K A S H R U T . C O M_©

USDA report shows more than half of foods tested have pesticide residues

December 17, 2019 from Food Safety News and :

"The mystery Nebraska State Sen. Carol Blood created briefly Tuesday by withdrawing her bill to limit the use of the term “meat” on product labels in the state was short-lived."

"While more than half of the foods tested had pesticide residues, less than 1 percent of the commodities covered by the USDA’s Pesticide Data Program had levels above legal limits."

"The annual report from the Agricultural Marketing Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture covers testing for 2018 and was released this month. The numbers vary little from those in recent years."

"'Over 99 percent of the products sampled through PDP (Pesticide Data Program had residues below the Environmental Protection Agency tolerances,' according to the report summary."

"'For the 10,545 samples analyzed, 47.8 percent of the samples had no detectable pesticides, 21.0 percent had one pesticide, and 31.2 percent of the samples had more than one pesticide.'”

"The yearly round of testing samples a wide variety of domestic and imported foods, with a strong focus on foods that are consumed by infants and children. "

"Staff from the PDP work with state agencies representing all census regions of the country and approximately half of the U.S. population. In 2018, food samples were collected and analyzed in California, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas and Washington."

"In 2018, a total of 704 samples with 909 pesticides were reported to the FDA as Presumptive Tolerance Violations, according to the USDA pesticide report."

"Of those 82 samples, 39 were reported as imported produce. One asparagus sample and one snap pea sample contained two pesticides each that exceeded the established tolerances."

"In addition, 642 samples were found to have pesticides for which no tolerance was established, including 444 fresh fruit and vegetable samples, 151 processed fruit/vegetable samples, 30 rice samples, and 17 wheat flour samples."

"An industry group, the Alliance for Food and Farming, heralded the report as an all clear for consumers to eat as many fresh fruits and vegetables as possible."

"A consumer watchdog organization called the Environmental Working Group annually issues its own interpretation of the USDA’s pesticide report after the first of the year, historically. Its annual campaign against the so-called Dirty Dozen fresh produce commodities is based on the pesticide residue report and has spurred an annual debate with the farming alliance."

Judge blocks enforcement of Arkansas law restricting labeling of plant-based food

December 11, 2019 Arkansaw Blog:

"Federal Judge Kristine Baker today issued a preliminary injunction against enforcement of the 2019 state law aimed at prohibiting the labeling of plant-based foods in any way that suggested they were similar to meat products."

"The suit was brought against a state agency by Turtle Island Foods, maker of Tofurky, and the ACLU as a defense of First Amendment rights. The suit said the law was a restriction on commercial speech. The company said its labeling makes clear the products are plant-based (that’s what buyers often are seeking) but uses terms such as “chorizo” or “roast” that emphasize their similarity to meat products. Beef, pork and chicken producers led the fight for the law."

"The Arkansas law is similar to laws that have been passed by agricultural lobbies in other states. A federal judge in Missouri allowed a similar law to be enforced. Not Judge Baker."

"In a 34-page opinion, she found favor with arguments that laws are already on the books to prevent deceptive labeling and the company hasn’t been cited under those laws. The new law isn’t currently being enforced, she said, but it could be and thus presents potential for harm. She said she issued the injunction because the company would likely prevail in its argument that the law’s restriction doesn’t “advance the stated government interest of protecting consumers from being misled or confused.” Baker also cited Tofurky’s argument that the state claims sovereign immunity from lawsuit, so should it enforce the law and cause damage to the company, it would have no way to seek money damages."

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Tofurky Strikes Again, This Time with a Lawsuit Against Arkansas

July 23, 2019 - from Food & Wine :

" Tofurky, the Good Food Institute, the Animal Legal Defense Fund, and the American Civil Liberties Union" are seeking to strike down a law in Arkansaw whick prevents plant-based products from being called "meat".

"Arkansas’s meat labeling law, which is set to take effect tomorrow, would impose fines on brands using meat, dairy, or rice words on products that don’t fit the classic definition of these terms."

"The lawsuit was filed on Tofurky’s behalf by the ACLU, who took a similar stance in favor of consumer rights and against meat producers' attempts to restrict competition."

Yerushalayim Proclaims Non-Plastic Regime in Schools

December 2, 2019 - from Hamodia:

"Yerushalayim joined Tel Aviv in the crusade against plastic on Monday."

"Mayor Moshe Lion announced that the city’s kindergartens and preschools will no longer use one-time plastic dishes and utensils."

"The decision was made following what was said to be a successful pilot in 50 kindergartens over the past six months, similar to a decree implemented in Tel Aviv recently."

KFC returning to Israel this month, but not the kosher version

July 29, 2019 - from TimesofIsrael:

"On its fourth attempt to clinch a piece of the local fast food market, Kentucky Fried Chicken will run operations itself, won’t change recipe to adhere to Jewish law."

"One of America’s most famous fast food brands will be coming back to Israel this month, and this time will not attempt to appeal to the religious public."

"After reports earlier this year indicated Kentucky Fried Chicken was looking at relaunching in Israel — for a fourth time — the company has confirmed that it will open a new location in Nazareth around Christmas."

"KFC opened and closed in Israel in the 1980s and 90s, and then remained open between 2003 and 2012. "

"In all three previous cases the brand was operated by local franchises rather than the parent company itself, but the latest effort will be managed by the latter. "

"nd unlike prior iterations, KFC will no longer be kosher. In previous cases the famous fried chicken recipe was modified to keep within Jewish dietary laws, but these changes made the chicken more expensive and, according to some consumers, less tasty than the American original."

"In KFC’s last incarnation in Israel, franchise owner Udi Shamai’s eight locations went kosher after the company allowed him to switch the milk powder in the crispy coating to soy and to use kosher-slaughtered chickens instead of those provided by the company."

"'The moment we switched to kosher, sales began to plunge and it was no longer economically viable. The product was less good, whereas things had gone fine with un-kosher chickens,' Shamai told business website Globes."

"KFC is working on plans for multiple branches around the country following its inaugural Nazareth location. The chain has more than 23,000 restaurants in over 140 countries and territories around the world. It already has six outlets in three West Bank Palestinian cities. "