Food Date Labeling Questions and Rough Farm Income Forecast
From the Ag Information Network, this is your Agribusiness Update.
**The Food and Drug Administration and USDA announced a joint request for information about food date labeling, including terms like “Sell By,” “Use By,” and “Best By.”
The request asks for data on industry date labeling practices, research results on consumer perceptions and any impact it may have on food waste and grocery costs.
FDA Deputy Commissioner Jim Jones says confusion over many date labeling terms accounts for about 20% of food waste.
**Activist groups called it a “precedential victory” for food and environmental safety when a federal district court ruled that genetically engineered organisms must be regulated.
This overturns the 2020 rule overhaul by the first Trump administration that eliminated most government oversight over GE crops, trees, and grasses.
The plaintiffs say the ruling is a sharp rebuke of the Trump administration to almost eliminate oversight of all GE technology.
**The USDA’s farm income forecast for 2024 revealed a difficult year for the nation’s ag producers.
At $140.7 billion, USDA projected net farm income for 2024 is down $6 billion from 2023 and $41.2 billion from 2022 when net farm income reached its peak.
The American Farm Bureau says crop producers face dramatic declines in cash receipts, with little hope for immediate relief as supply chain disruptions continue and commodity prices remain depressed.
