The last few months have been a microcosm of AFI’s value to the food import industry. In addition to sponsoring another informative convention, AFI actively participated in ongoing activity in Washington geared toward food safety, helped members stay on top of developing issues such as the temporary (hopefully permanent) agreement in the beef hormone dispute, conducted several arbitrations and promoted the organization and its members at several industry events. There’s much more but I just wanted to make certain members were aware of AFI’s constant effort on their behalves.

As indicated in the information we sent out a couple of weeks ago regarding the food safety legislation, one bill each in the House and Senate have taken the lead in their respective chambers. The House of Representatives is expected to pass its bill first. The Senate isn’t expected to act as quickly. If and when both bills are passed, a small group of members from both bodies will “conference” to come up with a compromise bill. The Senate bill is the more favorable of the two bills.

- FDA NEWS -

FDA ANNOUNCES DRAFT GUIDANCE
ON REPORTABLE FOOD REGISTRY

The Food and Drug Administration announced the availability of a draft guidance to assist the industry in complying with the Reportable Food Registry requirements prescribed by the FDA Amendments Act of 2007 (FDAAA). FDA also announced a further delay in the implementation of the Registry of FDAAA until September 8, 2009, to consider comments received on the draft guidance and through the agency’s planned outreach initiatives, and to allow for further testing of the electronic portal for reportable foods. Written comments on the draft guidance should be submitted by July 27 to http://www.regulations.gov.

In addition to the draft guidance, FDA also announced three public workshops to explain the purpose of the registry and the responsibilities of persons required to submit a report on instances of reportable food. Information on the three workshops may be obtained by contacting Juanita.yates@fda.hhs.gov.

FDA ISSUES CPG
ON PRIOR NOTICE

FDA announced the availability of a Compliance Policy Guide (CPG) entitled “Prior Notice of Imported Food Under the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002.” The CPG is available on AFI’s web site at www.afius.org. Comments on the CPG can be submitted at any time to http://www.regulations.gov.

FDA ISSUES DRAFT GUIDANCE ON
PISTACHIO INGREDIENTS

FDA announced the availability of a draft guidance entitled “Guidance for Industry: Measures to Address the Risk for Contamination by Salmonella Species in Food Containing a Pistachio-Derived Product as an Ingredient.” When finalized, it is intended to clarify for manufacturers who produce foods containing a pistachio-derived product as an ingredient that there is a risk that Salmonella species may be present in the incoming pistachio-derived product and to recommend measures to address that risk. Comments may be submitted by August 28.

CBP ISSUES IMPORT REQUIREMENTS
ON SMALL AMOUNTS OF
MEAT/POULTRY

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a notice advising importers of new requirements for imports of food products that contain small amounts of meat or poultry. CBP noted that a USDA import permit will now be required for all Food Safety Inspection Service-exempted food products containing small amounts (such as less than two percent) of meat and/or poultry ingredients. Products such as bouillon cubes, extracts and soup mixes (previously allowed entry solely under a health certificate indicating the product was concentrated by boiling) will now require the USDA import permit. Enforcement was scheduled to begin on June 22.

HOUSE BILL COULD TRIPLE
HARBOR MAINTENANCE TAX

Recently introduced legislation in the House (H.R. 2355) would nearly trip the Harbor Maintenance Tax in an effort to generate approximately $2.7 billion a year for freight infrastructure improvement projects.

The legislation would increase the HMT from 0.125 percent to 0.4375 percent of the value of commercial cargo entering through any seaport or inland port. Commercial cargo entering the customs territory of the U.S. other than by port use, following foreign port use, would be assessed a 0.3125 percent HMT. Shipments originated from Mexico or Canada would not be subject to the tax.

Most of the revenue raised by the higher fees (90 percent) would go to projects to improve the movement of goods in interstate commerce, including relieving truck congestion in and out of ports and enhancing/expanding freight rail service. Another seven percent would be for environmental projects, such as promoting clean trucks and equipment that reduces smokestack emissions from vessels. The remaining three percent would go to homeland security projects.

COMMERCE ISSUES QUARTERLY
CHEESE QUOTA UPDATE

Commerce issued its quarterly update of subsidies on articles of cheese that were imported during the period January 1, 2009 through March 31, 2009. The department developed information on subsidies being provided either directly or indirectly by foreign governments on articles of cheese subject to an in-quota rate of duty. The complete listing is available at: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/pdf/E9-14241.pdf.

CHINESE FOOD SAFETY LAW
IN EFFECT JUNE 1

In the wake of several food safety incidents, China enacted a new food safety law that went into effect June 1. The law is said to toughen penalties against makers and traders of food, establishes a Cabinet-level food safety commission to improve coordination between agencies, improve monitoring, streamline food safety standards and establish procedures for recall of substandard products. The new food safety standards must specify:

• The limits of the content or concentration of pathogenic micro-organisms, pesticide residues, veterinary medicine residues, heavy metals, contaminants and other substances that may be hazardous to human health in food.
  
• The type, scope of application and amount of allowed food additives.
  
• The Nutritional ingredient requirements for staple and supplementary food exclusively for babies.
  
• Requirements for labels, identification and instructions relevant to food safety and nutrition.
  
• Health requirements for food production and trading processes.
  
• Quality requirements related to food safety.
  
• Methods and procedures for food inspection and testing.
  
• Other particulars necessary for developing food safety standards.

Food product inspection and testing will be done by agencies accredited, certified and/or recognized by the State Council’s administrative department. The law also requires an appropriate license for the production and trade of food products.

U.S. AND SOUTH KOREA SIGN
TRADE COOPERATION AGREEMENT

Commerce Secretary Gary Locke signed a memorandum of understanding on commercial cooperation with Korean Minister of Knowledge Economy Lee Youn Ho. The MOU seeks the objectives:
- To share information and best practices on existing export control laws, regulations and policies related to high-tech trade.
- To address issues such as content and scope of control lists, classification of products, processing of license applications, preventive enforcement techniques and investigations of potential violations of export control rules.
- To cooperate in offering assistance to countries in need of export control support, particularly with high-tech trade.

A meeting between Korean President Lee and President Obama on June 16 included the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement where the two sides are working to resolve issues in the way of implementing the FTA.

STUDY SHOWS FISH, OLIVE
OIL AND NUTS PROTECT VISION

Consuming healthy fats, such as fish, olive oil and nuts, may reduce the risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), according to new research from Australia.

The studies from two different teams which were published in the Archives of Ophthalmology aren’t the first to suggest fish and omega-3 fatty acids may help protect vision. The first findings pointing to this are more than a decade old.

AMD is the top cause of blindness among people 65 and older living in the developed world. As of now, the only confirmed risk factors for the condition are age, genes and smoking so scientists are hoping to identify things people can do to reduce their risk for this condition.
Jennifer S.L. Tan and colleagues from the University of Sydney found people who ate a serving of fish every week were 31 percent less likely to develop early AMD than those who did not. A couple of servings of nuts each week reduced risk by 35 percent.

In another study Elaine W.T. Chong, M.D., Ph.D. of the University of Melbourne and colleagues studied more than 6,700 58- to 69-year olds and found those who consumed the most omega-3 fatty acids were at 15 percent lower risk of early-stage AMD. People who ate the most olive oil (at least 100 milliliters, or about seven tablespoons per week) were about half as likely to develop late AMD as those who consumed less than 1 mL per week. Dr. Chong and her team of researchers also found people who ate the most trans fat were 1.76 times more likely to develop late AMD during the study’s follow-up period.

Jean-Paul SanGiovanni, a staff scientist with the National Eye Institute in Bethesda, Md, published 12 years of follow-up data on omega-3 fatty acids and AMD risk earlier this year with similar results. According to SanGiovanni, healthy fats likely guard against AMD by fighting inflammation.

STUDY SHOWS OLIVE EXTRACTS
MAY SLOW MEAT SPOILAGE

Extracts from olive oil pomace may reduce the formation of off-flavors in meats by as much as 80 percent, according to research published in the journal Food Chemistry.

The polyphenol-rich extract, obtained from the waste waters of olive oil pomace, performed better than a commercial antioxidant sourced from wine, say the researchers.

Oxidation processes in food can lead to organoleptic deterioration in taste, color and texture. The food industry seeks natural solutions rather than artificial additives to extend the shelf life of milder-tasting products.

According to a 2003 report by Frost and Sullivan, the synthetic antioxidant market is in decline, while natural antioxidants, such as herb extracts, tocopherols (Vitamin E) and ascorbates (Vitamin C) are growing. This research taps itno this trend and found that hydroxyl-tyrosol, caffeic acid and oleuropein were amongst the highest contributors to the antioxidant activity of the olive extract.

- MEMBERSHIP NEWS -

The following companies were approved for membership by the AFI Board of Directors at its April 30 meeting:

Associate
All City Brokers & Forwarders, Fort Lee, NJ – customs broker and freight forwarder

BK Logistics Solutions, Inc., Linden, NJ – warehouse, storage & distribution

Cashew/Commodity Concern Certification, Richmond, VA – third party certification, consulting on responsible food sourcing

Trans American CHB, Miami, FL – customs, logistics services

Overseas
African Cashew Alliance, Accra, Ghana – alliance of cashew stakeholders

CJ Uniworld Corporation, Davao City, Philippines – manufacturer & exporter of banana chips

Thai Agro Products Co., Ltd., Bangkok, Thailand – producer of canned/processed foods

UPCOMING MEETINGS

AFI will host a reception at Sunday, October 11 at ANUGA in Cologne, Germany.

AFI will hold its Town Meeting at the French Culinary Institute in New York, NY on November 13.

2010 AFI Convention: April 29-May 1, Delray Beach Marriott, Delray Beach, Fla.