The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is seeking public comment on a study examining labeling claims on whole-grain products. Titled “Experimental Study on Consumer Responses to Whole Grain Labeling Statements on Food Packages,” the study is part of the agency’s “continuing effort to enable consumers to make informed dietary choices and construct healthful diets,” according to FDA. The study will examine (i) “consumer judgments about a food product including its nutritional attributes, overall healthiness, and health benefits”; (ii) “consumer judgments about a label in terms of its credibility in conveying the product’s nutritional attributes and its helpfulness in making product purchasing decisions”; (iii) “consumer perceptions about differences between different statements, such as ‘Made with Whole Grain,’ ‘Contains Whole Grain,’ and ‘Whole Grain”; (iv) “consumer extrapolation of whole grain statements beyond the scope of the statements themselves (i.e. halo effects)”; and (v) “how whole grain statements influence consumer use of the…
Category Archives Issue 396
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced a public meeting to discuss inspections and compliance provisions of the recently enacted Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). Set for June 6, 2011, in Silver Spring, Maryland, the meeting will allow stakeholders to comment on FSMA’s implementation strategies regarding (i) “enforcement authorities”; (ii) “frequency and targeting of facility inspections”; (iii) “manner of inspection in a preventive controls environment”; and (iv) “improving the reportable food registry (RFR).” The meeting will also be available through live webcast, and FDA encourages early registration. Details of FSMA were covered in Issue 376 of this Update. See Federal Register, May 26, 2011.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has filed a citizen petition “requesting that the administrator of the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) . . . issue an interpretive rule declaring certain delineated strains of antibiotic-resistant [ABR] Salmonella, when found in ground meat and ground poultry, to be adulterants” under federal law. In re: CSPI Petition, No. __ (USDA FSIS, filed May 25, 2011). Noting that FSIS declared E. coli an adulterant in 1994, the petition contends, “Scientific and medical research demonstrates that contamination of meat and poultry by ABR strains of Salmonella poses grave public health dangers that are comparable to those posed by E. coli 0157:H7 in 1994.” According to the petition, several ABR strains in ground meat and poultry products have resulted in recalls, outbreaks and deaths. Seeking expedited review, CSPI claims that 36 documented outbreaks, causing thousands of illnesses and some deaths, were…
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