On October 19, Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) posted Notice No. 2018-452 (in Korean) proposing revisions to their food regulations, including several MRL changes.

Relevant proposed MRLs will appear in the Global MRL Database next week.

On October 18, the USDA Food and Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) published FSIS Directive 7120.1 Revision 47. This directive lists safe and suitable ingredients, including food additives, used in the production of meat, poultry, and egg products.

The United States' regulations are included in the Food Additive Database. If you are interested in subscribing, please contact BCI for more information.

During the first week of October, BCI’s Sacramento team visited Blue Diamond Growers for a tour of its Sacramento plant.  The BCI team was able to watch as Blue Diamond prepared its signature flavored snack almonds, from the sorting of raw almonds, roasting and the application of Blue Diamond’s world-famous flavors, all the way through to packaging in the iconic Blue Diamond cans.  BCI also discussed the almond industry and international marketing efforts with Blue Diamond’s International Consumer team.

The visit provided an excellent opportunity to witness—in real time—the transformation of one of California’s most important crops into a value-added product with international reach.  Such experiences provide real-world context for the work that BCI does every day to assist agricultural groups to develop and sustain international trade.  This visit was organized as part of Bryant Christie’s BCXplore (BCX) program, designed to support leadership development and team building.