FDA Backs Off on Food Import Fee Collections, According to FDAImports.com

Columbia, MD. (PRWEB) October 12, 2011

Thanks in part to a new coalition established by FDAimports.com LLC, and an immense amount of media content produced to critically assess the new FDA re-examination fees, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has announced that they will not initiate the new food import re-examination fee program until they can resolve some issues with the program. According to Benjamin England, Founder and CEO of FDAImports.com LLC, and its newly established Food Importers and Foreign Food Manufacturers Coalition Task Force, these actions represent a major initial victory for small food businesses and food importers.

This is a step in the right direction and clear evidence that we have FDAs attention, said Mr. England. The language FDA is using to discuss the fees and timeline is an indication that theyre getting pushback, that the industry is serious about fighting this. Mr. Englands firm, FDAImports.com, LLC launched the coalition after observing a total information vacuum within the industry in regard to the new fees. According to Mr. England, food importers and manufacturers had no idea the fees were in the offing, nor were they prepared to take action against it when they learned of it.

"In response to some behind the scenes and rather public outcries, FDA has decided to shelve the importer reinspection fee aspect of its new food fees program. In the short run, this will save a lot of importers and foreign food processors a lot of money, says Jessica Wasserman, President of Wasserman & Associates, PLLC, who represents fresh produce importers and other food companies on FDA legislative matters.

On their website FDA has a Question and Answer area regarding the fees. It includes questions such as, What triggers the facility reinspection fee? and How much money in fees does the Agency expect to collect? Below is FDAs response to the question, What can be expected concerning import reinspection fees?

"The agency is still evaluating comments received in response to the August 1, 2011 Federal Register notice establishing fee rates for Fiscal Year 2012 (76 FR 45820). Recognizing the particular complexities involved in these issues, FDA is not in a position to assess import reinspection fees until the agency has resolved these issues and the agency notifies the public."

FDA has not announced a change in the deadline for comment, which is still set for October 31st, 2011. Food importers and manufacturers still have opportunity to voice their opposition to the fee structure and should make sure they do so by joining our coalition, said Mr. England. This isnt over yet, but were moving in the right direction. The time is right for food importers and manufacturers to speak out loudly now while we have FDAs attention.

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ZipList Cooks Up Partnerships with Popular Southern Food Blogs to Add Fully-Branded Shopping Lists and Recipe Boxes

Sterling, VA (PRWEB) July 28, 2011

ZipList, Inc., the market-leader in online and mobile grocery list and recipe box management, with partners ranging from AOLs KitchenDaily to Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, today expressed a sincere love for Southern fare, announcing that four Southern cooks have integrated fully-branded recipe boxes and grocery shopping lists into their websites.

These four Southern bloggers will satisfy your desire for tempting Southern flavors and leave you coming back for more day after day.

HarvestMark

Redwood City, CA (PRWEB) November 01, 2011

In todays digitally connected world, consumers can access any information they seek in an instant. With the introduction of the HarvestMark Food Traceability App from YottaMark, Inc., consumers can now enjoy instant access to information about the fresh food in their fridge or shopping cart, such as when, where and how it was grown. For the first time, shoppers can find out the food safety status of fresh food that carries a HarvestMark code, connect to the farmer and keep a history of the food theyve traced.

Todays shoppers want to know their food is fresh and safe, and where its from, said J. Scott Carr, CEO of YottaMark. And they want this information instantaneously with the simple scan of a smartphone. We are pleased to introduce the newest HarvestMark Food Traceability App, which is the first to empower shoppers with harvest, freshness and safety information about the food they eat. Were proud to work with over 3,000 farms and ranches, from Canada to Argentina, to provide this important information to shoppers.

To trace food, shoppers simply download the free HarvestMark App for iPhone, look for the 16-digit HarvestMark code on participating fruit, vegetable and poultry brands, and scan or type the code to instantly retrieve harvest information specific to the package of food theyre holding. Shoppers can also ask questions and give feedback to the people who grow and sell their food using the new Talk to the Farmer feature, which connects them with the source of their food. In addition, customers can rely on the Food Safety Notification feature, which updates a foods safety status to provide an immediate line of communication to the shopper in the event of a recall.

We know how important it is to our customers that they learn as much as they can about the foods they choose to buy and eat, said Matt Mandel, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for SunFed. By featuring HarvestMark on our melon, including cantaloupe, we are proud to provide customers with the information they seek to give them peace of mind when buying healthy food for their families.

HarvestMark is the fresh food traceability platform from California-based YottaMark, Inc. Thousands of farms in the US, Canada, Mexico, and South America use HarvestMark traceability to connect the field to the kitchen, letting shoppers know when, where and how their food was grown. To date, more than three billion packages of food have been made traceable with HarvestMark.

HarvestMark traceability can be found at thousands of grocery stores across the United States and Canada, on brands including chicken from Coleman Natural