The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has issued an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) to solicit public feedback on the conditions under which the agency should permit “natural” labeling claims for meat and poultry. The current FSIS standard states that minimally processed meat and poultry products can use the “natural” label if the product “does not contain any artificial flavor or flavoring, coloring ingredients, chemical preservative, or any other artificial or synthetic ingredient.” The agency is now considering whether to define the term “natural” or continue evaluating the claim on a case-by-case basis. It specifically seeks comments on “how best to coordinate FSIS’ regulation of ‘natural’ claims with the Agricultural Marketing Service’s (AMS) voluntary ‘naturally raised’ marketing claim standard.” FSIS will accept comments until November 13, 2009. See FSIS Press Release, September 11, 2009; Federal Register, September 14, 2009.
Category Archives Issue 319
This article examines a new food-labeling campaign called the Smart Choices Program™, which uses the government dietary guidelines to identify “smarter food and beverage choices” for consumers. According to reporter William Neuman, the industry-backed system has apparently provoked the ire of some nutritionists who question the use of the green checkmark on “sugar-laden cereals like Cocoa Krispies and Froot Loops.” The Food and Drug Administration and U.S. Department of Agriculture have also warned the program’s managers that the agencies will be monitoring the results to see whether the labels “had the effect of encouraging consumers to choose highly processed food and refined grains instead of fruits, vegetables and whole grains.” “What we don’t want to do is have front-of-package information that in any way is based on cherry-picking the good and not disclosing the components of a product that may be less good,” one senior FDA advisor was quoted as…
“The American way of eating has become the elephant in the room in the debate over health care,” states Times writer Michael Pollan in this op-ed piece asserting that “our success in bringing health care costs under control ultimately depends on whether Washington can summon the political will to take and reform a second, even more powerful industry: the food industry.” Pollan predicts that requiring health insurers to “take everyone at the same rates, provide a standard level of coverage and keep people on their rolls regardless of their health” would signify a sea change in the relationship between insurance providers and the food industry. “When health insurers can no longer evade much of the cost of treating the collateral damage of the American diet, the movement to reform the food system – everything from farm policy to food marketing and school lunches – will acquire a powerful and wealthy…
The representatives of a man who died of botulism have filed a lawsuit in federal court against Malo, Inc. and Massmann Enterprises, Inc., claiming that the companies responsible for maintaining food canning equipment at a Atlanta, Georgia, facility failed to warn owner Bumble Bee Foods, LLC about a leaky water valve . Caffrey et al. v. Malo, Inc. and Massmann Enterprises, Inc., No. 09-104 (S.D. Ga., September 2, 2009). The complaint alleges that the defendants should have known that the defective equipment would prevent the canning process from achieving the high temperatures and pressures necessary for sterilization. The malfunction purportedly resulted in the distribution of botulism-tainted chili, beef stew and hot dog chili sauce that led to the death of Jeffrey Caffrey in September 2007. The sister and mother of the deceased are reportedly seeking $13.5 million for negligence, wrongful death, product liability, pain and suffering, and loss of consortium. See…
California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has reportedly drawn criticism from both the food industry and environmental groups over a recent draft proposal to amend its Proposition 65 (Prop. 65) regulations governing food chemicals. Prop. 65 requires food and beverage manufacturers and retailers to provide “clear and reasonable warning“ to individuals about any substance known to the state to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harms. The amendment to “safe harbor” regulations in Title 27, California Code of Regulations, section 25601, would create a centralized Web database where participating manufacturers could post product-specific warning information for use by retailers and consumers. “These are voluntary actions and all food manufacturers or retailers are still free to provide a warning via another ‘safe harbor’ method or any other method that provides a clear and reasonable warning,” according to OEHHA, which has also announced a September 25 public meeting about…
California legislators have reportedly rejected a bill (S.B. 797) that would have required manufacturers to remove by 2011 the chemical bisphenol A (BPA) from food and beverage containers intended for children ages 3 and younger. Unable to garner the 41 votes needed to pass in the Assembly, the bill will reportedly come under reconsideration in 2010. The bill’s sponsor, Senator Fran Pavley, (D-Agoura Hills), has reportedly accused the chemical industry of an “expensive and shamefully deceptive lobbying campaign,” alleging that some senators were told that food production plants in their district would close if the bill was passed. “It’s a shame that we have failed to protect our most vulnerable citizens,” Pavley said. Despite claims purportedly linking BPA to early onset puberty, obesity, birth defects, and breast cancer, the chemical industry has repeatedly pointed to a global consensus among food safety bodies that the substance is safe for use in…
The chair of the California Senate’s Select Committee on Obesity and Diabetes has reportedly announced a November 2009 hearing to discuss the purported link between sweetened beverage consumption and obesity. An author of the state’s menu labeling laws, California Senator Alex Padilla (D-San Fernando Valley) issued the September 17, 2009, press release in response to a report published by the California Center for Public Health Advocacy (CCPHA) and UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. Titled Bubbling Over: Soda Consumption and its Link to Obesity in California, the study used data from the 2005 California Health Interview Survey to conclude that “41 percent of children (ages 2-11), 62 percent of adolescents (ages 12-17) and 24 percent of adults drink at least one soda or other sugar-sweetened beverage every day.” It also apparently found that “adults who drink one or more sodas or other sugar-sweetened beverages every day are 27 percent more likely…
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has opened the Reportable Food Registry (RFR) as a new way to head off potential cases of foodborne illness. The system requires food companies that manufacture, process or hold food for consumption in the United States to report potentially dangerous products to FDA within 24 hours “if they find a reasonable probability that an article of food will cause severe health problems or death to a person or an animal,” according to an agency news release. The reporting requirement applies to all foods and animal feed regulated by FDA except infant formula and dietary supplements, which are covered by other regulatory requirements. Under rules governing the RFR, the responsible party charged with reporting to FDA must investigate the cause of the adulteration, submit initial information and supplemental reports, and follow up with FDA as needed. The responsible party is not required to report if…
