The European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA’s) panel on food contact materials, enzymes, flavorings, and processing aids has released its latest risk assessment for bisphenol A, concluding that there was not any “new evidence which would lead them to revise the current Tolerable Daily Intake [TDI] for BPA of 0.05 mg/kg body weight set . . . in its 2006 opinion and re-confirmed in its 2008 opinion.” The CEF panel undertook the reassessment at the request of the European Commission, which directed scientists to (i) decide on the basis of recent literature whether to update the TDI; (ii) “assess a new study on possible neurodevelopmental effects”; and (iii) advise on a risk assessment made by the National Food Institute at the Technical University of Denmark. Although one minority opinion evidently raised questions about “adverse health effects below the level used to determine the current TDI,” panel members agreed on shortcomings in…
Category Archives Europe
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published a scientific statement reaffirming its 2009 conclusion that “in relation to food safety, there is no indication that differences exist for meat and milk of clones and their progeny compared with those from conventionally bred animals.” The food safety watchdog’s assessment, however, pertains only to pigs and cattle because “there is still limited information available on cloning” of other species. The European Commission in May 2010 asked EFSA for an update on scientific developments regarding the safety of cloning farmed animals for food production. In response, EFSA’s Scientific Committee reviewed approximately 100 recent studies and other data from European research centers to determine that no new scientific information has surfaced to change its conclusions about cloned pigs and cattle. According to the statement, EFSA also reconfirmed its previous conclusion that “mortality rates and the number of animals born with developmental abnormalities are…
The Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU) has issued five regulatory proposals to respond to consumer and safety needs regarding nanomaterials found in mass-produced consumer products including food, electronics and cosmetics. During a recent workshop in which representatives from 12 member states met to prepare for a regulatory review of nanomaterials by the end of 2011, Belgian officials proposed that the EU (i) “define the obligation to inform the consumer of the presence of nanomaterials in consumer products”; (ii) “ensure the traceability of the chain so as to be able to return to the source, if necessary” by maintaining a nanomaterials register; (iii) “identify the most appropriate regulatory path at the EU level for risk evaluation and management,” (iv) “encourage member states, during this transitory period, to take up the responsibility and draw up integrated national strategies and concrete measures in favor of risk management, information and…
The U.K. Food Standards Agency (FSA) has announced that as of September 1, 2010, the agency handed over several responsibilities to the departments of Health (DH) and Environmental, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). Under the restructuring—which does not currently apply to operations to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland—FSA in England will continue to handle the following safety aspects of food labeling: (i) “expert scientific advice on the food safety aspects of date marking”; (ii) “assessment and labeling of ingredients/foods with food safety implications (e.g. allergens, glycols, high caffeine, high glycyrrhizinic acid)”; (iii) “food safety aspects of organic food and of foods controlled by compositional standards”; (iv) “treatments and conditions of use with food safety implications (e.g. quick frozen foods, raw drinking milk and pasteurisation, food contact materials)”; (v) “GM and novel foods (including use of nanotechnology)”; (vi) “animal feed, including Codex Intergovernmental Task Force on Animal Feeding”; (vii) “food safety…
The U.K. Food Standards Agency (FSA) has announced that meat from a cloned cow’s offspring has evidently entered the food supply, sparking concerns about the country’s livestock registration and tracking requirements. The agency apparently traced four female and four male calves to a cloned Holstein cow from the United States. According to FSA, farmers have not sold any milk from the three surviving females but have slaughtered the bulls and sold three for human consumption. “While there is no evidence that consuming products from healthy clones, or their offspring, poses a food safety risk, meat and products from clones and their offspring are considered novel foods and would therefore need to be authorized before being placed on the market,” stated FSA in an August 11, 2010, news release, adding that food producers who purchased such animals or their offspring “will need to seek authorization under the Novel Food Regulations.” See…
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has issued an August 2, 2010, report urging member states to increase their monitoring of furan, a compound with aromatic properties that can form in a variety of heat-treated commercial foods and which has purportedly been shown to be carcinogenic in animal experiments. EFSA intends to use the report to support a dietary risk assessment on furan. It updates data submitted by 18 member states on furan levels in 4,186 foods sampled and analyzed between 2004 and 2009, with 8 percent of the samples reported as foods consumed. The report sorted data into 21 different food categories (five coffee and 16 noncoffee categories), with the highest levels of furan found in the five coffee categories compared to other food groups. The highest non-coffee maximum concentrations were found in the “baby food” and “soups” categories. “ Jarred baby food and infant formula are of particular…
The International Association for the Study of Obesity (IASO) has released a July 2010 report on the PolMark Project, a survey commissioned by the European Union to examine how member states regulate food and beverage marketing to children. According to IASO, “The researchers found that two-thirds of the 53 countries in the region now have official policies on the need to restrict the promotion of unhealthy food to children, a dramatic increase since a similar survey five years earlier. However, most countries are depending on self-regulation by industry and only a few have brought in specific statutory measures.” The report apparently notes that 92 percent of key stakeholders interviewed in 11 countries “believed there was a link between advertising and child obesity.” In addition, (i) two-thirds “believed current controls on marketing to children were not strong enough”; (ii) more than 80 percent “thought that restrictions on advertising for certain types…
The UK Department of Health (DH) has announced its intention to preserve the Food Standards Agency (FSA) as a non-ministerial authority responsible for food safety policy and enforcement. According to a July 20, 2010, press release, DH will take over England’s nutrition policies, including those related to (i) food labeling and health claims; (ii) dietetic food and food supplements; (iii) calorie information in catering establishments; and (iv) product reformulation to reduce salt, saturated fat, sugar, and portion sizes. DH will also conduct nutrition research and work with the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition, while the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) will handle country-of-origin labeling, other types of non-food-safety labeling, and food composition policies used to characterize products such as honey, jam, chocolate, and ice cream. On matters of food safety, however, advice from FSA experts “would be final.” The authority will also retain oversight of nutrition and…
The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) is reportedly the next target of the new Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government and Secretary of State for Health Andrew Lansley, who has released a white paper pledging to cut the National Health Service (NHS) and abolish quasi-governmental organizations “that do not need to exist.” Although a structural plan published alongside the paper recommends reforms to the food safety watchdog, media reports have cited unidentified sources as suggesting that Lansley plans to eliminate FSA and reallocate its duties to the Department of Health (DH) and the Department for Food, Rural Affairs and the Environment (Defra). DH, however, has countered these claims, maintaining that under the proposed reorganization, FSA would relinquish its oversight of nutrition policy but continue to serve “a robust regulatory function.” See The Guardian, July 12, 2010; DH Press Statement, July 15, 2010. The rumor has drawn swift criticism from consumer and health groups such…
The European Commission has proposed legislation that would allow member states to set their own policies for regulating genetically modified (GM) crops. If approved by the European Parliament and individual governments, the proposal would permit countries to approve, restrict or prohibit the cultivation of GM crops, even those deemed safe by the scientific mechanisms currently in place. Under this new framework, member states could bar GM crops for reasons “other than the identification of a risk for the environment, human or animal health.” See EC Citizen’s Summary, July 13, 2010. The proposed legislation apparently seeks to end a 12-year gridlock among member states with different stances toward GM crops. In light of this dilemma, the commission has also drafted new recommendations for avoiding the unintended presence of GM products in those marketed as GM-free. This non-binding guidance (i) “allows for measures aiming to limit GMO content in conventional food and feed…
