The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a request for comments, scientific data and information to use in risk assessment of human salmonellosis associated with the consumption of tree nuts, including almonds, cashews, pistachios, pine nuts, Brazil nuts, macadamia nuts, and walnuts. The risk assessment seeks to quantify the public health risk associated with eating tree nuts potentially contaminated with Salmonella and evaluate the impact of interventions to prevent contamination with the bacterium or to reduce contamination levels. FDA said an assessment is necessary in light of “outbreaks of human salmonellosis linked to tree nuts during the past decade, by product recalls, and by Salmonella isolation from tree nuts during surveys.” Comments will be accepted until October 16, 2013. See Federal Register, July 18, 2013.
Category Archives Legislation, Regulations and Standards
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has published new guidance on Salmonella-contaminated food for animals. Titled “Compliance Policy Guide Sec. 690.800 Salmonella in Food for Animals” (CPG), the guidance finalizes the draft CPG that was announced in August 2010 and includes the following changes: (i) the title has changed from “Salmonella in Animal Feed” to “Salmonella in Food for Animals” to clarify that it covers all animal food, including pet food and animal feed, and (ii) the term “direct human contact animal feed” has been replaced with the term “pet food” and includes treats and chews. FDA has also announced (i) the removal of 21 CFR 500.35 “Animal feeds contaminated with Salmonella microorganisms,” and (ii) the withdrawal of “Compliance Policy Guide Sec. 690.700 Salmonella Contamination of Dry Dog Food.” See Federal Register, July 16, 2013.
A federal court has awarded $90.8 million to the attorneys who represented African-American farmers in litigation against the U.S. Department of Agriculture alleging discrimination in the loan application process. In re Black Farmers Discrimination Litig., No. 08-0511 (D.D.C., decided July 11, 2013). Additional details about class counsels’ request appear in Issue 405 of this Update. Explaining the challenges counsel faced, their extensive efforts to secure an award for the class of farmers in excess of $1 billion, the millions they incurred in unreimbursed expenses, as well as the hours devoted to assisting the Claims Administrator during the claims process, the court found an award representing 7.4 percent of the claims fund reasonable. According to the court, “Class counsel have undertaken the immense challenge presented by this action with the utmost professionalism and integrity, exhibiting skill, diligence, and efficiency in all aspects of their duties.”
A coalition of animal rights organizations has sued U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack under the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA), claiming that the agency failed to conduct a required environmental review before granting the application of a “horse slaughter plant operator in New Mexico, bringing the nation closer to its first horse slaughter operation since federal courts and state lawmakers shuttered the last three U.S.-based plants in 2007.” Front Range Equine Rescue v. Vilsack, No. 13-3034 (N.D. Cal., San Francisco Div., filed July 2, 2013). The parties agreed to voluntarily transfer the suit to the District of New Mexico as a more appropriate venue, and the court entered an order granting the transfer on July 10, 2013. Because the defendants advised the plaintiffs that no federal inspections at horse slaughter facilities will take place before July 29, the court vacated its expedited scheduling order. In their complaint,…
Trade organizations representing the interests of cattle and pork producers and meat processors in Canada and the United States have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), challenging country-of-origin (COOL) labeling regulations that took effect May 23, 2013. Am. Meat Inst. v. USDA, No. 13-1033 (D.D.C., filed July 8, 2013). They seek declaratory and injunctive relief, an order vacating the final rule, attorney’s fees, and costs. Explaining that meat producers and processors in the United States, Canada and Mexico have for years freely “commingled” livestock born, raised and processed across their borders, the plaintiffs allege that new requirements forcing them to “list separately, in sequence, the specific country where the animal was ‘born,’ the country where it was ‘raised,’ and the country where it was ‘slaughtered,’” will impose significant costs and entail extensive detail and paperwork for no health or safety reasons. They allege that the COOL regulations…
Maine Governor Paul LePage (R) has reportedly vetoed legislation (LD 1181) that would have required food companies with more than $1 billion in annual sales to disclose their use of priority chemicals such as bisphenol A (BPA) to the state. According to his July 8, 2013, veto letter, LePage rejected the measure for lack of funding, writing that lawmakers failed to allocate adequate resources for the program’s administration. He also noted that the bill would have established the actions of other states as “credible scientific evidence,” “regardless of whether other states use scientific analyses to reach their conclusions,” while asking Maine agencies “once again to re-visit which chemicals are considered of ‘high concern.’” “In addition, the federal government, through potential amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act, may be exploring reasonable and consistent measures to address these concerns,” concluded LePage, who previously supported legislation designed to strengthen Maine’s Priority Chemicals…
California EPA’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has slated a public pre-regulatory workshop for July 30, 2013, to gather input from stakeholders “on the content of a regulation that would address Proposition 65 (Prop. 65) warnings.” According to OEHHA, the regulation, “if formally proposed and adopted, would either supplement or replace existing OEHHA regulations governing Proposition 65 warnings and conform to any statutory changes if enacted.” Gov. Jerry Brown (D) has indicated his intent to amend the law in 2013. Among the proposed changes OEHHA is considering are (i) requiring, at a minimum, information in all warnings, the health effect for which the chemical was listed, how a person will be exposed and “simple information (such as washing hands) on how to avoid or reduce an exposure”; (ii) “Approved warning methods and content for use by manufacturers and retailers regarding exposures to listed chemicals in foods, including foods…
At the behest of the U.K. Food Standards Agency (FSA), an independent reviewer has issued a final report on the agency’s response “to the adulteration of processed beef products with horse and pork meat and DNA.” Authored by Pat Troop, former chief executive of the Health Protection Agency, the report evaluates FSA’s “relevant capacity and capabilities,” including (i) “the response of the FSA to any recent prior intelligence on the threat of substitution of horsemeat for beef in comminuted beef products available in the U.K.,” (ii) the “strategic, tactical and operational response” to initial test results, (iii) “communication from the FSA to the public, parliament, and other stakeholders,” (iv) FSA’s engagement with the food industry and other regulatory agencies, and (v) “the enforcement response of the FSA, in terms of the powers available and arrangements for conducting investigations into potential breaches of food law or other law, including liaison and…
Following a request from the European Commission concerning the declining health of bees in Europe, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published new guidance for assessing the potential risks to bees from the use of pesticides. Noting that a previous risk assessment for honeybees did not fully account for risks from chronic or repeat exposure to pesticides, or the potential risks to larvae, EFSA said that the new guidance fills these gaps, adds schemes for bumble bees and solitary bees and proposes a new method for assessing whether the potential harm posed to bees from the use of a plant protection product is acceptable. “This method—which gives a more precise assessment of acceptable loss of foragers than the existing approach—should afford greater protection to honey bee colonies situated on the edge of fields treated with pesticides,” said EFSA. According to EFSA pesticide experts, the attributes to protect honey bees are…
The Codex Alimentarius has announced new food safety and nutrition standards that strive to “protect the health of consumers worldwide.” The regulations include guidance on preventing and reducing ochratoxin A—a reportedly carcinogenic contaminant—in cocoa, avoiding microbiological contamination of berries, preventing hydrocyanic acid in cassava, and when to label food with ”non-addition of sodium salts.” The commission also seeks to protect consumers against fraud and ensure fair food trade practices for products such as avocados, chanterelles, pomegranates, olives, and fish products. “The standards help buyers and sellers establish contracts based on Codex specifications and make sure that the consumers get from the products what they expect,” explained a news release. The recommendations also include nutrient references for sodium and saturated fat, as well as maximum pesticide residue limits for certain food additives. Meanwhile, Codex celebrated its 50th anniversary at its annual meeting, held in Rome, July 2, 2013. The session was attended by 620…
