The International Trade Administration issued the final results of the administrative review of the antidumping duty order on lightweight thermal paper from Germany (A-428-840) which sets an AD cash deposit rate for one manufacturer/exporter. This rate, which is effective April 9, 2012, is expected to be implemented by U.S. Customs and Border Protection soon.
The Food Safety and Inspection Service reports that the 6th session of the Codex Committee on Contaminants in Food met on March 26-30 in the Netherlands, and the 27th Session of the Codex Committee on General Principles met on April 2-6 in France. The Committees discussed risk analysis principles on contaminants in animal feed, and a discussion on why standards are held at Step 8 rather than adopted. Details of the meetings follow:
The Agricultural Marketing Service is announcing a meeting of the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) on May 22-25, 2012. Topics covered at the meeting will include proposals that address petitions pertaining to the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances (National List), proposals that address substances on the National List that are due to sunset in 2013, proposals that address issues on materials and excluded methods, and proposals to amend the NOSB Policies and Procedures Manual. The meeting will be open to the public. Written public comments are due by May 3. The meeting agenda, NOSB proposals, instructions for submitting and viewing public comments, and instructions for requesting a time slot for oral comments are available on the National Organic Program (NOP) website here.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is requesting comments by May 7, 2012, on its risk analysis and draft phytosanitary measures for the importation into the continental U.S. of fresh litchi, longan, and rambutan fruit from the Philippines, which is currently not allowed. After reviewing the comments, if the overall conclusions of the risk analysis and the Administrator’s determination of risk remain unchanged following APHIS’ consideration of the comments, then APHIS will authorize the importation of fresh fruit of litchi, longan, and rambutan from the Philippines into the continental U.S.
The Agricultural Marketing Service released a letter to industry representatives saying country of origin labeling (COOL) regulations will remain in force and that the U.S. Department of Agriculture strongly supports the U.S. Trade Representative’s appeal in the World Trade Organization (WTO) to defend its existing COOL regulations. Under COOL, retailers must give their customers information about the origin of various food products, including fruits, vegetables, fish and shellfish and meats. The final COOL regulations became effective March 16, 2009. AMS is responsible for the implementation, administration and enforcement of the COOL regulations.
Immigrations and Customs Enforcement said the multi-agency Border Enforcement Security Task Force (BEST) seized about 28 kilograms of cocaine hidden in a container arriving at the Port of San Juan, Puerto Rico, on April 3. The contraband, which tested positive for cocaine during a field test, was found onboard the M/V Freemantle Express arriving from Caucedo, Dominican Republic. ICE said there were no arrests associated with this seizure, but the investigation continues.
A listing of recent antidumping and countervailing duty messages from the International Trade Administration posted to U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Web site as of April 5, 2012, along with the case number(s) and CBP message number, is provided below. The messages are available by searching on the listed CBP message number at http://addcvd.cbp.gov.
The Food and Drug Administration said TWI Foods Inc., of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, is voluntarily recalling Crispy brand cookies and Rusk, a hard crisp bread. According to the FDA, the affected products contain almonds and/or milk, two of the eight most common allergens, which are not clearly declared on the label. The Canadian-manufactured cookies products were sent to 28 U.S. distributors in 15 states, including California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Texas, Virginia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, and Washington.
The Food and Drug Administration is alerting healthcare professionals that another cancer drug, originating from a foreign source and purchased by U.S. medical practices, has been determined to be counterfeit. FDA lab tests have confirmed that a counterfeit version of Roche’s Altuzan 400mg/16ml (bevacizumab), an injectable cancer medication, found in the U.S. contains no active ingredient. Even if the identified drugs were not counterfeit, Altuzan is not approved by FDA for use in the U.S. (it is an approved drug in Turkey). Medical practices obtained the counterfeit Altuzan and other unapproved products through foreign sources, in particular from Richards Pharma, also known as Richards Services, Warwick Healthcare Solutions, or Ban Dune Marketing Inc (BDMI).
The Foreign Trade Zones Board announced two outreach events to provide training and enable discussion about the new FTZ regulations in Houston on May 17, 2012. In the first session, FTZB will provide general training open to anyone interested in attending, including grantees, and will cover a range of provisions of the new regulations. A second outreach session will be for officials of grantee organizations, and will focus on regulatory provisions that have a direct impact on the grantee role. RSVPs are required by May 14, 2012, to attend the outreach events. The FTZB also said it's planning similar events in San Diego on September 13, and will post details on its website soon.