Ag Report: China Lifting Restrictions on Pork Plants While U.S. Wrangles Over Candy Labels

The USDA announced last week that China has agreed to lift import restrictions on six pork-processing factories and eight cold-storage facilities. China had banned pork exported from the plants and warehouses after some cases where meat was found to have traces of ractopamine. However, the facilities approved for import by China are not users of products containing ractopamine. Plants representing as much as half of U.S. pork processing capacity were ineligible to ship to China at one point. Chinese pork demand has been booming and exporters from the European Union have boosted shipments amid the restrictions on some U.S. suppliers.

The division in the food industry over the FDA's push to require companies to include added sugars, including a new Daily Value, on food labels is widening as the agency receives a new round of comments. The Obama administration's plan has been widely praised by top health and consumer groups, but it has split the processed food industry. Mars and Nestlé are backing the proposal despite their membership on the board of the Grocery Manufacturers Association, which adamantly opposes the move.