“Bisphenol A, commonly known as BPA, may be among the world’s most vilified chemicals,” opens this May 31, 2010, New Yorker article that positions the present-day furor in the long and often convoluted history of toxicology. According to author Jerome Groopman, scientists cannot agree whether BPA is a cautionary tale against overstating risks or understating them. He notes that in the past, regulators were sometimes quick to bar substances like cyclamates based on public fears that later proved unfounded, while overlooking the adverse health effects of contaminants such as lead—“for years thought to be safe in small doses.” Groopman ultimately blames the “inadequacy of the current regulatory system” for fomenting this “atmosphere of uncertainty.” Acknowledging “the potential pitfalls of epidemiological research,” he nevertheless criticizes Congress and the Environmental Protection Agency for failing thus far to overhaul the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 and other consumer protection laws to standardize…
Category Archives Issue 351
An online publication focused on the produce industry has published the final installment of a recent series of articles about produce traceability contributed by a produce standards consultant. Titled “What is the ROI on PTI?,” the article by Gary Fleming discusses the benefits of implementing the Produce Traceability Initiative (PTI), a voluntary industry-developed standard, even though it is not required by law. As Perishable Pundit’s Jim Prevor notes, if the law does not require PTI and buyers do not require a PTI-compliant supply chain, “then we are left with attempting to justify PTI on a return-on-investment basis.” According to Fleming, PTI was intended to use existing technology and standards “to enable whole chain traceability with the minimal amount of costs.” Among other matters, PTI standardizes the information used to trace produce and how that information is captured, provides quicker access to information in the event of a recall and allows…
According to research recently conducted by Harvard’s Medical School and School of Public Health in collaboration with the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), food manufacturers and chain restaurants have responded to trans fat restrictions and bans by improving the quality of the foods rather than simply reverting to the use of saturated fats. Dariush Mozaffarian, Michael Jacobson & Julie Greenstein, “Correspondence: Food Reformulations to Reduce Trans Fatty Acids,” The New England Journal of Medicine, May 27, 2010. The authors state that they “identified 83 reformulated products (58 supermarket foods and 25 restaurant foods),” and studying product labels, they found that trans fats and saturated fats were reduced in 90 percent of the supermarket products and 96 percent of the restaurant products. In a statement about the research, CSPI’s executive director said, “This paper demonstrates that the U.S. food industry has been generally responsible in replacing partially hydrogenated oils…
Law Professor Eloisa Rodriguez-Dod discusses a number of ways that governments in the United States and around the world are attempting to address the growing incidence of obesity among their populations. This article provides information about municipal trans fat bans and menu-labeling ordinances, China’s restrictions on the morbidly obese adopting children, Spain’s voluntary food advertising regulations, and Japan’s workplace penalties for employers whose workers’ waist measurements do not shrink to accepted levels. The author distinguishes smoking cigarettes from overeating by referring to the former as an addiction and the latter as personal choice. She suggests that governments can and should regulate personal choice “to protect the health and welfare of its citizens.” While acknowledging that no “magic bullet” has yet been found to prevent overweight and obesity and that measures already in place are too new to assess their effectiveness, the author concludes, “whatever can fairly be done should be done…
According to a news source, the Peruvian Superior Court has agreed to hear an appeal filed by a medical sciences biotechnologist convicted of defamation by a lower court for criticizing another scientist whose research allegedly showed that genetically modified (GM) maize had been illegally planted in a valley on the Peruvian coast. The researcher, Antonietta Gutierrez, apparently chose to seek redress through the courts when her work was questioned by Ernesto Bustamante, vice president of the Peruvian Association of Biologists, an undertaking that has drawn condemnation from the nation’s scientists. Claiming that “the verdict destroys the integrity of science,” they have urged other scientists to sign a declaration in support of Bustamante, claiming that the law explicitly exempts scientific critiques from defamation’s scope. See Crop Bulletin Update, May 20, 2010.
GeneWatch UK Director Helen Wallace has apparently resigned from a Food Standards Agency (FSA) steering committee dedicated to discussing genetically modified (GM) foods, after claiming that the group “is nothing more than a PR exercise on behalf of the GM industry.” Charged with managing a public dialogue on the potential risks and benefits of GM food, the external stakeholders on the committee currently include consumer advocates, trade association representatives, market and policy experts, and scientists. In her May 26, 2010, resignation letter, Wallace pointed to several Freedom of Information requests that allegedly revealed how the Agricultural Biotechnology Council and similar organizations influenced the dialogue agenda and other FSA activities. According to Wallace, the steering committee “was set up from the outset to provide free ‘reputation management’ to the GM industry at taxpayers’ expense.” She also accuses FSA of using the discussion to focus on “on a non-existent positive future where…
Mexican health officials have reportedly unveiled stringent guidelines that would prohibit the sale of processed or fried foods on school grounds. According to media sources, the regulations would ban soft drinks and other sugar-sweetened beverages along with more traditional fare such as meat tortas, tamarind candy and atole, unless they were reformulated to meet nutritional guidelines. The school vendors and cooperatives that often function in lieu of cafeterias would be limited to serving low-calorie food and beverages such as bottled water, low-fat milk and 100 percent fruit juices. Meanwhile, Secretary of Public Education Alonso Lujambio has also pledged to incentivize healthier fare at the food stalls outside schools at closing time. If approved by the Federal Regulatory Improvement Commission, the rules will take effect for 220,000 public and private schools in August 2010. See The Guardian, Secretaría de Salud Press Release and The Associated Press, May 27, 2010.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Department of Justice (DOJ) recently held the second workshop in a series dedicated to competition and regulatory issues in agriculture. Held in Normal, Alabama, the forum reportedly focused on the poultry industry and featured the remarks of U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, as well as roundtable discussions with farmers, academics and other stakeholders. According to a May 21, 2010, USDA press release, Holder reiterated that both agencies were committed to “protecting competition in those markets.” News sources have also noted Holder’s pledge to “understand why a growing number of American producers and farmers find it increasingly difficult to survive what they’ve done for decades.” A transcript of the proceedings will become available on the DOJ Antitrust Division website at a later date. See The Huntsville Times, May 21, 2010.
U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Gary Locke (D) has reportedly declared a fishery disaster in the Gulf of Mexico as a result of the ongoing Deepwater Horizon oil spill’s effect on commercial and recreational fisheries in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Made in response to requests from Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal (R) and Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour (R), the determination will help ensure that the federal government “is in a position to mobilize the full range of assistance that fishermen and fishing communities may need,” Locke said. The Commerce Department has asked for $15 million in supplemental funding “as a backstop to address this disaster,” $5 million in economic development assistance through the Economic Development Administration and unemployment coverage. In addition, the Small Business Administration has offered economic injury disaster loans to help fishermen and other affected businesses. See U.S. Commerce Department Press Release, May 24, 2010.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has delivered testimony before the U.S. Senate’s Special Committee on Aging that highlights examples of deceptive or questionable marketing practices involving certain dietary supplements. GAO also reported that some herbal dietary supplements contained contaminants, including trace amounts of lead. According to GAO Managing Director of Forensic Audits and Special Investigations Gregory Kutz, investigators posing as elderly customers asked sales staff at 22 retail establishments a series of questions regarding herbal dietary supplements in addition to reviewing 30 retail websites’ “written marketing language” about the supplements. In several cases that both the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Federal Trade Commission deemed “improper and likely in violation of statutes and regulations,” “written sales materials for products sold through online retailers claimed that herbal dietary supplements could treat, prevent or cure conditions such as diabetes, cancer, or cardiovascular disease.” Improper medical advice was also dispensed by…
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