of cancer.
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Jul 22, 2019NAMI Attends and Provides Oral Comments at Dietary Guidelines Meeting.
The Meat Institute attended and provided oral comments at the 2020 Dietary
Guidelines Advisory Committee's second meeting July 10 and 11 in
Washington, DC. The first day's meeting included presentations outlining
the approaches for the scientific reviews from the six topic area...
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Jul 19, 2019NHDSC Celebrates National Hot Dog Month and its 25th Anniversary.
The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council (NHDSC) is teaming up with the Beef Checkoff to promote July's National Hot Dog Month. This year's Hot Dog Month marks the 25th anniversary of the launch of the NHDSC as a project of the American Meat Institute.
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Jul 16, 2019NAMI to Host Annual Hot Dog Lunch on Capitol Hill.
More than 1,000 lawmakers, congressional staff, meat industry representatives and members of the media are expected to attend NAMI's Annual Hot Dog Lunch this Wednesday, July 17, on Capitol Hill.
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Jul 16, 2019FSIS Issues Compliance Guideline on Meat and Poultry Kit Labeling.
The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS or the agency) announced the availability of the agency's guideline on kit products that contain a meat or poultry component. The guideline helps establishments and other food handling facilities determine whether a kit product needs to be prepared...
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Jul 16, 2019NAMI Executive Board Makes Environmental Impact a Non-Competitive Issue.
The Meat Institute Executive Board of Directors gathered in Chicago last week and unanimously agreed to make environmental impact a non-competitive issue, encouraging member companies to share sustainability best practices with each other and freeing their staffs to advise others in the industry...
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Jul 11, 20192020 IPPE Sponsorships Are Now Available.
Sponsorships are now available for the 2020 International Production and Processing Expo (IPPE), the world's largest annual meat, poultry and feed industry event of its kind. Sponsorship requests will be accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis beginning at 9 a.m. EDT on July 1.
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Jul 11, 2019Registration Open for Meat Industry Food Safety Conference.
Registration is open for the Meat Industry Food Safety Conference, which will be held Sept. 4 - 5, 2019 in Rosemont, Illinois. The Meat Industry Food Safety Conference provides valuable insights for the beef, pork and processed meat industries through a combination of general sessions and sector...
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Jul 10, 2019FSIS to Implement PHR Update for Scheduling PHREs.
The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) posted the Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 list of Public Helath Regulations (PHRs) and their corresponding thresholds. FSIS uses a number of decision criteria described in Directive 5100.4 to prioritize establishments for Public Health Risk Evaluations (PHREs).
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Jul 9, 2019FNS Proposes to Delay the Grain "Ounce Equivalents" Requirement for CACFP.
USDA's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) proposed a delay to the implementation date of the "ounce equivalents" requirement for crediting grains served in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) from Oct. 1, 2019 until Oct. 1, 2021.
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Jul 9, 2019Timeline and Requirements for Trade Agreements Available.
A chart mapping the timeline and requirements for trade agreements under TPA-2015 legislation can be found here. Meat Institute members can use this timeline to track progress on U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) ratification.
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Jul 9, 2019Foundation Board of Directors Meet for Mid-Year Meeting.
The Foundation for Meat and Poultry Research and Education Board of Directors met on June 26 to receive updates on Foundation activities. A financial update which included research revenue and expenses as well as a fundraising update was presented.
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Jul 8, 2019FSIS Issues Final Response to Petition Asking for Equal Standards for Chitterlings Inspection.
The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) issued a final response to a petition - made by Import Export Associates Inc. on behalf of CFK Foods in February 2016 - that asked FSIS to review and modify its procedures to ensure imported and domestic chitterlings are subject to equivalent standards.
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Jul 8, 2019NAMI, Beef Checkoff Partner With RDs to Spread Love for Prepared Meat.
The Meat Institute, a contractor to the Beef Checkoff, has partnered with several registered dieticians and bloggers to spread awareness of the delicious and nutritious benefits of prepared meat products. Multiple popular food blogs, including Living Well Kitchen, Sweet Cayenne, Fannetastic Food,...
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Jul 8, 2019Trump and Xi Restart Trade Talks at G20 Summit.
President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met at the G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan over the weekend. The two countries are restarting trade talks after Trump offered concessions, including no new tariffs and fewer restrictions on tech company Huawei in order to reduce tensions with...
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Jul 2, 2019China Halts All Meat Imports From Canada.
China has suspended all meat imports from Canada after an investigation into ractopamine findings in a batch of Canadian pork products turned up counterfeit veterinary health certificates, according to a Chinese Embassy statement. The embassy said 188 forged certificates were discovered.
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Jul 2, 2019USDA Rejects Activist Group's Petition to Declare Feces an Adulterant.
The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) rejected a petition from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) asking FSIS to declare fecal contamination an adulterant under federal meat and poultry inspection laws. FSIS's response came a year after PCRM sued USDA for a response...
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Jul 2, 2019House Approves FY2020 Agriculture Funding.
The House passed a $383 billion spending package last week that will fund seven of the nation's 15 federal departments, including USDA and FDA, for the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1.
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Jul 1, 2019USDA Enhances Livestock Mandatory Reporting Negotiated Cattle Reports.
Beginning June 25, 2019, USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service will expand the purchase categories on Livestock Mandatory Reporting (LMR) negotiated cattle reports to include dressed FOB and live delivered information. All negotiated cattle reports will reflect the same format as the National...
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Jul 1, 2019Colorado Becomes 13th State to "Ban the Box."
Colorado became the 13th state to prohibit employers from asking job applicants about their previous criminal convictions on job applications, also known as "banning the box." The law will prohibit employers from advertising that a person with a criminal history shouldn't apply, writing on...
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Jun 28, 2019CAC to Consider Paper Examining Historical Application of Codex Procedures.
The Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), along with its Executive Committee, will meet in July to consider a paper that examines how the Codex "Statements of Principle Concerning the Role of Science" and other Codex procedures have been applied historically. The Statements of Principle require...
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Jun 28, 2019FDA Announces New Qualified Health Claims for EPA and DHA Omega-3 Consumption.
FDA announced last week that it would not object to qualified health claims for foods and dietary supplements stating the consumption of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) may reduce the risk of hypertension and coronary heart disease by lowering blood pressure.
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Jun 28, 2019Americans Eat Too Much Processed Meat, Not Enough Fish, Study Finds.
A new study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics found that U.S. adults still eat the same amount of processed meat and fish as they did 18 years ago, despite public health guidelines encouraging change.
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Jun 27, 2019U.S. Red Meat and Poultry Exports Expected to Increase in 2020.
U.S. exports of red meat and poultry are expected to increase by more than 4 percent, according to USDA's latest forecast in its Livestock, Dairy and Poultry Outlook report. The report forecasts beef exports to increase 2.7 percent next year, due to lower anticipated competition in Asian markets.
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Jun 27, 2019NAMI, Beef Checkoff Partner With RDs to Spread Love for Prepared Meat.
The Meat Institute, a contractor to the Beef Checkoff, has partnered with several registered dieticians and bloggers to spread awareness of the delicious and nutritious benefits of prepared meat products. Multiple popular food blogs, including Living Well Kitchen, Sweet Cayenne, Fannetastic Food,...
more...
Jun 27, 2019NAMI Re-Vamps FAD Web Page, Provides Guidance on FAD Preparedness.
Meat Institute staff, with member input, have developed guidance documents to help establishments prepare for and recognize the clinical signs of various foreign animal diseases (FAD), including African Swine Fever and Foot and Mouth Disease.
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Jun 25, 2019Mexico Becomes First Country to Ratify USMCA.
Mexico's Senate approved the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) on June 19, making the country the first to officially ratify the deal. By an overwhelming majority, Mexico's Senate backed the trade agreement, which was negotiated to replace the 25-year-old North American Trade...
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Jun 25, 2019FSIS Provides Notice on Label Verification of Imported Raw Beef Products.
The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) issued a notice last week that provided instruction to inspection program personnel (IPP) for verifying imported beef products with the instructional statement claims "For Cooking Only" or "For Full Lethality Treatment."
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Jun 25, 2019Lighthizer Testifies Before Congress on USMCA.
Last week, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer testified before the Senate Finance Committee and House Ways and Means to discuss the Trump Administration's trade policy and the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
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Jun 24, 2019FNS Extends Comment Period for Its Proposal on SNAP Regulation Changes.
The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) in April 2019 proposed to make changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) regulations pertaining to the eligibility of certain SNAP retail food stores. When that proposal was published, FNS inadvertently excluded two supporting documents -...
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Jun 24, 2019USDA and HHS Invite Public Comments for 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee.
USDA, in coordination with the U.S. Health and Human Services Department (HHS) is inviting the public to give oral comments at the second meeting of the 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. The meeting will be held at USDA headquarters in the Jefferson Auditorium on July 10 and 11....
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Jun 24, 2019NextGen Family Business Workshop - Space Still Available!
Register now for the Meat Institute's NextGen Family Business workshop, June 25-26, 2019 at the Hyatt Regency in Indianapolis, IN. This workshop offers family businesses in the meat industry a unique opportunity to train the next generation of family employees alongside other family businesses in...
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