The Department of Justice (DOJ) is seeking to enjoin the operation of a cheese-processing facility in New York due to the Listeria monocytogene (L. mono) contamination of its Queso Hebra, Queso Fresco and Queso Cotija Molido cheeses. U.S. v. Peregrina Cheese, Inc., No. 09-2888 (E.D.N.Y., filed July 7, 2009). According to DOJ, state and federal inspections of the facility since at least 2004 have revealed serious sanitation problems. Because product samples and equipment surfaces tested positive for the same L. mono strain, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) analysts concluded that “the strain has formed a niche at Peregrina Cheese’s facility.” The owners have apparently refused to shut down the plant to properly sanitize it, claiming that the state food safety agency approved the “use of an antimicrobial agent as an additive in Peregrina Cheese’s Queso Fresco product.” The owners did not, however, provide “any information as to the level of use”…
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A federal court in the District of Columbia has ordered the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to produce certain records about the pesticide clothianidin and lists of potentially protected documents to the Natural Resources Defense Council, which sought the information under a Freedom of Information Act Request submitted in July 2008. Natural Resources Defense Council v. EPA, No. 08-1429 (D.D.C., decided June 23, 2009). According to the court, the information related to “the use of the pesticide clothianidin on crops in the United States, EPA’s evaluation of the safety of the pesticide on bees, studies submitted by chemical manufacturers relating to the toxicity of the pesticide to bees, and communications with other federal or foreign agencies regarding environmental risks posed by the pesticide.” The day before the court filed its ruling establishing a schedule for the document production, EPA announced that it had developed a “pollinator protection strategic plan.” The plan, created…
Multidistrict litigation plaintiffs who sued Aurora Dairy Corp., an accredited organic certifying agent and a number of food retailers have appealed the district court decision dismissing their claims to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. In re: Aurora Dairy Corp. Organic Milk Mktg. & Sales Practices Litig., MDL No. 08-1907 (E.D. Mo., appeal noticed July 2, 2009). As noted in the June 5, 2009, issue of this Update, the district court concluded that the claims, which involved allegations that Aurora Dairy sold its milk as organic while violating national organic program requirements, were preempted by federal law and regulations. In their list of issues on appeal, the plaintiffs question the validity of this determination.
California EPA’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has announced a July 15, 2009, meeting of its Science Advisory Board’s Developmental and Reproductive Toxicant Identification Committee. The committee, which will be discussing whether bisphenol A (BPA) “has been clearly shown, through scientifically valid testing according to generally accepted principles, to cause reproductive toxicity,” is charged with identifying chemicals for addition to the list of chemicals known to the state to cause reproductive toxicity under the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (Prop. 65). BPA is used extensively in metal and plastic food and beverage packaging. Among those who have submitted comments for the committee’s consideration are consumer interest groups, the Environmental Working Group, Natural Resources Defense Council, Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), American Chemistry Council, and North American Metal Packaging Alliance. GMA contends that scientific evidence “does not ‘clearly show’ a causal link between BPA and developmental…
During a recent week-long meeting in Rome, Italy, the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) adopted more than 30 standards and guidelines designed to protect consumers’ health, such as cutting the levels of potential cancer-causing chemicals and bacteria in foods. Among the rules adopted by the joint body of the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization were measures to reduce acrylamide, a chemical by-product of high-temperature cooking processes that has allegedly been linked to cancer. “Applying Codex standards and guidelines are an important part of ensuring that consumers in every part of the world can be protected from unsafe food,” an FAO spokesperson was quoted as saying. CAC also adopted criteria for Salmonella and other bacteria in powdered formula for children ages 6 months and older and microbiological testing parameters aimed at helping producers control and prevent contamination of ready-to-eat foods with Listeria. See Reuters; FoodNavigator-USA.com, July…
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced three public meetings to explain the purpose of the Reportable Food Registry, how it will work and the responsibilities of those required to submit reports. The registry, which requires reports to be filed through an FDA Internet portal if there is reason to believe that adulterated food or feed will cause “serious adverse health consequences or death to humans or animals,” is set to be implemented September 8, 2009. The meeting dates are July 23, August 5 and 25, 2009. See Federal Register, June 26, 2009.
U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) has reportedly issued a temporary hold on the confirmation of Cass Sunstein, whom President Barack Obama (D) has tapped to lead the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), over the Harvard law professor’s purported views on animal rights. A 2004 book by Sunstein apparently suggested that “animals should be permitted to bring suit, with human beings as their representatives, to prevent violations of current law,” a stance that has raised concerns with Chambliss. According to a recent article published in The Hill, “Chambliss said he would not lift his hold until he had a chance to ask Sunstein to explain his views in a meeting after the July 4 recess.” See The Hill, June 28, 2009; OMB Watch, June 30, 2009; Meatingplace.com, July 6, 2009.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a nonprofit research and advocacy organization, released reports at a July 8, 2009, congressional subcommittee hearing that called for bottled water to be labeled with the same level of information as municipal water products. The GAO report stated that federal safety protections are often less stringent for bottled water than tap water, recommending at a minimum that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) require bottlers to tell consumers ways of obtaining comprehensive information about the source of their products and compliance with applicable regulations. The EWG report included a survey claiming that all but a few bottled-water companies do not list the sources of their bottled water and how it was treated. EWG reportedly urged Americans to make bottled water “a distant second choice” to filtered tap water because of the lack of information about bottled water. “If the…
The Food Safety Working Group (FSWG) created by President Barack Obama (D) has unveiled a “new, public health-based approach to food safety based on three core principles: prioritizing prevention; strengthening surveillance and enforcement; and improving response and recovery,” according to a July 7, 2009, White House press release. Chaired by Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack, FSWG has set in motion several new strategies to advance these principles, including plans to (i) tighten standards governing the safety of eggs, poultry and turkey; (ii) increase inspections at beef facilities; (iii) issue new industry guidance for leafy greens, melons and tomatoes; (iv) build a trackback and response system incorporating “clearer industry guidance, a new unified command system and improved use of technology to deliver individual food safety alerts to consumers”; and (v) strengthen the organization of federal food safety functions. FSWG…
A recent study has reportedly claimed that exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) at levels currently considered safe for humans can allegedly cause “significant reproductive health effects” in rats. Heather B. Adewale, et al., “Neonatal bisphenol-A exposure alters rat reproductive development and ovarian morphology without impairing activation of gonadotropin releasing hormone neurons,” Biology of Reproduction, June 17, 2009. Researchers from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and North Carolina State University reported that female rats experienced early onset puberty when given a BPA dose of 50 micrograms per kilogram of body weight (µg/kg) during the first four days of life, while those exposed to BPA levels of 50 milligrams per kilogram of body weight (mg/kg) “developed significant ovarian malformations and premature loss of their estrus cycle.” According to the lead researcher, “The 50 mg/kg level is important because it is equivalent to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s [EPA’s] ‘Lowest…
