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 The MWFPA Bulletin is underwritten in part by Focus on Energy | | |
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| Obama Pushes Senators On Carbon Price Energy Bill | |
On June 29, President Obama met with a bipartisan group of Senators and advocated for legislation that places a price on carbon emissions - something many opponents call an energy tax. The President did not endorse any particular bill.
Last June, the House passed its version of a climate and energy bill, which places a price on carbon through a cap and trade market mechanism, but the Senate has not passed any climate bill.
The first, and arguably most significant, challenge for any climate change legislation is simply, time. With only a few weeks left before the August recess--and with a heated mid-term election cycle on the horizon--the Senate must tangle with, among other priorities, a Supreme Court nomination, Wall Street reform, food safety, jobless benefits, and child nutrition reauthorization. There may simply not be time to address all of these issues.
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| EPA Finalizes Expanded GHG Reporting Program | |
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson signed a final rule expanding the scope of EPA's mandatory greenhouse gas (GHG) reporting program to cover four new source categories (underground coal mines, landfills, industrial wastewater, and magnesium production sites).
EPA also made a final decision not to provide distinct subparts for food processing and ethanol production, based on its determination that emissions from these sectors were already covered by existing subparts of the reporting rule. The final rule is available here.
EPA also announced a proposed rule that would make public all non-confidential data reported under the GHG reporting program. Information not subject to disclosure would include production data not relevant to emissions calculations and some process-specific and vendor data. The proposed rule is available here.
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| Time Running Out For Stalled Food Safety Bill | |
Action on the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (S. 510) was held up previously by the all consuming and extremely partisan health care reform debate. The bill now faces three problems: time, BPA, and small farm concerns.
Of the three, BPA is of greatest concern to MWFPA. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and a number of consumer and health groups are spearheading an effort to attach a ban on BPA in food packaging to the bill.
As previously reported, major industry groups, including MWFPA, have expressed concerns about such an amendment. The Grocery Manufacturers of America and others that currently support S. 510, have indicated they will oppose the bill if a BPA ban is included. Top of page |
| Minnesota May Look For Loan To Address Budget Shortfall | |
Minnesota's finance leaders are ready to take out a $600 million loan if needed to fill gaps left by a state budget deficit.
State budget officials warned lawmakers on July 12 that the state might need to borrow money because the state's cash flow fund is expected to fall well below the preferred balance of $400 million this fall. By December, the fund could be running a deficit of $277 million. To address these budgetary shortfalls, the state would establish a $600 million line of credit with U.S. Bank in September so it can pay its bills.
The state might also defer payments to K-12 schools, the University of Minnesota and to health care plans. It could also delay $221 million in business tax refunds.
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| WI Senate Committee To Meet On Phosphorus Rule | |
A proposed WI Department of Natural Resources rule regulating phosphorus discharge by processing facilities has been referred to the Wisconsin State Senate Committee on Environment and the State Assembly Natural Resources Committee.
The Senate committee has scheduled a hearing on the rule for Wednesday, July 28 at 10:00 a.m. in Room 411 South of the State Capitol. The Assembly committee, chaired by Rep. Spencer Black (D-Madison) has not indicated whether it too will hold a hearing on the rule. A letter requesting a hearing was sent to Black by a number of Assembly Republicans on July 14.
In a joint memorandum to all Wisconsin legislators, MWFPA and other industry groups noted that the rule is expected to cost in excess of $3 billion statewide and will primarily affect food and dairy processors, cheese makers, paper mills and municipal wastewater treatment facilities. MWFPA continues to oppose implementation of the rule as currently written.
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| MWFPA States Concern Over Wind Turbine Siting | |
Last year the Wisconsin Legislature enacted a law directing the PSC to promulgate administrative rules that specify the restrictions a town, city, village or county may impose on the installation or use of a wind energy system to help ensure consistent local procedures.
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| The MWFPA Bulletin is underwritten in part by Abbott Company and FoxJet | | |
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| Welcome New Members! | |
Help us welcome our newest Association Member!
Find out more about this company by clicking the company name and visiting their website.
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| MWFPA Cosponsors Food-Borne Illness Forum | |
MWFPA is proud to be a cosponsor of the American Conference Institute's 4th national forum on food-borne illness litigation to be held October 27-28, 2010 at the Millennium Knickerbocker Hotel in Chicago, IL.
 Members will obtain highly-specialized, practical information from leading food-borne illness litigators and other experts on how to respond to heightened litigation exposure created by emerging risks in the food supply chain.
They will also learn to minimize reputational damage and preserve the corporate brand when faced with a high-profile food crisis situation. See the conference website for additional details and registration. MWFPA members are entitled to a $400 discount off the full price (pay $1795 instead of $2195) by using a discount code when registering. Members wishing to use the code should contact the MWFPA office.
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| Hormel Receives R&D Team Of The Year Award | |
The team that helped bring Hormel pepperoni stix and turkey pepperoni minis to market has recently been named the Research and Development Team of the Year by Food Processing Magazine.
The magazine received nominations for dozens of companies that were pitted against one another for the title. From there, the magazine website's visitors cast their vote. In the end, Hormel's team came out on top.
Based at Hormel Foods Corporation headquarters in Austin, the team of roughly 110 employees is primarily interested in bringing new snacks to consumers. In order to do that, the team is responsible for product development, enhancement, food safety interventions, cost reductions, exploratory science and the application of new technology.
Congratulations!! You can read more about the R&D team at Hormel Foods in the July issue of Food Processing magazine or at http://www.foodprocessing.com.
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| MWFPA Calendar of Events | |
August 18, 2010: Do-It-Yourself Spoilage Analysis Webinar:
Experts at GMA present a webinar to educate members of the processed food industry about common spoilage issues and how to best identify them in the laboratory. Register today!
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October 6-7, 2010: Food Labeling: Complying with Regulatory Requirements for the Labeling of Packaged Foods Workshop,
Washington, D.C. GMA staff experts in food labeling and nutrition will teach food company personnel the food labeling skills they need, whether they are responsible for labeling compliance, food product marketing or product development. Topics include: general statutory authorities and rules governing all required label elements, special labeling provisions, information about food label claims and the latest developments on food labeling rules. For more information and to register, click here.
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October 27-28, 2010: Food-Borne Illness Litigation: Advanced Strategies for Tackling the Underlying Science and Defending Against Complex Food Contamination Claims, Chicago, Ill., Millennium Knickerbocker Hotel. Cosponsored by MWFPA and the American Conference Institute, this forum allows participants to get the answers theyneed to assess, manage and defend against the growing tide of foodrelated litigation. Register today! 888-224-2480, or AmericanConference.com/FoodLit.
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Nov. 30-Dec. 2, 2010: 106th MWFPA Annual Convention and 83rd Processing Crops Conference Mark your calendar for next year's annual convention, to be held at the KI Convention Center in Green Bay, Wis. The Exhibitor Prospectus will be available on our website, www.mwfpa.org, August 2nd.
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The MWFPA News Bulletin is published twice monthly and as developments warrant, and is intended for a general audience of manufacturers and suppliers of food and agricultural products. |
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