The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced the addition of 134 chemicals to its second Tier 1 screening list under the Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program (EDSP). Among those chemicals listed are DBCP, 1,4-dioxane, acetaldehyde, acrolein, acrylamide, benzene, benzo(a)pyrene, chlordane, HCFC-22, perchlorate, PFOS, PFOA, and polychlorinated biphenyls. Comments are requested by December 17, 2010. According to EPA, “[t]he list includes chemicals that have been identified as priorities under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) and may be found in sources of drinking water where a substantial number of people may be exposed. The list also includes pesticide active ingredients that are being evaluated under EPA’s registration review program to ensure they meet current scientific and regulatory standards.” Following public comment and review, “EPA will issue test orders to pesticide registrants and the manufacturers of these chemicals to compel them to generate data to determine whether their chemicals may disrupt the estrogen,…
Category Archives Issue 373
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced the unanimous approval of a final order settling charges that a former POM Wonderful LLC executive made false and unsubstantiated claims that the company’s pomegranate products prevent or treat heart disease and prostate cancer. Under the agreement, Mark Dreher, a former POM Wonderful vice president, does not admit to violations of the law, but will cooperate in FTC’s investigation and action against his former company. He also agreed to abide by the conditions prescribed for making any health-related claims for a food or drug product in the future and to give present and future employees copies of the order. According to a news source, FTC has scheduled a May 24, 2011, hearing before an administrative law judge for POM Wonderful to respond to charges that it has made allegedly false health-related product claims. Dreher has agreed to participate in interviews with the agency in…
A recent investigation by NBC’s Today show has apparently revealed that some imported seafood “may contain toxic chemicals that can cause serious health problems.” Testing conducted by Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, and Oklahoma authorities has reportedly found contamination in shrimp, catfish, crabmeat and tilapia imported from China, Indonesia Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam. “Footage taken by a U.S. advocacy group of seafood being raised in Vietnam, for example, showed fish in dirty sewage water, pumped with toxic antibiotics and banned drugs just to keep them alive, boosting production and driving down costs,” states the Today report, which claims that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) tests less than 2 percent of all seafood from overseas. Those test results allegedly indicated that in 2010, 8 percent of the sampled seafood from China and 16 percent from Taiwan was tainted with chemicals and drugs prohibited in the U.S. food supply. In response, FDA released…
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has reportedly “completed its most recent check of amounts of lead in some commercial juice and food products that contain fruit,” finding no cause for consumer concern. FDA tested apple juice, grape juice, peach slices, pears, mixed fruit, and fruit cocktail in response to a 2009 study by the Environmental Law Foundation, which sent notices “to numerous manufacturers of juice and packaged fruit products alleging the companies were not in compliance with the California Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, also known as California Proposition 65, because the manufacturers failed to disclose that the products contained lead.” According to the most recent results, “Almost all the products FDA tested contained a small amount of lead, but in each case the level found would not pose an unacceptable risk to health.” The agency has further explained that lead in soil “can be deposited…
U.S. Senator Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) has asked the Food and Drug Administration, Environmental Protection Agency and Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) “to investigate and ban reusable shopping bags that contain higher than acceptable levels of lead.” According to a November 18, 2010, press release, Schumer issued letters to the agencies after third-party testing purportedly revealed “higher than acceptable levels of lead” in reusable grocery bags manufactured in China. The senator has expressed concern that “food products come into direct contact with these bags and long-term exposure can pose serious health and environmental risks.” Schumer’s announcement also cited “several reports” claiming that “a significant number of reusable shopping bags contained over 100 parts per million (PPM) in heavy metals. In some cases, bags contained as many as 5 times the allowable limits.” These reports evidently suggested that “the paint on lead-filled bags has the ability to peal and flake off, coming into direct…
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued warning letters to four manufacturers of alcoholic energy drinks (AEDs), calling the caffeine added to these malt beverages an “unsafe food additive” and threatening further action against Charge Beverages Corp.; New Century Brewing Co., LLC; Phusion Projects, LLC; and United Brands Company Inc. FDA apparently released its decision after conducting a scientific review that encompassed peer-reviewed literature, expert consultations, information provided by manufactures, and its own independent laboratory analysis. The agency’s findings evidently raised concerns “that caffeine can mask some of the sensory cues individuals might normally rely on to determine their level of intoxication,” leading to “hazardous and life-threatening situations.” As FDA Principal Deputy Commissioner Joshua Sharfstein summarized in a November 17, 2010, press release, “FDA does not find support for the claim that the addition of caffeine to these alcoholic beverages is ‘generally recognized as safe [GRAS],’ which is the…
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