Russian MP Oleg Mikheyev has reportedly asked the government to require “graphic warning labels” on fast-food packaging in an effort to stop the spread of obesity and improve the health of Russian citizens. Mikheyev, who previously proposed a tax on “junk food,” also argued that producers of food products such as potato chips or soft drink be required to include photos of illnesses caused by excessive consumption of those products. “People know that sugar can cause type-2 diabetes, but few of them actually know what the trophic ulcers look like. Same goes for kidney stones that appear because of excessive consumption of salty foods or cholesterol plaques,” Mikheyev reportedly wrote in a letter to Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. Russian politicians have discussed mandatory labeling for fast food and other food products in the past, including in a July 2015 bill that proposed restricting fast-food and alcohol ads. See RT, January…
Category Archives Global
The Center for Food Safety and the Seikatsu Club Consumers Cooperative have joined to jointly decry the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) recent determination that genetically engineered (GE) salmon produced by AquaBounty Technologies, Inc. is as safe to eat as conventional salmon and will have little effect on the environment. At the time of FDA’s announcement, the Center for Food Safety vowed to file a lawsuit against the agency. “FDA’s decision to approve this GE salmon was irresponsible and unlawful and it will have global repercussions,” said George Kimbrell, a Center for Food Safety attorney. “We are honored to join with our colleagues in Japan in opposing GE fish and the Aquabounty salmon. Together, we will work to stop its expansion in order to preserve our native fisheries and protect the markets so many depend on around the world.” According to the consumer groups, Japan imported $2 billion worth…
Russia has imposed a moratorium on the use of genetically modified organisms in domestic food production. Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich reportedly made the announcement during a biotechnology conference in Kirov on September 18, 2015. Russia’s action follows similar moves by France, Germany and Scotland. See Reuters, September 18, 2015. Issue 580
Israel’s Ministry of Health has reportedly ruled that Heinz ketchup can no longer be called “ketchup” because of its low tomato content. Israeli food company Osem first targeted the product in January 2015 by sending a letter to supermarkets blasting the product and filing an $18 million class action on behalf of consumers. Osem argued that lab tests showed small bottles of Heinz ketchup contained 20 percent tomato concentrate and large bottles just 17 percent—compared to the 39 percent advertised on the bottle—despite Israeli regulations dictating that ketchup must contain at least 35 percent tomato concentrate. The health ministry agreed with Osem, finding that Heinz can no longer call its product “ketchup” and must be labeled “tomato seasoning” instead. The ruling does not affect Heinz’s English-language labels. Heinz’s local importer, Diplomat, has filed a petition to lower the minimum requirements from 10 percent tomato solids (the equivalent of 35 percent tomato…
The Government of Barbados has announced a 10-percent excise tax on the purchase of locally produced and imported sugar-sweetened beverages as of August 1, 2015. The Healthy Caribbean Coalition (HCC) lauded the action, citing consumption of sugary drinks as a major contributing factor to escalating rates of obesity and related health conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer. See Open Letter to HCC Membership, June 16, 2015. Issue 570
The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued an interim report that seeks to identify policy options for mitigating the risk of childhood obesity. Published by WHO’s Commission on Ending Childhood Obesity, the strategy document emphasizes “the importance of a life-course approach to simultaneously address the risk factors for childhood obesity from before conception, through pregnancy and during childhood, as well as the obesogenic environment in which children and adolescents grow and develop.” Among other things, the interim report urges policymakers to “tackle the obesogenic environment” by adopting standardized food labeling schemes and addressing food and beverage marketing to children. “There is unequivocal evidence that unhealthy food and non-alcoholic beverage marketing is related to childhood obesity,” states the commission. “The increasing number of voluntary efforts by industry and communities suggest that the need for change is widely agreed. Any attempt to tackle childhood obesity should, therefore, include a reduction in exposure…
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Homeland Security Investigations and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers have reportedly confiscated since October 2014 about 450,000 pounds of honey produced in China but falsely declared to be from Latvia on import documents. Chinese honey has been subject to a high import tax—currently 221 percent—since 2001, when the U.S. Department of Commerce found that Chinese producers were dumping honey on the market by selling it for lower than production costs. An assistant special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Houston reportedly identified the city as a “key point of entry” into the United States; in November 2013, agents there seized Chinese honey worth $4.2 million that was falsely labeled as Malaysian and Indian. Chinese honey was also the subject of a 2002 U.S. Food and Drug Administration warning after concerns that it was adulterated with the antibiotic chloramphenicol, which is…
The World Trade Organization’s (WTO’s) Appellate Body has affirmed its August 2013 decision condemning Argentina’s broad trade-related restrictions affecting a variety of goods and food products. In one case that the WTO considered, Argentine government officials approved an agreement with a firm that imported Porsche vehicles that would require the company to offset the imports by exporting the same value of wine and olive products each year; in another, Pirelli was required to export $100 million worth of honey to import its tires. The Argentine Secretary of Domestic Trade also apparently limited the 2012 importation of finished ham products, especially those from Spain and Italy, to 80 percent of the amount imported the previous year. Affected goods also included clothing, medicine, technology products, and Bibles. “The United States welcomes the WTO’s findings in this dispute,” U.S. Trade Representative Michael Frohman said in a statement. “Argentina’s protectionist measures impact a broad…
The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a technical report from a joint Food and Agriculture Organization/WHO Expert Committee tasked with evaluating the safety of certain veterinary drugs and recommending maximum residue limits (MRLs) in food. Among other things, the report addresses toxicological and residue data on various anthelminthic, antiparasitic, antifungal, and antibacterial agents and attendant MRLs in minor species, honey and fish. Issue 543
According to the Wall Street Journal, the World Trade Organization (WTO) has decided for Canada and Mexico and against the United States in a battle over country-of-origin labeling (COOL) of meat products. The decision has reportedly been disclosed to the three governments and is expected to be made public in late September or early October, after which the United States has 60 days to appeal. Canada and Mexico argued that the COOL rules harmed them by restricting their competitiveness. In recent months, members of the food industry and of Congress have argued against the COOL requirements. Additional information appears in Issues 529 and 533 of this Update.
