The National Association of Margarine Manufacturers (NAMM) and American Bakers Association (ABA) have submitted comments to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) rulemaking docket about the agency’s tentative determination to remove partially hydrogenated oils from the generally recognized as safe (GRAS) list. NAMM contends that “the great majority of margarine products no longer contain partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs), the source of trans fat, and that margarine is not a significant contributor of trans fats to the American diet.” In fact, NAMM suggested that margarine, with two-thirds less saturated fat than butter, 25 percent fewer calories than butter, no cholesterol (compared to 30 mg in butter), and no trans fat, is a healthier alternative. The ABA, meanwhile, commented that “bakers face unique challenges in removing remaining low levels of trans fat containing PHOs from certain bakery products.” It also found FDA’s tentative determination flawed, including its burdens of proof and…
Category Archives Legislation, Regulations and Standards
U.S. Sens. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) have written a March 11, 2014, letter to the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), urging the agencies to reject the European Union’s (EU’s) request that product names such as feta, parmesan and muenster be reserved as “geographical indicators.” As part of ongoing Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations, the EU has reportedly claimed that common cheese names “can only be appropriately displayed on products made in certain areas of Europe.” To this end, it has apparently used free trade agreements (FTAs) with other countries to restrict U.S. exports “under the guise of protection for its geographical indicators.” But the U.S. dairy industry has vociferously criticized the proposal, noting that names like cheddar and provolone are familiar to consumers and widely accepted on the global market. Signed by more than 50 senators, the letter asks USTR…
A federal court in Washington, D.C., has reportedly refused to reconsider its denial of hundreds of claims by African-American farmers who alleged that they were owed a share of the $1.25-billion settlement fund established to compensate a class of farmers allegedly discriminated against by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) loan application process. In re Black Farmers Discrimination Litig., No. 08-0511 (D.D.C., order entered March 5, 2014). Information about the lawsuit and a dispute over attorney’s fees appears in Issue 490 of this Update. According to a news source, the court determined that it lacked authority to alter the terms of the settlement agreement, which provided that claims determinations would be considered final and not subject to court review. “This may be cold comfort to claimants who feel that their claims were denied in error; but without the Settlement Agreement, the amount of relief attainable by members of the plaintiff…
California EPA’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has extended the comment period on its notice of intent to list beta-myrcene as known to the state to cause cancer under the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (Prop. 65). OEHHA took the action at the request of several trade organizations, including the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association, North America Juice Products Association, and Renewable Citrus Products Association. The new comment deadline is March 24, 2014. OEHHA has proposed adding beta-myrcene—a natural food-plant constituent used as a flavoring agent in food and beverages—to the Prop. 65 list under the authoritative bodies listing mechanism. According to the agency, the National Toxicology Program and several other institutions have concluded that the chemical causes kidney cancer in male rats and liver cancer in male mice. See OEHHA News Release, March 4, 2014. In other OEHHA action, the Developmental and Reproductive…
Saudi Arabia authorities have reportedly prohibited the sale of energy drinks at all government, education, sports, and health facilities and outlawed all forms of advertising, including the sponsorship of any sporting, social or cultural events by energy drink companies. Expected to significantly affect what industry experts cite as one of the world’s top 10 markets for energy drinks, the action follows a recent Interior Ministry study highlighting the purported “adverse effects of energy drinks.” The ban on advertisements and promotions includes all print, audio and visual media, and the new regulations will require companies to put health warning labels on energy drink products. See Alarabiya.net, March 5, 2014.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has updated its analysis of the occurrence of arsenic in food in Europe, setting lower estimates of dietary exposure to inorganic arsenic than the agency reported in 2009. The analysis includes nearly 3,000 data samples of inorganic arsenic, evidently more toxic than organic compounds, and EFSA reports that the estimates’ accuracy has improved due to new consumption and occurrence data and a more detailed classification of foods. Arsenic, which has been linked to health problems such as skin lesions, cardiovascular disease and some forms of cancer, is a widely found contaminant that occurs both naturally and as a result of human activity. It appears in various forms, which can be either organic—containing carbon—or inorganic. Food, particularly grain-based processed products, such as wheat bread, rice, milk, dairy products, and drinking water are the main sources of exposure for the general European population. Although the European…
The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a public consultation on its draft guidance for sugar intake that aims to help countries limit sugar consumption and address public health issues such as obesity and tooth decay. The action follows increasing concern that consumption of free sugars, particularly in the form of sugar-sweetened beverages, “may result in both reduced intake of foods containing more nutritionally adequate calories and an increase in total caloric intake, leading to an unhealthy diet, weight gain and increased risk of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs).” The organization also cites concern about the role free sugars play in the development of dental disease, noting that they are the most prevalent NCDs globally despite the treatment and prevention improvements of the last decade. WHO estimates that the cost to treat dental disease—5 to 10 percent of the health budgets in many industrialized countries—would exceed the financial resources available for all…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has reopened the comment period on its draft industry guidance titled “Ingredients Declared as Evaporated Cane Juice” on food labels. First published for comments in October 2009, the draft guidance advises industry of “FDA’s view that the common or usual name for the solid or dried form of sugar cane syrup is ‘dried cane syrup,’ and that sweeteners derived from sugar cane syrup should not be declared on food labels as ‘evaporated cane juice’ because that term falsely suggests the sweeteners are juice,” and they are not “juice” as defined in federal regulations, 21 C.F.R. 120.1(a). FDA seeks “additional data and information to better understand the basic nature and characterizing properties of the ingredient, the methods of producing it, and the differences between this ingredient and other sweeteners.” Among the specific questions the agency has raised are (i) “How is ‘evaporated cane juice’…
In response to requests from trade associations representing meat industry interests, California EPA’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has extended the comment period on its proposal to list nitrite in combination with amines or amides as known to the state to cause cancer under the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (Prop. 65). If these substances are added to the Prop. 65 list, companies making products containing them will be required to provide warnings to California consumers. Comments are now requested by May 8, 2014. See OEHHA News Release, February 28, 2014. Meanwhile, OEHHA has also issued the agenda for the March 27, 2014, meeting of the Biomonitoring California Scientific Guidance Panel, which will convene in Oakland; the meeting will be accessible via Webinar. Program and laboratory updates are on the agenda, and the panel will also discuss chromium as a potential designated chemical and…
California Senator Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa) has introduced legislation (S.B. 1381) that would require labeling for genetically engineered (GE) foods but also place limits on potential litigation arising from the failure to label such products. Under the California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act, “any raw agricultural commodity or packaged food that is entirely or partially produced with genetic engineering” would need to bear labels stating that the product in question was “Produced with Genetic Engineering” or “Partially Produced with Genetic Engineering.” The bill would allow the state attorney general or an injured resident “to bring an action for injunctive relief against a violation of these provisions, as specified.” Unlike previous efforts, however, the current proposal would “authorize a court to award a prevailing plaintiff reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs, and would prohibit a court from awarding monetary damages in an action brought under the bill’s provisions.” It would…
