California EPA’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has proposed adding a regulation to Title 27 of the California Code of Regulations to “clarify the procedure and criteria OEHHA uses to list and de-list chemicals via the ‘Labor Code’ listing mechanism of Proposition 65.” A public hearing on the proposal has been slated for March 21, 2014, and comments are requested by April 4. OEHHA maintains the list of chemicals known to the state to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity under the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (Proposition 65). Chemicals may be added to the list through one of four ways, including those that have been identified by reference to certain subsections of the California Labor Code. While OEHHA has established regulations setting forth general criteria for listing chemicals via the other listing mechanisms, it has not previously done so for the Labor Code mechanism.…
Category Archives Issue 511
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has launched a public consultation on its draft assessment of the human health risks posed by bisphenol A (BPA). According to a January 17, 2014, press release, the agency has recommended temporarily lowering the current tolerable daily intake (TDI) for BPA from its current level of 50 µg/kg bw/day to 5 µg/kg bw/day over concerns that exposure to the substance is likely to adversely affect the liver and kidney, in addition to affecting the mammary gland. EFSA’s Panel on Food Contact Materials, Enzymes, Flavorings and Processing Aids (CEF Panel) apparently arrived at the new TDI after reviewing more than 450 studies related to the potential health hazards associated with BPA. The draft scientific opinion also considers “the possible effects of BPA on the reproductive, nervous, immune, metabolic and cardiovascular systems, as well as the development of cancer,” concluding that these effects—while not likely at…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service and the Food and Drug Administration have announced a February 11, 2014, public meeting in Washington, D.C., to provide information and receive comments on agenda items and draft U.S. positions for discussion during the 46th Session of the Codex Committee on Food Additives of the Codex Alimentarius Commission in Hong Kong, China, on March 17-21, 2014. Agenda items include (i) endorsement and/or revision of maximum levels for food additives and processing aids in Codex standards; (ii) food additive provisions for grape wine and its sub-categories; (iii) descriptors and food additive provisions for milk and buttermilk and their sub-categories, and dairy-based drinks, flavored and/or fermented (e.g., chocolate milk, cocoa, eggnog, drinking yoghurt, whey-based drinks); (iv) proposals for provisions of nisin in meat and meat products, including poultry and game; and (v) proposed draft amendments to the International Numbering System for food…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced two additional public meetings, February 27, 2014, in Chicago, Illinois, and March 13 in Anaheim, California, to discuss the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) proposed rule for “Focused Mitigation Strategies to Protect Food Against Intentional Adulteration.” The meetings are the second and third in a series announced in the December 20, 2013, Federal Register and on FDA’s FSMA website. The first meeting is slated for February 20 in College Park, Maryland.
Dairy and meat industry interests have reportedly expressed concern that the federal advisory committee tasked with revising U.S. dietary guidelines, a project undertaken every five years, may be poised to prioritize production methods as a means of addressing sustainability issues. The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee apparently discussed in a recent round of public meetings whether eating more plants and fewer animals would provide environmental benefits. A subcommittee chair, identified as Tufts University Nutrition Professor Miriam Nelson, was quoted as saying, “Our hope within our subcommittee is that we’ll at least provide some background. All of us want to maintain healthy eating and have that food supply for years to come.” She also reportedly indicated that the subcommittee is looking into beef and dairy production methods, as well as organic versus conventional growing methods. The advisory committee is expected to present its report to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Department…
