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USDA and FDA Announce Alignment of USDA Harmonized Good Agricultural Practices Audit Program
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a joint release announcing the alignment of the USDA Harmonized Good Agricultural Practices Audit Program (H-GAP) to the minimum requirements of the Produce Safety Rule (PSR) in FDA’s Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).
Concentric Adds Mark Trostle to Executive Team
Concentric Ag Corporation (formerly Inocucor), a developer and producer of proprietary biological and essential plant nutrient inputs for specialty and broadacre crops, has hired Mark Trostle as vice president of global regulatory affairs. Mark Trostle has more than 46 years in the federal, state and international regulatory world.
MOM’s Organic Market Evolves as it Expands to 19th Location
Expansion has come in bursts for MOM’s Organic Market, which opened its 19th location June 1 in Gaithersburg, Maryland. The new, 16,000-square-foot store represents the end of one of those growth spurts, during which it opened locations in White Marsh, Maryland; Cherry Hill, New Jersey; Baltimore and Philadelphia.
UNFI's Melody Meyer Announces Retirement
Organic industry pioneer and leader, Melody Meyer, vice president of policy and industry relations for United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI), announced her retirement from the nation's largest distributor of organic, natural and specialty foods.
BE Disclosure and Labeling Being Developed by AMS
The National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Law charges AMS with developing a national mandatory system for disclosing the presence of bioengineered material. USDA has established a working group to develop a timeline for rulemaking and to ensure an open and transparent process for effectively establishing this new program, which will increase consumer confidence and understanding of the foods they buy, and avoid uncertainty for food companies and farmers.
"Another bright opportunity is online shopping. We work with retailers to develop good stories and photos about our fruit. The consumer will read that story and buy the apple from a family that’s been farming for hundred years."
Roger Pepperl
Stemilt
