Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal (R) has reportedly signed a bill (H.B. 430) that requires “farm of origin” labels on all strawberries sold in the state. According to the bill’s sponsor, Representative Stephen Pugh (R.-Ponchatoula), strawberry growers backed the measure “as a way to protect the integrity of their industry." With input from the Louisiana Strawberry Marketing Board, the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry’s (LDAF) Food Quality Services staff will reportedly promulgate the rules and regulations for enforcement, a process estimated to take 120 days. LDAF Commissioner Mike Strain said the labeling “will let consumers know they are getting the freshest product possible. Consumers are concerned about food safety, and it’s always good to know where the food we eat was grown, produced, processed, or prepared.” See LDAF Press Release, June 15, 2010.
Category Archives Issue 354
The United Kingdom’s (UK) public health watchdog has issued new guidance that claims salt and saturated fat reduction could prevent 40,000 unnecessary deaths a year from heart disease and stroke. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has called for a maximum daily intake of 6g of salt per adult by 2015 and 3g daily by 2025. In addition, it has recommended that manufacturers reduce the levels of saturated fats in all food products and eliminate the use of trans fats. The guidance also urges the National Health Service and other policy makers to (i) ensure that low-salt and low-fat foods can be sold for less than their higher-content equivalents; (ii) extend restrictions on TV advertising “for foods high in saturated fats, salt and sugar to 9 p.m. to protect children”; (iii) encourage “local planning authorities to restrict planning permission for take-aways and other food retail outlets in…
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) submitted two proposed information collections to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. The first collection pertains to the adoption of the model FDA Food Code by local, state and tribal governments, “an important step toward the agency’s goal for consistent, scientifically sound, and risk-based food safety standards and practices.” To facilitate the implementation of regulations based on the model Food Code, FDA in 2001 began surveying the rulemaking activities of these governments and has concluded that “an extension of OMB approval of the survey is needed in order to keep the current database accurate and up-to date.” Estimating that 75 respondents will provide four quarterly updates, FDA has requested written comments by July 26, 2010. The agency has also announced an information collection involving the threshold of regulation for substances used in food-contact articles. To determine whether a substance used in…
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently took action on the divestiture of certain Whole Foods Market Inc.’s assets as part of the consent order that concluded antitrust litigation the agency brought to challenge Whole Foods’ 2007 acquisition of Wild Oats Market, Inc. According to an FTC news release, the Whole Foods divestiture trustee sought approval to sell three Wild Oats stores and certain intellectual property. FTC commissioners approved the sale of Wild Oats stores in Kansas City, Missouri; Boulder, Colorado; and Portland, Maine. While allowing the sale of Wild Oats’ and Alfalfa Markets’ intellectual property to proceed as to Luberski, Inc., and A-M Holdings, LLC, the FTC denied a proposal to sell their intellectual property to Topco Associates LLC, apparently finding that this sale would not satisfy the purposes of intellectual property divestiture. See FTC Press Release, June 18, 2010; Naturalproductsmarketplace.com, June 21, 2010.
12
