The European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA’s) Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA Panel) has published a scientific opinion proposing new dietary reference values for iodine. After conducting a public consultation on a draft opinion issued in January 2014, the NDA Panel has established adequate intakes (AIs) for infants, children and adults based on a large epidemiological study showing that “goiter prevalence is lowest for a urinary iodine concentration above 100 µg/L.” With this threshold in mind, the NDA panel has recommended the following AIs for iodine consumption: (i) 150 µg/day for adults; (ii) 200 µg/day for pregnant and breastfeeding women; (iii) 70 µg/day for infants ages 7-11 months; and (iv) 130 µg/day for children. Additional details about the draft scientific opinion appear in Issue 510 of this Update. Issue 523
Category Archives Issue 523
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued draft guidance intended to help the food industry prepare submissions for obtaining exemptions from the labeling requirements for major food allergens. The Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004 (FALCPA) requires that food labels identify products containing major food allergens (milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, wheat, peanuts, and soybeans). Because an ingredient derived from a major food allergen may be modified to such an extent that it does not contain allergenic protein or does not cause an allergic response that poses a risk to human health, FALCPA apparently provides two processes through which manufacturers can obtain an exemption from this labeling requirement for a specific ingredient. An ingredient may be exempted through submission and approval of either (i) a petition containing scientific evidence which demonstrates that the ingredient “does not cause an allergic response that poses a…
With an aim to “improve public awareness of product identities by providing truthful and accurate labeling of meat and poultry products,” the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has submitted its final rule for labeling products that contain an “added solution” to the federal Office of Management and Budget for review. Observing that “without adequate labeling information, consumers cannot distinguish between raw meat and poultry product[s] that contain added solutions and single-ingredient meat and poultry products,” FSIS proposes that all meat and poultry products, raw or partially cooked, that contain at least a 3 percent saline or other liquid solution or marinade, bear a label stating that the product has been “enhanced” with solution. The agency estimates a one-time total cost to modify all federally inspected meat labels of about $80 million. Issue 523
Dubbing powdered alcohol “the Kool-Aid of teen binge drinking,” Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) has called on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to supersede the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) by banning a product known as Palcohol® before it reaches store shelves. Created by Lipsmark, LLC, Palcohol® first attracted media attention when TTB granted and then temporarily rescinded approval for its labels, citing a technical issue with the amount of powdered alcohol in each package. Additional details about Palcohol® appear in Issue 521 of this Update. Now Schumer has written a May 5, 2014, letter to FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, asking the agency to work with TTB “to assess the potential public health concerns that arise by combining this product with food and beverages.” Pointing to a 1976 district court ruling and a memorandum of understanding that saddled both agencies with the responsibility to regulate alcohol,…
