The Consumer Reports (CR) Food Safety and Sustainability Center has reportedly tested more than 80 processed foods for genetically engineered (GE) corn or soy, concluding that products labeled “natural” contained GE ingredients in levels comparable to those of their conventional counterparts. After analyzing breakfast cereals, bars, corn chips and tortillas, baking mixes and flour, meat and dairy substitutes, and tofu/tempeh, CR reported that (i) the majority of corn and soy identified in conventional products was genetically modified; (ii) products deemed “no GMO” by the manufacturer were less than 0.9 percent GE corn or soy; and (iii) products bearing third-party “Organic” or “Non GMO Product Verified” claims also contained negligible amounts of GE corn or soy. Based on these findings, CR has dubbed “Natural” labels “not meaningful,” as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not enforce any formal definition for this label. In addition, CR Food Safety and Sustainability Center…
Category Archives Issue 540
A California federal court has preliminarily approved a settlement in a case alleging that Ghirardelli failed to include white chocolate, cocoa or cocoa butter in its white chocolate chips. Miller v. Ghirardelli Chocolate Co., No. 12-4936 (U.S. Dist. Ct., N.D. Cal., San Francisco Div., order entered October 2, 2014). Additional details about the settlement appear in Issue 535 of this Update, and further information about the litigation appears in Issues 465 and 479 of this Update. Under the agreement, Ghirardelli will pay $5.25 million to a common fund to distribute to class members. Notices to potential class members will appear in People magazine and the Oakland Tribune and on several popular websites, and any leftover balance in the settlement fund will be divided among several consumer and food organizations, including Consumers Union and Florida State University’s Food & Nutrition Science Department. A fairness hearing is scheduled for February 2015. …
Stewart Parnell, former CEO of Peanut Corp. of America (PCA), and his brother Michael Parnell, former vice president of sales, have filed a joint motion for a new trial following their recent convictions on charges stemming from a Salmonella outbreak traced to their peanut processing facilities. United States v. Parnell, 13-12 (M.D. Ga., motion filed October 7). In a separate motion, former quality control manager Mary Wilkerson asked the court to acquit her of obstruction-of-justice charges because, she argued, the government failed to provide “a recording, time log, video, affidavit, state or any time of record of the alleged interview” in which Wilkerson was apparently asked “if she was aware of any positives [for Salmonella] in any of the FDA Inspector’s notes.” In their motion, the Parnells claimed that jury members conducted their own research and discovered that the Salmonella outbreak had been linked to nine deaths, a fact that had been excluded…
A federal court has denied Vermont Public Interest Research Group (VPIRG) and the Center for Food Safety’s (CFS’s) motion to intervene in a lawsuit challenging Vermont’s statute requiring food manufacturers to label their products if they contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Grocery Mfrs. Ass’n v. Sorrell, No. 14-0117 (U.S. Dist. Ct., D. Vt., order entered October 7, 2014). In their motion to intervene, the consumer groups argued that they had a right to be involved in the litigation because if Act 120 were held to be unconstitutional, it would “injure their organizational missions, their advocacy efforts, and the personal interests of their members.” In addition, they asserted that the state’s financial and human resources were insufficient to defend the law. In response, the court cited a Sixth Circuit decision holding that, according to the district court’s summary, “a public interest group does not have a separate interest sufficient to intervene…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has scheduled a meeting of the Science Advisory Board (SAB) to the National Center for Toxicological Research (NCTR) for November 6-7, 2014, at NCTR’s research campus in Jefferson, Arkansas. Public sessions of the two-day meeting will include the NCTR director’s update on scientific initiatives; a report from the National Toxicology Program on opportunities for collaboration; and discussions of specific research needs from representatives of the Center for Veterinary Medicine, Office of Regulatory Affairs and the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. Individuals interested in making presentations during the meeting should express interest in doing so by October 22 while those wishing to submit data or views in writing should do so by October 30. See Federal Register, October 9, 2014. Issue 540
A bipartisan group of 32 federal lawmakers led by U.S. Senators Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) penned an October 6, 2014, letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee asking its leaders to “reject efforts to weaken or suspend Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) through any continuing resolution or omnibus appropriations bill” pending a World Trade Organization (WTO) decision on the United States’ meat labeling dispute with Canada and Mexico. According to their letter, “anonymous foreign sources continue their efforts to undermine COOL,” making it essential that the Committee “not allow these rumors from abroad to preemptively weaken U.S. law before the dispute resolution process has run its course.” U.S. consumers, they contend, “have the right to know where their food comes from and farmers should be able to market their livestock as born and raised in America.” Issue 540
