The Congressional Research Service (CRS) has published a report discussing the failure of federal agencies to comply with the Congressional Review Act, which has, since 1996, required that they submit their final rules to both houses of Congress and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) before they can take effect. According to the report, CRS has identified some 1,000 final rules published in the Federal Register during seven of the past 10 years and not submitted to GAO and/or Congress. Among the “missing” rules were (i) a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) rule on national school lunch procurement requirements, (ii) a USDA rule on the Farm Service Agency’s direct farm loan programs, (iii) a USDA rule on farm program payment limitations and eligibility under the CCC program, (iv) the Environmental Protection Agency’s April 2009 rule on its “Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program,” describing the policies and procedures the agency intended to adopt…
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In a development that could have a significant impact on the global food industry, the U.K.’s House of Lords has completed an inquiry into the use of nanotechnology in foods, food packaging and food contact materials. In a January 8, 2010, press release and comprehensive report accompanied by a separate volume of evidence, the Lords’ Science and Technology Committee criticizes the food industry for “not publishing or discussing details of its research in this area.” The committee calls for the government “to adequately fund research into potential health and safety risks arising from the use of nanomaterials in the food sector” and recommends that the Food Standards Agency “contribute to consumer confidence in the use of nanomaterials in food by maintaining a publicly available register of food and food packaging containing nanomaterials.” Noting the unavailability to border and port authorities of “tests to check whether imported food contains nanomaterials,” the committee…
A Turkish study has reportedly found that adolescent boys with abnormal breast enlargement, a common condition known as pubertal gynecomastia, had significantly higher phthalate blood levels than boys in a control group. Erdem Durmaz, et al., “Plasma Phthalate Levels in Pubertal Gynecomastia,” Pediatrics (December 2009). The study specifically focused on the most commonly used phthalate, di-(2 ethylhexyl)-phthalate (DEHP), and its metabolite, Mono-(2-ethylhexyl)- phthalate (MEHP). Researchers tested 40 boys recently diagnosed with pubertal gynecomastia and 21 boys who did not have the condition. According to the results, “Plasma DEHP and MEHP were found to be statistically significantly higher in the pubertal gynecomastia group compared with the control group.” Co-author Elif Ozmert has apparently suggested that until further studies are conducted, people should limit their exposure to phthalates. “Although we can’t achieve zero exposure, we can decrease it,” he said. Ozmert recommended that consumers (i) avoid using plastic cups and food coverings,…
A Temple University study challenges the sobering effects of caffeine by asserting that mixing caffeine and alcohol could “lead to poor decisions with disastrous outcomes.” Danielle Gulick and Thomas J. Gould, “Effects of Ethanol and Caffeine on Behavior in C57BL/6 in the Plus-Maze Discriminative Avoidance Task,” Behavioral Neuroscience (2009). The authors observed mice in a maze that had been given ethanol (pure alcohol) at levels known to induce intoxication, doses of caffeine the equivalent of one up to six or eight cups of coffee for humans, a combination of the two, or neither. They tested the animals’ (i) “ability to learn which part of the maze to avoid after exposure to a bright light or sound”; (ii) “anxiety, reflected by time spent exploring the maze’s open areas”; and (iii) “general locomotion.” According to a December 7, 2009, press release from the American Psychological Association, which publishes Behavioral Neuroscience, the study revealed…
A French study on bisphenol A (BPA) has suggested a link between exposure to the chemical used in plastic containers and drink cans to reduced intestinal functioning. Viorica Braniste, et al., “Impact of oral bisphenol A at reference doses on intestinal barrier function and sex differences after perinatal exposure in rats,” Proceedings of the National Academy Sciences (December 2009). Researchers at the National Institute of Agronomic Research (INRA) in Toulouse apparently found that the digestive tract of rats reacted negatively to low doses of BPA and that rats exposed to the chemical in utero and during breastfeeding had an increased risk of developing severe intestinal inflammation in adulthood. Additional research on human intestine cells evidently revealed that BPA lowered the permeability of the intestines and the immune system’s response to digestive inflammation. “The findings illustrate the intestine’s great sensitivity to bisphenol A and open new research paths for characterizing and evaluating the…
Yale University researchers, including Kelly Brownell, have published a study that concludes “Calorie labels on restaurant menus impacted food choices and intake; adding a recommended daily caloric requirement label increased this effect, suggesting menu label legislation should require such a label.” Christina Roberto, et al., “Evaluating the Impact of Menu Labeling on Food Choices and Intake,” American Journal of Public Health, December 17, 2009. The study evaluated the dinner selections made by some 300 participants randomly assigned to a menu (i) without calorie labels, (ii) with calorie labels, or (iii) with calorie labels and a label including the recommended daily caloric intake for an average adult. According to the researchers, those participants in the latter two categories “ordered fewer calories than those in the no calorie labels condition.” The participants in the second group did, however, consume more calories after the study dinner than either of the other groups. Combining…
This op-ed article examines the environmental sustainability of fish oil as more and more consumers are reportedly choosing supplements “as a guilt-free way of getting their omega-3 fatty acids.” According to author Paul Greenberg, most fish oil “comes from a creature upon which the entire Atlantic coastal ecosystem relies, a bigheaded, smelly, foot-long member of the herring family called menhaden,” which one historian has apparently likened to the passenger pigeon in terms of rapid population decline. Once harvested for fertilizer and lamp oil, “trillions of menhaden were ground into feed for hogs, chicken and pets” after the advent of petroleum-based lamps. “Today,” writes Greenberg, “hundreds of billions of pounds of them are converted into lipstick, salmon feed, paint,‘buttery spread,’ salad dressing and, yes, some of those omega-3 supplements you have been forcing on your children.” He argues that menhaden “keep the water clean,” claiming that the “muddy brown color of the…
Food & Water Watch has issued an alert seeking support for its call on the Obama administration to enforce antitrust laws against the agribusiness industry. According to the alert, “[m]ore than 85 percent of U.S. beef cattle are slaughtered by just four companies,” “[t]wo companies sell half of U.S. corn seed,” “[o]ne company controls 40 percent of the U.S. fluid milk supply,” and “[f]ive firms dominate the grocery sector, ensuring that low prices paid to farmers aren’t passed along to consumers at the store.” Referring to hearings planned by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Justice in 2010 to consider the “state of competition in agriculture markets,” the consumer organization has urged supporters to let these agencies “know that they must do a thorough investigation of the lack of competition in agriculture, as well as take immediate action to deal with unfair practices and lack of competition…
According to a press report, three people from the Shaanxi Jinqiao Dairy Co. have been arrested and charged with producing and selling toxic food. They are apparently accused of selling more than five tons of milk powder laced with melamine to a food additive firm, which discovered the contamination. The tainted product was apparently recovered before reaching the marketplace. The detentions come a little more than a year after a nationwide scandal involving contaminated milk powder killed six children and sickened more than 300,000. The first civil trial to consider claims by parents of an injured child began in November 2009, but a second hearing in the matter has reportedly been delayed after the defendants demanded additional investigation into the cause of the child’s illness. See FoodNavigatorUSA.com, December 11, 2009.
According to a news source, a Denver man who alleged that his habit of consuming two bags of microwave popcorn every day caused his bronchiolitis obliterans, a debilitating lung condition purportedly associated with exposure to the butter flavoring diacetyl, has settled his claims against a flavoring manufacturer. Watson v. Dillon Cos., Inc., (D. Colo.) One of three diacetyl lawsuits brought by consumers in 2008, the claims of Wayne Watson were filed on his behalf by an Independence, Missouri, law firm that has obtained a number of settlements for workers with “popcorn lung” purportedly caused by occupational exposures to diacetyl. Details about Watson’s case appear in issue 244 of this Update. No additional information about the settlement has apparently been made available. See Findlaw.com, December 15, 2009.
