The European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA’s) Panel on Additives and Products or Substances used in Animal Feed (FEEDAP) has issued an opinion on formaldehyde, currently used as a feed additive and a preservative for skimmed milk intended for pigs. Concluding that “although there is no health risk for consumers exposed to the substance through the food chain,” FEEDAP cautions that inhalation of formaldehyde may cause cancer and appropriate measures should be taken to “ensure that the respiratory tract, skin and eyes of any person handling the product are not exposed to any dust, mist or vapour generated by the use of formaldehyde.” The panel also notes that formaldehyde will not accumulate in the environment and its use in animal nutrition is not expected to pose a risk for the environment. Issue 514
Category Archives Legislation, Regulations and Standards
The U.K. Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld two complaints alleging that Heineken UK Ltd.’s print and TV advertisements gave the impression that its Kronenbourg 1664 beer was brewed in France and made primarily from French hops, despite text disclaimers stating that the product was “Brewed in the UK.” According to the February 12, 2014, ruling, the ads in question touted Kronenbourg 1664 as a “French beer… brewed with the aromatic Strisselspalt hop” sourced from Alsace, France. Although Heineken noted in its response that “Kronenbourg 1664 was an inherently French beer… first brewed in 1952 in Alsace by Brasseries Kronenbourg,” ASA ultimately agreed with complainants that the print ad’s “degree of emphasis… on the connection with France would lead consumers to believe that the entire brewing and manufacturing process took place in that country,” while the TV ad’s focus on the Strisselspalt hop “implied that all, or a significant majority…
Testifying before the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee on February 5, 2014, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Deputy Commissioner for Foods and Veterinary Medicine Michael Taylor said that, while the agency has enough resources to issue the final rules for the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), it lacks the resources to implement them. “We will continue efforts to make the best use of the resources we have, but simply put, we cannot achieve FDA’s vision of a modern food safety system and a safer food supply without a significant increase in resources,” Taylor said in his testimony. When FSMA was approved in 2010, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that FDA would need an increase of more than $580 million to fund the expanded food safety activities. Noting that FDA “cannot do all that is asked without additional resources,” Taylor cited in particular new FSMA mandates regarding imported…
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Agriculture have announced a March 4, 2014, public meeting of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC). Accessible by webcast only, meeting agenda items include topic-specific presentations from guest experts; a review of committee work since the last public meeting; and future committee plans. Registration is required for web viewing. See Federal Register, February 11, 2014. Issue 513
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) has issued a revised interim policy on gluten content statements permitted in wine, distilled spirits and malt beverage labeling and advertising. TTB took the action after reviewing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) final rule on the use of “gluten-free” on labels for products within that agency’s jurisdiction with the goal of making its approach “as consistent as possible with the regulations that FDA issued.” Thus, TTB Ruling 2014-2 supersedes TTB Ruling 2012-2; it remains an interim ruling, however, until “FDA issues a final rule or other guidance with respect to fermented and hydrolyzed products.” Under TTB’s revised interim policy, “the term ‘gluten-free’ may be used on labels and in advertisements if the product would be entitled to make a gluten-free label claim under the standards set forth in the new FDA regulations at 21…
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued an interim final rule to establish procedures for handling retaliation complaints brought by whistleblowers who gained new protections under section 402 of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). Effective on February 13, 2014, the interim rule establishes procedures and time frames applicable to retaliation complaints, including rocedures and time frames for employee complaints to OSHA, OSHA investigations, appeals from OSHA determinations, administrative aw judge (ALJ) hearings, Administrative Review Board review of ALJ decisions, and judicial review of the labor secretary’s final decision. omments on the interim final rule are requested by April 14, 2014. FSMA protects employees from retaliation “by an entity engaged in the manufacture, processing, packing, transporting, distribution, reception, holding, or importation of food,” if the employees either provided or are about to provide their employer, the federal government or a state attorney general with information about Food,…
Following complaints that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) had improperly attempted to enforce workplace safety rules on farms with 10 or fewer employees, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has assured members of the House Education & the Workforce Committee that OSHA will withdraw a June 2011 memorandum to regional administrators and state plan designees about limitations on their authority to “conduct enforcement activities at small farming operations during OSHA’s grain safety campaign.” DOL plans to issue new guidance in consultation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and organizations representing farmers. Committee members contended that OSHA’s memorandum redefined “farming operations” to allow OSHA inspectors onto family farms. Their January 2014 letter stated that under OSHA’s “new and unprecedented logic, it appears anything outside of the actual growing of crops and raising livestock could be deemed ‘non-farming operations’ that would subject family farms to OSHA inspections. The guidance is…
California EPA’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has entered a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the state’s Department of Food and Agriculture relating to “cooperation and communication in the implementation of Proposition 65 with respect to exposure to Proposition 65 listed chemicals in food or food additives.” According to OEHHA, the agreement “describes the types of information that will be shared between the two agencies prior to public release and a mechanism by which the sharing can be accomplished.” Proposition 65 (Prop. 65) was adopted by voter initiative in 1986; it requires businesses to provide warnings when they cause an exposure to a chemical listed as known to the state to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity. The MOU applies to those chemicals listed under Prop. 65 “that are or may be found in California’s soil, food products, agricultural residues and fertilizers.” See OEHHA Press Release, February 5, 2014.…
California EPA’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) will conduct a symposium on children’s health February 25-26, 2014, in Sacramento. According to OEHHA, the agency will conduct the symposium “to hear some of the latest science regarding impacts of chemical exposures during development. This is a broad topic and thus we are focusing in three areas: 1) epigenetic changes from environmental exposures; 2) impacts of toxicants on the developing lung and brain: 3) new in vitro methods for assessing potential for developmental toxicity.” OEHHA hopes that regulatory scientists in the state will begin thinking about (i) “How to incorporate complex interactions into risk assessment, particularly for early life exposures”; (ii) “How to incorporate information from new toxicity testing paradigms into risk assessments now; and” (iii) “How to incorporate impacts of non-chemical stressors that increase vulnerability, and whether current methods of risk assessment adequately account for at least some of…
According to news sources, the Navajo Nation Council has approved legislation that would impose a 2-percent increase in sales taxes on so-called junk food, which, if approved by Navajo Nation President Ben Shelly, would make it the first Native American-governed territory to do so. The council also passed legislation eliminating a 5 percent sales tax on fresh produce and other healthy foods such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds. Known as the Healthy Diné Nation Act and aimed at curbing obesity and its related diseases, the legislation would increase the sales tax from 5 to 7 percent on sugar-sweetened beverages and snacks low in essential nutrients and high in salt, fat and sugar, including chips, candy, cookies, and pastries. According to some estimates, between 55 and 85 percent of the food available in grocery or convenience stores on the Navajo reservation is deemed junk food. The additional tax revenue would…
