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Amish Farmer From Pennsylvania Can Continue Out-of-State Sales, Judge Rules
A Pennsylvania judge has ruled that Amish Lancaster County farmer Amos Miller can sell his products out-of-state, striking down a previous motion by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, which would have restricted the sale of his products at any location.
Judge Thomas Sponaugle ruled on April 12 that regulated milk sales only apply state-wide and that any restrictions do not apply outside of the state. In addition, the judge wrote that the court has no intention of “blurring the line” regarding raw milk sales in Pennsylvania and out-of-state.
Officials from the Department of Agriculture raided Mr. Miller’s organic farm in January following allegations of two food-borne illnesses — one in Michigan and another in New York — having originated from the farm. The allegations against Mr. Miller’s farm were later found to be false.
The Department of Agriculture subsequently sued Mr. Miller for selling his product out-of-state without licensing to do so. Mr. Miller’s lawyer, Robert E. Barnes, argued during a court hearing in late February that the agriculture department “materially misled the court with perjured affidavits based on events that occurred many years before.”
Mr. Barnes also asserted that Mr. Miller’s farm has supplied thousands of customers over more than two decades without any record of complaints about food safety. Furthermore, Mr. Barnes said the state action boils down to a more sinister agenda — removing independent farmers in favor of major players in the corporate industry.
States, Consumer Groups Target Food Additives, While NCA Defends Safety
Food & Beverage Insider reported:
On April 8, Consumer Reports published an article about state legislative actions regarding food additives. In 2023, California banned four food ingredients effective 2027. Recently, another bill was introduced that would prohibit schools from serving foods containing seven color additives. Both bills are sponsored by Consumer Reports and the Environmental Working Group, two organizations that are promoting similar agendas in other states. New York, Illinois, Washington, Missouri, South Dakota and Pennsylvania have pending legislation.
Christopher Gindlesperger, SVP of public affairs and communications at the National Confectioners Association (NCA) spoke to Food & Beverage Insider in opposition to these bills.
“I think it’s time to stop pretending that state legislators and magazine publishers have the scientific expertise that’s needed to make these very technical and important regulatory decisions,” he said.
“Those with the expertise and the authority to make these decisions should be involved in the conversation. And what has happened so far is that a few groups, which are not comprised of toxicologists, have been working with state legislators, and in all due respect, they don’t have the experience, the know-how and the knowledge base to make these decisions.”
In the wake of legislation, the FDA is reviewing food additives such as brominated vegetable oil, which was banned in California. Based on its own studies, the agency has initiated steps to remove it from the food supply.
FDA Winds Down Part of Lead-Contaminated Applesauce Probe
The Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday it’s winding down some of its U.S. response to lead-contaminated cinnamon applesauce pouches, which have sickened hundreds of children across the country.
The FDA will continue to actively investigate how WanaBana’s apple cinnamon fruit puree pouches, which were recalled in late October because of high lead levels, became contaminated. However, much of the work the agency has done to ensure no one else buys the applesauce pouches has ended.
The agency has pulled the product from stores and prevented any more of it from being imported into the United States. Two other products made by WanaBana — Schnucks applesauce pouches with cinnamon and Weis cinnamon applesauce — were also recalled and removed from stores.
The issue will be transferred from the agency’s outbreak response team to its post-investigations unit, where officials will continue to determine exactly how the applesauce pouches became contaminated with lead.
Nestlé Adds Sugar to Infant Milk Sold in Poorer Countries, Report Finds
Nestlé, the world’s largest consumer goods company, adds sugar and honey to infant milk and cereal products sold in many poorer countries, contrary to international guidelines aimed at preventing obesity and chronic diseases, a report has found.
The results, and examination of product packaging, revealed added sugar in the form of sucrose or honey in samples of Nido, a follow-up milk formula brand intended for use for infants aged one and above, and Cerelac, a cereal aimed at children aged between six months and two years.
In Nestlé’s main European markets, including the U.K., there is no added sugar in formulas for young children. While some cereals aimed at older toddlers contain added sugar, there is none in products targeted at babies between six months and one year.
Laurent Gaberell, Public Eye’s agriculture and nutrition expert, said: “Nestlé must put an end to these dangerous double standards and stop adding sugar in all products for children under three years old, in every part of the world.”
The Shrimp on Your Table Has a Dark History
A few months ago, along the coast of Andhra Pradesh in eastern India, Josh Farinella drove 40 minutes out of his way to visit workers who peel shrimp for Choice Canning, where he worked as a shrimp factory manager. He didn’t travel to the rural area for any of his job responsibilities; he was there to document injustice.
He observed a crew of local women quickly peeling shrimp along rusty tables in 90-degree heat, wearing street clothes and flip-flops. They worked for long hours in a shed in a dirt field, far from the main work site, easily escaping the notice of auditors.
“These peeling sheds aren’t supposed to be there. They’re not supposed to be used by anybody,” Farinella told Civil Eats. “There are 20,000 pounds of shrimp per day going through these peeling sheds that are landing on U.S. grocery store shelves.” The high temperatures in the shed could easily lead to pathogen growth, he warned.
Farinella started his work for Choice Canning in 2015 at a production facility in his hometown of Pittston, Pennsylvania. In 2023, when the company offered him a high-paying managerial position at a new facility in Andhra Pradesh, he accepted. But four months into the job, he decided to come forward as a whistleblower, exposing what he says are the deplorable and unsanitary conditions in one of India’s largest shrimp manufacturers.
Grocers Are Pushing Legislation They Claim Would Enhance Food Safety. Advocates Say It Would Gut FDA Rules
In the last decade, Americans have been sickened by salmonella from cucumbers, listeria from Mexican-style cheese, and E. coli from romaine lettuce. Now, it would seem that Washington is finally getting serious about making sure the Food and Drug Administration has the power to promptly investigate and respond to foodborne outbreaks.
Last month, a bipartisan group of lawmakers in the House introduced the “Food Traceability Enhancement Act.” The lobby representing food retailers has applauded the bill, claiming it “enhances food safety.”
There’s just one problem: The bill, according to experts, does the opposite. It would carve grocers, restaurants, and food warehouses out of a major portion of the FDA’s rules, which are meant to help regulators quickly track down the cause of a foodborne outbreak, and it would delay enforcement of the entire food safety program, slated to begin in 2026, by several years.
Mexico Is Right to Reject GMO Tortillas
A trade dispute between Mexico and the United States over genetically engineered (GMO) corn is pitting science against the power of the pesticide industry. On both sides of the border, and perhaps worldwide, this dispute promises to focus a new generation of eaters, public health scientists, and political leaders on what is known, and not known, about the safety of food made from GMO corn.
Mexico is seeking to make a bold move — prohibiting the use of GMO corn in tortillas and other traditional corn-based foods. In response, the U.S. government has taken Mexico to court under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Free Trade Agreement (USMCA). For the U.S., this is primarily a symbolic fight, as less than one percent of U.S. corn exports to Mexico are under question.
The U.S. is by far the world’s most dedicated proponent of GMO crops and the pesticides that go along with them. Decades of evidence show deep collusion between the U.S. government and pesticide corporations like Bayer-Monsanto that develop and profit from GMO corn.
General Mills Faces Criticism Over Use of Plastic Packaging
General Mills Inc. is facing growing criticism from a shareholder after failing to respond to calls for the company to bolster its sustainable packaging efforts.
Almost two years ago, Green Century Funds received majority support from General Mills shareholders for a resolution requesting the company set goals to reduce its plastic waste and provide regular progress reports.
Green Century says little headway has been made. As a result, the investment firm, which oversees roughly $1 billion, has just filed another plastics-focused resolution for the company’s annual meeting scheduled for later this year. “Investors want General Mills to take their concerns seriously.”
Slaughter-Free Sausages: Trying the Latest Lab-Grown Meat Creation
Consisting of 28% pork fat, bulked out with textured pea, chickpea, soy and wheat protein, these mini-bratwursts would happily sit inside a hotdog or next to a plate of mashed potato. But these are no standard bangers.
Cultivated from cells plucked from a fertilized pig egg and grown inside steel fermentation vessels like those used to make beer, these slaughter-free sausages are being touted as the future of sustainable and ethical meat production.
I’m at Meatable’s laboratories in the Netherlands, attending one of the first legally approved tastings of cultivated meat in Europe — and the first of a cultivated pork sausage.
Such tastings are considered a crucial step on the road to the commercialization of lab-grown meat, providing a rare opportunity for a handful of people — including the company’s co-founders — to sample the product and provide feedback on its taste and mouthfeel, before a final recipe is submitted for regulatory approval.
Agriculture Threatens Bats. These Farmers Want to Be Part of a Solution.
Bats are a captivating bunch, flying hundreds of miles, pinpointing prey with sonar and leading complex social lives. They’re also voracious predators of insects wreaking havoc on crops such as cotton, cocoa and rice.
By literally wiping out tons of pests every night, bats save U.S. farmers an estimated $3.7 billion annually. Besides the bug carnage, bats also pollinate crops such as coconuts, agave, guava and bananas, disperse seeds and create fertilizer.
However, these little mammals are under attack — more than half of North American bats risk severe population declines over the next 15 years. And agriculture, which destroys foraging and roosting habitat, is one of the greatest threats to bats.
Yet farmers can be important allies for wildlife by using innovative practices to conserve bats. In turn, this mammalian air crew protects and pollinates their fields.
