Snack World - February 2016 - (Page 10)

GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS Year in Review, Looking Ahead Costly l COOL retaliation l avoided, d d Dietary Guidelines released - attention turns to Presidential elections, GMO labeling fix in 2016 BY SARAH HUBBART T he Snack Food Association (SFA) ended 2015 with a final push for Congress to address a number of priority issues as part of the government-spending package that was signed into law just before the holidays. Importantly, the omnibus bill repealed the mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) rule for beef and pork, eliminating the threat of retaliation from Canada and Mexico that could have totaled $1 billion in tariffs on a wide variety of food and consumer products, including some snack foods. The fix was the result of a long-term education effort by SFA and a broad coalition of agriculture, food and manufacturing industry allies on Capitol Hill. While legislation to repeal COOL was approved by the House of Representatives in summer 2015, debate had earlier stalled in the Senate as some influential Senators advocated for a "voluntary" COOL labeling program. Canada and Mexico had warned the voluntary approach would not be enough to avoid retaliation. "It was certainly a long road, but the COOL fix in the omnibus reflects the hard work of SFA's members and allies to build understanding of the devastating impact that retaliation would have 10 Snack World February 2016 www.sfa.org on the US economy," said SFA government affairs consultant Michael Torrey. SFA was disappointed that language to preempt a patchwork of mandatory state GMO labeling laws was not included in the omnibus. Rep. Mike Pompeo's (R-KS) voluntary labeling bill received bipartisan support in the House earlier in 2015 but consensus was never reached in the Senate. SFA will keep its members informed on further developments regarding GMO labeling and will continue to work toward federal preemption to eliminate a patchwork of state laws. In January, US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack convened a group of food industry and labeling advocates to try to find common ground and a path forward on this issue. "SFA will continue to push for a federal, common-sense solution. A patchwork of contradictory rules at the state level would be a nightmare for interstate commerce and would lead to added costs that would ultimately be passed on to consumers," said SFA President & CEO Tom Dempsey. The omnibus also included language specifying that Partially Hydrogenated Oils (PHOs) will not be deemed unsafe until the FDA's compliance date of June 18, 2018. This will provide protection from liti- http://www.sfa.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Snack World - February 2016

Snack World - February 2016
Letter from SFA - Continuing the Work
News - Snack trend: Think thin
Americas to continue dominating cereal bars market
Wal-Mart to close 269 stores
Government Affairs - Year in Review, Looking Ahead
Business Member Profile - Entrepreneurial Roots
Associate Member Profile - Global Presence, ‘Can-Do’ Attitude
SNAXPO Preview - Houston, Here We Come!
SNAXPO schedule of events
Products & Services
Ad Index

Snack World - February 2016