Washington Insider -- Monday

By DTN's Washington Insider

Here’s a quick monitor of Washington farm and trade policy issues from DTN’s well-placed observer.

EU Now to Test US Live Hogs Shipments for PEDv

Live hogs shipped to the European Union from the US and Canada will now be tested for porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv), the bloc’s countries agreed to on June 6.

The EU already has agreed to actions regarding pig blood products that may be used to feed hogs in the EU, a move which some US officials have indicated seems a bit extreme.

The temporary testing order is aimed at protecting the EU hog herd from PEDv, according to the European Commission.

US and Canadian live hog exports to the EU were at 900 head in 2013, according to the European Commission. USDA data shows a total of 730 live hogs exported to the EU in 2013 – 490 to the UK, 195 to Germany and 45 to Spain. No exports of US live hogs to the EU are reported so far.

The Commission also requested that the European Food Safety Authority to research new strains of PEDv so that they can make a more-thorough exam of the disease and formulate risk mitigation procedures.

The move comes just one day after the United States announced additional measures to address PEDv in the US.

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EPA Extends 2013 RFS Compliance to Sept. 30, Citing Lack of 2014 Standards

The compliance deadline for the 2013 Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) is being pushed back to Sept. 30, 2014, from the originally announced June 30, 2014, deadline, EPA announced, citing the still-to-be announced 2014 RFS requirements as a reason.

“The EPA intends to finalize the remaining portion of its rulemaking to establish the 2014 renewable fuel standards shortly,” the agency said in a document signed June 6 and filed for publication in the Federal Register. EPA said they are extending both the compliance deadline and the deadline to submit attest engagement reports for the 2013 RFS. Attest engagement reports are independent reviews of obligated parties’ compliance with the blending requirements and internal systems to monitor and document compliance. “The new deadlines are September 30, 2014 and January 30, 2015, respectively. This action ensures timely amendment of existing deadlines, before compliance obligations would otherwise go into effect,” EPA said.

EPA said that comments received on the 2014 RFS proposal indicated that obligated parties would like to know the 2014 RFS obligations before the compliance deadline for the 2013 RFS which EPA had set as June 30, 2014. “The EPA recognized the value of this timing to obligated parties in the 2013 standards final rule, and for that reason delayed the normally applicable February 28, 2014 compliance demonstration deadline to June 30, 2014 for the 2013 RFS standards,” EPA said in the notice. “We reasoned at that time that an extension to June 30, 2014 would be sufficient in light of the expected date of issuance of the 2014 annual RFS rule.”

But, EPA also acknowledged that since they have not yet issued the 2014 RFS standards, “we believe it is appropriate to provide a further extension of the 2013 compliance demonstration deadline”

While receiving comments to that effect, EPA stated that the agency also “recognized the value to obligated parties of knowing their obligations for 2014 prior to having to demonstrate compliance with their 2013 RFS requirements.” One key factor is “how many 2013 Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) they can carry-forward (there is a 20 percent limit based on the 2014 standard) for purposes of complying with the 2014 RFS standards.”

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Washington Insider: Labels and Food Waste

In the seemingly never ending wars over consumer information and labels, an odd note has come from Europe where the so-called “precautionary principle” is used as a basis for intervention in food issues far beyond health and safety. A new report says that “best before” dates on food are creating a “mountain of food waste” and could be scrapped, especially for some longer-life produce.

The conclusion came in an EU discussion paper prepared for agriculture ministers recently.

It seems that food waste has become a hot topic, for the usual environmental and humanitarian reasons, but that recent newer studies are causing a stir in some quarters.

In general, waste due to storage and handling problems and food preparation are old issues, frequently blamed on improper equipment, lack of facilities and poor handling. For example, a report last year found up to half of the food produced worldwide was wasted because of poor harvesting, storage and transport methods, as well as “irresponsible retailer and consumer behavior.”

However, this EU report has a different focus. It is part of a European Commission discussion paper put forward by the Netherlands and Sweden and concludes that a significant part of the food waste problem is self-inflicted--caused by EU date-labeling. The paper calls on the Commission to evaluate current label requirements and see whether a number of products should be exempt, especially from “best before” labels.

It also wants EU policymakers to explore how to help consumers better understand durability dates.

The paper (which also has the backing of Austria, Denmark, Germany and Luxembourg) notes that food waste has a social, environmental and economic dimension. “The need to reduce food losses and food waste is also closely linked to the principle that everyone in the world has a right to adequate food,” it says. And, it includes truly shocking numbers--for example, it estimates that up to 100 million tons of food were wasted in Europe alone last year, “often because of poor understanding of “best before” and “use by” dates,” the report concludes.

In the EU, a “use by” date is applied if there is an implied health risk in eating food after that date. A “best before” date is more about quality and an expired date does not necessarily mean food is harmful, but that it may have lost flavor and texture.

The Commission says it is looking at solutions to food waste, including how to end the confusion over date labeling and will issue a policy paper on the issue later this year.

As with almost every aspect of food packaging and labeling, food storage life expiration dates are regarded by many advocacy groups as consumer protections. At the same time, there are suggestions that retailers are often seen as supportive of expiration dates that nudge consumers to dispose of products that may still be safe.

However, even though date-labels likely have long been regarded by consumers as overly conservative, the amounts of waste indicated by this new report is attracting attention in a world where millions of people simply do not have enough to eat. Food waste of 100 million tons and of up to one-half of the products handled by supermarkets certainly seems worthy of careful examination and possibly remedial steps in Europe and other parts of the world including the United States, Washington Insider believes.

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