The People’s Republic of China Ministry of Agriculture has reportedly failed to renew the biosafety permits for two research programs growing genetically modified (GM) corn and rice, raising concerns about the future of GMO production in China. According to media sources, the Agriculture Ministry has not yet authorized any GMOs for public consumption and decided to discontinue further research after a state TV report allegedly identified illegal GM rice varieties in markets located near Huazhong Agricultural University, which was developing Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) rice. Although Greenpeace representatives and other stakeholders apparently cited public opinion as the motivation behind the announcement, Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Center for Chinese Agricultural Policy Director Huang Jikun suggested that the self-sufficiency of the domestic rice market has made the commercialization of Bt rice unnecessary. In addition, critics of the ministry’s decision have questioned whether the debate over GMO safety has taken a political bent. As…
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food Safety and Inspection Service is convening a September 25, 2014, public meeting in Washington, D.C., to receive public comments about draft positions to be discussed at the 21st Session of the Codex Committee on Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems of the Codex Alimentarius Commission in Brisbane, Australia, on October 13-17. Issues on the September 25 meeting agenda include (i) a discussion paper on Principles and Guidelines for Monitoring Regulatory Performance of National Food Control Systems and (ii) draft amendments to Guidelines for the Exchange of Information between Countries on Rejections of Imported Food. USDA and the Food and Drug Administration have a public meeting slated for October 23 in Washington, D.C., to provide information and receive public comments about draft positions to be discussed at the 46th Session of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene in Lima, Peru, on November…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Agricultural Marketing Service has requested comments “on how a Federal standard of identity for honey would be in the interest of consumers, the honey industry, and U.S. agriculture.” Noting that the Food and Drug Administration in 2011 rejected an industry-backed citizens petition seeking such a standard, USDA as charged by the 2014 Farm Bill will produce a report examining the issue, “including any current industry amendments or clarifications necessary to update the petition.” In particular, USDA points to the existence of several standards for the inspection and grading of honey, including state-level schemes designed to prevent product adulteration. “While some are following the 2006 honey industry petition and using an amended version of the Codex Standard for Honey, CODEX standard 12-1981, Rev. 2 (2001), variations in the state standards of identity for honey are inevitable,” concludes the agency, which will accept comments until September…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued a consumer update warning that the lupin (or lupine) legume could cause allergic reactions in susceptible individuals, especially those with existing peanut allergies. According to FDA, the use of lupin-derived ingredients has increased in recent years because they are used in gluten-free products as a substitute for other flours. “Although lupin is a food staple for many Europeans—who may be more aware of its allergenic properties and are accustomed to seeing it listed as a food ingredient—it is relatively new to the U.S. market,” notes FDA, which “is actively monitoring complaints of lupin allergies.” To this end, the agency has asked consumers and healthcare professionals to report lupin-related adverse events through the FDA reporting system. See FDA Consumer Update, August 15, 2014. Issue 535
Three studies recently published in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) have answered the Institute of Medicine’s call for additional data on the effects of salt consumption on human health, raising questions about the relationships between sodium intake, blood pressure, cardiovascular events, and mortality. Relying on the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) cohort study that followed more than 150,000 adult participants from a selection of low-, middle- and high-income countries, two of the articles used urinary sodium and potassium excretion measurements to estimate dietary sodium consumption. One study reported that, despite previous research linking sodium intake to hypertension, the association between sodium and potassium excretion and blood pressure was “non-linear and most pronounced in persons consuming high salt diets, persons with hypertension, and older persons.” Andrew Mente, et al., “Association of Urinary Sodium and Potassium Excretion with Blood Pressure,” NEJM, August 2014. Looking at mortality and cardiovascular events, the second…
National Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail has traced the history of sugar from its roots as a luxury to its current incarnation as a “forbidden fruit, the momentary pleasure infused with a lifetime of guilt.” Author John Allemang argues that the human taste for sweetness is natural and that “when we denounce sugar, we are defying our nature.” He describes sugar’s history, from its inclusion in recipe collections dating to about 1300 that extolled its ability to relieve illness to its use in creating plates and sculptures as a model of early conspicuous consumption. From there, it took on negative overtones through its association with slavery, colonialism and environmental degradation; later, sugar consumption became a moral failing. “[Early nutritionists] understood it to be seductive,” Elizabeth Abbott, author of Sugar: A Bittersweet History, told Allemang. “This prompted moral outrage: When you ate it, you kept wanting to have more.” The Industrial…
Whole Foods Market has begun selling rabbit meat at select stores nationwide, and rabbit advocacy groups have planned protests in response. In a May 2014 press release, Whole Foods announced its plan to sell rabbit meat raised according to its animal-welfare standards, including the requirements that the rabbits have “continuous access to drinking water, feed, roughage, gnawing blocks, tunnels and places for seclusion” as well as treatment for injuries. Unsatisfied, the House Rabbit Society has planned a day of action for August 17, 2014, encouraging participants to “politely talk to Whole Foods customers about the company’s decision to sell rabbit meat” with the goal of generating comment cards critical of the new policy. Whole Foods said it introduced rabbit meat in response to customer demand, and a spokesperson told Huffington Post that it is “sensitive to the companion animal issue.” Considering the rise in popularity of rabbit meat at restaurants,…
A recent Trends in Biotechnology review highlighting “genetically edited organisms” (GEOs) has reportedly suggested that new techniques designed to tweak the existing genome could gain greater public acceptance than older methods, which traditionally use plant bacteria to insert foreign genetic material into fruit and vegetables. According to an August 13, 2014, Cell Press news release, the review co-authored by Istituto Agrario San Michele researcher Chidananda Nagamangala Kanchiswamy also raises questions about how regulators will classify crops that possess genomes edited to optimize nutrition or longevity. “The researchers say that genetically edited plants, modified through the insertion, deletion, or altering of existing genes of interest, might even be deemed as nongenetically modified, depending on the interpretation of the EU commission and member state regulators,” notes Cell Press. In particular, these new tools could overcome legal barriers in countries slow to adopt genetically modified organisms (GMOs). “We would like people to understand…
Ruling against Val-de-Travers absinthe producers, the Swiss Federal Administrative Tribunal has reversed a 2010 Federal Office of Agriculture decision confirming the “protected geographical indications” registration of the terms “absinthe,” “fée verte”—the green fairy and “la bleue.” Guignon v. Ass’n interprofessionnelle de l’Absinthe, No. B-4820/2012 (Tribunal administratif fédéral, decided August 13, 2014). The court said in a press release that it believed “that this denomination refers to a type of good, regardless of its origin, and not to a product originating specifically from Val-de-Travers.” According to the court, just a small percentage of people in Switzerland associate the terms with this region, a district in the Neuchâtel canton. The president of the absinthe association, which registered the terms on behalf of the producers and defended the appeals filed by distillers in France, Germany and Switzerland, reportedly characterized the decision as “incomprehensible” because most of Switzerland’s absinthe is produced in Val-de-Travers and the ruling…
A California appeals court has determined that the state Labor Code requires employers to reimburse employees who “must use their personal cell phones for work-related calls”; so ruling, the court reversed a class-certification denial and ordered the lower court to reconsider the motion in light of this interpretation of the law. Cochran v. Schwan’s Home Serv., Inc., No. B247160 (Cal. Ct. App., decided August 12, 2014). The trial court denied certification due to lack of commonality and because a class action was not a superior method to litigate the claims. In its view, if an employee did not pay the cell phone charges because someone else did or the employee purchased a different cell phone plan that accommodated the calls, individual inquiries into the plans and payments would be necessary to determine liability. According to the appeals court, the issue in the case is whether an employer must always “reimburse…
