After Costa Rica, with the intention of mitigating the spread of the covid-19, decreed restrictions on cargo transport units entering its territory, the Nicaraguan government ordered the closure of the Peñas Blancas border post.
Changes in legislation restricting the use of disposable plastic containers and packaging force companies to look for other options, some of which could be up to five times more expensive.
In Costa Rica, the Legislative Assembly ratified the ban on the import, marketing and distribution of expanded polystyrene containers, better known as styrofoam.
With the approval in Second Debate of file 19.833 "Addition of an article 42 bis, a paragraph d) to article 50 and the transitory XIII, XIV and XV to the Law for the Integral Management of Waste, No.
The United States has lifted the ban which has been in place since 2001 and authorized the resumption of imports of fresh beef from northern Argentina and 14 Brazilian states.
From a statement by the U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
APHIS to Allow the Importation of Fresh Beef from Northern Argentina and 14 States in Brazil
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is amending its regulations to allow the importation of fresh (chilled or frozen) beef from two regions in South America under specific conditions that mitigate the risk of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), the first step in a process for these regions to gain access to the U.S. market for beef. The two regions are:
Within a period of three years all processed foods containing partially hydrogenated oils must be removed from the US market.
From a press release issued by the FDA:
Based on a thorough review of the scientific evidence, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration today finalized its determination that partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs), the primary dietary source of artificial trans fat in processed foods, are not “generally recognized as safe” or GRAS for use in human food. Food manufacturers will have three years to remove PHOs from products.
The phytosanitary measures implemented by the European Union have been in force since May and aim to prevent the entry of the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa.
The rule applies to ornamental coffee plants (not seeds) of the coffee variety and applies to the 28 countries comprising the European Union. The Chamber of Plants, Flowers and Foliage in Costa Rica clarified that the prohibition does not apply to foliage, which can still be exported.
The Federal Office of Agriculture has banned the use of the ripening accelerator ethephon in foods sold in the country.
From a statement issued by the Foreign Trade Promotion Office (Procomer):
The Federal Office for Agriculture in Switzerland has banned the use of the ripening accelerator ethephon because in 2013 they found tomatoes with traces of this chemical.
Three neonicotinoid pesticides used in growing plants and cereals have been banned because they are considered harmful to bees.
Prensa.com reports that "the products in question are clothianidin and imidacloprid, produced by Bayer, and thiamethoxam, manufactured by the Swiss firm Syngenta, who has appealed against the ban before the European Court."
The European Commission has decided to restrict the use of three pesticides used in the growing of plants and cereals, after having verified that they are harmful to bees.
From an article by the Costa Rican Foreign Trade Promotion Office (PROCOMER):
The European Commission (EC) decided to restrict the use of three neonicotinoid pesticides used in the growing of plants and cereals, after finding that these are harmful to bees.
The Government confirmed that the US and Europe have suspended the ban that was in place due to suspected salmonella contamination.
The minister of the Secretariat of Agriculture and Livestock, Hector Hernandez, explained that they have already exported five containers of melon to the US.