Last week, Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) questioned the USDA over the safety of meats imported to the U.S. from China and the adequacy of the food safety inspection program in that country. Earlier this month the USDA announced that meats processed in Chinese facilities will be allowed into American markets with no label indicating where they were … Read more
The acquisition of Smithfield Foods by Shaunghui Holdings International was approved by the federal Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States last week according to the company. That committee reviews international business deals to determine any effect on national security. This acquisition will be the largest takeover of a U.S. company by a Chinese firm. The … Read more
After the USDA announced that they were going to let Chinese facilities export processed poultry to the U.S., Food & Water Watch asked to see copies of the audit reports, which were not released. USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) posted the audits last Friday, and there are some serious issues in those plants. … Read more
Last week, the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service approved certain Chinese chicken processing facilities to export product to the United States. Their audit says that China’s processed poultry inspection system safety system is equivalent to the U.S. system. The report states that “the Central Competent Authority (CCA) has adequately addressed all previously identified concerns. … Read more
Food and Water Watch has joined with other consumer and farm organizations to ask the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to reject the proposed Shuanghui Holdings acquisition of Smithfield Foods. The proposed purchase was announced in May 2013. Signers of the letter include Center for Rural Affairs, Land Stewardship Project, Missouri Farmers Union, National … Read more
The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has published a notice in the Federal Register that it made a major change to the way it inspects countries that are eligible to export meat, poultry, and egg products to the U.S. The notice is Ongoing Equivalence Verifications of Foreign Regulatory Systems, Docket No. FSIS-2012-0049. Food … Read more
The FDA announced on December 11, 2012, that it has renewed an agreement with the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine of China (AQSIQ) to enhance cooperation between the two countries on food safety. The original agreement was struck in 2007. The announcement extends the agreement for five more years. The agreement includes … Read more
Consumer advocates are urging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to move swiftly to prevent any more pets from becoming sick or dying from tainted treats produced in China. Food & Water Watch and pet food safety advocates Mollie Morrissette and Susan Thixton asked FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg in a letter to take stronger … Read more
Food and Water Watch’s Wenonah Hauter says the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has failed to protect dogs from serious illness caused by contaminated jerky treats from China. In a scathing statement released Friday, Hauter, the organization’s executive director, blasted the FDA’s handling of a five-year probe of illnesses and deaths linked to chicken jerky … Read more