As a growing list of genetically engineered plant and animal crops enter the marketplace with minimal, if any, regulation from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Government Accountability Office (GAO) is urging USDA to set a clear timeline for updating its biotechnology regulations. In a report released on April 14, 2016, GAO cautioned: […]
FDA
Give NSAC the Scoop on Your On-Farm Manure Usage
The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) and our members are surveying produce farmers to better understand how they use and apply untreated or raw manure on their farms. Between now and June 3, 2016, we are collecting anonymous information to develop comments for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to aid in their development of […]
GroupGAP Offers Affordable Certification Option for Small and Mid-sized Farms
GAP (short for “good agricultural practices) certification is a USDA audit program… Read More →
Do FDA’s New Food Safety Rules Apply to Your Farm or Food Business?
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently finalized two new food safety rules under the FSMA… Read More →
New Guidebook Helps Farmers Promote Conservation and Food Safety at the Same Time
A brand new handbook by NSAC member organization Wild Farm Alliance (WFA) explains how farmers can implement conservation activities while also complying with new food safety regulations. The guidebook, entitled Co-Managing Farm Stewardship with Food Safety GAPs and Conservation Practices, A Grower and Conservationist’s Guidebook, addresses the misconception that conservation efforts, such as installing buffers […]
Senate Food Safety Bill Includes Improvements That Support Farmers
UPDATE: The food safety bill (S 510) was supposed to go to the full Senate next week, but as of Thursday, April 15, we have heard that the timing is being pushed back a week or two because the Senate will instead be debating finance reform. The Food Safety Modernization Act (S. 510) would provide […]
Antibiotic Use Facing Growing Scrutiny by FDA, Congress
The widespread use of antibiotics in livestock production, and the growing problem of antibiotic resistance, is a topic of increasing interest among policymakers. After delving into the topic less than a week before at the Atlantic Food Summit, FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg returned to the antibiotics question again during the House Agricultural Appropriations Subcommittee hearing […]
The Atlantic Forum Tackles Food Safety
Has the FDA’s experiment with self-policing failed? This was the question posed by Marc Ambinder, Politics Editor at The Atlantic, at the Food Summit hosted by The Atlantic Monthly on March 4. Ambinder noted that until the spinach, pet food, and baby formula scares in 2006, 2007, and 2008, funding for the FDA during the […]
Update on Food Safety: Wins and Future Directions in the Senate
At the end of January, we sent out an action alert supporting Senator Stabenow’s Growing Safe Food Act (S. 2758) which would provide scale-appropriate training and technical assistance on food safety for small and mid-sized producers and small processors and wholesalers. In it, we outlined the deficiencies in the pending Food Safety Modernization Act (S. […]