California Assembly Member Ian Calderon (D-Whittier) has introduced a bill (A.B. 682) that “would prohibit chicken or turkey sold in any state-owned or state-leased building at food concessions and cafeterias from being ‘plumped’ in any way.” The legislation defines “plumped” poultry as any such product injected with “saltwater, chicken stock, seaweed extract, or some combination thereof… to increase its weight and price.” “The practice of ‘plumping’ chicken or turkey can increase the sodium content by up to 500 percent,” states the bill, which would take effect January 1, 2014, or upon the expiration of existing vending and concession contracts. “Fresh, natural chicken should have no more than 70 mg of sodium per four ounce serving, whereas plumped chicken can contain up to 400 mg sodium. The average household of four people, because of ‘plumping’ chicken or turkey, spends approximately $127 per year on saltwater.”
Category Archives Issue 473
Proposed legislation (S.B. 622) in California would impose a 1-cent per fluid ounce tax on sugar-sweetened beverages to finance a Children’s Health Promotion Fund. Introduced by Sen. Bill Monning (D-Carmel), the measure would apply to all sugar-sweetened beverage distributors whether their products are bottled or sold as concentrate. Intended to “discourage the excessive consumption of sweetened beverages by increasing the price of these products,” the proposal would also create a fund “allocated for the purposes of statewide childhood obesity prevention activities and programs.” To this end, the Children’s Health Promotion Fund would support, among other things, state- and community-based efforts to reduce consumption of “calorie-dense, nutrient-poor foods” and improve access to “healthy, safe, and affordable foods and beverages.” “This bill will combat the obesity crisis and ensure that our children—and future generations of Californians—are not doomed to a shorter life expectancy and can instead live longer, healthier lives,” Monning was quoted…
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) will host a meeting on March 20, 2013, in Brussels to discuss the agency’s work in the area of endocrine active substances (EAS) and endocrine disruptors (ED). The EFSA Scientific Committee will present its opinion on “Hazard assessment of endocrine disruptors: scientific criteria for identification of endocrine disruptors and appropriateness of existing testing methods for assessing effects mediated by these substances on human health and the environment,” which was created in response to the European Commission’s September 2012 mandate to define scientific criteria for identifying ED and to review whether existing toxicity methods are appropriate to identify and characterize potential endocrine activity (effect on endocrine system) and/or endocrine disruption (leading to an adverse effect) in humans and the ecosystem.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration have announced a March 12, 2013, public meeting in College Park, Maryland, to provide information and receive public comments on agenda items and draft U.S. positions for discussion at the 7th Session of the Codex Committee on Contaminants in Foods in Moscow on April 8–12, 2013. Agenda items include (i) proposed draft maximum levels for Deoxynivalenol in cereals and cereal-based products; (ii) proposed draft revisions of maximum levels for lead in selected commodities in the general standard for contaminants and toxins in food and feed; (iii) a proposed draft code of practice for preventing and reducing Ochratoxin A contamination in cocoa; and (iv) a discussion paper on the development of a code of practice for preventing and reducing arsenic contamination in rice. See Federal Register, February 27, 2013.
