Chicago | Reuters — The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Tuesday it has put out a request for proposals to help the nation’s veterinarians have access to bird flu vaccines for poultry this fall, in preparation for the potential return of the fast-spreading avian influenza virus. The agency’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) […] Read more
USDA moves to build vaccine stockpile for bird flu return
Avian flu controls lifted in 10 U.S. states
U.S. animal health officials have closed the books for now on avian influenza infections in 10 states, with five others remaining. In its latest report to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) last week, the U.S. federal Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) said all control areas for avian flu have been released […] Read more
White House directs U.S. GMO regulators to update oversight
Reuters — The White House on Thursday directed the three U.S. agencies that oversee biotech crop products to improve and modernize their regulatory “framework” to boost public confidence in a system that critics call a failure. The order, announced in a statement by President Barack Obama’s Office of Science and Technology Policy, followed demands by […] Read more
Groups urge tighter controls as U.S. considers GM crop regulation
Reuters — Dozens of consumer and food groups and businesses asked the U.S. government on Monday for tighter regulation of genetically engineered crops, calling the current system a “failure.” The U.S. Department of Agriculture has said it was considering changes to the way it regulates biotech crops and set a public comment period that expired […] Read more
Potato ‘fields’ clarified for cross-border trade
Canadian and U.S. food inspectors have agreed on what they mean by a “field” in any restrictions they place on potato trade on account of potato cyst nematodes. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) on Tuesday announced new revisions to their Guidelines on Surveillance and Phytosanitary […] Read more
H5N8 avian flu found in Indiana
Reuters — A strain of avian flu that until now had been found only in the western U.S. has cropped up in Indiana, bringing the total number of states affected by the virulent outbreak to 15, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Monday. The eastward spread of any strain of the highly contagious H5 virus […] Read more
U.S. seen approving Brazil fresh beef imports
Sao Paulo | Reuters –– Brazil’s agriculture ministry said on Friday the U.S. is likely to approve imports of Brazilian fresh beef this year, after President Dilma Rousseff visits Washington in June. Brazil, the world’s top beef exporter, is already a steady exporter of cooked beef that appears in items such as canned corned beef […] Read more
U.S. developing bird flu vaccine, no distribution plans yet
Chicago | Reuters — The U.S. government is developing a vaccine to protect poultry from new strains of avian flu that have recently killed birds from Arkansas to Washington state. Within two months, scientists at a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) research lab in Georgia will test the vaccine on chickens to see how well […] Read more
New conditions placed on P.E.I. potato exports to U.S.
Potato wart’s appearance in another Prince Edward Island potato field in August has led to a new round of rules for the province’s potato exports to the U.S. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) on Monday announced new requirements effective “immediately” for such exports, citing the detection of potato wart in 23 fields in the […] Read more
USDA approves Monsanto’s new GMO soybeans, cotton
Reuters — Monsanto Co. received final U.S. approval on Thursday for herbicide-tolerant crops to be used with a new herbicide the company says will fight problematic weed resistance on farm fields, but critics say will only worsen the problems. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) said the genetically modified […] Read more
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