South Korean regulators have reportedly detected a bacteria associated with infant meningitis and enteritis in a shipment of organic baby formula imported from France. The Korean National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service (NVRQS) identified Enterobacter sakazaki in formula originating with the Bordeaux-based manufacturer Vitagermine, which stated that its products passed EU standards before shipment. The World Health Organization has categorized E. sakazaki as a harmful bacteria capable of causing serious illness and fatalities in people with weakened immune systems and infants. South Korea has apparently imported eight shipments of Vitagermine formula weighing a total of 1,492 kilos since 2007, according to NVRQS, which noted that six of these shipments reached the market. Vitagermine has agreed to allow French authorities to conduct additional testing to ensure the safety of their product. See FoodProductionDaily.com, February 28, 2009.
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The Peanut Corp. of America, whose Salmonella-tainted peanut butter and peanut paste products led to one of the largest food recalls in the United States, has reportedly filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in Virginia. The day it did so, Texas health officials apparently announced a recall of all products manufactured at the company’s peanut-processing facility in that state after discovering dead rodents, droppings and bird feathers in unsealed gaps above a food production area. A Virginia plant operated by the company has also been closed. A state agriculture spokesperson reportedly said that inspectors found minor problems at the facility in 2007 and 2008, including flaking paint and evidence of rodents. Food lawyer William Marler, who has sued the company on behalf of several families allegedly affected by the Salmonella outbreak, claimed that he has hired a law firm that helped him “manage both the Chi-Chi and Topps Bankruptcies,” and…
Federal investigators seeking to crack down on corruption in California’s tomato-processing sector have apparently secured guilty pleas from two industry employees, one with a tomato paste supplier and the other with a processed tomato purchaser. Jennifer Dahlman, who worked for a California company under investigation for alleged bribery, price-fixing and mislabeling, reportedly pleaded guilty to causing the introduction of adulterated and misbranded food into interstate commerce with intent to defraud. Dahlman apparently mislabeled products that should have been discarded because of high mold content, purportedly at the direction of company managers, thus giving her company an unfair advantage over competitors and leading to increased consumer prices for processed tomato products, such as sauces, soups and salsas. While she is cooperating with authorities, Dahlman faces up to three years in prison. According to U.S. attorneys involved in the investigation, the mislabeled products posed no health hazard to consumers. James Wahl, who formerly…
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a lower court ruling that rejected the restaurant industry’s preemption and First Amendment challenge to New York City’s health code provision mandating that certain restaurant chains post calorie information on their menu boards. New York State Rest. Ass’n v. NYC Bd. of Health, No. 08-1892 (2d Cir., decided February 17, 2009). The rule has been in effect since July 2008 and applies to restaurants that are part of chains with at least 15 outlets nationwide. The New York State Restaurant Association contended that the rule was preempted by the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act and infringed its members constitutional rights by compelling speech. According to the court, “In requiring chain restaurants to post calorie information on their menus, New York City merely stepped into a sphere that Congress intentionally left open to state and local governments. Furthermore, although the restaurants are protected…
Multnomah County commissioners have reportedly adopted regulations requiring restaurant chains with 15 or more locations nationwide to display calorie content alongside individual items on their menus. Effective March 12, 2009, the law also requires these establishments to provide information about sodium, saturated fat, trans fat, and carbohydrate content at the point of sale. Restaurants must institute these new policies before the end of the year, when the health department can begin issuing citations and civil fines for violations. “No one says this will solve the problem of obesity in Multnomah County, but it’s an important first step. This is about giving people information. That’s fundamentally different than saying you can’t eat this hamburger, it’s bad for you,” county commissioner Jeff Cogen was quoted as saying. See The Oregonian, February 12, 2009.
In late January 2009, California’s Department of Toxic Substances Control sent a letter to more than two dozen businesses and research centers “requiring information regarding analytical test methods, fate and transport in the environment, and other relevant information from manufacturers of carbon nanotubes.” Among the specific questions the agency posed are (i) “What is the value chain for your company? For example, in what products are your carbon nanotubes used by others? In what quantities? Who are your major customers?”; (ii) “What is your knowledge about the safety of your chemical in terms of occupational safety, public health and the environment?”; and (iii) “When released, does your material constitute a hazardous waste under California Health & Safety Code provisions?” Environmentalists are reportedly concerned that the questions are “vague” and that companies should be required to provide more specific data. They also apparently complain that giving the companies a year to…
California EPA’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) convened a conference call for stakeholders February 18, 2009, to discuss how to move forward with plans to require food retailers to warn the public about the presence of Proposition 65 (Prop. 65) chemicals in foods. OEHHA’s general objectives are to prepare regulatory language vetted by stakeholders and undertake formal notice-and-comment regulatory proceedings by June. The agency seeks assistance on drafting provisions about (i) manufacturer versus retailer responsibilities relating to warning information; (ii) structure, process and operation of a proposed information/warning clearinghouse; (iii) methods of delivering warnings; and (iv) establishing the content of warning messages. Volunteers are currently being solicited to join drafting groups, and initial drafts are expected to be completed by April 17. OEHHA will post the drafts on Cal/EPA’s Web site, and another stakeholders’ meeting will be held on April 23. Prop. 65 requires warnings about chemicals known to…
The European Food Safety Authority’s Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA) has rejected a health claim dossier submitted by Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc., that sought to link consumption of its products to a reduced risk of urinary tract infection (UTI) in women. Ocean Spray asserted that dried cranberries and juice drinks containing 80 milligrams of cranberry proanthocyanidins (PAC) lessened UTI risk in women older than age 16 by “inhibiting the adhesion of certain bacteria in the urinary tract.” Although NDA acknowledged that some in vitro trials have supported this claim, the panel ultimately cited a lack of convincing clinical trials and ruled that the evidence failed to establish “a cause and effect relationship” between the product and the purported health benefit. Of the 12 studies presented by Ocean Spray, NDA dismissed six because they did not involve normal populations; one because it referenced a higher PAC dosing; and…
The European Commission’s (EC’s) Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health reportedly deadlocked on February 16, 2009, over whether France and Greece should be forced to lift their bans on a genetically modified (GM) corn seed that is the only one approved for planting in the European Union. According to a biotechnology industry spokesperson, the increase in votes favoring the cultivation of GM crops signals a new momentum in Europe to open markets to these controversial crops. EU environmentalists and consumers have long opposed their introduction, citing environmental risks and the unwelcome intrusion of large corporate interests into agriculture. A larger vote next week may, say biotech industry executives, lead to the approval of two additional GM corn seeds for marketing in the EU. Mike Hall, a spokesperson for the developer of one of them, has reportedly indicated that the company is waiting to see if the EU…
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack earlier this week canceled a scheduled press conference on mandatory country-of-origin labeling (COOL) regulations, but reportedly told meat industry representatives that USDA intends to pursue stricter COOL guidelines than those approved during the Bush administration. Vilsack has asked meat providers to voluntarily adhere to more stringent standards, noting that the agency will act in the absence of industry direction. In particular, USDA is seeking to extend COOL to some “processed” items, like cured bacon, that are currently exempt from labeling requirements. Vilsack also received a letter from seven U.S. senators asking him to further clarify and restrict the use of multiple country labeling. “These loopholes essentially allow processors to label every product – including exclusively U.S. products and entirely foreign products – under the multiple country category,” stated the letter spearheaded by Senator Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.). The announcement followed an administrative hold issued by the Obama administration…
