The Food and Drug Administration has issued a proposed rule to establish procedures by which a person may request that the agency establish or amend tolerances for unapproved new animal drugs where edible portions of animals imported into the U.S. may contain residues of such drugs (import tolerances), as well as procedures to revoke an existing import tolerance. Comments are due by April 24, 2012.
On January 23, 2012, the Food and Drug Administration posted new and revised versions of the following Import Alerts on the detention without physical examination of:
The Food and Drug Administration has issued its January 20, 2012 weekly sampling update on imported and domestic orange juice products that may be contaminated with the fungicide carbendazim. FDA states that based on the Environmental Protection Agency's conclusions from its preliminary risk assessment, consumption of orange juice with carbendazim at the low levels that have been reported to date does not raise safety concerns. (Sampling and testing of imports at the border began on January 4, 2012, with FDA planning to refuse any imports that tested for carbendazim at 10 ppb or more. FDA had also provided rules for exempting manufacturers from testing.)
The USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service issued a January 12, 2012 proposed rule to address the use of vitamins and minerals in organic food and organic infant formula. The proposed rule would align the organic standards for these products with Food and Drug Administration rules and provide a clear list of the essential synthetic nutrient vitamins and minerals that are allowed in organic food and infant formula. Comments on the proposed rule are due by March 12, 2012.
The Environmental Protection Agency has announced the final 2012 recognition criteria for the Most Efficient of ENERGY STAR. In the second year of this pilot effort, eight product categories will be eligible: (1) clothes washers, (2) air-source heat pumps, (3) central air conditioners, (4) furnaces, (5) geothermal heat pumps, (6) boilers, (7) refrigerator-freezers, and (8) televisions. EPA has issued the final recognition criteria, a comment response document, and instructions for obtaining recognition in 2012. Recognition criteria for each of the eight product categories are available via email by sending a request to documents@brokerpower.com.
On January 20, 2012, the Food and Drug Administration posted new and revised versions of the following Import Alerts on the detention without physical examination of:
The Food and Drug Administration has posted a question and answer document geared to consumers on Carbendazim and orange juice products. FDA explains it has received reports that low levels of the chemical carbendazim have been found in some orange juice products that contain imported orange juice concentrates. FDA believes that the levels of carbendazim are so low that there are no public health concerns. However, it is collecting and analyzing samples of orange juice products that arrive at U.S. borders from all countries and will not allow any that contain measurable levels of carbendazim to enter the U.S. It adds that Brazil and Mexico are the top two countries that ship orange juice concentrate to the U.S. and both allow carbendazim use; however, more than 75%of the orange juice sold in the U.S. is from oranges grown here. Additional FDA information available here.
On January 19, 2012, the Food and Drug Administration posted new and revised versions of the following Import Alerts on the detention without physical examination of:
The Food and Drug Administration issued its weekly Enforcement Report for January 18, 2012 that lists the status of recalls and field corrections for food, drugs, biologics, and devices. The report covers both domestic and foreign firms.
On January 18, 2012, the Food and Drug Administration posted new and revised versions of the following Import Alerts on the detention without physical examination of: