U.S. Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.), have written a letter to the Office of Management and Budget asking for the release of the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) voluntary industry guidelines for levels of arsenic in fruit juices currently under review by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. Citing studies that have found “concerning” levels of arsenic in food and beverages, DeLauro and Pallone assert that FDA’s guidance document will be “instrumental” to industry members and consumers in their efforts to address “this public health issue.” It is “inexcusable that the guidelines are stalled while consumers continue to be exposed to potentially dangerous levels of arsenic,” the letter states. “Inorganic arsenic is a known carcinogen that can increase the risk of bladder, lung and skin cancers, [which is] particularly concerning because children consume large quantities of juice and may be at risk for more harmful…
Category Archives Europe
The U.K. Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) recently upheld three out of four complaints brought by the Youth Alcohol Advertising Council (YAAC) against Fireball Whiskey distributor Hi Spirits Ltd. over social media advertisements that allegedly promoted excessive drinking. In particular, the complaints focused on Fireball Whiskey’s Facebook page, which, in addition to advertisements depicting young women pouring or consuming alcohol, a young man “lying face down on a bed” and teddy bears branded with the whiskey’s logo, apparently featured (i) “a poster in style of ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’” with the tagline “TAKE A SHOT AND IGNITE THE NITE” and a caption asking users to “Like if you think this is a good plan for the weekend!”; (ii) a status update asking users to submit their “Fireball stories from the weekend” to win “Fireball freebies!”; and (iii) a status update asking students undergoing final exams to “Like this status and…
The European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA’s) Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA Panel) has initiated a public consultation on the draft scientific opinion on dietary reference values for fluoride. Citing evidence that supports fluoride’s role in the prevention of dental caries, the NDA Panel set the adequate intake (AI) for all sources, including non-dietary ones, based on “estimates of mean fluoride intakes of children via diet and drinking water with fluoride concentrations at which the caries preventative effect approached its maximum whilst the risk of dental fluorosis approached its minimum.” To this end, the panel set the AI of fluoride from all sources at 0.05 mg/kg body weight per day for both children and adults, including pregnant and lactating women. EFSA will accept comments on the proposed reference values until June 13, 2013.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has issued “a call for acrylamide occurrence data in food and beverages intended for human consumption collected outside official controls.” Part of the agency’s ongoing assessment of acrylamide levels in food and beverages, the latest request for data focuses on the following product categories: (i) french fries sold as ready to eat; (ii) potato crisps; (iii) pre-cooked french fries and potato products for homecooking; (iv) soft bread; (v) breakfast cereals; (vi) biscuits, crackers, crisp bread, and similar products; (vii) coffee and coffee substitutes; (viii) baby foods, “other than processed cereal based foods”; (ix) “processed cereal-based foods for infants and young children”; and (x) other products, including muesli and porridge, pastry and cakes, and savory snacks. EFSA has specified that “the analytical method used for the quantitative determination of acrylamide… should achieve a LOQ [level of quantification] of 30 µm/kg for bread and foods for…
Although a recent proposal to restrict the use of three neonicotinoids failed to gain support from the qualified majority of member states on an appeals committee, the European Commission (EC) has announced its intention to proceed with the plan as part of its bid to better protect honeybees. Basing its decision on a European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) scientific report that “identified ‘high acute risks’ for bees as regards exposure to dust in several crops such as maize, cereals and sunflower, to residue in pollen and nectar in crops like oilseed rape and sunflower and to guttation in maize,” the Commission has agreed to limit the use of clothianidin, imidacloprid, and thiametoxam “for seed treatment, soil application (granules) and foliar treatment on bee- attractive plants and cereals” for a period of two years starting December 1, 2013. Under the plan, “the remaining authorized uses are available only to professionals,” with possible…
Citing the loss of millions of euros, the Danish government is reportedly abandoning its 80-year tax on soft drinks because consumers are crossing the border to shop in Germany instead. “This decision is the result of concerted efforts to highlight the negative impact of the tax,” said Niels Hald, secretary general of the Danish soft drinks association, Bryggeriforeningen. “In taking this step the Danish government acknowledged the regressive nature of the tax, its negative impact on regional jobs close to the borders and the adverse environmental consequences of border trade.” Removal of the tax will reportedly take place in two stages, with a 50-percent reduction as of July 1, 2013, and full elimination as of January 1, 2014. The decision comes months after the Danish government repealed a similar tax on foods with high concentrations of saturated fat and stopped a proposed sugar tax last year. See UNESDA News Release, April…
The European Commission (EC) has released the results of its investigation into beef products contaminated with horsemeat, reporting that 5 percent of tested products were contaminated with horse DNA and 0.5 percent of tested horse carcasses were contaminated with the pain reliever phenylbutazone (bute). The investigation apparently involved 7,259 tests carried out by 27 member states in addition to 7,951 tests conducted by food business operators, including producers, processors and distributors. Based on these results, the Commission has reiterated the European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA’s) assessment that bute contamination poses a low risk to consumers. “Today’s findings have confirmed that this is a matter of food fraud and not of food safety,” said EU Commissioner for Health and Consumers Tonio Borg. “Restoring the trust and confidence of European consumers and trading partners in our food chain following this fraudulent labeling scandal is now of vital importance for the European economy…
In a recent paper, a member of European Food Safety Authority and Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food Safety genetically modified organism (GMO) panels has explored whether biosafety data provided to regulatory authorities by companies developing GMOs should be protected from disclosure. K.M. Nielsen, “Biosafety Data as Confidential Business Information,” PLOS Biology, 2013. Noting that standards or criteria as to what constitutes “legitimate” confidential business information (CBI) in GM product applications are lacking, the author argues that CBI claims are used indiscriminately and prevent independent research and monitoring. The article concludes with the author’s suggested criteria for “warranted CBI claims.” Among other things, the criteria would exclude from protection “information present in patent documents or for information not considered to be or not under confidentiality agreements in other companies/locations/countries.”
The U.K. Food Standards Agency (FSA) has launched public consultations on two sets of proposed legislation, “The Contaminants in Food (England) Regulations 2013” and “The Food Additives, Flavourings, Enzymes, and Extraction Solvents (England) Regulations 2013.” The first set of regulations related to food contaminants will revoke the 2010 version and take into account new European Commission regulations regarding (i) “maximum levels for nitrate in foodstuffs”; (ii) “maximum levels for the presence of coccidiostats and histomonostats in food resulting from the unavoidable carry-over of these substances in non-targeted feed”; and (iii) under-enforcement of EU provisions providing for “the labeling of groundnuts, other oilseeds, derived products thereof and cereals.” The Contaminants in Food Regulations will also revoke “national legislation on mineral hydrocarbons in food and revoke and remake[] the provisions of the Erucic Acid in Food Regulations 1977.” The second set of regulations will consolidate “all legislation within [FSA’s] remit covering food…
The U.K. Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has declined to uphold five complaints claiming that Nestlé UK Ltd.’s TV advertisements for Nesquik chocolate milkshake “encouraged poor nutritional habits by suggesting the product was suitable to give to children for breakfast on a daily basis.” According to ASA, the complaints described the product as high in sugar and thereby unsuitable for daily consumption. But Nestlé countered that a typical serving of Nesquik milkshake could not “be described as being ‘high’ in sugar” as “46% of total sugar in the product, as consumed, was attributed to the naturally occurring lactose found in milk, and not to the Nesquik product.” In addition, Nestlé explained, the sugar that could be attributed to the product still met World Health Organization guidance stating that NonMilk Extrinsic Sugars should contribute less than 10 percent daily energy to children’s diets. “Nestlé also said the new EU Pledge nutrient profiling criteria…
