First Lady Michelle Obama recently urged restaurants to offer healthier fare to help reduce “obesity-related conditions” in the United States. Speaking before the National Restaurant Association on September 13, 2010, Obama said “that while restaurants are offering more options and families take advantage of them more often, they aren’t always the healthiest choices.” Asserting that Americans spend half of their food dollars for meals outside the home, she reportedly called on restaurants to use “creativity to rethink the food you offer, especially dishes aimed at young people.” She suggested substituting wheat pasta for white pasta, cutting the amount of butter or cream, serving 1 percent or skim milk, and offering healthy side dishes like apple slices or carrots as the “default” menu choice. Obama also urged restaurants to actively promote healthy foods to children. “It’s not enough just to limit ads for foods that aren’t healthy,” she said. “It’s also…
Category Archives Issue 364
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has announced that the National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection (NACMPI) will hold a public meeting on September 29-30, 2010, in Washington, D.C., to review issues pertaining to data collection, analysis, response and transparency, and pre-harvest food safety controls. The committee includes individuals from consumer groups; producers and processors; marketers from the meat, poultry and egg-product industries; government officials; and members of academia. Comments on topics discussed at the meeting must be submitted to FSIS by October 18. See Federal Register, September 16, 2010.
U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) has introduced a bill (S.3767) that would “hold violators of food safety standards accountable for their crimes.” The Food Safety Accountability Act would establish a new offense in the criminal code by making it unlawful for any person to knowingly introduce or deliver tainted or mislabeled food into the nation’s food supply. Among other things, it would allow federal prosecutors to seek prison sentences of up to 10 years. The proposal has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
A U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report to Congress has concluded that perchlorate, which interferes with iodine uptake and poses potential effects on fetal and infant brain development and growth, is ubiquitous in the nation’s water and food supply. The chemical is a product of both man-made processes, occurring in rocket fuel, explosives and fireworks, and atmospheric processes. It can be found in drinking water, ground water, surface water, soil and sediment and has been detected in 74 percent of foods tested, with the highest levels in tomatoes and spinach. GAO was apparently asked to learn what is known about the extent of perchlorate in water and food supplies, its likely sources, actions federal agencies have taken to respond to or reduce perchlorate releases, and state regulatory actions. The report, titled “Perchlorate: Occurrence is Widespread but at Varying Levels; Federal Agencies Have Taken Some Actions to Respond to and Lessen…
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued a warning letter to the New York-based manufacturer of “Magic Power Coffee,” a product that purportedly contains the active ingredient used in erectile dysfunction medications. According to the letter, INZ Distributors, Inc., has marketed the coffee as a conventional food despite the presence of hydroxythiohomosildenafil, an analogue of sildenafil that is a phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor “well known to have an effect on the structure or function of the body.” The company has also included instructions to use its product “approximately 30-45 minutes prior to engaging in sexual intercourse.” On the basis of the synthetic active pharmaceutical ingredient and these labeling claims, FDA has concluded that “Magic Power Coffee” is not primarily consumed “for its taste, aroma or nutritive value.” The agency has thus deemed the product an unapproved new drug and a misbranded drug in violation of the Food, Drug, and…
The Corn Refiners Association has petitioned the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) “to allow manufacturers the option of using ‘corn sugar’ as an alternative name for high fructose corn syrup.” The trade group contends that the public is confused about what the sweetener is and that “‘corn sugar’ succinctly and accurately describes what this natural ingredient is and where it comes from—corn.” According to an association press release, “Contrary to widespread consumer belief, high fructose corn syrup—a safe and affordable natural sweetener found in many popular products on grocery shelves—is not high in fructose when compared with other commonly used nutritive sweeteners, including table sugar, honey and fruit juice concentrates.” Food industry critics immediately responded to news about the petition by claiming those who produce high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) are less concerned about “epidemic rates of obesity, diabetes and corn allergies” than they are about “a 20 year low in…
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