The Second Circuit Court of Appeals has granted, in part, the petition for review filed against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), challenging its risk assessments for the pesticide dichlorvos. NRDC v. EPA, No. 08-3771 (2d Cir., decided September 16, 2011). The court agreed with the Natural Resources Defense Council, (NRDC) that EPA’s failure to explain why a children’s safety factor less than 10X was applied to pesticide risk assessments derived from the “Gledhill study,” which involved six adults who consumed dichlorvos daily for three weeks, was arbitrary and capricious. When EPA sets tolerances for the maximum level of dichlorvos residue on food products, it is required, under the Food Quality Protection Act, to apply a tenfold children’s safety factor. Vacating the portions of EPA’s order assessing the risk of dichlorvos based on the Gledhill study, the court remanded the matter to the agency for further proceedings. EPA has registered a…
Category Archives Issue 410
Sholom Rubashkin, who managed a kosher meatpacking facility in Postville, Iowa, and was convicted on 86 counts related to financial fraud, lost the appeal of his conviction and the 324-month prison sentence imposed by a federal district court. United States v. Rubashkin, Nos. 10-2487/3580 (8th Cir., decided September 16, 2011). Additional details about the case appear in Issue 378 of this Update. Among other matters, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals determined that evidence indicating that the trial court judge met with prosecutors before the facility was raided by immigration officials was insufficient to show bias against Rubashkin or that “the district court’s decision to remain on the case prejudiced Rubashkin’s verdict.” The court also found no fault in the trial court severing the bank fraud charges from the immigration law violations, which the government later dismissed, and trying the bank fraud charges first. According to the appeals court, “Given…
Asserting that its technical animal drug-regulation amendment is not subject to congressional review, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a final rule that increases the allowable residues of progesterone in edible tissues of cattle and sheep to reflect revised daily consumption values in a 1994 guidance document. According to the Federal Register notice, “Progesterone is approved for use in subcutaneous implants used for increased rate of weight gain in suckling beef calves and steers and in vaginal inserts used for management of the estrous cycle in female cattle and ewes.” The rule took effect on September 19, 2011, when it was published.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued a consumer update reassuring the public about the safety of apple juice after a TV talk show claimed that certain brands contain high levels of arsenic. Mehmet Oz, who hosts “The Dr. Oz Show,” apparently sent 50 apple juices samples to EMSL Analytical, Inc., which measured total arsenic levels as high as 36 parts per billion (ppb) in one sample. After learning of the results, FDA sent two letters to the show’s producers asking them not to air the segment, not only because the results seemed “erroneously high” but also because the laboratory only considered the total amount of arsenic. “As we have previously advised you, the results from total arsenic tests CANNOT be used to determine whether a food is unsafe because of its arsenic content,” stated FDA in its September 9, 2011, letter. “We have explained to you that arsenic occurs…
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has proposed amendments to rules issued under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which requires the owners and operators of websites intended for children younger than age 13 to obtain “verifiable consent from parents before collecting, using, or disclosing such information from children.” The amendments apparently seek to address recent changes in how children access the internet as well as innovations in social media and other online services. According to a September 15, 2011, FTC press release, the proposal would modify the COPPA rule in five areas: (i) “definitions, including the definitions of ‘personal information’ and ‘collection’”; (ii) “parental notice”; (iii) “parental consent mechanisms”; (iv) “confidentiality and security of children’s personal information”; and (v) “the role of self-regulatory ‘safe harbor’ programs.” Notably, the amendments would expand the definition of “personal information” to include “geolocation information and certain types of persistent identifiers used for functions other…
A coalition of meat, poultry and egg industry interests recently submitted a letter to the congressional Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, also known as the “Super Committee,” urging it to reject a proposed U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) fiscal year 2012 budget that would impose “user fees” on industry for government-mandated food safety inspection programs. Claiming that the inspection programs have been funded by taxpayers for more than a century, the trade associations contend that “user fees” would affect the price of meat, effectively imposing a regressive tax on low- and middle-income families who “spend a higher portion of their income on food than do wealthier Americans.” The letter does not indicate how government food safety inspections can be maintained if the Super Committee, tasked with making significant reductions in the U.S. deficit, slashes USDA’s budget. Meanwhile, Republican presidential candidate and Minnesota congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R) reportedly called for…
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