LOCAL
Iowa nears hemp growing legalization
Iowa submitted a proposed hemp production program to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for approval on December 11, 2019, paving the way for legal hemp production in the state. The public commentary period on the program ends this week, and the USDA has 60 days from submission to review the rule and provide feedback.
Licensed farmers will be able to grow up to 40 acres of hemp per season. Notably, the program does not legalize the use of cannabidiol (CBD) for human consumption in the state, pending further Food and Drug Administration (FDA) investigation of its safety.
The production of hemp was broadly legalized by the 2018 farm bill, with some stipulations. First, the concentration of THC, the compound that produces the “high” in marijuana, cannot reach higher than .3 percent in hemp. Second, the regulatory oversight is shared by state and federal agencies. A state may devise its own plan for to regulate hemp which then must be submitted to the USDA for approval, such as what Iowa is doing. Alternatively, a state can opt not to devise its own regulatory scheme and the growers will have to work through a federal regulation program. Finally, the law specifies which actions would be considered violations, such as producing hemp with two high of a concentration of THC, and details punishments and remedies for those violations.
NATIONAL
Romaine E. coli outbreaks officially over
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Public Health Agency of Canada, and Public Health of Seattle-King Country announced the two recent multistate and one single state outbreaks of E. coli O157:H7 traced back to romaine lettuce were over last week. The warnings against consuming the lettuce produced in the growing region of Salinas Valley California were lifted. The outbreaks sickened 221 people in the US and Canada, and half needed hospitalization.
While the recent outbreaks are over, neither a definitive source nor a root cause has been found. Romaine industry groups were quick to respond to the announcement with reassurances that they are taking action to prevent future outbreaks and offering their help to the FDA as it continues to investigate the cause of the outbreaks.
"The leafy greens community is extremely motivated to get to the bottom of this, and we want to be more involved,” said San Miguel Produce’s Jan Berk, the Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement’s (LGMA) vice-chairman. “The LGMA is currently conducting a systematic overhaul of the food safety practices included in our program” said Scott Horsfall, CEO of the California LGMA.
LGMAs make the standards and procedure requirements for 90 percent of the leafy greens grown in the US. Government auditors verify the growers’ compliance to the standards.
INTERNATIONAL
Chinese coronavirus outbreak spreads
A novel coronavirus causing pneumonia like symptoms was reported to have spread to more cities in China this weekend, including Beijing and Shanghai, and a fourth international case was reported as well.
The outbreak was first reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) on December 31, 2019, in Wuhan City, Hubei Province. There are so far at least 200 cases known worldwide, though some organizations estimate the actual number to be over a thousand. The virus is similar to the one which caused the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2002/03 which killed almost 800 people.
The WHO said yesterday that “an animal source” was the most likely origin of the disease, but that there appeared to be some human to human transmission. An emergency committee will be meeting Wednesday at the organization to discuss the outbreak. Authorities in other countries have increased screening of travelers from Wuhan.
An editorial in the Chinese Communist Party’s official People’s Daily newspaper urged the government to disclose all information quickly and not repeat communication mistakes of the SARS outbreak. “Concealment would be a serious blow to the government’s credibility and might trigger greater social panic,” the editorial said.
Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship
The Brookings Institute
James Kincheloe
James received his DVM from the University of California, Davis. He has worked as a herd veterinarian for dairy cows and a small animal veterinarian in California. Jim is interested in agricultural and infectious disease policy, and has collaborated on domestic and international projects across the public health spectrum.