Autor: venred

WASHINGTON, Jan. 26, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Food safety advocates are calling on the United States Department of Agriculture to better protect consumers with new enforceable standards that will reduce, with an aim to ultimately eliminate, Salmonella types of greatest public health concern while continuing to target reductions in Salmonella and Campylobacter overall. The petition also asks the agency to require slaughterhouses to control risks in their supply chains, following best practices for food safety from farm to fork. The groups say the changes are needed in order to achieve public health goals for the coming decade.

In a regulatory petition filed today with USDA, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), Consumer Federation of America, Consumer Reports, and Stop Foodborne Illness (STOP), as well as David Clubb, Amanda Craten, Diana Goodpasture, Mary Graba, and Melissa Lee, individual victims of foodborne illness, are urging the agency’s Food Safety and Inspection Service to target the strains of Salmonella that are of the greatest public health concern, as opposed to regulating Salmonella as a single species. One of the most common Salmonella strains in poultry products, Salmonella Kentucky, rarely causes illness in consumers, while other strains, such as Enteritidis and Heidelberg are far more likely to cause illness and send consumers to the hospital. Other strains, like Typhimurium and Infantis, are concerning because they are more likely to resist treatment with antibiotics.  

The groups are also asking the agency to require slaughterhouses to adopt science-based tools to prevent animals from being infected by these bacteria on the farm, including by vaccinating live poultry and monitoring farms for the presence of dangerous bacteria. Such practices have been in effect for years in Europe, where they helped bring about substantial declines in foodborne illness rates. 

«Consumers want to be able to trust that the food they eat is safe,» said Amanda Craten, a petitioner and member of the Board of Directors at STOP, whose 18-month son was seriously injured and permanently disabled as a result of Salmonella-contaminated chicken. «My family wants nothing more than to ensure the USDA is using the best possible tools to keep others from suffering what we have suffered.» 

At the start of the last decade, USDA and other federal agencies committed to meeting the Healthy People 2020 goals, which aimed to improve the health and wellbeing of Americans, including by reducing the incidence of foodborne illness caused by Salmonella and Campylobacter. Yet at the close of 2020, progress on both fronts has been dismal: incidence of illness from both types of bacteria has remained as high, if not higher, than it was at the start of the decade. 

«We have seen little progress in actually reducing the number of people getting sick from Salmonella or Campylobacter,» said CSPI deputy director of regulatory affairs Sarah Sorscher. «A big reason for that is the USDA has yet to take full advantage of the best current technology and science to control foodborne disease from farm to fork.» 

New targets aimed at tackling illness from Salmonella and Campylobacter have been set for Healthy People 2030. These two pathogens together caused over 70 percent of the confirmed foodborne illnesses from bacteria or parasites tracked by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network in the U.S. in 2019. Many of the illnesses are caused by contaminated raw poultry meat, which can sicken unsuspecting consumers after even seemingly minor lapses in at-home food safety practices.    

«It’s unacceptable that the USDA is lagging so far behind the science, other food safety regulatory bodies and some members of the poultry industry itself in requiring adequate controls to prevent illnesses from these bacteria,» said Michael Taylor, a former USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service administrator and current board co-chair of STOP.  «At the end of the day, the agency’s priority should be protecting the consumer from preventable illness.»

Other groups have also called for similar changes. In 2019, the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods, a committee of scientific experts that advises USDA, recommended that the agency consider pre-harvest controls and the development of approaches that prevent Salmonella strains of public health concern from contaminating raw poultry products.

«A science-based approach is imperative to identifying the measures and controls that will help reduce foodborne illness rates linked to Salmonella and Campylobacter,» said Brian Ronholm, director of food policy for Consumer Reports, and former USDA deputy undersecretary for food safety. «We must leverage FSIS’ public health expertise, available science, and industry best practices in order to fully protect consumers.»

The current petition comes nearly a year after a petition filed by food safety attorney Bill Marler on behalf of consumer groups, which called to ban 31 «outbreak serotypes» of Salmonella in meat and poultry. Two of the signatories to the Marler petition, Consumer Federation of America and Consumer Reports, also signed the petition submitted today, which builds on the Marler petition by laying out a process for USDA to create enforceable standards to target and ultimately eliminate priority Salmonella serotypes, as determined by USDA, while also addressing risks from Campylobacter and requiring slaughterhouses to control food safety risks all the way back to the farm.

«For too long, progress on reducing infections caused by Salmonella and Campylobacter in meat and poultry has stalled,» said Thomas Gremillion, Director of Food Policy at Consumer Federation of America. «The science and technology available to reduce foodborne illness has advanced by leaps and bounds, but USDA food safety regulations have not kept up. That needs to change.»

View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/usda-urged-to-better-protect-consumers-from-salmonella-campylobacter-in-poultry-301214653.html

SOURCE Center for Science in the Public Interest

MEXICO CITY, Jan. 26, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — American businesses in Mexico face a challenging future ahead if the amendment proposal to reform the current outsourcing scheme in the country is passed, according to Hiroshi Takahashi, Editorial Director of El Sol de México and an expert in Mexico-US economic relations.

In an essay published this week in El Sol de México, Mexico City’s leading newspaper, Takahashi states that the outsourcing scheme reform will jeopardise Mexico’s special relationship with the United States and put in danger more than seven million jobs.

El Sol de México the Organización Editorial Mexicana, a chain that publishes over 30 newspapers and several million copies a day. Takahashi serves as its editor since August 2017.

The analyst, who has written for media outlets such as Forbes, El Heraldo de México, Diario 24 Horas and La Silla Rota, mentions that the reform will violate the labour clauses of the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement, add legal uncertainty and reduce Mexico’s position in the region.

«The approval of the outsourcing law will make it so difficult for large U.S. companies to operate in our country that it will surely cost us jobs and have repercussions for our relationship with the new Biden administration», Takahashi wrote in his essay.

According to Takahashi, among the companies affected by the law reform are Amazon, American Express, Coca-Cola, Costco, DHL, Pepsico, Exxon, FedEx, Ford, General Electric, General Motors, Philips, Chrysler, Honeywell, and Intel.

In his analysis, the reform’s approval will pose significant obstacles to the American plan for economic recovery, in a global context where China continues to gain ground. A considerable part of the U.S. recovery will depend on its investment in Mexico.

Passage of the law reform will increase their costs and make it unfeasible for them to have their factories operating here, experts write.

In Mexico, the formally employed population affiliated to the Social Security system (IMSS) is more or less 23 million people, according to official sources.

More than 30 million people work informally, in conditions that in many cases are below the poverty level and that does not allow for the advancement of workers, companies or the country.

According to official data, Mexico sells 50 billion pesos worth of vehicles to the United States each year, 30 billion pesos worth of auto parts, 29.7 billion pesos worth of technological machinery, and 29.7 billion pesos worth of machinery.

The outsourcing scheme allows workers to meet certain labor conditions in today’s post COVID-19 market.

«If the Mexican congress passes the outsourcing law reform, we will be sending a wrong foreign policy signal to Washington«, he describes.

The United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement states that Members will make changes to labour legislation in Mexico that might affect companies’ operation from its member states.

View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/us-mexico-relations-expert-hiroshi-takahashi-warns-that-changing-mexicos-outsourcing-law-will-endanger-american-companies-301214640.html

SOURCE Hiroshi Takahashi

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, Jan. 26, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Global industry and human rights leaders, including A.P. Møller – Mærsk, BP, BW, Cargill, COSCO, DOW, Euronav, MISC, NYK, Rio Tinto, Shell, Trafigura, Unilever and Vale, sign the Neptune Declaration on Seafarer Wellbeing and Crew Change in a worldwide call to action to end the unprecedented crew change crisis caused by Covid-19.

Hundreds of thousands of seafarers from across the globe have been left stranded working aboard ships beyond the expiry of their initial contracts and are unable to be relieved since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. Fatigue after long periods at sea has significant consequences on the physical and mental wellbeing of seafarers. It also increases the risk of maritime incidents and environmental disasters, and poses a threat to the integrity of maritime supply chains, which carry 90% of global trade.

Despite significant efforts by international organizations, unions, companies and some governments to resolve this untenable crew change crisis we are starting to see the situation getting worse as governments bring in more travel bans in response to the new strains of the Covid-19 virus. A number of key issues leave this critical situation unresolved: national authorities around the world continue to see crew changes and international travel as a Covid-19 risk; high-quality health protocols are not being consistently implemented by ship operators; and the disruption of international air travel has reduced the number of flights between traditional crew change hubs and major seafaring nations.

«We are witnessing a humanitarian crisis at sea. Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, seafarers have kept the world supplied with food, energy and other vital goods, with no line of sight of when to go home to their families. They have become hostage of the situation and unable to disembark from their ships. Yet, we can put an end to the crew change crisis without any risk to the general public health,» says Jeremy Nixon, CEO of ONE.

More than 300 companies and organizations recognize that they have a shared responsibility based on their roles across the entire maritime value chain, and beyond, to ensure that the crew change crisis is resolved as soon as possible. They have signed the Neptune Declaration on Seafarer Wellbeing and Crew Change that defines four main actions to facilitate crew changes and keep global supply chains functioning:

• Recognize seafarers as key workers and give them priority access to Covid-19 vaccines
• Establish and implement gold standard health protocols based on existing best practice
• Increase collaboration between ship operators and charterers to facilitate crew changes
• Ensure air connectivity between key maritime hubs for seafarers

«Seafarers play a significant role in the global race to halt the coronavirus pandemic by providing critical medical medical supplies to the world’s population, particularly in developing economies. They are crucial to millions of peoples’ wellbeing. We call on our peers, government bodies and other stakeholders to join us in our efforts to ensure that the rights and wellbeing of the frontline workers of global supply chains are respected,» says Graham Westgarth, Chairman of V. Group.

The Neptune Declaration has been developed by a taskforce of stakeholders from across the maritime value chain including A. M. Nomikos, Cargill, Dorian LPG, GasLog, Global Maritime Forum, International Chamber of Shipping, International Maritime Employers’ Council, International Transport Workers’ Federation, ONE, Philippine Transmarine Carriers, Sustainable Shipping Initiative, Synergy Group, V. Group, and World Economic Forum.

See the Neptune Declaration and the full list of undersigning companies and organizations here.

Further information: Head of Communications, Torben Vemmelund at tve@globalmaritimeforum.org or +45 2224 1446.

View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/over-300-companies-and-organizations-join-forces-to-help-resolve-a-humanitarian-crisis-on-the-worlds-ocean-301213200.html

SOURCE Neptune Declaration