Meat + Poultry - October 2004 - 59

U.S.D.A. amends labeling rules
As convenience foods continue to grow in popularity and size, the U.S.
Dept. of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service has issued a
final rule on nutrition claims that can be put on meal-type meat and poultry products. The agency is amending its original nutrition labeling regulations, which only applied to single-serving meat and poultry products.
The regulatory agency will now define "meal-type" and "main-dish"
products as containing no less than three 40-gram portions of food
from at least two of the four food groups. The rule is adopted from
the Food and Drug Administration's definition, which bases nutrient
content claims on 100 grams of product rather than one serving size.

A serving of meal-type products must weigh at least 10 ounces and
main-dish products are required to weigh at least 6 ounces according to the new rule, which will take effect Nov. 30, 2004.
Officials have amended the regulations in hopes of establishing a
more universal manner by which consumers can base their purchases. Consumers need to be provided with consistent nutrient content claim information and additional tools and guidance for selecting foods that meet their dietary needs, says a news release issued
by U.S.D.A. "This will allow consumers to make valid comparisons
among food product categories," the statement says.

Security guidelines issued for truckers hauling food products
Earlier this month, U.S.D.A. announced
voluntary security guidelines for truck
transporters of agricultural and food
products. The goal of the initiative is
to enhance national security and safeguard public health. The Guide for Security Practices in Transporting Agricultural and Food Commodities targets
more than 27,000 commercial transporters of agricultural and food-related
products in the U.S.
"These guidelines are practical,
flexible and proactive," said Jim Mosely, agriculture deputy secretary, during an address to the American
Trucking Association in early October. The guidelines were developed with the assistance of A.T.A. and the Agricultural and Food
Transporters' Conference. This group spearheaded a survey of
24,000 food and agriculture transporters to develop and identify
security options. Truckers were questioned about their concerns related to security, terrorism and the accessibility of information.
Officials say the release of the guidelines was well timed,

considering fall is traditionally a busy
time for transporting food throughout
the country. Officials realized the importance and vulnerability of trucking
due to its role in moving a diverse mix
of food, fertilizer, livestock, farming
equipment and building materials.
"The Department of Agriculture developed this document in partnership
with A.T.A./A.F.T.C., and it serves as
a great example of how successful
we can be when government and the
private sector work together on homeland security," said Mosely. "This partnership will serve as a model
for future efforts."
The guide follows the same approach as other guidance offered
by U.S.D.A. for food producers, processors and providers. All are consistent with and supportive of Homeland Security Presidential Directive-9, Defense of U.S. Agriculture and Food.
A.T.A and A.F.T.C. provide more information on the guidance at
their Web site: www.truckline.com.

F.A.S. announces credit guarantees for 2005
The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service has committed initial allocations of nearly $4.8 billion to cover sales of U.S.
agricultural commodities to 23 countries and regions. The funding
is part of U.S.D.A.'s export credit guarantee programs for fiscal year
2005, which began Oct. 1.
"Export credit guarantees play an important role in keeping trade
flowing and increasing food availability for developing countries,"
F.A.S. Administrator A. Ellen Terpstra said in a press release.
"This past fiscal year, U.S.D.A.'s credit guarantees have helped
countries around the world purchase more than $4 billion in U.S. agricultural products by making credit more readily accessible."
Total available allocations for F.Y. 2005, including the initial allocations just announced, are expected to top $6 billion to more than
100 countries.
OCTOBER 2004

Under these programs, U.S.D.A.'s Commodity Credit Corp. guarantees repayment by foreign banks or importers for the commercial financing of U.S. agricultural exports. It does not provide direct credit.
In the 2004 fiscal year, exporters used U.S.D.A.'s credit guarantee
programs to register sales of $920 million of U.S. feed grains, $720
million of wheat, $653 million of oilseeds, $482 million of cotton, $296
million of protein meals, $258 million of meat and poultry products,
$106 million of rice and $13 million of fruits and vegetables as of midSeptember, according to the release.
Included in the F.Y. 2005 allocations are $930 million in available credit guarantees for sales to South America, $850 million
for sales to Mexico, $835 million for sales to South Korea, $390
million for sales to Central America and $370 million for sales to
China/Hong Kong.

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Meat + Poultry - October 2004

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