How To Reach Us:
St. Louis Front Page
P.O. Box 1354
St. Louis, MO 63188
Voice: 314-771-0200
Fax: 314-771-0300
To submit news, contact:
editor@slfp.com
To advertise, contact:
advertising@slfp.com
|
|
|
ST. LOUIS NEWS TODAY - Sunday, January 18, 2004
|
January 11, 2004 marks the 40th anniversary of the first U.S. Surgeon General's report on smoking and health.
|
Food Producers Plan to Create Consumer Safety Program
ST. LOUIS, MO, (PRNewswire) January 18, 2004 - Associations for the nation's leading produce, beef, pork and seafood producers, along with food retailers and wholesalers, have agreed to craft a program to provide consumers country of origin information about these products.
According to an announcement by the United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association (UFFVA), National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA), National Pork Producers Council (NPPC), National Fisheries Institute (NFI), Food Marketing Institute (FMI) and National Grocers Association (NGA), the group plans to hold a summit in the very near future with other concerned segments of the food industry to develop a consensus voluntary labeling program.
Producers and retailers are committed to developing a cost- effective replacement to the program mandated in the 2002 farm bill. The associations aim to finalize a labeling program by this spring, involving as many segments of the food industry as possible. They will then work with Congress to codify the program into legislation that replaces the mandatory labeling law.
"There is widespread agreement that the mandatory program is too costly and unworkable in the real world," said UFFVA President Tom Stenzel. "We all agree the goal is to give consumers useful information about where their food comes from."
"What is needed is an industry-driven framework for providing country of origin information that is market-driven and does not increase the cost of food by imposing needless bureaucratic requirements," continued Stenzel. "A solution must be reached now before it adds further costs to produce grower-shippers and harms consumers through disrupting the distribution and marketing of healthy fresh fruits and vegetables," Stenzel commented."
The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that in the first year alone the mandatory law will cost up to $3.9 billion -- costs that will be passed along to consumers or absorbed by producers and retailers in the low-profit food business, according to the industry groups.
"We do not need to create a bureaucratic nightmare that will drive small retailers and producers out of business," said FMI President and CEO Tim Hammonds. "Food retailers have long promoted U.S. brands and their region, state or farm of origin. This initiative can build on these efforts and accomplish the same goal as the mandatory labeling law without the baggage of excessive compliance costs." NGA President and CEO Tom Zaucha said his membership agrees with this approach.
NCBA President and Idaho Cattle Producer Eric Davis echoed these beliefs, emphasizing that, "We need a program that allows consumers to support American producers. At the same time, we must not confuse this promotional program with efforts to ensure that our beef supply is safe.
"The mandatory labeling law was never designed to promote food safety. We have other laws for that purpose, and we are now working with the government to strengthen those measures and make sure that the American consumer can continue to buy the safest beef in the world."
NPPC President Jon Caspers, a pork producer from Swaledale, IA, said pork producers support a workable, voluntary country of origin labeling program that would include a national animal identification system. "This would protect the health of the U.S. livestock herd and ensure greater confidence in our food supply," Caspers said. "Due to current low hog prices, it's critical to increase the demand for pork. A voluntary program will be available to all segments including restaurants and food service and will reward those who choose to participate."
Nixon Pushes for Addition of Business, Cell Phone Numbers to No Call Law
ST. LOUIS, MO, (SLFP.com) January 18, 2004 - Attorney General Jay Nixon and state Sen. Steve Stoll, (D) Festus, have announced legislation that will allow business owners and cell phone users to add their phone numbers to Missouri's No Call list. The current Missouri No Call law allows only residential phone numbers on the list.
"The three million Missourians on the No Call list have told us they don't want telemarketing calls at home. If you don't want to be bothered at home, you certainly don't have time for wasteful phone calls at work or on your cell phone," Nixon said at a news conference in St. Louis.
"Protecting the time of business and wireless phone customers will help Missourians be more productive and thus make a positive contribution to the economy," Sen. Stoll said, joining Nixon at the news conference.
Bills with the proposed revisions to the No Call law are being filed in both the House and Senate. Sen. Stoll is the sponsor of the Senate bill. The house bill has the bi-partisan sponsorship of state Rep. David Pearce, (R) Warrensburg, vice chair of the House Committee on Job Creation and Economic Development, and state Rep. D. J. Davis, (D) Odessa.
The Attorney General's No Call enforcement unit continues to vigorously pursue telemarketers that break the No Call law. Since July 2001, the state has collected $1,088,000 in fines from companies that violate the law.
This week Nixon reached an agreement with another company that broke the law. 3M Management Co., a St. Louis mortgage company doing business as Challenge Financial Investment Corp., agreed to stop making telemarketing calls to Missourians and paid $5,000 to the state. The company's owner, Steven Frost, also agreed not to make telemarketing calls to Missourians for any other company without first obtaining Missouri's No Call list.
St. Louis to Host 24th Annual National Veterans Wheelchair Games
ST. LOUIS, MO, (SLFP.com) January 18, 2004 - St. Louis has been chosen as the host city for the 24th Annual National Veterans Wheelchair Games. The games will be held June 15-19, 2004 with most of the events at the Edward Jones Dome, Forest Park and Washington University.
The games are presented by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) to help promote rehabilitations, wellness, and camaraderie through athletic competition.
There are approximately 20 local veteran athletes participating in the games this year. The organizers of the games are inviting children and their families to attend "Kids Day."
The games will provide an opportunity for kids to learn from our vets what it means to serve one's country as well as learning about living with a disability. Special sessions for local disabled children are designed to introduce the child living with physical disabilities to the wonderful world of adaptive sports. Visit the games website at www.wheelchairgames.org for additional information.
|
STL-News is owned and maintained by the Moore Design Group as a special feature of the Saint Louis Front Page for the sole purpose of disseminating news and information about the Metropolitan Saint Louis area. Text or graphics may not be copied, rewritten or distributed in any manner whatsoever without written permission. For more information, contact editor@slfp.com
All rights reserved world wide
© 1996 - 2008 Moore Design Group .
|
|
Click here for
AD Rates
|
|
