USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has published a notice soliciting nominations for membership on a national advisory committee that addresses meat and poultry inspection issues. Names and curriculum vitae must be postmarked no later than January 23, 2009. FSIS is seeking a diverse membership drawn from industry, academia, state and local government officials, public health organizations, and consumers and consumer organizations. The committee “provides advice and recommendations to the Secretary on meat and poultry inspection programs.” See Federal Register, December 24, 2008.
Category Archives Issue 287
According to animal studies conducted by Korean-based researchers, a common food additive used in processed meats and chicken, when fed to mice at levels roughly equivalent to human intake, increases lung tumor progression and growth. Hua Jin, et al., “High Dietary Inorganic Phosphate Increases Lung Tumorigenesis and Alters Akt Signaling,” American Journal of Respiratory & Critical Care Medicine (2009). While phosphate is apparently an essential nutrient, its increasing use in foods ranging from processed meats to cheeses, beverages and bakery goods has more than doubled human intake since the 1990s to some 1,000 mg daily. The scientists concluded that “careful regulation of dietary Pi may be critical for lung cancer prevention as well as treatment.” See Foodnavigator-usa.com, January 6, 2009.
“While some have difficulty with the cuteness versus deliciousness ratio – that adorable little face, those itty-bitty claws – many feel that eating a squirrel is a way to do something good for the environment while enjoying a unique gastronomical experience,” writes New York Times journalist Marlena Spieler in this article chronicling Britain’s efforts to save its indigenous red squirrel population from an influx of North American gray squirrels. “The grays take over the reds’ habitat, eat voraciously and harbor a virus named squirrel parapox (harmless to humans) that does not harm grays but can devastate reds,” according to Spieler, who credits the “Save Our Squirrels” campaign with creating a market for culled squirrel meat among TV chefs, cookbooks, farmers’ markets, and restaurants. Hunters, gamekeepers and the U.K. Forestry Commission apparently supply the delicacy, which has been promoted as a low-fat alternative to other game animals. “Part of the interest is…
“A far cry from the innocent image of Winnie the Pooh with a paw stuck in the honey pot, the international honey trade has become increasingly rife with crime and intrigue,” claims a recent Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Seattle P-I)investigative report on the widespread practice of “honey laundering,” the illegal practice of transshipping products through other countries to avoid U.S. import fees, protective tariffs or taxes. In addition, the global market is “plagued by foreign hucksters and shady importers who rip off conscientious U.S. packers with honey diluted with sugar water or corn syrup – or worse, tainted with pesticides or antibiotics.” Seattle P-I allegedly found that (i) “tens of thousands of pounds of honey entering the U.S. each year come from countries that raise few bees and have no record of producing honey for export”; (ii) “only a small fraction [of honey] is inspected, and seizures and arrests remain rare”; and (iii)…
A California woman who claimed that Wendy’s International, Inc. violated state consumer protection laws by misrepresenting the trans fat content of its French fries and fried chicken products has entered a settlement agreement with the fast-food company. Yoo v. Wendy’s Int’l, Inc., No. 07-4515 (C.D. Cal., settlement filed December 2008). For purposes of the settlement, the parties agreed to the certification of a nationwide class of those who purchased Wendy’s fries and chicken for the past two years. Without conceding any liability, Wendy’s agreed to (i) eliminate trans fat from its frying process, (ii) submit to independent testing, (iii) donate $1.8 million to cancer, diabetes and heart associations, and (iv) not oppose a fee award of up to $1.09 million to class counsel in the Yoo action. Attorneys representing class claimants in similar litigation filed in New York and Florida will share the fee distribution. Wendy’s also agreed to attribute the $2.2…
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has apparently prevailed in proceedings seeking injunctive relief against two New Mexico dairies that “were not keeping adequate medication records to prevent unsafe drug residues in cattle offered for slaughter” and “were using medications for unapproved indications not specified on the drug label” without a valid veterinarian-client-patient relationship. The companies, Do-Rene and Clover Knolls Dairies, were warned about these violations in 2005 and 2008 following inspections and tissue sampling. Apparently, some of the dairies’ cows tested positive for illegal levels of a number of drugs, including one “expressly forbidden for use in lactating cows.” According to FDA, “These residues may cause allergic reactions in extremely sensitive individuals, and they may contribute to forming antibiotic-resistance in bacteria.” Future violations may result in civil or criminal penalties. See FDA Press Release, January 2, 2009.
According to news sources, litigation has been filed in California challenging a new law that prohibits the sale or distribution of food from nonambulatory livestock. One of the suits, filed in late December 2008 by the National Meat Association, claims that the state’s hog industry should be exempt. An association spokesperson reportedly indicated that “hog fatigue” causes hogs to lie down occasionally, but that nothing is wrong with these animals. The American Meat Institute (AMI) filed a motion to intervene, arguing that the law as a whole is preempted by the Federal Meat Inspection Act. An AMI press release notes, “on some occasions all species can become injured even until the last minutes before processing, but an injury like a broken ankle does not automatically make livestock unfit for consumption.” The California law (A.B. 2098), effective January 1, 2009, amended the state penal code by proscribing any slaughterhouse use of…
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has denied the request by Gerber Products Co. to rehear the court’s April 2008 decision overturning the dismissal of putative class claims that the company’s Fruit Juice Snacks® packaging misled consumers. Williams v. Gerber Prods. Co., No. 06-55921 (9th Cir., amended opinion filed December 22, 2008). A detailed summary of the court’s April ruling appears in issue 258 of this Update. In its amended opinion, the court eliminated one sentence and reorganized two other sentences, but did not otherwise change its ruling that a detailed ingredients list in small type cannot shield a food manufacturer from liability for claims that its packaging misrepresents the quality of the product. “Instead, reasonable consumers expect that the ingredient list contains more detailed information about the product that confirms other representations on the packaging.” The product at issue, intended for toddlers, is sold in a package with images of…
California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) is considering adopting rules under Proposition 65 (Prop. 65) that are intended to prevent overexposure to beneficial nutrients in food. The agency’s “Initial Statement of Reasons” for the proposed rules, still in draft, note that “[e]xcessive exposures to some [vitamins and minerals necessary to promote human health] have the potential to cause cancer or adverse reproductive effects.” OEHHA plans to establish the level of a listed chemical that does not constitute an exposure within the meaning of Prop. 65 and thus would not require warnings. Previous drafts indicated that the agency would rely on “Recommended Dietary Allowance” levels, but the most recent version indicates that levels for individual chemicals will be made on the basis of a chemical-by-chemical evaluation. OEHHA has also apparently indicated its intention to address human nutrients and plant nutrients separately. According to the California League of Food Processors,…
The Air Resources Board (ARB) of California’s Environmental Protection Agency has published a request for research concepts for its 2009-2010 annual research plan. Among the general areas of research that ARB would like to fund are issues related to agriculture and to health and exposure. The deadline for concept submissions is January 20, 2009. Due to anticipated budget shortfalls, the agency has indicated that co-funded proposals are more likely to be approved and funded. ARB is interested in funding research relating to confined animal facility operations emissions, pesticide emission assessments, air emissions in agricultural ecosystems involving “nitrogen fate from fertilizer application,” and “[c]omparative assessment of emissions from various agricultural practices, including conservation management, conservation tillage, and use of equipment to reduce particulate entrainment emissions or VOC emissions.” Under the “health and exposure” rubric, ARB is seeking concept submissions relating to the “[i]mpact of nanoparticles in products and materials on personal…
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