are aware of, and disappointed in, the decision made by the USDA.

We encourage you to make your voice heard by contacting your legislators.

We continue to fight for organics and believe that now, more than ever,

is the time to support organics.

Links to more information

The food safety amendment, S.510, as written, offers a one-size fits-all approach that would place a heavy burden on smaller food producers. The Tester-Hagan Amendment (Jon Tester, D-MT and Kay Hagan D-NC) would exempt small farms and processing facilities from federal regulations, instead they would continue to be regulated by state standards.

S.510 is slated for a cloture vote on November 17th when Congress reconvenes after the election. Now is the time for our community to act.

The bill has many improvements over prior food safety bills, thanks to you. Grassroots calls and letters convinced the Senators negotiating the bill to work with CFSA and other sustainable ag organizations across the country to protect healthy, local, organic food and farming from crushing and unnecessary regulation. Congratulations on these victories. CFSA will publish a summary of these strong provisions soon.

One Giant Task Remains!

We still need to get one key amendment to the bill. Consumer groups and the bill sponsors have worked with Sen. John Tester of Montana, an organic farmer, to develop language that prohibits FDA from imposing:

(1) additional produce regulations on small farms, and
(2) industrial-sized safety plans on small food businesses

NC Senator Kay Hagan has endorsed the Tester amendment, and we should thank her for that. NC Senator Richard Burr is a co-sponsor of S.510, and has worked to improve it to protect small farms and businesses. But more needs to be done!

ACT NOW!

Brief History
The pending Food Safety Modernization Act (S.510) was crafted in March 2009 in response to growing concerns over food safety. The main goal of this bill, still being considered by the Senate, is to give the FDA new authorities and resources to prevent food safety issues. S.510. While there is broad agreement on the need to improve food safety and support for much of the bill, the bill threatens small and mid-size farmers and processors due to its one-size-fits all approach.

Ferd Hoefner, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) policy director, emphasized the need for size appropriate regulation in NSAC’s October 20 press release, “It is critical that as we ramp up food safety protections we do not inadvertently create economic havoc for our family farmers or shut down new investments in local and regional food systems that are vital to economic recovery, public health, and nutritional wellbeing.”

The Tester Amendment, introduced by Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) and co-sponsored by Senator Kay Hagan’s (D-NC), proposes size appropriate alternative for farmers and processor. Many organic and sustainable food and farming advocates support adding the Tester Amendment language to S.510 as well as the Manager’s Amendment.

Source: ncga.coop

Hearings on the issue are being held this week (week of 11/1) and an Environmental Assessment (EA) is expected to be released this week or next. The USDA will open a 30-day comment period before the department makes a final decision. The Center for Food Safety will be issuing talking points and an action alert in the coming days.

Source: ncga.coop

Brought to you by the Non-GMO Project
Working together to protect safe and healthy non-GMO choices

What are GMOs?
GMOs (or “genetically modified organisms”) are organisms that have been created through the gene-splicing techniques of biotechnology (also called genetic engineering, or GE). This relatively new science allows DNA from one species to be injected into another species in a laboratory, creating combinations of plant, animal, bacteria, and viral genes that do not occur in nature or through traditional crossbreeding methods.

Are GMOs safe?
In 30 other countries around the world, including Australia, Japan, and all of the countries in the European Union, there are significant restrictions or outright bans on the production of GMOs, because they are not considered proven safe. In the U.S. on the other hand, the FDA approved commercial production of GMOs based on studies conducted by the companies who created them and profit from their sale. Many health-conscious shoppers find the lack of rigorous, independent, scientific examination on the impact of consuming GM foods to be cause for concern.

Do Americans want non-GMO foods and supplements?
Polls consistently show that a significant majority of North Americans would like to be able to tell if the food they’re purchasing contains GMOs (a 2008 CBS News Poll found that 87% of consumers wanted GMOs labeled). And, according to a recent CBS/New York Times poll, 53% of consumers said they would not buy food that has been genetically modified. The Non-GMO Project’s seal for verified products will, for the first time, give the public an opportunity to make an informed choice when it comes to GMOs.

How common are GMOs?
According to the USDA, in 2009, 93% of soy, 93% of cotton, and 86% of corn grown in the U.S. were GMO. It is estimated that over 90% of canola grown is GMO, and there are also commercially produced GM varieties of sugar beets, squash and Hawaiian Papaya. As a result, it is estimated that GMOs are now present in more than 80% of packaged products in the average U.S. or Canadian grocery store.

Where does the Non-GMO Project come in?
The Non-GMO Project is an initiative of the North American organic and natural product industry to create a standardized definition of non-GMO and a 3rd party verification program to assess product compliance with this Standard. The Project’s Product Verification Program is entirely voluntary, and participants are companies who see the value of offering their customers a verified non-GMO choice. Many of the individuals and businesses leading the way with the Project are the same ones responsible for creating the original organic standards. The Project’s Consumer Pledge is a way for the public to show their support of companies and products participating in the Non-GMO Project. http://www.nongmoproject.org/consumers/consumer-pledge/

Based on data from small farms across the state, “Hurting NC’s Local Food Harvest” shows that the requirements imposed by Senate Bill 510, the Food Safety Modernization Act, would drive up costs for farms and small food businesses, force farms out of profitably markets, and result in business closures and lost jobs.  For example, the bill would force farms that create processed foods like maple syrup, cheese and spring salad mixes to comply with rigorous testing and management procedures that could typically cost a farmer 150 hours and $9,500 per year.
Although the proposed federal legislation would indeed crack down on abuses at large-scale food processing companies, “the bills apply the same standards to corporate soft drink manufacturers and community-based farm food entrepreneurs alike, imposing costs that the small business cannot survive,” notes Roland McReynolds, executive director of the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association.  Small farms and the many jobs they create could easily find themselves in jeopardy as a result of this legislation. The job loses would be significant: The report estimates that the 1,429 North Carolina farms that perform food-processing activities employ a total of 8,500 full time and seasonal workers.
North Carolina consumers and government have made a commitment to growing the state’s local, small farm food system, the report notes.  North Carolina has invested more than $40 million in small-scale food business development and alternative farming, encouraging experimentation and practices that S.510 fails to take into consideration.  Those investments are at risk under S.510.
Rather than treating all food producers the same, “Hurting NC’s Local Food Harvest” recommends that Congress ?1. write new, more flexible rules for small farms and businesses, and?2. fund educational programs and outreach to improve those small producers’ safety practices.
“The federal government has an obligation to better understand the processes involved in local, healthy food systems before attempting to regulate them,” said McReynolds.
S.510, which may come up for a vote next week, grew out of concerns that erupted from a massive spinach contamination issue in California in 2006.  Co-sponsored by North Carolina senator Richard Burr, the bill is supported by a coalition of large food-business concerns and consumer groups, such as General Mills, Kraft Foods, and the National Restaurant Association.  Groups dedicated to organic and small farming and local food production, including CFSA, Farm Aid, the Organic Trade Association, and the National Farmers Union, are fighting for changes in the bill.

The Carolina Farm Stewardship Association, CFSA,  is a non-profit association of over 1,200 farmers, businesses and consumers working to create a just and healthy food supply.  CFSA maintains a large and up-to-date online food guide, holds the largest sustainable farming conference in the Southeast, provides other training, does farm policy advocacy and leads special projects on organic grains and seeds.

An unfolding recall of products containing a commonly used food-flavoring ingredient because of potential contamination with salmonella could ripple through the entire food industry, experts said.

The risk to consumers probably is low, but the recall could encompass a large number of products, Jeffrey Farrar, Food and Drug Administration associate commissioner for food protection, said in a briefing Thursday. “We do suspect the amount of products is going to increase over the next several days or weeks.”

An FDA statement says the affected products include soups, sauces, chilis, stews, hot dogs, gravies, seasoned snack foods, dips and dressings. The FDA has posted a list of recalled foods at foodsafety.gov.

The flavoring is hydrolyzed vegetable protein, or HVP, made by a small number of companies. The HVP involved in the recall was made by Basic Food Flavors of North Las Vegas, Nev.

“It’s widely used. It’s a fairly inexpensive flavor enhancer,” said Don Schaffner, a professor of microbiology and food safety expert at Rutgers University. He has been consulting with companies all week about how to deal with the recall.

The recall would be much wider were it not for the fact that many products containing HVP are cooked before being sold. Under FDA’s safety guidelines, companies that used the product but can document a valid “kill step” won’t need to recall their foods. Though Basic Food’s HVP was probably used in 10,000 products, many will be covered by the kill step, so “we don’t know what percentage … will be involved in the recall,” Farrar said.

Tests show that the HVP was contaminated with the salmonella tennessee bacteria, which can cause short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, vomiting, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea. It can cause sometimes-deadly infections, especially in children, seniors and people with weakened immune systems.

The recall covers foods manufactured since Sept. 17, 2009; no illnesses have been linked to the strain found in the products, Farrar said.

HVP, made from proteins in grains or soybeans, adds a meaty, savory taste to foods. It’s chemically similar to monosodium glutamate.

Earth Island, a Chatsworth, Calif., company that is recalling ranch dressing and vegetarian entrees, required letters of guarantee verifying that the HVP it was buying was safe as well as certificates of analysis showing that periodic biological testing of the product had been done, quality assurance manager Sheena Bliss said.

The recall is a huge expense for her company. “Even though we did everything that we could to make our products as safe as possible, obviously the supplier wasn’t,” she said.

Calls to Basic Food for comment were not immediately returned

Aspartame is used in many foods and beverages marketed as low calorie or sugar-free. However, its reputation has been clouded somewhat by studies that have investigated reports of ill effects.

Just to remind you, the side effects of aspartame can include:

• Headache
• Change in vision
• Convulsions and seizures
• Hallucination
• Nausea and vomiting
• Joint pain

It can cause many, many other problems as well.

For full article click HERE.