The International Trade Administration published notices in the May 21, 2012, Federal Register on the following AD/CV proceedings (any notices that announce changes to AD/CV duty rates, the scope, affected firms, or effective dates will be detailed in another ITT article):
A NAFTA panel remanded, in part, the final results of the International Trade Administration’s 2005-06 administrative review of the antidumping duty order on carbon and certain alloy steel wire rod from Canada (A-122-840) on May 11, 2012, according to the ITA. While the NAFTA panel affirmed certain aspects of the ITA’s final results, it remanded the final results to the ITA to explain its statutory interpretation underlying its approach of granting offsets for non-dumped sales (i.e., not zeroing) in original investigations while denying such offsets (i.e, zeroing) in administrative reviews in a manner consistent with Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit precedent.
On May 18, 2012, the Food and Drug Administration posted new and revised versions of the following Import Alerts on the detention without physical examination of:
Caribe Produce LTD Co. of McAllen, TX, is recalling 286 cases of Papaya Maradol, Caribeña Brand papayas packed in 35 lb. cartons marked with the brand “Caribeña“ and “Product of Mexico" stamped on the side, said the Food and Drug Administration. The papayas are sold individually, and each one bears a label which states “3112 CARIBEÑA Papaya MARADOL PRODUCT OF MEXICO www.grandeproduce.com.” These papayas have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.
River Ranch Fresh Foods, LLC of Salinas, CA recalled retail and food service bagged salads, because they have the potential of being contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes following routine random retail salad finished product tests conducted in the marketplace by the Food and Drug Administration, said the FDA. Retail salad products under this recall were distributed in the U.S. and Canada under various sizes and packaged under the brand names of River Ranch, Farm Stand, Hy-Vee, Marketside, Shurfresh, and The Farmer’s Market. Food service salad products under this recall were distributed in the U.S. and Canada under various sizes and packaged under the brand names of River Ranch, Cross Valley, Fresh n Easy, Promark, and Sysco.
Gills Onions, LLC of Oxnard, CA is initiating a voluntary recall of 2,360 pounds of diced red onions with lot code 51RDA1A2119 and use-by-dates May 14, 15 and 17, 2012, because it may be contaminated by Listeria monocytogenes, said the Food and Drug Administration. The product is beyond its use-by-date, but FDA said no other Gills Onions product is affected by this recall.
The Food and Drug Administration requested comments by July 20, 2012, and announced a public meeting on June 19, 2012 in Washington, DC, on its capacity-building plan, pursuant to the Food Safety and Modernization Act (FSMA), to improve international food safety capacity. FDA said the meeting, entitled “International Capacity Building with Respect to Food Safety,” will open with a discussion of the context for international food safety capacity building and then proceed with more specific discussions about the capacity-building plan.
On May 18, 2012, the Foreign Agricultural Service issued the following GAIN reports:
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service issued emails May 18, 2012, announcing changes to some 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 Codex Committee on Import & Export Inspection & Certification Systems (CCFICS) invited Codex Members and Observers to participate in a meeting in Grange, Ireland, July 9-12, 2012, to consider Section 4 of the Proposed Draft Principles and Guidelines for National Food Control Systems, said the Food Safety and Inspection Service. Australia and the European Union will co-chair the meeting. Parties interested in participating should contact Ann Backhouse, Australian Secretariat (codex.contact@daff.gov.au) and Bernadette Klink-Khachan, European Union Codex Contact Point (codex@ec.europa.eu) by May 22, 2012.