The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced the release of the Interagency Food Safety Analytics Collaboration's annual report, which provides data on source attribution estimates for 2020 for Salmonella, E. coli and Listeria monocytogenes. The findings include that (i) "Salmonella illnesses came from a wide variety of foods"; (ii) "E. coli O157 illnesses were most often linked to Vegetable Row Crops (such as leafy greens) and beef"; and (iii) "Listeria monocytogenes illnesses were most often linked to Dairy products, Fruits, and Vegetable Row Crops."
Category Archives Legislation, Regulations and Standards
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced a November 15, 2022, public meeting to discuss and vote on adopting measures related to controlling Salmonella in poultry products. The meeting will also include an update on actions related to Cyclospora cayetanensis as well as an additional work charge on Cronobacter in powdered infant formula. Parties interested in expressing comments during the meeting must register by November 8, 2022.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced a proposed update to guidance on how the term "healthy" can be used in marketing and labeling food products. The announcement notes that current limitations on usage of the term are out of step with the dietary guidelines—for example, salmon is excluded from permitted use due to fat levels despite being considered part of the "key elements of a healthy dietary pattern." "The existing 'healthy' claim has become inconsistent with the longstanding purpose of this type of implied claim to indicate that the nutrient levels in a food may help consumers maintain healthy dietary practices," the document notes. "The proposed framework for the updated definition of 'healthy' uses a food group-based approach in addition to nutrients to limit (based on the understanding that each food group contributes an array of important nutrients to the diet). The proposed, updated 'healthy' criteria would…
The Biden administration has announced a new U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) rule it says will promote inclusive competition and market integrity in the livestock, meat and poultry markets. At a September 26 meeting of the White House Competition Council, President Joe Biden announced the proposed Inclusive Competition and Market Integrity rules under the Packers and Stockyards (P&S) Act “to provide for clearer, more effective standards to govern the modern marketplace.” The proposed rule would revise existing regulations under the P&S Act by prohibiting certain prejudices and disadvantages against covered producers in the livestock, meat and poultry markets and would prohibit retaliatory practices that interfere with lawful communications, assertion of rights and participation in associations, among other protected activities. “Highly concentrated local markets in livestock and poultry have increasingly left farmers, ranchers, growers and producers vulnerable to a range of practices that unjustly exclude them from economic opportunities and undermine…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released an activities document outlining how the agency is working to enhance the safety of fresh produce imported into the United States. The Activities to Enhance the Safety of Imported Produce, announced September 27, builds on the FDA’s Strategy for the Safety of Imported Food, which began in February 2019. The 2019 import strategy outlined the agency’s comprehensive approach to ensuring the safety of food imported into the United States. The new activities document details how the strategy for safeguarding imported food applies specifically to produce. “The success of FDA’s imported food safety efforts relies in large part on the safety of produce since fresh fruit and vegetables represent a significant volume of imported food,” the agency said in the activities document. “About 15% of the U.S. food supply is imported, including nearly 55% of fresh fruit and 32% of fresh vegetables.”…
The U.K. Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has barred Eden Mill Distillery from using a social media ad for Ramsay's Gin featuring cofounder and celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay that the organization found to have made non-permitted nutrition claims about alcoholic drinks. ASA received and investigated a complaint about a March 20 ad posted to Ramsay’s Gin’s Instagram and Facebook pages. The ad featured a bottle of Ramsay’s Gin with text that stated that the honeyberries used in the product “retain the rich flavours and micro-nutrients that come from Scotland’s wonderful terroir.” The ad additionally claimed the honeyberries contain “more antioxidants than blueberries, more potassium than bananas, more vitamin C than oranges.” After considering the ad’s claims, ASA concluded Eden Mill was not permitted to make claims regarding nutrient content in relation to alcohol. ASA upheld the complaint and barred the distillery from using the ad again in its same form. ASA…
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has denied a petition from the Center for Food Safety (CFS) and other groups calling on the agency to amend or formally interpret the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) as not exempting seeds covered in insecticide and thus requiring compliance with registration and labeling under FIFRA. CFS filed the rulemaking petition in 2017; when EPA failed to respond to the petition by late 2021, the group filed suit. In its September 27, 2022, response denying the petition, EPA stated it “will continue to review labeling instructions for pesticides registered for seed treatment use(s) in registration and registration review to verify the completeness of these instructions for both use of the treating pesticide and the distribution, sale, and use of the treated seed.” EPA also said it intends to issue an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking "to seek additional information on pesticide seed treatment…
The White House has released the "Biden-Harris National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition and Health," which lays out the Biden administration's policy goals on a number of food-related subjects. The third pillar of the strategy includes the administration's intention to (i) "develop a front-of-package (FOP) labeling system to quickly and easily communicate nutrition information"; (ii) "make sure that foods labeled as 'healthy' align with current nutrition science and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans"; (iii) "adequately fund [the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)]'s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) to prioritize its nutrition and labeling work"; and (iv) "facilitate making nutrition information easily available when grocery shopping online." The strategy also notes the policy goals of "lowering the sodium content of food" beyond FDA's voluntary short-term reduction targets and "lowering added sugar consumption" by further researching strategies for reducing American's sugar intake. The document further promises "regular updates to…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced a public meeting to hear from stakeholders on positions for the December 2022 meeting of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene. Topics to be covered include draft guidelines for controlling E. coli in raw beef, fresh leafy vegetables, raw milk, raw cheese and sprouts as well as draft guidelines for the safe use and reuse of water in food production. The meeting is scheduled for October 27, 2022.
The U.K. Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has not upheld complaints against Heineken UK Ltd. arguing that the company’s underground and Reddit advertisements particularly appealed to those under the age of 18. ASA received complaints about two ads, including a poster ad at Paddington underground station and a paid-for ad on Reddit. The ads included computer-generated images of people holding a can of Heineken beer. Complainants asserted that they are likely to appeal particularly to those under 18, in violation of CAP Code 18.14. ASA noted that the characters in the ads had been created specifically for Heineken's ad campaign and were not based on any existing characters. Additionally, ASA concluded that neither characters were shown engaging in any activity that would particularly appeal to those under 18. "Both were depicted wearing stylised clothing, and the female character’s armour-like clothing and stylised hair, in particular, were reminiscent of the sort of…
