The U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have scheduled a March 28, 2013, public meeting in Arlington, Virginia, to address draft U.S. positions for discussion at the 45th Session of the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues of the Codex Alimentarius Commission during a May 6-13 meeting in Beijing. Agenda items include (i) a report by the 2012 joint Food and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organization meeting on pesticide residues; (ii) a discussion paper on principles and guidance for estimating maximum residue limits for pesticides; and (iii) a discussion paper on guidance for establishing maximum residue limits for pesticides for minor and specialty crops. See Federal Register, March 14, 2013.
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has issued a proposed rule that would revise Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) requirements for muscle cuts of meat and amend the definition of “retailer” to include “any person subject to be licensed as a retailer under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act.” Under the proposed rule, “origin destinations for muscle cut covered commodities derived from animals slaughtered in the United States would be required to specify the production steps of birth, raising, and slaughter of the animal from which the meat is derived that took place in each country listed on the origin designation.” According to USDA, the proposed rule would also “eliminate the allowance for any commingling of muscle cut covered commodities of different origins.” The proposal does not change “existing country of origin labeling of imported muscle cuts derived from animals slaughtered in another country.” The agency said that it “expects that…
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently denied a citizen petition seeking to replace “the FDA action level of 1.0 parts per million (ppm) mercury in fish with an action level, regulatory limit or tolerance no greater than 0.5 ppm mercury in fish in order ‘to protect women of childbearing age, pregnant and nursing women, children and the most vulnerable populations.’” Filed by the Center for Biological Diversity and Got Mercury, the petition also asked FDA, among other things, to (i) enforce the new limit “and/or prohibit the sale of seafood that contains mercury concentrations that exceed it,” (ii) require retailers to post point-of-sale warnings or otherwise label fish “known to be high in methylmercury,” and (iii) conduct “regular, widespread” testing for mercury and publicize the results. In denying the petition, FDA noted the agency is authorized “but not required” to set a tolerance, action level or regulatory limit for…
A recent animal study has concluded that exposing rats to a perinatal “junk-food” (JF) diet “results in early desensitization of the opioid system which may explain the increased preference for junk food in these offspring.” Jessica Gugusheff, et al., “A maternal ‘junk-food’ diet reduces sensitivity to the opioid antagonist naloxone in offspring postweaning,” The FASEB Journal, March 2013. Relying on previous research, University of Adelaide scientists apparently surmised that the offspring of dams fed a cafeteria diet would exhibit an increased preference for “palatable” foods thanks to “changes in the µ-opioid receptor expression within the mesolimbic reward pathway.” After the offspring of JF dams were weaned, the study analyzed RNA isolated from the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and ventral tegmental area (VTA) of their brains, in addition to examining how they responded to injections of the opioid antagonist naloxone, which suppresses fat and sugar intake by blocking opioid signaling. According to…
Two groups of researchers have allegedly provided evidence that sodium induces the differentiation of CD4 T cells responsible for immune responses, thereby raising concerns about the role of salt intake in autoimmune disorders. Both published in Nature, the two studies in question suggested that “a high-salt diet can enhance the differentiation of a class of immune cells called TH17 cells, and exacerbate disease in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis called experimental autoimmune encephalitis (EAE),” according to a concurrent news item. In addition, the authors apparently found that mice lacking serum glucocorticoid kinase 1 (SGK1), which plays a role in EAE, had reduced neuropathy and some protection from a high-salt diet. In particular, the first study examined how increased sodium chloride concentrations in vivo “markedly boost the induction of murine and human TH17 cells,” purportedly showing that the TH17 cells generated under these conditions “display a highly pathogenic and stable phenotype characterized by…
According to Law Professor and former White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Administrator Cass Sunstein, a new book addresses the intersection of recent findings on human behavior with the paternalism many Americans equate with “big government” regulations, such as New York City’s restrictions on the size of sugar-sweetened beverages. Sarah Conly’s Against Autonomy: Justifying Coercive Paternalism contends that John Stuart Mill was wrong about the competence of human beings to know what is good for themselves and thus government’s consequent lack of legitimacy to coerce people to prevent harm to themselves. “We are too fat, we are too much in debt, and we save too little for the future,” she states, insisting “that coercion should not be ruled out of bounds.” Sunstein sums up Conly’s approach to paternalism by noting the four criteria she would require to justify government coercion: the activity “must genuinely be opposed to people’s long-term…
During a recent press conference, counsel for Monster Energy reportedly addressed claims made in a wrongful death lawsuit filed against the company by the parents of a Maryland teenager who allegedly died after consuming the company’s energy drink. The company’s experts have apparently reviewed the medical records in the case and determined that “there is no medical, scientific or factual evidence to support the Maryland medical examiner’s report of ‘caffeine toxicity’ or that Ms. Fournier’s consumption of two Monster Energy Drinks 24 hours apart contributed to, let alone was the cause of her untimely death.” Apparently, no blood tests were conducted to confirm the examiner’s finding, and the 14-year-old had pre-existing conditions—an enlarged heart, a vascular form of connective tissue disease, mitral valve prolapse, and myocardial fibrosis—that purportedly increased her risk of cardiac arrest and sudden death. The company was apparently motivated to call the press conference after a Chicago…
A research letter published February 25, 2013, in JAMA Internal Medicine claims that less than 10 percent of surveyed packaged food products provided information about potassium content on their nutrition facts panels (NFPs). Noting that under current Food and Drug Administration (FDA) policy the disclosure of potassium levels is optional, researchers with New York City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene apparently examined the labels of 6,560 products culled from a database created in 2009 for the National Salt Reduction Initiative. Their findings evidently revealed that “most packaged food products do not include potassium content on the NFP” despite concerns that some consumers may need to monitor their intake of the electrolyte. In particular, the study found that in almost one-half of the 61 food categories identified in the database, “potassium content was available for less than 1% of products.” It also identified the five categories—“vegetable juice; seasoned processed potatoes; instant…
The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) has announced a March 18, 2013, webinar to discuss how “America’s sweet-laden diet is helping drive obesity and chronic metabolic disease.” Titled “Sickly Sweet: The Science and Policy of Fructose Overconsumption in America,” the webinar will reportedly be led by Robert Lustig, a specialist in neuroendocrinology at the UCSF School of Medicine who has garnered attention in national venues such as The New York Times for comparing sugar to a poison and linking it to metabolic dysfunction, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, liver cancer, and other non-communicable diseases.
A non-profit focusing on childhood obesity has issued its first annual progress report on private sector commitments to address the issue. According to the Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA), nearly 3 million children “got moving in 2012,” more than 8,000 “new physical activity opportunities became available for kids in 2012,” dozens of new or renovated grocery stores opened in or near “food deserts” making healthier food available to more than half-a-million “low-access individuals,” and “$18 million has been spent in the last 18 months in financing for new retail channels and innovative food distribution programs.” See PHA Press Release, March 7, 2013.
