“Ejection Day” is over and despite legal challenges and baseless threats from the Trump legal team, Joe Biden will be our next president. How could we have had such an extremely close race is beyond me and the pollsters too. To borrow the words from a political activist relative of mine who happens to be an award-winning Hollywood producer: “how can we live in a country that’s filled with tens of millions of people who said not only is this okay with me, but sign me up for four more years of it”? Will I miss Bill Barr, Steven Miller, Betsy DeVos, Ivanka, Don Jr and Jared? No way! No more filling cabinet positions with folks who work against the actual department they are heading up. Instead, we will soon be led by a man who has devoted his life to public service and working in partnership with the first female Vice President, both will do their best to make things better. It will not be easy with a Senate led by Republicans ( of course that too may change come January after Georgia voters go back to vote for their Senators in a run-off campaign). Yet I think many Republicans leaders are breathing a sigh of relief now that “The Donald” is history. Biden had years of experience under his belt when he was Vice President bridging his Democratic Administration with Republican leaders and I think that will be a real asset. We shall see. In the meantime, do not be surprised if Trump does not show up on January 20 as Biden is sworn in. Trump will probably be off somewhere with his supporters holding an “alternative” ceremony that he will say attracted more people than Biden’s historical swearing-in ceremony.
Next month I plan to provide you with a synopsis of proposed new federal regulatory initiatives and a clearer direction of where the food industry may be headed in 2021.
As a sidebar, note now that the elections are over Meatingplace reported recently that food and beverage companies in general, including major meat companies, had donated far less overall to political campaigns this year than they did four years ago. The pullback on donations was across political parties and also included less funding by industry trade groups for lobbying expenses. Some market analysts feel that food and beverage companies, with their easily recognizable brand names, nowadays seek to keep a lower profile in the current divisive political sphere in which public support for any candidates seems to draw fire from critics. It is a sign of the times we are living in.
So, for now, as the election dust clears, let us get caught up on some factual food policy issues that are in the news.
Traceability Proposed Rule
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced a proposed rule to establish additional traceability recordkeeping requirements for certain foods. The FDA has also published a draft “Food Traceability List,” which describes the foods that would be subject to the proposed requirements. The list includes leafy greens, fresh cut fruits and vegetables, some types of fish, shell eggs, nut butters, and more. You can go to www.fda.gov/food/food-safety-modernization-act-fsma/fsma-proposed-rule-food-traceability for additional information.
The proposed rule, “ Requirements for Additional Traceability Records for Certain Foods,” is a key component of the FDA’s New Era of Smarter Food Safety that I have previously written about and will eventually be an integral part of the FDA’s Food Safety Modernization Act. If finalized, the proposal would standardize the data elements, and information firms must establish and maintain, and the information they would need to send to the next entity in the supply chain to facilitate rapid and accurate traceability. While limited to only certain foods, this proposal lays the foundation for a standardized approach to traceability recordkeeping, paving the way for the food industry to adopt, harmonize, and leverage more digital traceability systems in the future. Right now, the proposal is in a 120-day period for public comment. I will keep you informed as the proposal moves forward.
Shutdown Averted
If you missed the news, Trump signed a continuing resolution that will keep the government funded through December 11 which includes keeping those popular stimulus checks flowing to farmers, plus additional funds for food assistance programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Women’s Infants and Children (WIC) program. Politico reported that these proposals include a $120 billion rescue fund for restaurants; direct aid for biofuel plants, cotton textile mills and other processors; new relief programs for livestock and dairy farmers; and a 15 percent increase in household nutrition benefits. However, now that the elections are over, Congress’ next task is to find a solution on a wide-ranging appropriations package for the rest of fiscal 2021.
Organic Changes
Food Safety News has reported that the produce industry’s major trade associations, including the Produce Marketing Association and the United Fresh Produce Association, have gone on record in support of new organic regulations. The regulations now advance to the final rule-writing phase. “USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) plans to amend the organic regulations, saying the agency needs to strengthen oversight and enforcement of the production, handling, and sale of organic agricultural products,” according to Food Safety News. The proposed changes are basically to shore up the integrity of the organic industry and build consumer confidence in organics. For some of you old timers, you may recall the skepticism that surfaced when organics were first introduced in retail stores. The organic industry has been battling to build trust in their growing systems and marketing tactics ever since. This leads me to the next news item.
Food Safety
Food safety issues are a major concern according to a global study sponsored by the Mars Global Food Safety Center. The study surveyed people in the United States, United Kingdom and China and found that 77 percent of people think food safety is a top 10 worldwide problem. Almost three quarters of the respondents believe coronavirus will impact the viability of the global supply chain and 71 percent believe it will impact access to food. These consumers think about food safety and security as much as climate change (39 percent) and pollution (38 percent).
“New food safety threats, like those posed by COVID-19, are constantly emerging through a combination of factors including global warming, increased globalization of trade, as well as changes in agriculture practices and food production, “ said David Crean, chief science officer for Mars. This may give your food safety and marketing folks some ideas as those polled also expressed the importance for government and private organizations to continue to focus on prevention and to invest in early detection programs to better manage global food safety.
Reducing Salmonella
Speaking of food safety, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has released a report entitled “Roadmap to Reducing Salmonella: Driving Changes Through Science-Based Policy.” According to Mindy Brashears, undersecretary for food safety, “The roadmap sets a course to aggressively target salmonella and other foodborne pathogens and also represents FSIS’ commitment to lead with science and data in all that we do.”
Salmonella continues to be a leading cause of foodborne illness. Some 38 percent of foodborne salmonellosis in the U.S. is attributed to meat and poultry products. FSIS also is moving forward with salmonella performance standards, which the agency uses to access the food safety performance of processing plants.
Here is another brief item from FSIS: The department has updated federal guidance for importing meat, poultry and egg products into the U.S. In the update, the agency has revised and reorganized a section on industry supply chain best practices and clarified approaches for reinspection policies.
SNAP Benefits Increase
The previously announced 5.3 percent cost of living increase to the maximum benefit amounts for the SNAP program took effect last month. As a result, SNAP households will see an increase in their benefits to spend on food. Most states in the U.S. opted to automatically provide all SNAP households the maximum benefit for their household under recent legislation passed in response to the pandemic. Therefore, with the increased maximum benefit amounts, a typical household of four will receive $680 a month, up from the previous amount of $646 per month, additional to any benefits their receive from other nutrition assistance programs.
In a related move, USDA recently announced more than $5.5 million in grants to state partners as part of the ongoing efforts to enhance the SNAP program’s integrity. The goal of the new grants is to combat recipient fraud as well as monitor Income Verification Grants to help states and SNAP households receive the accurate amount of SNAP benefits.
UK Beef Exports Restart
The first shipment of beef from the United Kingdom to the United States in more than 20 years was launched last month. The U.S. market has been closed to EU beef since January 1998, when the country introduced import restrictions on beef, sheep and goats and their byproducts because of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) concerns. The U.S. started to slowly reopen its market to exports of beef from the EU in 2015 and in March of this year the U.S. agreed to the equivalence of standards on the UK’s disease control measures compared to those in the U.S.
Karen Pierce, British Ambassador to the U.S., said, “American consumers already have an appetite for a range of quality British products, including fine cheeses, whisky , salmon and biscuits, and beef is sure to become popular in the states.”
It Is Working
Attempts to get consumers to reduce consumption of sugar and calories from beverages fell by 2.4 percent in 2019, while beverage sales volume increased, according to a new report from Keybridge LLC that was prepared for the American Beverage Association and the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. The analysis offered an update on the groups’ 2014 initiative to cut the number of calories that consumers get from beverages by 20 percent by 2025. Their initiative seems to be working.
As we enter the final two months of 2020 (a year many of us would love to forget), I hope everyone has a safe holiday season. Keep wearing those masks, socially distancing, and washing those hands!
Barry Scher is associated with the public policy firm of Policy Solutions LLC and may be reached at [email protected].