K A S H R U T . C O M_©

NY State Started the Process to Overrule NYC Plastic Bag Fee

June 10, from the SpecialtyFood.com and Crains:
"New York State’s Senate has voted to forbid New York City’s five-cent fee for disposable plastic bags."
"The plastic bag fee was signed into law by Mayor Bill de Blasio in May as part of an effort to reduce plastic waste. The state responded by approving a bill 36-22 that prohibits taxes, fees and local charges on carryout bags of any kind throughout New York state."
"The measure would still need to pass the Assembly—a possibility that Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie has not ruled out—and be signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to become law."

Starbucks Testing Kosher-Certified Dairy at 10 Stores in NY, NJ in Bid to Attract Jewish Customers

June 8, from the JPupDates.com:
Starbucks is testing using Cholov Yisrael Pride of the Farm Milk Milk in the following 10 stores in the New York, New Jersey area:

• 6 Rockaway Turnpike, Cedarhurst, NY
• 1344 Broadway, Hewlett, NY
• 4701 Route 9 Space T1B, Howell NJ
• 2100 Highway, Oakhurst, NJ
• 1865 Route 70, Lakewood, NJ
• 2860 Lakewood RD, Toms River, NJ
• 1927 Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn, NY
• 341 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, NY
• 166 7th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY
• 164 Park Place, Brooklyn, NY

New Donkey Milk Products in Pipeline in Europe

June 8, from the FoodNavigator.com:
Eurolactis, a Swiss donkey milk is planning on the first large scale production of a chocolate bar made with donkey milk. They also produce Onalat, a tetra pak donkey milk. Their milk comes from 1000 donkey mostly in Italy. They are hoping to expand with milk from the Balkans. People are willing to pay a premium for donkey milk because it is similar to human breast milk. "donkey milk is the only naturally hypo-allergenic milk, and has a good balance of omega-3 and omega 6" and can be given to people with food allergies.

USDA’s new take on the daily grind

May 18, from the FoodSafetyNews:
"The new rule-79 FR 42464 will be in full effect starting on June 21 2016." "Retail-exempt facilities regularly mix cuts of beef from various sources to make ground beef products. This FSIS rule will require such facilities to maintain clear records identifying the source, supplier, and names of all materials used in the preparation of raw ground beef products. All pre-operation, mid and post sanitation work will also be recorded on a lot-by-lot basis."

Congress Unlikely to Finish GMO Labeling Law by July

June 6, 2016 from the SpecialtyFood and Huffington Post:
"When Vermont passed a law in 2014 that required all genetically engineered food sold in the state to be labeled by July 1, 2016, it likely had no idea it would force disclosure beyond its own borders."
"Earlier this month, the U.S. Senate blocked an industry-backed bill that would have preempted state laws, specifically Vermont’s, by establishing voluntary standards for labeling genetically modified foods."
"Under the labeling law in Vermont, companies that fail to comply will receive a $1,000 fine for each day a product is incorrectly labeled beginning in 2017."
"Some big companies have already decided to comply with the Vermont law on a national scale. General Mills, Mars, Kellogg and ConAgra Foods are among that manufacturers that will add GMO labels to their packaging."
Grocery Manufacturers Association is still working on "passage of the federal bill that would protect consumers, farmers and small businesses from a costly patchwork of state labeling laws,” even as individual member companies are 'deciding how they will comply with the Vermont law."”

Israeli High Court rules private kashrut is illegal

May 26, 2016 from the Arutz 7:
The Israeli Supreme Court accepted the Israeli Chief Rabbinate's position over the position of the attorney general.
In a rare move, the judges decided to accept the position of the Chief Rabbinate as the correct position, as opposed to the position of the attorney general that had been presented to them.In a rare move, the judges decided to accept the position of the Chief Rabbinate as the correct position, as opposed to the position of the attorney general that had been presented to them.
"Business owners had petitioned against having the law banning misappropriation of kashrut being enforced against them."
"Former Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein had opined that establishments can present themselves as kosher even if they only have a private kashrut certificate and not a certificate from the rabbinate."
"That opinion opposed Israeli law, which mandates that the Chief Rabbinate or local rabbinate are the only sources that can determine the kosher status of a business. That law was meant to create uniformity in the kashrut process, ensuring that no false certificates are given to institutions that actually do not meet the requirements of Jewish law and serve non-kosher food."
"However, due to Judge Rubinstein's position the application of the ruling was limited to two years, during which the Chief Rabbinate will need to organize the kashrut branch so as to get rid of problematic ties between kashrut supervisors and business owners."

NYC gets OK to issue salt fines during appeal

May 26, 2016 from the FoxNY:
"New York City plans to start enforcing a first-of-its-kind requirement for chain restaurants to use icons to warn patrons of salty foods after getting an appeals court's go-ahead Thursday to start issuing fines. But it's not the final word on whether the regulation will stand."
"But penalties have been in limbo as the National Restaurant Association fights the measure in court. That clash is ongoing, but an appeals court Thursday lifted a temporary hold on issuing the fines while the case plays out. Fines can be up to $600."
"The city will start enforcing the rule June 6."
"New York City officials say the warnings help make diners aware of how much sodium they're consuming."

FDA issues final food defense regulation

May 26, 2016 from the FDA:
"The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today finalized a new food safety rule under the landmark, bipartisan FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) that will help to prevent wide-scale public health harm by requiring companies in the United States and abroad to take steps to prevent intentional adulteration of the food supply. While such acts are unlikely to occur, the new rule advances mitigation strategies to further protect the food supply."
"Under the new rule, both domestic and foreign food facilities, for the first time, are required to complete and maintain a written food defense plan that assesses their potential vulnerabilities to deliberate contamination where the intent is to cause wide-scale public health harm. Facilities now have to identify and implement mitigation strategies to address these vulnerabilities, establish food defense monitoring procedures and corrective actions, verify that the system is working, ensure that personnel assigned to these areas receive appropriate training and maintain certain records."
"Food manufacturers are required to comply with the new regulation within three to five years after publication of the final rule, depending on the size of the business."