The U.S. Senate is considering a bill that would give food and agriculture officials greater oversight of mergers and acquisitions involving U.S. food companies and foreign entities and includes new criteria to determine whether a transaction could result in control of a U.S. business by a foreign company. The bill would make the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) permanent members of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). The purpose of CFIUS is to assess whether transactions involving foreign entities may impair U.S. national security; the bill adds criteria to the CFIUS review process to ensure that transactions are reviewed specifically for their potential impact on U.S. food and agriculture systems, including the availability of food and its safety and quality. Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) introduced Senate Bill 616, titled the “Food Security…
Category Archives Issue 627
Concerns about how or whether the term “healthy” should be used in food labeling and packaging prompted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to hold a public comment meeting on the issue on March 9, 2017. Current FDA regulations allow the use of the term “healthy,” as well as similar terms, as implied nutrient-content claims. However, the criteria for use vary for different food categories, and the criteria themselves are linked to elements of the nutrition facts panel and serving size regulations—both of which have undergone significant changes in recent years. FDA also received a citizen petition in 2015 from Kind LLC, a producer and distributor of snack bars, requesting the agency amend its regulations defining the use of the term with respect to total fat intake and emphasizing whole foods and dietary patterns instead of specific nutrients. Accordingly, FDA’s 2016 publication of “Use of the Term ‘Healthy’ in…
12
