The U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced a public meeting of the Food Advisory Committee on September 23-24, 2013, in Silver Spring, Maryland. The committee plans to discuss detection signals for chemical hazards in foods, dietary supplements and cosmetics, and review information sources and chemical hazard data. FDA will accept comments until September 16, 2013. See Federal Register, July 23, 2013.
Category Archives Legislation, Regulations and Standards
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has proposed two rules under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) for verifying foreign suppliers and accrediting third-party auditors. Part of the agency’s effort “to ensure that imported food meets the same safety standards as food produced in the United States,” the proposed rules would (i) require importers to verify “that their foreign suppliers are implementing modern, prevention-oriented food safety practices,” and (ii) “strengthen the quality, objectivity, and transparency of foreign food safety audits on which many food companies and importers currently rely to help manage the safety of their global food supply chains.” In particular, the rules establishing foreign supplier verification programs would hold U.S. importers responsible for ensuring that human and animal food produced abroad meets the safety standards set forth in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and is neither adulterated nor misbranded “with respect to food allergen labeling.” In addition, FDA has proposed creating…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a final rule defining the term “gluten-free” for voluntary food labeling. Among other things, the rule defines “gluten-free” to mean that a food does not contain (i) an ingredient that is a gluten-containing grain (e.g., spelt wheat); (ii) an ingredient derived from a gluten-containing grain that has not been processed to remove gluten (e.g., wheat flour); or (iii) an ingredient derived from a gluten-containing grain that has been processed to remove gluten (e.g., wheat starch). In addition, a food must contain less than 20 parts per million of gluten to use the term “gluten-free” on its label. According to FDA, a food that bears the claim “no gluten,” “free of gluten” or “without gluten” on its label and fails to meet the requirements for a “gluten-free” claim will be deemed misbranded. The rule will take effect 30 days after its publication in…
The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation conducted a July 31, 2013, hearing to consider issues relating to the purported marketing of energy drinks to children and the alleged adverse health effects attributed to the use of products with elevated levels of caffeine and other stimulants. Among those testifying were Red Bull North America, Inc. Vice President and General Manager Amy Taylor, Monster Beverage Corp. Chair and CEO Rodney Sacks and Yale University Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity Senior Research Scientist Jennifer Harris. Sens. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) challenged the companies’ marketing practices and referred to data showing a surge in emergency room visits from consumption of the products. The executives defended their products, saying they had been proven safe and were targeted to the 18- to 34-year-old market. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) thanked the chair for calling the hearing,…
According to a recently published law review note, health care reimbursement suits modeled on Canada’s Cost Recovery Act and provincial litigation against cigarette manufacturers could be successfully maintained against the food industry for the treatment of obesity-related illnesses. Timothy Poodiack, “The Cost Recovery Act and Tobacco Litigation in Canada: A Model for Fast Food Litigation,” Brooklyn Journal of International Law (2013). The note includes background on the country’s universal health care system, a comparison of issues faced by plaintiffs in U.S. suits against “fast food” companies to issues arising in tobacco litigation, “including assumption of the risk and causation arguments,” and an examination of how the Cost Recovery Act can rebut those arguments, “making the Act an attractive model for potential future food litigants in Canada.”
A federal court in California has dismissed without prejudice a putative class action alleging that Wholesoy & Co. misleads consumers by (i) listing “organic evaporated cane juice” instead of “sugar” or “dried cane syrup” as an ingredient on its soy yogurt products in violation of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) labeling rules, and (ii) marketing its soy product as yogurt because it fails to comply with FDA’s standard of identity for “yogurt.” Hood v. Wholesoy & Co., No. 12-5550 (N.D. Cal., decided July 12, 2013). The court agreed with the company that the complaint must be dismissed under the primary jurisdiction doctrine because its resolution would require the court to decide an issue committed to the agency’s expertise “without a clear indication of how FDA would view the issue.” Specifically, the court found that the evaporated cane juice guidance document on which the plaintiff relied is expressly “not a ‘legally…
The U.K. Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld two complaints alleging that a recent advertisement for Heineken beer “condoned or encouraged the consumption of alcohol in a football stadium within sight of the pitch, which was an illegal activity,” and “condoned or encouraged people to take glass bottles into a football stadium, which was not permitted.” The TV commercial in question apparently featured a man traveling to the UEFA Champions League final game, where he and a woman were shown taking a seat in view of the field and “clinking the two bottles of Heineken together in a celebratory fashion.” Although Heineken UK Ltd. described the ad as a “light-hearted” and “tongue-in-cheek” fantasy, ASA ultimately agreed with complainants that the final scene implied that the main characters “were going to consume beer during the football match.” “We considered that the ad could give the impression to viewers that such behavior,…
The U.K. Home Office has issued its response to a public consultation on its alcohol strategy, laying out a number of new measures but stopping short of instituting a scheme that would have priced alcoholic beverages per unit of alcohol. Under the new strategy, the government has vowed, among other things, to (i) take action “on irresponsible promotions in pubs and clubs,” (ii) facilitate “targeted action by pubs and clubs themselves to curb irresponsible drinking,” (iii) put an end to deep discounts on alcohol that made it possible for consumers to purchase beverages for less than the cost to retailers, and (iv) free “responsible business and community groups from unnecessary red tape, while maintaining the integrity of the licensing system.” At the same time, however, the Home Office ultimately declined to implement minimum unit pricing (MUP) because it found little evidence that the plan would “reduce problem drinking without penalizing…
Environment Canada has issued a notice directing manufacturers and importers to provide information about their use of phthalates in food and beverage contact materials, among other consumer products. According to the July 13, 2013, announcement in the Canada Gazette, the government has identified more than 30 phthalate substances for priority assessment under its Chemicals Management Plan. To this end, Environment Canada has asked industry for details about the manufacture, importation and use of these substances “for the purposes of assessing whether [they] are toxic or capable of becoming toxic, or for the purpose of assessing whether to control [them].” The notice applies to those stakeholders who (i) imported or manufactured more than 100 kilograms of any of the listed substances at a concentration equal to or above 0.001 percent by weight; (ii) used more than 1,000 kilograms of a substance at that concentration; or (iii) imported phthalate-containing products intended for…
Responding to a request from the European Commission, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has announced plans to complete a draft scientific opinion on acrylamide by mid-2014 using “hundreds of scientific studies” as well as new data from food business operators, consumer organizations and other stakeholders. According to a July 15, 2013, news release, EFSA’s Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM Panel) will use information and research solicited in April 2013 to assess “the toxicity of acrylamide for humans and update its estimate of consumer exposure through the diet.” After a public consultation, the CONTAM Panel aims to finalize its assessment during the first half of 2015. “In 2005, EFSA stated that acrylamide may be a human health concern and that efforts should be made to reduce exposure to this substance through the diet,” said the agency. “EFSA’s comprehensive assessment of this scientific issue will allow EU decision-makers to…
