Primary Offense & New SNAP Tool

Primary Offense & New SNAP Tool plus Food Forethought. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report. A recently introduced on line tool hopes to resolve difficulties in finding local shops and farmers markets that accept SNAP program benefits. USDA Under Secretary Kevin Concannon. CONCANNON: There can be a disconnect at times as was expressed by somebody who was actively involved in farmers markets between consumers and the SNAP programs and their access to farmers markets. To help find farmers markets they have now introduced an on line locator. CONCANNON: That shows you the 200-thousand+ locations in the U.S. where whether it be a store or a farmers market where you can use your SNAP benefits. If you live in Washington State, today is the day that it becomes a primary offense to text, e-mail or talk on the phone while driving. That means you can get pulled over and given a ticket for no other reason. You are still allowed to talk on the phone; you just cannot hold it to your ear. Drivers must use a hands free device to talk on the phone and texting is a no-no. A ticket for using a cell phone in an illegal manner will cost you $124. If your cell phone use contributes to a collision, you can also be charged with negligent driving, and that will cost you $550. Now with today's Food Forethought, here's Lacy Gray. The dairy industry isn't the only group fighting incorrect or misleading food labeling. Honey producers are asking the Food and Drug Administration to establish a national definition of honey. You may be asking yourself, honey is honey right? Wrong. Apparently there's a lot of product on supermarket shelves labeled as honey consisting mainly of other sugars with a little bit of real honey thrown in. According to George Hansen, the vice president of the American Beekeeper Federation, honey producers first petitioned the FDA to address this problem in 2006. Their response to honey producers was disappointing and lacking to say the least. FDA officials say they just don't have the time or resources to investigate or implement a change in honey labeling. Excuse me! Seems the FDA's typical response to such requests anymore consists of the "no time, no money" mantra. When you stop to consider that honey producers are not just talking about jars of honey, but about all the products that tout honey as an ingredient such as sauces, cereals, and breads, quite a list really, then it definitely becomes a more tantamount request. Thanks Lacy. That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.