The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released its “International Food Safety Capacity-Building Plan,” which aims to enhance “the food safety capacity of countries that export food to the United States.” As directed by the Food Safety Modernization Act, the plan provides direction on how FDA can (i) “expand the technical, scientific, and regulatory capacity of foreign governments and their food industries,” (ii) “prioritize its capacity-building efforts based on risks,” and (iii) “work in partnership with counterpart authorities, industry, and other organizations in order to achieve lasting food safety results.” To this end, the plan promotes efficiency across the Foods and Veterinary Medicine Program, evidence-based decision-making, the exchange of information between FDA and foreign government agencies, and enhanced technical support for foreign programs. “This capacity-building plan recognizes the need for a change in agency strategy,” states FDA’s report. “Instead of focusing primarily on intercepting harmful products, FDA will attempt to…
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U.S. Reps. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) recently introduced legislation (H.R. 820) that would require drug manufacturers “to provide better information on the amount and use of antibiotics and other antimicrobials given to animals raised for human consumption,” according to a February 26, 2013, press release. The Delivering Antimicrobial Transparency in Animals (DATA) Act would also compel, “for the first time, large-scale producers of poultry, swine, and livestock to report data on the medicated feeds provided to their animals.” Under the DATA Act, drug manufacturers would report to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on how their products are used “by determining (or estimating) the amounts of their drugs used in each food-producing animal for which they are approved.” In addition to general data about their antibiotic use, livestock producers administering medicated feed under a Veterinary Feed Directive would submit “detailed information” about “the quantities, dosages and duration…
A recent study has purportedly linked increased sugar availability to the prevalence of type 2 diabetes among overall populations. Sanjay Basu, et al., “The Relationship of Sugar to Population-Level Diabetes Prevalence: An Econometric Analysis of Repeated Cross-Sectional Data,” PLOS One, February 2013. Researchers with Stanford University, the University of California, Berkeley, and University of California, San Francisco, apparently used nutritional and economic data provided by the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization, International Diabetes Federation and World Bank to examine whether “alternations in sugar intake can account for difference in diabetes prevalence in overall populations” from 175 countries. The findings evidently showed that “every 150 kcal/person/day increase in sugar availability (about one can of soda per/day) was associated with increased diabetes prevalence by 1.1% (p <0.001)” after controlling for other food types, conditions such as obesity, and socioeconomic variables. In particular, the study’s authors reported that “no other food types yielded significant…
Duke University researchers have identified the mechanism by which bisphenol A (BPA) allegedly affects nervous system development by suppressing a gene “vital to nerve cell function,” according to a February 25, 2013, press release. Michele Yeo, et al., “Bisphenol A delays the perinatal chloride shift in cortical neurons by epigenetic effects on the Kcc2 promoter,” PNAS, February 2013. The study focused on cortical neuron development, during which time a protein called Kcc2 expels chloride ions that would otherwise “damage neural circuits and compromise the nerve cell’s ability to migrate to its proper position in the brain.” Using cell cultures from rats and humans, researchers purportedly found that BPA suppresses the gene responsible for Kcc2 production, raising concerns about whether BPA “could contribute to neurodevelopmental disorders such as Rett syndrome, a severe autism spectrum disorder found only in girls… [and] characterized by mutations in the gene that produces MECP2.” When exposed…
According to media sources, German officials have apparently launched an investigation into more than 160 farms accused of flouting the standards governing organic and free-range egg production. Lower Saxony and two other states have apparently announced an ongoing probe into poultry establishments, including 40 organic farms, that allegedly marketed their eggs as organic or free-range while keeping their hens in overcrowded conditions. Those operators found in beach of EU regulations face both fines and up to six months in prison. “If the accusations are found to be true, then we are talking of fraud on a grand scale: fraud against consumers but also fraud against the many organic farmers in Germany who work honestly,” said German Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection Minister Isle Aigner. “Consumers must be able to rely on the fact that what is written (on the produce) is also in there. Therefore it is important that this…
IKEA Group has reportedly withdrawn its trademark meatballs and sausages from its European locations after testing revealed trace amounts of horsemeat in the products. According to a February 28, 2013, press release, the company identified horsemeat “in a few samples of our meatballs from a supplier in Sweden” and has thus suspended sales of “all products containing minced meat from pork and beef from that supplier.” IKEA Group has since reiterated, however, that the recall does not implicate products sold at its U.S. stores. “All meatballs sold in our IKEA US stores are sourced from a U.S. supplier,” the company stated in a February 26 press release. “Based on the results of our mapping, we can confirm that the contents of the meatballs follow the IKEA recipe and contain only beef and pork from animals raised in the U.S. and Canada.” Meanwhile, the U.K. Food Standards Agency (FSA) has released…
According to a recent study conducted by the nonprofit ocean conservation group Oceana, as much as one-third of seafood sold in restaurants and grocery store is mislabeled. From 2010 to 2012, Oceana evidently collected more than 1,200 seafood samples from 674 retail outlets in 21 states to determine if they were correctly labeled. After conducting DNA tests, researchers allegedly found that one-third (33 percent) of the 1,215 samples analyzed nationwide were mislabeled under U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines. Oceana reports that, of the most commonly collected fish types, samples sold as snapper and tuna had the highest mislabeling rates (87 and 59 percent, respectively), with the majority of the samples identified by DNA analysis as something other than what was found on the label. Halibut, grouper, cod, and Chilean seabass were mislabeled between 19 and 38 percent of the time, while lower levels of mislabeling were noted among salmon (7…
Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity and the Berkeley Media Studies Group have published a report criticizing top cereal manufacturers for allegedly targeting children with “sophisticated online marketing techniques.” Andrew Cheyne, et al., “Marketing Sugary Cereals to Children in the Digital Age: A Content Analysis of 17 Child-Targeted Websites,” Journal of Health Communication, February 2013. Focusing on 17 branded cereal websites between October 2008 and March 2009, the study’s authors reported that these sites employed a mix of techniques such as “advergames, videos, site registration, and viral marketing” to engage children in “lengthier and more sophisticated” interactions “than are possible with traditional, passive media such as television advertisements or product packaging.” In particular, the study relied on Internet traffic data to allegedly suggest that children spent more time on sites with higher levels of immersion, that is, “the most and most sophisticated techniques.” These high-immersion sites reportedly brought…
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has dismissed a challenge to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) rules requiring California almonds sold domestically to be treated with heat or chemicals to prevent the spread of Salmonella. Koretoff v. Vilsack, No. 12-5075 (D.C. Cir., decided February 22, 2013). According to the court, the almond producers who mounted the challenge had waived their claims “by failing to raise them during the rulemaking process.” They had contended that the USDA secretary exceeded his authority in requiring the treatment of all almonds “irrespective of whether they are contaminated” and that the secretary failed to determine that the treatment rule was “the only practical means of advancing the interests of the producers.” Finding no error in the lower court’s disposition, the court affirmed its grant of summary judgment for the secretary.
Putative class actions have been filed against the Anheuser-Busch Cos. (AB) in federal courts in California, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, alleging that “consumers receive watered down beer containing less alcohol than is stated on the labels of AB’s products.” Giampaoli v. Anheuser-Busch Cos., LLC, No. 13-0828 (N.D. Cal., filed February 22, 2013); Wilson v. Anheuser-Busch Cos., LLC, No. 13-1122 (D.N.J., filed February 25, 2013); Greenberg v. Anheuser-Busch Cos., LLC, No. 13-1016 (E.D. Pa., filed February 25, 2013). Claiming that the company uses a technology enabling it to create precise alcohol levels in its beer products, each plaintiff seeks to certify a nationwide class of consumers who have purchased AB products such as Budweiser®, Bud Ice®, Bud Light Premium®, Michelob®, Michelob Ultra®, Hurricane High Gravity Lager®, King Cobra®, Busch Ice®, Natural Ice®, Black Crown®, and Bud Light Lime®. Alleging violations of consumer fraud laws and breach of state and federal warranty laws, the plaintiffs…
