The United Kingdom’s environmental secretary has reportedly endorsed genetically modified (GM) crops, making the current Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs the most supportive of GM crops to date. In contrast to the previous government’s unwillingness to back what some apparently fear are “Frankenstein foods,” Secretary Caroline Spelman told a news source that she was in favor of GM foods “in the right circumstances.” Modifying plant genes could reduce the amount of chemicals needed to raise food crops, she said. “GM can bring benefits in food to the marketplace,” Spelman was quoted as saying. “There are benefits to developing countries, like drought resistance or resistance to high salt content in water. The principle of GM technology is [OK] if used well. The technology can be beneficial.” See The Guardian, June 4, 2010.
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Health Canada’s Bureau of Chemical Safety has released a survey of bisphenol A (BPA) in canned foods that finds low rates of exposure and no risk to public health. Researchers apparently examined samples from 78 domestic and imported canned food products, including pastas, soups, tomato paste, tuna and vegetables. The results indicated that canned tuna products and condensed soups had “the highest BPA levels, in general,” while tomato paste had levels that were “considerably lower.” According to Health Canada, these findings “are consistent with those of past surveys and are not considered to represent a human health concern.” The agency, however, reiterated its commitment to working with the food packaging industry “to better identify the factors which may influence BPA migration to food, with a goal to limit human exposure to BPA to the greatest extent possible.” In a related development, Germany’s environmental agency, Umweltbundesamt (UBA), has advised manufacturers, importers and…
The European Commission (EC) has adopted recommendations for member states to monitor acrylamide levels in food as a way to obtain a consistent reduction of the known carcinogen found in a number of food categories. The recommendations, adopted June 2, 2010, urge member states to provide acrylamide monitoring information to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) by June 1 of each year starting in 2011. The new recommendations call for member states to measure acrylamide levels based on sampling procedures developed in 2007 and suggest that sampling be carried out before products’ expiration date and “at market level,” which means in supermarkets, smaller shops, bakeries, “French fries outlets,” and restaurants “where there is good traceability,” or at production sites. The recommendations set the minimum number of samples that each member state should analyze across 10 categories: ready to-eat French fries; potato crisps; pre cooked French fries and potato products for…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has announced the 33rd Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission slated for July 5-9, 2010, in Geneva, Switzerland. FSIS seeks public comments before the meeting on “those standards that are currently under consideration or planned for consideration and recommendations for new standards.” The standards that will be put forward for approval during the commission meeting include those concerned with food contaminants, additives, pesticide residues, analysis and sampling methods, import and export inspections, labeling, hygiene, fish and fishery products, milk and milk products, fats and oils, and processed fruits and vegetables. Also slated for consideration in Geneva is the status of the Codex Strategic Plan, the impact of private standards and the management of the “Trust Fund for the Participation of Developing Countries and Countries in Transition in the Work of the Codex Alimentarius.” Before the general commission meeting, the Codex…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has published a notice of its intent to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) on genetically modified (GM) sugar beets. The agency had previously deregulated sugar beets genetically modified for glyphosate resistance without preparing an EIS and was ordered in September 2009 by a federal court in California to prepare one after its action was challenged by organic seed and nonprofit organizations. The court concluded that the environmental assessment which APHIS prepared failed to consider a number of environmental and related economic impacts of the GM crops. Thus, APHIS is planning to prepare an EIS and requests public comment by June 28, 2010, on the potential issues and reasonable alternatives it intends to include. Among those issues identified in the notice are data on production levels of organic and conventional sugar beets and other crops by region, state…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced an ambitious research effort “to determine the prevalence of parasites and disease-causing microorganisms that may be contributing to the decline of honey bee colonies nationwide.” According to a June 7, 2010, news release, the agency’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and Agricultural Research Service (ARS) will join Pennsylvania State University in surveying 350 apiaries across 13 states: Alabama, California, Georgia, Indiana, Florida, Hawaii, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Washington. Scientists will reportedly test the beehives for “specific pests and pathogens,” particularly a foreign mite of the genus Tropilaelaps. Noting that beekeepers currently provide pollination services for more than 90 commercial crops, USDA has registered a precipitous decline in honey bee populations since the 1980s. Researchers have apparently blamed the decline on numerous factors that include colony collapse disorder as well as newly introduced pests and diseases…
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced that it is submitting to the Office of Management and Budget its intention to study consumer susceptibility to fraudulent and deceptive marketing. The commission plans to conduct an “economic laboratory experiment” with 250 subjects to better target its enforcement actions and consumer education initiatives, and to improve future fraud surveys. The study, which will be conducted by a George Mason University faculty member, was previously announced but failed to generate any public comments. FTC plans to study whether ”several decision-making biases, such as impulsivity, over-optimism, and loss aversion, that can cause inaccurate assessments of the risks, costs, and benefits of various choices,” are related to consumers’ vulnerability to unfair and deceptive marketing claims. The commission will study the subjects’ assessment of potentially deceptive and non-deceptive advertisements and their ability to differentiate between seemingly fraudulent and legitimate advertisements. FTC requests public comments by July…
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) last week announced that Kellogg Co. has agreed to resolve an “investigation into questionable immunity-related claims for Rice Krispies cereal.” The agreement reopens a prior order involving Kellogg’s® Frosted Mini-Wheats®; the FTC will now require “substantiation for all health claims for any food” based on “competent and reliable scientific evidence,” defined as “tests, analyses, research, or studies that have been conducted and evaluated in an objective manner by qualified persons and are generally accepted in the profession to yield accurate and reliable results.” According to the concurring statement of Commissioner Julie Brill and FTC Chair Jon Leibowitz, the company was “developing its questionable Rice Krispies campaign last year [while] it was simultaneously negotiating with the FTC to resolve earlier allegations that the company had deceptively marketed Frosted Mini-Wheats as improving children’s attentiveness.” The concurring statement also notes, “What is particularly disconcerting to us is that at…
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has issued a June 2010 report claiming that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) “continues to be reactive, lacking a systematic focus on prevention.” According to a June 8, 2010, press release, IOM has advised FDA to adopt a “risk-based model” that involves increased coordination “with state and other federal agencies that share responsibility for protecting the nation’s food supply.” The institute has also called on Congress to amend the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act “to explicitly provide the authority FDA needs to fulfill its food safety mission.” Enhancing Food Safety: The Role of the Food and Drug Administration apparently provides a blueprint for overhauling FDA, which IOM criticized in a report brief for continuing to address problems “on a case-by-case basis.” Its recommendations include integrating food safety programs and public education, enhancing the efficiency of the inspection process, and modernizing legislation in an effort…
“Bisphenol A, commonly known as BPA, may be among the world’s most vilified chemicals,” opens this May 31, 2010, New Yorker article that positions the present-day furor in the long and often convoluted history of toxicology. According to author Jerome Groopman, scientists cannot agree whether BPA is a cautionary tale against overstating risks or understating them. He notes that in the past, regulators were sometimes quick to bar substances like cyclamates based on public fears that later proved unfounded, while overlooking the adverse health effects of contaminants such as lead—“for years thought to be safe in small doses.” Groopman ultimately blames the “inadequacy of the current regulatory system” for fomenting this “atmosphere of uncertainty.” Acknowledging “the potential pitfalls of epidemiological research,” he nevertheless criticizes Congress and the Environmental Protection Agency for failing thus far to overhaul the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 and other consumer protection laws to standardize…
