It’s officially time to register for the 2014 C-TPAT National Conference.
Despite substantial scrutiny and restriction due to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) guidelines for government sponsored conferences, a scaled back C-TPAT conference will go on. This year’s theme will be “C-TPAT: Partnering in Supply Chain Security and Facilitation for the 21st Century.”
Here’s what you need to know:
On April 11, amid a high demand for soccer apparel in preparation for FIFA World Cup, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized counterfeit soccer apparel shipped from China to the Port of Savannah. The value of the seized goods exceeded $1 million in manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP). The apparel seized contained counterfeit trademarks of the following professional soccer clubs: Arsenal, Barcelona, Celtic, Chelsea, Mexican Federation, Paris Saint-Germain, and Real Madrid. Little did they know they should have tried to import Germany’s soccer club’s apparel.
“You look at that Chelsea patch, and it just looks off,” said Steve Sapp, a spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. “The last B is smaller than the rest, and that’s the kind of thing you often see with these counterfeit goods. Our investigators know the signs that these goods aren’t real.”
According to the FDA, approximately 3 million people (or 1 in 133 people) in the United States have celiac disease (CD), including me. While there is currently no cure for CD, unfortunately, individuals who have the disease are advised to follow a strict gluten-free diet. Over time, the continued ingestion of gluten by Celiacs triggers the production of antibodies that attack and damage the lining of the small intestine. Such damage hinders the absorption of nutrients, which leads to an array of severe health issues. This makes truthful gluten-free labeling essential for a Celiac’s survival, and celiac’s like me ecstatic that the “gluten-free” claim will be enforced, come August 5, 2014. If you manufacturer a food product, and are not ready to comply, read on.
On April 24, 2014, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) issued a proposed regulation which would subject the currently unregulated e-cigarette industry to FDA regulation under the authority of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act). The proposed rule put e-cigarettes with a list of products FDA “deemed” tobacco products, and as such, subject to the FD&C Act. OMB intervened to weaken FDA’s original proposal.