SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Federal agriculture officials say chicken producer Foster Farms is recalling about 6,165 pounds of its ready-to-eat grilled chicken breast strips because the strips contain wheat and soy - known allergens - which are not listed on the labels of its packages.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service announced the recall Tuesday, saying the mislabeled packages were discovered when a customer complained. Food safety inspectors and officials at Foster Farms say the problem occurred when labels for another chicken product that does not contain wheat or soy were inadvertently used.

Officials say there have been no reports of adverse reactions from the sale of the mislabeled products.

The chicken breast strips being recalled were produced on April 23 and were distributed to retail establishments in Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington.

OLYMPIA - Gov. Jay Inslee today signed legislation that will provide state wildlife managers more resources to prevent wolf-livestock conflict and expand criteria for compensation to livestock owners for wolf-related losses.

Senate Bill 5193, requested by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and prime-sponsored by Sen. John Smith, R-Colville, was supported by a broad cross-section of interest groups.

"The gray wolf population is recovering quickly in Washington," said Inslee.  "This bill received bipartisan support from legislators across the state because it represents a practical, realistic approach to minimizing wolf-livestock conflict while recognizing the need for fair compensation to ranchers and farmers."

WDFW Director Phil Anderson said the department appreciates the Governor's support for the bill and the efforts of both Republican and Democratic legislators to get it passed.  "Washington state is committed to wolf recovery, but sustainable recovery requires that we address the legitimate needs of farmers, ranchers and other residents of the communities that are on the front line of wolf recovery," he said.  "This bill does that."

KELSO – Cowlitz County approved a contract today for environmental consulting company ICF International to help local, state and federal governments prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) to evaluate a proposed coal export terminal along the Columbia River near Longview, Wash.

Millennium Bulk Terminals-Longview, LLC, proposes to build and operate a coal export terminal at the site of the former Reynolds Aluminum smelter in Cowlitz County.

Cowlitz County, the Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) are co-leads jointly managing the environmental review process for the proposed terminal project. After the contractor was selected in April through the county’s public competitive bidding process, negotiations for the contract took place. The contract was approved by the Cowlitz County Board of Commissioners on May 21.

The signing of a Notice to Proceed is planned for May 22, and then the co-leads and consultant team will begin work on the first phase of the EIS – the scoping process – including setting a time frame.

Through scoping, the agencies seek input from the public, communities, tribes and agencies on what they recommend should be included in the EIS and assistance in identifying issues and concerns, such as factors to analyze and geographic areas to consider. Subsequent phases of the EIS process include research and preparing the draft and final EIS document.

The dates for the scoping period have not yet been set nor have dates and locations for scoping meetings. The contractor will help the co-lead agencies ensure that the public receives information on the status of the environmental review, public comment periods, the time and location of public meetings and hearings, and other pertinent information throughout scoping and other phases of the EIS process.

People can sign up to receive email announcements regarding public comment periods and meetings at http://listserv.wa.gov/cgi-bin/wa?A0=WA-MILLENNIUM-EIS.

The agencies will oversee the EIS consultant’s work. Millennium will pay all costs through an arrangement with the county but will not be allowed direct contact with the consultant during the environmental review process, except with permission of the three agencies. 

Aberdeen, WA - No injuries at a structure fire in downtown Aberdeen. Crews were called this morning to black smoke near the Wishkah River Bridge, arriving units saw smoke and flames visible from the rear of the building at 600 East Wishkah. Captain JR Streifel tells us the building houses Hagen and Bates law firm, Cheryl Demoss Massage, The Body Shop Massage, and A Claccis Cuts Hair Salon. Streifel said the fire raced through the attic of the building, prompting a second alarm. It took a total of 20 firefighters about 90 minutes to get the fire under control. Crews remained on scene of the fire until about 6:30 this morning, extinguishing hot spots and salvaging contents.
Streifel estimated the structure was about 85% damaged, with the same percentage of damage to it's contents, initial estiamtes are $950,000. The cause of the fire is under investigation.