President Obama’s first day in office: President Obama’s Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel sent a memo to all federal departments to halt the implementation of rules issued during the final days of the Bush Administration. The halt would allow for a full review by the Obama Administration, according to press reports. Key among those rules for food and agriculture are the final rule on mandatory country-of-origin labeling and the Food and Drug Administration’s rule on genetically engineered animals — both of which were issued last week.
Vilsack, the Rural Agenda, and Government Pork: Former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack was confirmed as the new Secretary of Agriculture, and will lead the Obama Administration’s USDA. While we are not exactly thrilled about Vilsack, we remain hopeful that the optimistic view some colleagues have on Vilsack will turn out to be true. On a more somber note, rumor has it that there are several even worse contenders for Under Secretary. The Deputy Secretary and under secretaries of USDA are more influential than you may think, and are key to several important USDA programs. Among those reported to be under consideration are Joy Philippi, the former president of the National Pork Producers Council, and former USDA candidate Dennis Wolfe – the Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary who, at Monsanto’s bidding, tried to ban information about artificial dairy hormones from milk labels. Our friend Jill Richardson blogs about it at La Vida Locavore. Despite these less than stellar possibilities, Obama’s Rural Agenda is quite promising. Check out the Rural Agenda page on the newly revamped White House website–it even has a blog!–and browse around.
Recalls continue on salmonella tainted peanut butter: Over the past week, several companies have recalled products, ranging from cereal to ice cream, because the products included peanut ingredients supplied by Peanut Corporation of America (PCA). According to reports, PCA’s peanut butter is not sold directly to consumers but distributed to institutions and food companies. But the peanut paste, made from roasted peanuts, is an ingredient in cookies, cakes and other products that people buy in the supermarket. So far, more than 470 people have gotten sick in 43 states, and at least 90 had to be hospitalized. At least six deaths are being blamed on the outbreak. Salmonella is a bacteria and the most common source of food poisoning in the U.S., causing diarrhea, cramping and fever. In 2007, a salmonella outbreak that sickened more than 625 people in 47 states was also linked to peanut butter.
As the salmonella scare continues with dozens of recalls by the FDA the agency is urging people to avoid products made with peanut paste and peanut butter. While the list of possibly affected products continues to expand (unfortunately it now includes several types of protein / energy bars–for fellow parents with active kids who would live on these things if you’d let them, here’s a good recipe to make your own protein / energy bars should you feel so inspired!), the agency says peanut butter in jars is probably safe to eat.
Schillinger Seed launches non-GMO soybean seed brand: Iowa-based Schillinger Seed has launched eMerge Genetics, “the industry’s first premium non-GMO soybean seed brand,” to respond to increased demand by farmers for non-GM seed. John Schillinger, President and founder of the company, said, “Food companies are coming to us with aggressive grain premiums in order to get the types of soybean products [Non-GMO] they want” (Corn and Soybean Digest).
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