This message contains images. If you don't see images, click here to view. Click here to advertise in this news brief.   Mobile version   RSS   Subscribe   Unsubscribe   Archive   Media Kit Dec. 1, 2011 Home   Public Policy   Member Services   Industry Resources    Events    News & Media   About Us     FDA funding boosted through lobbying effort The Washington Post An unusual alliance of consumer advocates and industry groups won a victory this month when they helped persuade Congress to boost funding for the Food and Drug Administration, while most other programs paid for by a newly passed agriculture spending bill had their money slashed. Editor's note: The American Frozen Food Institute's (AFFI) support to increase funding for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's critical food safety functions through general congressional appropriations, rather than new industry user fees, is referenced in this story. A copy of an advertisement AFFI and a coalition of trade groups utilized to promote increased FDA funding can be viewed here. More Share this article >     Opinion: Toward better school lunches Los Angeles Times Well-meaning federal officials got too wrapped up in measuring minutiae when they should have been drawing a bigger conceptual picture of what a good lunch looks like. More Share this article >     Chilean blueberry production set to skyrocket FOODNEWS Chile's blueberry crop is expected to grow in volume, setting new records for 2011-2012, according to the Chilean Blueberry Committee. Exports are expected to peak at 78,000 tons, with more than three-quarters of the total volume to be shipped to the U.S. More Share this article >     Romney struggles to find strategy to combat Gingrich's surge The Washington Post All along, everything has gone according to Mitt Romney's plan. But his strategists didn't count on a late and strong rise by Newt Gingrich. More Share this article >     Romney ramping it up in Iowa The Washington Post If there were any remaining doubts about the extent to which Mitt Romney is competing to win the Iowa caucuses, they now can be erased. More Share this article >     In Ohio speech, Cain shows no signs of giving up campaign The Washington Post Herman Cain gave no indication Wednesday afternoon that he is planning to drop out of the presidential contest over an allegation he carried on a long-term extramarital affair, despite having said earlier in the day that he was "reassessing" his candidacy. More Share this article >     Influence industry: Congressional incumbents attract 'super PACs' The Washington Post Each of the top presidential candidates already has at least one super PAC raising unlimited funds to support his or her campaign. Now some members of Congress are getting in on the action, too. More Share this article >     Schumer: Democrats can gain Senate seats in 2012 election The Hill Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., says the political landscape has shifted dramatically from the 2010 election and predicts Senate Democrats will hold their majority and might even expand it next year. More Share this article >     Labor board approves controversial union election rule in 2-1 vote The Hill The National Labor Relations Board voted Wednesday to move forward with portions of a controversial union election rule after the board's lone Republican member showed up to register his opposition. Related article: House passes GOP bill to block 'draconian' union election rule (The Hill) More Share this article >     NRC opens door to online posting of FSIS inspection data Food Safety News Posting the results of government meat, poultry and egg inspections and testing data could have "substantial benefits" to food safety, according to the highly respected National Research Council. Related article: NRC advocates posting inspection data (CIDRAP) More Share this article >     Happy Meal ban flops National Review Online San Francisco's ban on McDonald's Happy Meals goes into effect today. But because the law bans giving away toys with certain meals deemed too high in fat, salt or sugar, restaurants are set to comply with the law by selling the toys. More Share this article >     Hearing raises political profile of hours rule Truckinginfo A new piece of information emerged from yesterday's hearing on the pending hours of service rule. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration chief Anne Ferro said preliminary estimates show a possible uptick in truck-related fatalities, from 3,360 in 2009 to "approaching 4,000" in 2010. More Share this article >     FAO calls for less reliance on fossil fuels to boost food production Food Navigator-USA The global food system needs to become less dependent on fossil fuels and shift to "smart energy" in order to meet a growing demand for food, according to a new report from the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization. More Share this article >     Arsenic and apple juice: Round 2 Food Product Design Here we go again — it's Round 2 of the arsenic and apple juice debate. A report released today by Consumer Reports revealed 10 percent of its juice samples, from five brands, had total arsenic levels that exceeded federal drinking water standards. Related article: Arsenic in your juice (Consumer Reports) More Share this article >     NPA to FDA: Ditch product-specification notifications Nutra Ingredients-USA The Food and Drug Administration's draft guidance on new dietary ingredients can be salvaged, but only if the agency is willing to rewrite the offending document substantially, the Natural Products Association has argued. More Share this article >     Vilsack to moderate historic panel of former ag secretaries USDA Blog Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack will moderate a plenary panel of former Secretaries of Agriculture at the 2012 Agricultural Outlook Forum, Feb. 23-24. At least six of the past eight secretaries will participate on the panel. More Share this article >     US trade envoy criticizes China's controls on economy The Associated Press A U.S. trade envoy has accused China's government of increasing its role in the economy in violation of its free trade pledges, and he appealed to Beijing to reconsider its embrace of "state capitalism." More Share this article >     Convert Pallet into Carton Flow Span-Track carton flow track by UNEX ‘drops-in’ to any new or existing pallet rack structure. Span-Track’s full width roller provides more contact surface than any other carton flow. Product tested for durability within Freezer environments to deliver superior flow with product always at the pick point. Request a free sample … Digital Lumens Intelligent Lighting Systems Warehouse lighting can account for as much as 40% of the total electricity in a facility. Now there is something you can do to slash your carbon footprint and control those costs. The Digital Lumens award-winning Intelligent Lighting System combines LED fixtures with intelligence – integrated controls, sensors, networking and reporting – to reduce lighting energy use by up to 90%. MORE VISYS sorting systems Visys’ digital sorters detect and remove foreign bodies as well as defective, undesirable or contaminated product from your product streams on differences in color, biostructure, shape and/or density. Our world-class sorters incorporate the latest state-of-art technologies based on lasers, near-infrared, color, metal and x-ray sensors or any combination thereof. W.K. Kellogg commits $3 million to fresh food financing USA Today The W.K. Kellogg Foundation this week announced a $3 million commitment to provide capital for financing retail, production, processing and distribution of fresh food to reach lower-income communities in Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico and Louisiana. More Share this article >     Smaller beef cuts being made available for consumers USAgNet State beef councils are joining with the national Beef Checkoff Program in support of a new retail beef marketing campaign that has the potential to increase U.S. beef sales significantly. More Share this article >     Horse meat soon could be processed in US Eat Drink Explore Horses soon could be butchered in the United States for human consumption, since Congress lifted a ban on funding horse meat inspections — a move that has outraged animal rights groups. More Share this article >     Prices stay high in difficult times The Meat Site It seems the pig and beef sectors around the world are seeing fewer slaughter numbers and higher prices — and these trends look likely to continue for some time, particularly as they have been affected by reductions in the pig and cattle herds. More Share this article >     New front emerges in cloning wars The Wall Street Journal The European Union is preparing restrictions on the sale of meat derived from cloned animals, opening another front in the battle over food engineering with modern farm powerhouses like Argentina, where farmers increasingly clone prize pigs, cattle and sheep. More Share this article >     Carbon dioxide-based container refrigeration system debuts Refrigerated Transporter Carrier Transicold debuted its container refrigeration system that uses the natural refrigerant carbon dioxide at the Intermodal Europe Show recently, one year after the company announced it had developed and begun testing the technology. More Share this article >     United States Cold Storage USCS and its several predecessor companies have been providing refrigerated storage services to the food industry since 1889. Today USCS is a leading national public refrigerated warehouse operator with 34 facilities located in 12 states. MORE Sorting Food From wild to cultivated, from fresh to frozen, from whole to cut, in bulk or in bags, … we get everything sorted, whatever color or defects. MORE   Frozen Express Colby Horton, Vice President of Publishing, (469) 420-2601 Download media kit Valerie Hunt, Content Editor, (469) 420-2690    Contribute news This edition of Frozen Express was sent to ##Email##. To unsubscribe, click here. Did someone forward this edition to you? Subscribe here -- it's free! Recent issues Dec. 1, 2011 Nov. 30, 2011 Nov. 29, 2011 Nov. 28, 2011 7701 Las Colinas Ridge, Ste. 800, Irving, TX 75063