The Food Safety Modernization Act
The Food Safety Modernization Act has now been a reality for a few months. We want to urge you to familiarize your organizations with it and to understand how best to prepare for its requirements –...
View ArticleAmerican Beverage Association Sues State Over “Bottle Bill” Amendments
Amendments to Michigan’s Bottle Bill effective March 1, 2011 required bottle manufacturers to provide Michigan-specific markings on non-alcoholic bottles and cans meeting certain sales thresholds. The...
View ArticleFDA Issues First Annual Reportable Food Registry Report
In late January, the FDA issued its report on the first year of the Reportable Food Registry. According to Michael Taylor, FDA Deputy Commissioner for Foods, the data contained in the report...
View ArticleEPA Promulgates New Air Quality Regulations for Industrial and Commercial...
In February 2011, the U.S. EPA promulgated new regulations that will require the use of Maximum Achievable Control Technology (“MACT”) for reducing hazardous air pollutant (“HAP”) emissions from...
View ArticleMDA to Implement Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program
A recently enacted law will expand the Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program (MAEAP), a voluntary program to help farmers improve environmental practices and reward those that meet...
View ArticleMaking It In Michigan Conference and Trade Show
For more than a year food processors have gathered to discuss various topics and issues facing the industry at monthly Food Processors Lunch & Learns in Grand Rapids. This month, the October 19th...
View ArticleRailroads and the Food Industry
Happy New Year! I’ve promised myself and our marketing department that 2012 will a year of blogging. And that the blogging will reflect much more of my focus on the food industry generally, and not a...
View ArticleBanks & the Food Businesses: Do We Have a Gap in Understanding?
Recently, I’ve worked for a client on refinancing their credit facility. The client is a food processor, and my role in the refinancing was to educate everyone involved (while advocating for my...
View ArticlePersonal Liability Under FSMA?
A week ago, I walked into lunch at the Michigan Agri-Business Association annual conference and was delighted to see a room full of folks; I was even more delighted to hear several of the lunch...
View Article“Pascalization” Provides a New Alternative for Food...
Pascalization, also known as high-pressure processing (HPP), is a procedure for subjecting food to extreme water pressure (typically 40,000 to 80,000 PS) inside pressure chambers. The extreme...
View ArticleAn Update on FDA Records Access Powers
Earlier this month, FDA issued an interim final rule (and request for comments) regarding record availability requirements, new draft guidance for industry on its authority to access records, and...
View ArticleCalifornia Transparency in Supply Chains Act: Big Food Manufacturers Beware
A new law in California – the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act – became effective on January 1, 2012 and it imposes new obligations on large food processors (and other manufacturers), even...
View ArticleIt’s Back! MIFOOD2012
If you've been wondering about the annual Food Summit, the answers are here! I'm on the planning committee for this year's annual Michigan Food Processing & Agri-Business Summit and am delighted...
View ArticleThe Food Safety Modernization Act: Will FSMA Require Changes to Company...
A couple of weeks ago I attended a Michigan Food Protection and Defense Working Group meeting. The crowd included many folks from the food industry and from state government. A few people raised the...
View ArticlePink Slime: The Demise of Beef Products, Inc.
I encourage all food businesses to take a moment and give real thought to whether your business is susceptible, either directly or indirectly, to consequences similar to that which has befallen Beef...
View ArticleVarnum Event Planned to Discuss Importing Produce
The unusually early spring in March and frosts in April have caused a fair amount of turmoil for Michigan produce growers, particularly apple and cherry farms. That, in turn, has left a number of...
View ArticleHow old do you think the average Michigan farmer is?
I attended the Michigan Food Processors & Agri-Business Summit last week. It was full of great information and insight, including a staggering statistic regarding the average age of the Michigan...
View ArticleMeet the Inspector: MDARD and MDEQ
We held our monthly Food Processors Lunch & Learn event on Wednesday, July 18 and listened to representatives from the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) and the...
View ArticleU.S. Food Safety Regulations & Foreign Operations: International...
Last week, I had the opportunity to teach a session at Michigan State University's Institute for Food Law and Regulation on U.S. Food Safety Regulation. The class was filled with students and...
View ArticleFDA Promises to Not Enforce Food Safety Requirements…Yet
The food industry is trying to prepare for the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), in particular, the new requirement (which is likely to have the greatest impact) requiring food facilities to...
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