The European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA’s) Scientific Committee has issued an opinion “that clarifies the scientific criteria for identifying an endocrine disruptor.” Requested by the European Commission, the opinion addresses “the testing and assessment of endocrine active substances (EASs) and endocrine disruptors (EDs)” by adopting the World Health Organization’s definition for EDs, which must meet the following three criteria: “the presence of (i) an adverse effect in an intact organism or a (sub)population; (ii) an endocrine activity; and (iii) a plausible causal relationship between the two.” The opinion also identifies “a reasonably complete suite of standardized assays for testing the effects of EASs [that] is (or will soon be) available for the oestrogenic, androgenic, thyroid and steroidogenic modalities in mammals and fish” known to be sensitive to endocrine disruption. The Scientific Committee has stressed, however, that not all EASs are EDs, ultimately advocating “a risk assessment approach” that evaluates substances…
Category Archives Issue
According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a federal court has approved a consent decree with Clifton, New Jersey-based Butterfly Bakery, Inc. over claims that it distributed misbranded food products, such as muffins and snack cakes. United States v. Butterfly Bakery Inc., No. 13-669 (D.N.J., order entered March 5, 2013). Under the agreement, the bakery will be unable to process or distribute food until it complies with the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. FDA and state testing apparently showed that foods labeled as “sugar free” contained sugar, and some products contained three times the amount of declared or labeled sugar and two times the amount of fat or saturated fat. See FDA News Release, March 13, 2013.
Two agricultural organizations have filed a citizen petition with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking to ban the use of antibiotics in ethanol production so that the leftover mash, known as “distillers grains with solubles (DGS),” which is fed to livestock, does not add to the levels of antibiotics used in the production of poultry and meat in the United States and thus contribute to the development of “superbugs,” that is, bacteria resistant to multiple antibiotics. In re Ctr. for Food Safety, No. __, (FDA, filed March 15, 2013). In the alternative, the petitioners request that FDA adopt regulations that deem antibiotics sold to ethanol producers for DGS production as new animal drugs, require drug sponsors to seek FDA approval for their use and ban the sale of antibiotics that have not been approved as new animal drugs. According to the Center for Food Safety and Institute for Agriculture…
A group of physicians, researchers and public health experts has urged Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Margaret Hamburg to consider the purported adverse health effects, particularly for children and adolescents, posed by energy drinks containing high levels of caffeine, apply existing generally recognized as safe standards to such beverages and require manufacturers to provide caffeine content on product labels. In their March 19, 2013, letter, the signatories cite their own and others’ research to claim that an increase in the consumption of products with added caffeine has been associated with fatalities and injuries, increased emergency room visits, cardiovascular complications, seizures, childhood obesity, and risky behaviors when combined with alcohol. They contend that while caffeine’s effects on adults are known, safe levels for teenagers have not been sufficiently shown. In a related development, several energy drink companies, including Monster Beverage, have reportedly changed their product labels to declare the caffeine…
A University of Liverpool study contends that “celebrity endorsement of a food product encourages children to eat more of the endorsed product.” The study’s authors also assert that children were prompted to eat more of the endorsed product when they saw the TV celebrity in a different context. The study involved 181 children, ages 8 through 11, some of whom were asked to watch a 20-minute cartoon that included one of three different commercials: one for a particular brand of potato chips endorsed by former soccer star Gary Lineker; one for a different snack food; and one for a toy. Another group of children viewed TV footage of Lineker at an event not related to the snack food. The ads included one for Walker’s potato chips featuring the soccer hero; a promo for a snack food with no celebrity endorsement; and a commercial for a toy, also without a celebrity…
A recent study based on the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) has allegedly identified a “moderate positive association” between processed meat consumption and mortality due to cardiovascular diseases, cancer and other causes. Sabine Rohrmann, et al., “Meat consumption and mortality – results from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition,” BMC Medicine, March 2013. Relying on EPIC data from 448,568 healthy adults between ages 35 and 69, researchers reported that consuming more than 160 grams (approximately 5.6 ounces) of processed meat per day was related to moderately higher all-cause mortality. In particular, they estimated “that 3.3 % ... of all deaths could be prevented if all participants had a processed meat consumption” of less than 20 grams (0.7 ounces) per day. The study’s authors noted, however, that unlike similar studies undertaken in the United States, their analysis did not find any association between red meat intake…
A recent study has reportedly identified “an association between postnatal urinary bisphenol A (BPA) concentrations and asthma in children.” Kathleen Donohue, et al., “Prenatal and postnatal bisphenol A exposure and asthma development among inner-city children,” Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, March 2013. Columbia University researchers apparently used urinary samples collected from pregnant women during their third trimesters and from their children at ages 3, 5 and 7 years to conclude that BPA concentrations (i) “at age 3 years were associated positively with wheeze at ages 5 years … and 6 years,” (ii) “at age 7 years were associated with wheeze at age 7,” and (iii) “at ages 3, 5, and 7 years were associated with asthma measured at ages 5 to 12 years.” The authors also noted, however, that “prenatal BPA concentrations were associated inversely with odds of wheeze at age 5 years,” a finding that contradicted their initial hypothesis…
Food writer Tom Philpott has authored a March 13, 2013, Mother Jones article taking issue with a meta-analysis of bisphenol A (BPA) studies that toxicologist Justin Teeguarden recently presented at the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the meta-analysis covered 150 exposure studies and 130 toxicity studies, and ultimately concluded that “people’s exposure may be many times too low for BPA to effectively mimic estrogen in the body,” according to a recent press release issued by the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PPNL). In particular, Teeguarden argued that human BPA exposure usually occurs at levels well below detection, pointing to the combined results of exposure studies apparently showing “that human blood levels of BPA are expected to be too far below levels required for significant binding to four of the five key estrogen receptors to cause biological effects.” His research also…
The New York Times has reported that an “anti-Bloomberg” bill intended to curtail the ability of local governments to pass food regulations has gained significant support in Mississippi, where Governor Phil Bryant (R) is expected to sign the measure into law. “It is easy to view the new Mississippi law with an ironic eye,” writes Atlantic Bureau Chief Kim Severson, pointing to obesity rates in the state. “But the legislation is the latest and most sweeping expression of a nationwide battle in which some government officials, public health leaders and food supply reformers are pitted against those who would prefer the government quit trying to control what people eat.” Since its introduction by Sen. Tony Smith (R-Harrison), who owns a barbeque restaurant, the bill has apparently garnered support from other food retailers as well as agricultural interests, such as the farm bureau and Mississippi Poultry Association. Broader in scope than…
George Washington University Professor John Banzhaf has reportedly issued an assignment to some 200 undergraduate students requiring them to lobby their local legislators in favor of measures, such as the limits on sugary beverages in New York City found invalid this week by a federal court, that will address obesity. Claiming that the assignment is fully consistent with the university’s advertised claims—“Your Four Years at GWU Can Change the Course of History” and “Faculty and Students Don’t Just Study the World, They Work to Change It—Banzhaf, known for crusading with his law students against cigarette manufacturers, says he will show, through the students in his Food & Politics class, how “even undergraduates can have a significant impact on public health problems.” See PRLog, March 4, 2013.
