The Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) has reportedly nixed a brewery’s plan to use an unmanned aerial system (UAS) to deliver six-packs of its winter lager to ice-fishing shacks in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. According to media sources, Lakemaid Beer posted an online video advertising its drone delivery service, prompting FAA to notify the company that the scheme allegedly violates as many as five different regulations, “ranging from the operator’s rating to the use of airspace.” The agency apparently intends to issue regulations concerning the commercial use of drones in 2015, as larger companies like Amazon investigate the feasibility of UAS local delivery services. Although Lakemaid has started a petition on WhiteHouse.gov asking FAA to issue an airworthiness certificate for its beer drones, the agency has since reiterated its decision to ground the program. “The FAA’s prime directive is safety,” an FAA spokesperson told The Hill. “While we are evaluating many potential…
Category Archives Legislation, Regulations and Standards
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a request for comments, scientific data and other information to help the agency develop its process for designating high-risk foods. Required under the Food Safety Modernization Act to designate high-risk foods for which additional recordkeeping requirements are appropriate and necessary in order to “rapidly and effectively track and trace such foods during a foodborne illness outbreak or other event,” FDA specifically seeks information on (i) alternative approaches for identifying high risk foods; (ii) whether the criteria should be weighted equally; (iii) changes in the scoring system; and (iv) how foods should be categorized. Comments will be accepted until April 7, 2014. See Federal Register, February 4, 2014. Issue 512
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has proposed a rule that would require certain shippers, receivers and carriers that transport food by motor or rail vehicles to take steps to prevent the contamination of human and animal food during transportation. Noting that the proposed rule will “help reduce the likelihood of conditions during transportation that can lead to human or animal illness or injury,” FDA Deputy Commissioner for Foods and Veterinary Medicine Michael Taylor said, “We are now one step closer to fully implementing the comprehensive regulatory framework for prevention that will strengthen the FDA’s inspection and compliance tools, modernize oversight of the nation’s food safety system, and prevent foodborne illnesses before they happen.” The proposed regulation aims to establish criteria for sanitary transportation practices, such as properly refrigerating food, adequately cleaning vehicles between loads and properly protecting food during transportation. The agency will accept comments until May 31,…
A recently released Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) report suggests that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has allowed 30 potentially harmful antibiotic additives to remain approved for use in food animals (cows, pigs and chickens), even though the agency’s own scientists found that “none of these products would likely be approvable as new additives for nontherapeutic livestock use if submitted today, under current FDA guidelines.” Titled “Playing With Chicken,” and based on a review of previously undisclosed FDA documents, the report notes that (i) 18 of the 30 antibiotic feed additives reviewed were assessed as posing a “high risk” to human health; (ii) drug manufacturers did not submit sufficient information on 12 of the additives to establish safety; (iii) despite the fact that 29 of the additives are not proven to be safe, no action has been taken to withdraw approval; and (iv) 26 of the additives have never…
New Hampshire lawmakers reportedly voted 185-162 against legislation (H.B. 660) that would have required food distributors to label foods that contain genetically modified (GM) ingredients. According to news sources, the vote not only puts a damper on the labeling fight in New Hampshire, but also sets back similar campaigns in Maine and Connecticut. Both states passed legislation requiring GM food labeling in 2013, but their laws cannot be enacted until at least four other Northeastern states enact similar statutes. Details about Maine’s GM bill appear in Issue 504 of this Update. See ConcordMonitor. com, January 23, 2014. Issue 511
The Hawaii Senate has introduced legislation (S.B. 2693) that would prohibit the sale of regular soft drinks and sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) in containers larger than 16 ounces. Noting that obesity is an increasingly “common and costly problem for the state,” and claiming that limiting the intake of sugar-sweetened beverages would “encourage healthier diets in the community, while offsetting economic costs associated with health care and obesity,” the bill specifically seeks to ban food establishments from (i) selling, offering for sale or providing SSBs in unsealed containers larger than 16 ounces and (ii) selling children’s meals that include such beverages. Issue 511
California EPA’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has announced that, effective January 31, 2014, trichloroethylene will be listed as known to the state to cause reproductive toxicity for purposes of Proposition 65 (Prop. 65). According to OEHHA, the listing is “based on formal identification by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), an authoritative body, that the chemical causes reproductive toxicity (developmental and male reproductive endpoints).” The chemical is used as a solvent for a variety of organic materials and was used historically in coffee decaffeination and the preparation of extracts from hops and spices. See OEHHA News Release, January 31, 2014. Issue 511
California EPA’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has proposed adding a regulation to Title 27 of the California Code of Regulations to “clarify the procedure and criteria OEHHA uses to list and de-list chemicals via the ‘Labor Code’ listing mechanism of Proposition 65.” A public hearing on the proposal has been slated for March 21, 2014, and comments are requested by April 4. OEHHA maintains the list of chemicals known to the state to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity under the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (Proposition 65). Chemicals may be added to the list through one of four ways, including those that have been identified by reference to certain subsections of the California Labor Code. While OEHHA has established regulations setting forth general criteria for listing chemicals via the other listing mechanisms, it has not previously done so for the Labor Code mechanism.…
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has launched a public consultation on its draft assessment of the human health risks posed by bisphenol A (BPA). According to a January 17, 2014, press release, the agency has recommended temporarily lowering the current tolerable daily intake (TDI) for BPA from its current level of 50 µg/kg bw/day to 5 µg/kg bw/day over concerns that exposure to the substance is likely to adversely affect the liver and kidney, in addition to affecting the mammary gland. EFSA’s Panel on Food Contact Materials, Enzymes, Flavorings and Processing Aids (CEF Panel) apparently arrived at the new TDI after reviewing more than 450 studies related to the potential health hazards associated with BPA. The draft scientific opinion also considers “the possible effects of BPA on the reproductive, nervous, immune, metabolic and cardiovascular systems, as well as the development of cancer,” concluding that these effects—while not likely at…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service and the Food and Drug Administration have announced a February 11, 2014, public meeting in Washington, D.C., to provide information and receive comments on agenda items and draft U.S. positions for discussion during the 46th Session of the Codex Committee on Food Additives of the Codex Alimentarius Commission in Hong Kong, China, on March 17-21, 2014. Agenda items include (i) endorsement and/or revision of maximum levels for food additives and processing aids in Codex standards; (ii) food additive provisions for grape wine and its sub-categories; (iii) descriptors and food additive provisions for milk and buttermilk and their sub-categories, and dairy-based drinks, flavored and/or fermented (e.g., chocolate milk, cocoa, eggnog, drinking yoghurt, whey-based drinks); (iv) proposals for provisions of nisin in meat and meat products, including poultry and game; and (v) proposed draft amendments to the International Numbering System for food…
