Blogs

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on September 10, 2024, that it charged Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. (Keurig®) with making inaccurate statements regarding the recyclability of its K-Cup® single-use beverage pods. To settle SEC’s charges, Keurig agreed to pay a $1.5 million civil penalty. SEC’s order states: Beginning in or around 2016, Keurig performed tests of its pods at various recycling facilities, in which Keurig tracked the progress of pods throughout the...

The Biotechnology Risk Assessment Grants (BRAG) program supports the development of new information that will assist federal regulatory agencies in making evidence-based decisions about the effects of genetically engineered organisms on the environment. BRAG is co-administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and jointly funded by NIFA, ARS, and USDA’s Forest Service. NIFA announced on...

On August 20, 2024, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) announced seven additional awards to bioindustrial firms via the Distributed Bioindustrial Manufacturing Program (DBIMP), bringing the DBIMP to 13 awards to date totaling $23 million. The following companies will receive funding to produce business and technical plans that detail construction of domestic bioindustrial manufacturing production facilities: Battelle, based in Columbus, Ohio, was awarded $1.85 million to plan a facility for...

On September 10, 2024, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health will hold a legislative hearing on “Evaluating FDA Human Foods and Tobacco Programs.” According to the Committee’s September 3, 2024, hearing announcement, the hearing will give members a chance to hear from the head of the Human Foods Program, as well as the head of the Tobacco Center, to learn how the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is “helping adult smokers quit, keeping illegal products away from...

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced on September 4, 2024, that its Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) is overseeing a call for industry partnerships to connect industry stakeholders with the capabilities of the Feedstock-Conversion Interface Consortium (FCIC). According to DOE, the funding opportunity will provide resources that allow partners to collaborate with FCIC researchers to address the cost and risk impacts of feedstock and process variability across the bioenergy and...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is scheduled to publish a direct final rule on September 5, 2024, that will amend the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) regulation with reporting and recordkeeping requirements for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to make a “one-time modification” to change the data submission period from November 12, 2024, through May 8, 2025, to July 11, 2025, through January 11, 2026. For any reporter who is reporting exclusively as an article...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold a webinar on September 19, 2024, on “A Safer Choice for Cleaning: Increasing Access to Products with Safer Ingredients.” Jennie Romer, EPA Deputy Assistant Administrator for Pollution Prevention, will host a webinar on how EPA’s Safer Choice program helps people find and have access to cleaning and other products made with safer ingredients and how the program works in partnership with a broad range of stakeholders to prevent...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on August 29, 2024, that it is now accepting nominations for the 2025 Green Chemistry Challenge Awards from companies or institutions that have developed a new green chemistry process or product that helps protect human health and the environment. According to EPA, its “efforts to speed the adoption of this revolutionary and diverse discipline have led to significant environmental benefits, innovation and a strengthened economy.” EPA...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold two virtual public meetings, on September 30 and October 1, 2024, to provide information regarding existing chemical pre-prioritization and prioritization activities under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). 89 Fed. Reg. 68894. EPA states in its August 28, 2024, notice that “[t]he purpose of prioritization is to designate a chemical substance as being either high priority for immediate further risk evaluation, or low priority, for...

On August 27, 2024, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced that it recently reviewed the following plants modified using genetic engineering to determine whether they posed an increased plant pest risk relative to non-modified comparators: University of Florida, two submissions, a sweet orange and a grapefruit with disease tolerance to citrus greening, also called Huanglongbing (HLB); and Bioceres Crop Solutions, wheat with...