The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has reportedly objected to McDonald’s Corp.’s use of “artisan” in describing its new product, the McMór hamburger. The Ireland-exclusive burger is marketed as an “artisan” product that incorporates several ingredients from Irish cuisine, including bacon, cabbage, baby kale, Ballymaloe relish, Charleville cheese and a “potato-flaked” bun. FSAI established guidelines in May 2015 about the use of “artisan” that stipulate the word should describe products made only (i)“in limited quantities by skilled craftspeople,” (ii) without a “fully mechanized” process that “follows a traditional method,” (iii) “in a micro-enterprise at a single location,” and (iv) with “characteristic ingredients” that are “grown or produced locally, where seasonally available and practical.” McDonald’s issued a statement indicating that it would remove “artisan” from its marketing. Additional details about FSAI’s food marketing guidance appear in Issue 566 of this Update. See The Irish Times, September 1, 2015. Issue…
Category Archives Europe
The U.K. Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld a complaint alleging that an online “instant-win” promotion organized by Kettle Foods Ltd. was misleading because it required participants to register before finding out if they had won a prize. According to ASA, the U.K. Code of Non-broadcast Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing (CAP Code) states that “participants in instant-win promotions must get their winnings at once or must know immediately what they have won and how to claim without delay, cost or administrative barriers.” Kettle Foods reportedly advertised “instant win prizes” on its potato chip packages, which featured a unique code with instructions directing entrants to a website. Before viewing their potential winnings, consumers were asked to provide identifying information, including full name, postal code, telephone number, email address, date of birth, and a chosen password for subsequent visits. As required by law, the company also offered a “no purchase…
U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron has announced new measures added to the Modern Slavery Act, which took effect on July 31, 2015, that will require global companies to publish an annual slavery and human trafficking statement. The added provisions, which take effect in October, affect companies with a turnover of ₤36 million or more that conduct business within the United Kingdom. “This measure is one of the first of its kind in the world and it will be a huge step forward, introducing greater accountability on business for the condition of their supply chains,” Cameron was quoted as saying in a July 29 press release. Issue 574
The U.K. Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) has released its final Carbohydrate and Health report recommending that “free sugars account for no more than 5% of daily energy intake.” Asked by the U.K. Department of Health and the Food Standards Agency to “examine the latest evidence on the links between consumption of carbohydrates, sugars, starch and fiber and a range of health outcomes,” the expert panel commissioned systematic reviews of evidence from prospective cohort studies and randomized controlled trials, in addition to considering comments submitted in response to its first draft report. Based on these findings, the report concludes, among other things, that (i) “high levels of sugar consumption are associated with a greater risk of tooth decay”; (ii) “drinking high-sugar beverages results in weight gain and increases in BMI in teenagers and children”; and (iii) “consuming too many high-sugar beverages increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.”…
Diageo Great Britain Ltd. reportedly plans to appeal the U.K. Advertising Standards Authority’s (ASA’s) decision to ban a Smirnoff ® advertisement for allegedly violating the marketing rules for social responsibility in alcohol marketing. Upholding its own complaint, which claimed that the ad in question linked social success to alcohol consumption, ASA found that “the ad’s presentation implied that before the visitor asked for an alcoholic drink, the bar was cold and uninviting and that once his drink had been ordered, the bar changed and became livelier and more fun.” Diageo disputed this interpretation, arguing that the TV spot showed the bar “tilting” to filter out the elements that gave it an unwelcoming atmosphere. According to the ruling’s summary of Diageo’s response, “The tilt acted as a physical division within the ad and where the pretentious items in the first scene were filtered out and the bar now had a warm…
The European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA’s) Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM Panel) has issued a scientific opinion assessing the health risks of acute and chronic dietary exposure to chlorate, “a byproduct when using chlorine, chlorine dioxide or hypochlorite for the disinfection of drinking water, water for food production and surfaces coming into contact with food.” At the request of the European Commission, the opinion considers the presence of chlorate in both drinking water and food, setting “a tolerable daily intake (TDI) of 3 micrograms per kg (µg/kg) of body weight per day for long-term exposure to chlorate in food,” with “a recommended safe intake level for a daily intake (called the ‘acute reference dose’) of chlorate of 36 µg/kg of body weight per day.” After reviewing data collected by the EFSA Evidence Management Unit, the CONTAM Panel identified drinking water as “the main average contributor to chronic dietary exposure,”…
French restaurateurs and food critics are calling for new food-labeling rules after a documentary airing on France 2 reported that some of the country’s food manufacturers have been using vegetable fat-based substitutes for fresh milk when producing cheese products. In “Artificial Cheese on Your Plate” (“Du Faux Fromage Dans Votre Assiette”), cheese producers are reportedly shown stocking bags of processed cheese made with water, vegetable fat, lactic acid, table salt, and potassium sorbate, while others are shown mixing genuine mozzarella with cheese made without milk to create a popular substitute known as “50-50.” Many of the cheese substitutes also contain palm oil. A nutritionist told the documentary producers that the cheese substitutes lack the positive qualities of real cheese because they contain saturated fat without providing calcium as well. See The Daily Telegraph, June 14, 2015. Issue 569
The European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA’s) Scientific Committee has published guidance for renewing “applications of genetically modified [GM] food and feed authorized under Regulation (EC) No. 1829/2003.” Describing “the data requirements for renewal applications, “ the guidance directs applicants seeking reauthorization of GM food and feed products to provide the following: (i) “a copy of the authorization”; (ii) “post-market monitoring and post-market environmental monitoring reports”; (iii) “systematic search and evaluation of literature”; and (iv) “updated bioinformatics and any additional documents or studies performed by or on behalf of the applicant during the authorization period.” In addition, EFSA asks applicants “to assess the collected information and conclude whether the previous risk assessment remains valid.” “GM food and feed listed under Regulation (EC) 1829/2003 are within the scope of this new guidance. These include all those plants that have already been assessed by EFSA–such as maize, oilseed rape, soybean and cotton,” explains…
The Environment and Agriculture committees of the European Parliament have approved a draft bill that would ban the cloning of all farm animals, their descendants and products derived from them. The legislation would prohibit both the cloning within the EU and the importation of cloned animals from other countries. “We are well aware that cloning is allowed in certain third countries that EU trades with, but we cannot allow these products to be placed on the EU market,” Giulia Moi, an Italian Member of the European Parliament, said in a press release. “We also want to ensure that cloning of animals would not become a common practice within the EU.” The proposed law would require the import certificates for animals, animal germinal products, food and feed of animal origin to indicate that the products are not derived from cloned animals. The European Parliament will vote on the bill at a…
The European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA’s) Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM) has released its final scientific opinion on acrylamide, concluding that dietary exposure to the substance “potentially increases the risk of developing cancer for consumers in all age groups.” Naturally formed in starchy food products during high-temperature cooking, acrylamide is digested and distributed throughout the body, where one of its metabolites is said to cause “the gene mutations and tumors seen in animal studies.” “Evidence from animal studies shows that acrylamide and its metabolite glycidamide are genotoxic and carcinogenic: they damage DNA and cause cancer,” states the CONTAM Panel, which reviewed 43,419 analytical results from food commodities as well as the latest scientific literature. “Evidence from human studies that dietary exposure to acrylamide causes cancer is currently limited and inconclusive.” In particular, the agency singles out fried potato products, coffee, biscuits, crackers, crisp bread, and soft bread as…
