Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the following voluntary recalls March 27 (country of manufacture in parentheses):
The Environmental Protection Agency set a tolerance for the pesticide clothianidin in dried tea, in a final rule effective March 29. The agency also increased the tolerance level for the pesticide in pepper to support a shorter pre-harvest interval, it said. Objections on the final rule are due by May 28.
On March 27 the Food and Drug Administration posted new and revised versions of the following Import Alerts on the detention without physical examination of:
During the week of March 18-24, the Food and Drug Administration modified the following existing Import Alerts (not otherwise listed on the FDA's new and revised import alerts page) on the detention without physical examination and/or surveillance of:
The Food and Drug Administration issued its weekly Enforcement Report for March 27 that lists the status of recalls and field corrections for food, drugs, biologics, and devices. The report covers both domestic and foreign firms.
The Food and Drug Administration ordered a Canadian device manufacturer to stop marketing its device in the U.S. for unapproved uses, and renew its lapsed registration, in a warning letter dated March 13. According to FDA, Body, Mind & Soul, Inc. is marketing its “Celluderm,” a therapeutic massager, for uses as diverse as boosting the immune system, reduction of water retention, relief of headaches and restless legs, and breast cyst reduction. Marketing for new intended uses requires premarket notification to the agency. Without a premarket approval notification (PMA), its device is adulterated. The company did not complete a facility registration for 2013 either, FDA said.
On March 27 the Foreign Agricultural Service issued the following GAIN reports:
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced changes March 27 to Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) electronic manuals. While some changes are minor, other changes may affect the admissibility of the plant products, including fruits, vegetables, and flowers.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service said it is creating an EU poultry trade region comprising 25 member states of the European Union (all except Bulgaria and Romania), and is declaring the new region free of Newcastle disease and highly pathogenic avian influenza. The APHIS final rule, which is effective April 15, establishes requirements for importing live birds and poultry, as well as poultry meat and products, from the new EU poultry trade region. It also allows importation from the EU poultry trade region of hatching eggs under official seal. The rule finalizes a proposal issued by APHIS in July 2012 (see 11071826).
U.S. exports of high-value agricultural goods to South Korea reached a record $2.9 billion in 2012 as a result of the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement, said the Foreign Agricultural Service. KFTA, which entered into effect a little over one year ago, has particularly benefited exporters of fruit, tree nuts, dairy, and vegetable products. Corn exports, on the other hand, have dramatically fallen due to a drought in the U.S. and increased competition from Brazil and the E.U., FAS said.