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March 6, 2015 CapitalPress.com 9 Idaho Idaho House panel supports federal policy for GMO labeling Subscribe to our weekly Idaho email newsletter at CapitalPress.com/newsletters By SEAN ELLIS Capital Press BOISE — A joint memo- rial from the Idaho Legisla- ture to Congress urging the federal government to create a national policy for the label- ing of genetically engineered foods has passed a House committee. The memorial asks Con- gress to have the Food and Drug Administration create federal standards for compa- nies that want to voluntarily label food products that do not contain genetically engi- neered ingredients. This would accommodate both those who want to label their food products as not hav- ing GE ingredients and those who don’t, its author, Rep. Steven Miller, a Republican farmer from Fairfield, told members of the House Agri- cultural Affairs Committee. “I think it’s a good com- promise that way in allow- ing both sides of the issue to find some middle ground,” he said. “It meets the needs of both sides.” The memorial says that foods produced with GE in- gredients “are as safe to eat and grow as foods produced without GE ingredients” and adds that “GE technology adds desirable traits from nature, establishing the po- tential for nutritional, health, agronomic and environmental benefits.” It still needs to be approved by the full House and Senate, The memorial is supported by most of the state’s largest agricultural groups and was also vetted by national farm organizations, said Doug Jones, an Idaho farmer who is executive director of Growers for Biotechnology. Jones said it’s better to have the federal government develop labeling standards for GE foods rather than states or cities. The memorial says a patchwork of local and state mandatory labeling laws would result in costly chang- es to manufacturing, label- ing, warehousing, inventory and distribution channels that would result in higher food prices. “There’s a common-sense business reason not to do it state-by-state,” Jones said. “If we’re going to have labeling, let’s do it right, at the feder- al level with common stan- dards.” “It’s better to have one na- tional policy rather than 50 individual ones,” said Brent Olmstead, executive director of Milk Producers of Idaho, which supports the memorial. An effort by Idaho’s sugar beet industry to introduce a bill that would have made it Idaho law to recognize feder- al pre-emption on the issue of GE labeling will not happen this year, said Rupert farmer Duane Grant, chairman of the Snake River Sugar Co-op. That bill would have pre- vented individual Idaho counties from passing GE labeling laws. Grant said Idaho’s sug- ar industry would have pre- ferred the pre-emption bill but he said the memorial is “well-written and ... it will take us a long ways down the road we want to go.” Miller said a key point of the memorial is that it asks FDA to create standards for voluntary labeling of GE products. “You’re not required to label,” he said. “The market will work this out.” Florida has passed a sim- ilar memorial, North Dakota is in the process and several other states are discussing it, Miller said. Upper Snake recharge expands, despite dry month By JOHN O’CONNELL Capital Press Bill sets guidelines, standards for cottage food industry Capital Press BOISE — The Idaho Leg- islature will consider legisla- tion that would set standards for the state’s cottage food in- dustry and allow people to sell limited amounts of food pro- duced in an unlicensed home kitchen operation directly to the public. Idaho Code doesn’t spe- cifically address the industry and the state’s seven health districts have independently set their own standards for food produced in home kitch- ens, said Boise farmer Josie Erskine. For example, a farmer who produces jam at home might be able to sell it at the Sun Valley farmers’ market but not at the Weiser market, said Erskine, who supports the leg- islation. Erskine said the bill would bring consistency to the indus- try and she believes it has the potential to help a lot of small and medium-sized farmers. “Out of all the bills coming out of this year’s legislative session, I really believe this bill has the potential to create the most new small business- es in Idaho,” she said. Members of the House Health and Welfare Commit- tee voted to print the bill Feb. 24. “We’re just trying to put some certainty into (the in- dustry) so people who want to be in this business can have some guidelines,” said the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Clark Kauffman, a Republican farmer from Filer. Kauffman pulled the bill earlier in the session after it faced concerns from the Northwest Food Processors Association, which represents 76 food processors and 348 suppliers in Idaho, Oregon and Washington. NFPA representative Eliz- abeth Criner said the group wanted to see more standards included in the legislation to protect public safety. Those concerns were echoed by other groups repre- senting Idaho agriculture. If someone got sick from eating a food product pro- duced in a home kitchen, it would reflect poorly on the entire agricultural industry, said Milk Producers of Idaho Executive Director Brent Ol- mstead. “We just want to make sure the food’s safe,” he said. “Ag- riculture wants people to eat safe food.” Working with NFPA, Kauffman added a labeling provision that requires cottage food products to list any po- tential allergens and contact information of the person who produced it. While there is no licens- ing or in-home inspection re- quirements for cottage food producers in the bill, they will have to register with their lo- cal health district. If there is a complaint about a cottage food product or an illness outbreak, state regulators would have the right to inspect the operation. The legislation would ap- ply only to non-potentially hazardous foods, which are defined in the statute. The new bill also includes a cap of $30,000 in gross sales. Cottage food producers wanted a higher cap, while NFPA, which supports the new bill, wanted to include in-home inspections. Kauffman said the cap was necessary to get NFPA’s sup- port and the guidelines can al- ways be changed in the future if the industry can prove they need to be. draw water from Palisades to shut off for 150 days through winter in order to build up storage. Steve Howser, manager of Aberdeen-Springfield Canal Co., and other water managers requested the suspension in or- der to conduct aquifer recharge without fear of violating the pol- icy. Howser commenced with recharging 170 cubic feet per second on Feb. 21, immediately following the suspension. The state, which holds a 1,200 cubic feet per second re- charge water right, pays canal companies fees to allow water to seep into the aquifer through their unlined systems, or to spill it into aquifer injection facilities. Howser hasn’t run water through his system during win- BUYING 6” and UP Alder, Maple, Cottonwood Saw Logs, Standing Timber www.cascadehardwood.com ROP-9-3-2/#4X By SEAN ELLIS Courtesy of Idaho Department of Water Resources Water is recharged this winter at American Falls Reservoir District No. 2’s MIlepost 31 recharge site. Winter recharge has recently been expanded to include canals between American Falls and Palisades reservoirs. rop-10-4-7/#24 Submitted photo Members of the Idaho Organization of Resource Councils hold an educational event at Idaho’s Capitol Feb. 3 in support of the state’s cottage food industry. IORC is supporting legislation that would set standards and guidelines for people who sell food produced in home kitchens. IDAHO FALLS, Idaho — The Bureau of Reclamation is expanding winter aquifer re- charge in the Upper Snake River system, though the watershed’s once strong snowpack has dropped to near normal levels due to continued dry weather in February. Lack of precipitation for consecutive months has pushed other Idaho basins further below average. Due to an ample carryover of storage water, however, even an average snowpack has ne- cessitated that BOR increase flows below Palisades Reservoir from 900 cubic feet per second a month ago to present levels of 2,700 cubic feet per second to free storage space for spring runoff. Seeking to put those flood-control releases to good use, BOR recently approved a request by canal companies to tempo- rarily suspend its winter water savings contract. The provision requires canal companies that ter since the 1960s, prior to the implementation of the winter water savings contract. “Here we are in a situation in February where we have almost perfect conditions to accomplish some recharge,” said Howser, who runs recharge water 30 miles through his canal until it’s released into an operational spill facility. Lyle Swank, watermaster over the Upper Snake district, said a half dozen larger canal companies on the Henry’s Fork above Palisades and below the reservoir, including the Great Feeder Canals near Ririe, are participating in expanded re- charge. Swank plans to send his staff to verify canal companies are accurately reporting their re- charge diversions. Idaho Department of Water Resources Water Planning Bu- reau manager Brian Patton said 50,670 acre-feet has already been recharged this winter by canal companies drawing from Milner Reservoir, and not cov- ered by the winter storage con- tract. 10-2/#4N