REGULATORY:
Notice; response to comments: Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA; FSIS is announcing the availability of an updated fact sheet on food product dating. The fact sheet is aimed at reducing food waste through encouraging food manufacturers and retailers that apply product dating to use a “Best if Used By” date label. FSIS recommends the use of a “Best if Used By” date label because research shows that this phrase is easily understood by consumers as an indicator of quality rather than safety. FSIS is also responding to comments received on the previous version of the fact sheet that it announced in the December 2016 Constituent Update. Info HERE
Notification of referendum order; modification: Agricultural Marketing Service, Department of Agriculture (USDA); The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is modifying a notification of referendum order published in the February 21, 2019 issue of the Federal Register. This document amends the dates of the voting period for the referendum. This document directs that a referendum be conducted among eligible first handlers and importers of mangos to determine whether they favor the inclusion of frozen mangos as a covered commodity under the Mango Promotion, Research and Information Order (Order). Info HERE
Notice of availability and request for comments: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.; We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is making available a draft programmatic environmental assessment for the importation of plants in approved growing media. The programmatic environmental assessment considers the potential environmental effects of a standardized set of pest risk mitigations for routine market requests to import plants in approved growing media. The programmatic environmental assessment would eliminate the need to prepare a unique environmental assessment for each routine market request, thereby making the process for approving imports of plants in approved growing media simpler and more efficient. We are making the programmatic environmental assessment available to the public for review and comment. Info HERE