Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley (D) has signed a bill (H.B. 4/S.B. 151) prohibiting the manufacture, sale or distribution of infant formula containers with a “certain amount” of bisphenol A (BPA). Effective July 1, 2014, the legislation restricts BPA levels in the containers to not more than 0.5 parts per billion and prohibits the state from purchasing containers with BPA levels exceeding that amount. Offenders of the law would be guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to fines as high as $10,000 for each violation. The law also calls for the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to report to lawmakers by September 1, 2012, on BPA federal research findings and regulatory activities and to address the availability and safety of BPA substitutes for infant formula containers. It authorizes the state health secretary to suspend implementation of the BPA restriction on infant formula containers if “the secretary certifies that the…
Category Archives Issue 394
California EPA’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) recently finalized its decision to add ethanol in alcoholic beverages and Chinese-style salted fish to the state’s list of carcinogenic chemicals. The listing was effective April 29, 2011. Companies that sell products containing listed chemicals in California are required to notify consumers that their products contain a chemical known to the state to cause cancer under the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (Prop. 65). More information about OEHHA’s decision appears in Issue 385 of this Update.
The U.K. Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued advice for businesses and organizations to ensure compliance with a new EU privacy directive governing the collection of online user data via “cookies” or other technologies that store visitor information on a user’s computer or mobile device. ICO has billed the guidance document as a “starting point for getting compliant rather than a definitive guide,” and has announced its intention to publish separate guidance on enforcement as the regulations are implemented. Effective May 26, 2011, the new rules revise the U.K. Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR) in accordance with changes made to the EU Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive. Applicable to cookies, flash cookies and all other technologies designed to store or gain access to information stored “in the device of a subscriber or user,” the amended EU directive requires websites to obtain explicit user consent to store a cookie…
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published its first guidance document assessing the risk of engineered nanomaterial (ENM) applications in food and feed. Prepared in response to a European Commission request, the May 10, 2011, guidance comes after a six-week public consultation period during which EFSA received 256 comments from 36 organizations, including academia, industry, Member States, international authorities, and non-governmental groups. The guidance covers potential risks from applications of nanoscience and nanotechnologies across the food supply chain, including food additives, enzymes, flavorings, food contact materials, novel foods, feed additives, and pesticides. Outlining six toxicity testing methods, the guidance stresses the need for ongoing risk assessments in the burgeoning field of engineered nanomaterials and additional data on physical and chemical ENM characteristics in comparison with conventional applications. “A thorough characterization of the engineered nanomaterials followed by adequate toxicity testing is essential for the risk assessment of these applications,” EFSA…
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a significant new use rule (SNUR) for a multi-walled carbon nanotube under section 5 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA); it would require manufacturers, importers or processors of the chemical to follow manufacturing and use conditions already reviewed by EPA. The SNUR would require that any chemical manufacturer, importer or processor of the substance identified generically (due to confidentiality claims) as multi-walled carbon nanotubes notify the agency 90 days before seeking to make or use the chemical in a way that differs from those EPA has already reviewed. Section 5 of TSCA gives EPA the authority to review new chemicals before they can be manufactured or imported into the United States. The SNUR exempts from the requirements certain uses of carbon nanotubes, such as when they have been fixed onto a surface or encapsulated in plastic. See Federal Register, May 6, 2011.
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has announced a May 19, 2011, public session of its Committee on Accelerating Progress in Obesity Prevention. Titled “Farm and Food Policy: The Relationship to Obesity Prevention,” the public session is a one-hour information-gathering forum where committee members will hear about “the determinants of food producer, manufacturer, and retailer decision making in the context of obesity prevention,” as well as “the current policy and political context in which farm and food policy decisions are made.” According to IOM, “the committee’s charge includes: considering relevant information about progress in the implementation of existing recommendations; developing guiding principles for choosing a set of recommendations; identifying a set of recommendations that is fundamental for substantial progress in obesity prevention in the next decade; and recommending potential indicators that can act as markers of progress.” IOM has solicited written comments on these topics and invited interested stakeholders to give…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has announced two public meetings on a proposed rule requiring mandatory FSIS inspections of imported and domestic catfish and catfish products. The meetings will be held May 24 in Washington, D.C., and May 26 in Stoneville, Mississippi. The proposed rule was highlighted in Issue 383 of this Update. See Federal Register, May 9, 2011.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Program (NOP) has evidently declined to revisit a final rule published February 17, 2010, that dealt with access to pasture requirements for livestock. In addition to establishing “a pasture practice standard for ruminant animals,” the rule established conditions for organic slaughter stock at “finish feeding” operations, where cattle is typically fed grain crops to improve the grade of beef. In particular, NOP exempted these animals from a provision requiring organically raised ruminants to derive “not less than an average of 30 percent of their dry matter intake (DMI) requirement” from grazing. The agency then solicited comments addressing (i) whether NOP should consider infrastructural and regional differences in finish feeding operations; (ii) the length of the finishing period; and (iii) the use of feedlots for finishing organic slaughter stock. Based on the 500 individual and 14,000 form letters received in response to this request,…
12
