The New York City (NYC) Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has reportedly launched an ad campaign targeting beverages with added sugars, such as sports drinks, teas and energy drinks. Part of a four-year “Pouring on the Pounds” campaign that has compared sweetened soft drinks to sugar packets and fat globs, the new TV ads apparently feature the physical effects of diabetes, an overweight man drinking a neon-blue beverage and a surgeon manipulating a diseased heart with tweezers. The effort comes on the eve of the city’s appearance before a state appeals court to defend its vacated limits on the size of sugar-sweetened beverages sold in certain retail venues. Oral argument is scheduled for June 11, 2013. Additional information about the lower court’s ruling appears in Issue 475 of this Update. See Bloomberg News, June 3, 2013.
Category Archives Legislation, Regulations and Standards
Connecticut lawmakers have passed a bipartisan bill (H.B. 6527) that will require labeling on foods that contain genetically modified (GM) ingredients, making it the first state in the nation to enact such legislation. Designated as “An Act Concerning Genetically-Engineered Food,” the bill was unanimously passed in the Senate and by a 134-3 vote in the House. Governor Dan Malloy (D) has reportedly indicated that the final step in its passage, his signature, will “not be an issue.” “This is important stuff. . . and I think the rest of the world is starting to understand that.” The bill’s passage came after House and Senate conferees reached a compromise following debate over a different version of the proposal. At issue was whether to allow the law to take effect automatically or to attach a “trigger” that would require neighboring states to pass similar legislation before Connecticut’s law would be implemented and enforced. The final…
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) has submitted a petition to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) asking that the agency require all slaughter establishments to create and implement written animal-handling plans to decrease the “needless suffering of animals during slaughter.” Citing more than 1,000 humane slaughter violations that allegedly occurred at state and federally inspected slaughter plants from 2007 through 2012, AWI calls on FSIS to write regulations that require (i) “all workers who have contact with animals be trained in humane handling,” (ii) “stunning equipment be routinely tested and maintained,” and (iii) “backup stunning devices be available in both the stunning and holding areas of every slaughter plant.” According to AWI, the agriculture department recommended eight years ago that all slaughter plants take a “systematic approach to humane slaughter by developing a comprehensive, written animal handling plan,” yet just 35 percent of federally inspected…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has issued a proposal that would require beef products undergoing a mechanical tenderization process be labeled as such and include new cooking instructions to ensure proper handling. According to an agency spokesperson, “Ensuring that consumers have effective tools and information is important in helping them protect their families against foodborne illness.” Some cuts of beef are apparently pierced by needles or sharp blades to break up muscle fibers and increase tenderness. With the possible introduction of pathogens into the interior of such products, FSIS notes that they “may pose a greater threat to public health than intact beef products, if they are not cooked properly.” Public comments will be requested within 60 days of publication in the Federal Register. See FSIS News Release, June 6, 2013.
U.S. Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) has re-introduced legislation (H.R. 2248) that would prohibit the use of bisphenol A (BPA) in all food and beverage containers. Titled the “Ban Poisonous Additives Act 2013,” the bill would “ban reusable food and beverage containers (e.g., thermoses) and other food containers (e.g., canned food and formula) that contain BPA from being sold or introduced into commerce.” “It’s time to take the worry out of feeding America’s kids by taking the BPA out of infant formula, canned goods, and other food and beverage containers,” said Markey, who has been working to remove BPA from food and beverage containers since 2008. “Parents, consumers, and doctors are all asking to get BPA out of our bodies. It’s time to ban this chemical and move to safer alternatives.” The proposed legislation would also (i) permit the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to issue one-year waivers if a…
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has published the antitrust complaint filed with a proposed final judgment and competitive impact statement, resolving its concerns that the acquisition of Grupo Modelo S.A.B. de C.V. by Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV would violate section 7 of the Clayton Act. According to DOJ, the final judgment requires the companies “to divest Modelo’s entire U.S. business to Constellation Brands, Inc.,” or to an alternative purchaser if that transaction fails, to avoid a threat to the competitive U.S. beer market. Court approval of the agreement is required, and public comment is requested within 60 days of publication. See Federal Register, May 22, 2013.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court ruling affirming the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) decision that genetically modified (GM) alfalfa is not a “plant pest” and thus that it lacked authority to stop its deregulation or to consult with the Fish and Wildlife Service regarding potential environmental impacts. Ctr. for Food Safety v. Vilsack, No. 12-15052 (9th Cir., decided May 17, 2013). The Center for Food Safety, an organization dedicated to environmental advocacy, has announced its determination to appeal the ruling and to pursue other legal options to stop the planting and cultivation of GM alfalfa. The gist of the Ninth Circuit’s ruling is that while the plaintiffs’ environmental and economic concerns may be valid, they have no bearing, under the current statutory scheme, on APHIS’s authority vis-à-vis GM crops. The court’s opinion methodically explains how GM alfalfa is created…
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published new guidance on ways of assessing the potential risks of producing genetically modified (GM) animals, including fish, insects, mammals, and birds. Although EFSA reports that it has not yet received any applications for GM animals, the European Commission evidently requested that the agency develop environmental risk assessment (ERA) guidance because scientific developments indicate that “future submissions may be made for a number of species.” According to EFSA, the guidance will provide a “clear framework” for evaluating potential adverse effects of living GM animals on the environment and on human and animal health. “The core of the guidance is that ERAs for GM animals must be carried out in a scientifically sound and transparent manner,” said Elisabeth Waigmann, head of EFSA’s GMO Unit. “They must be based on sufficient scientific and technical data that enable conclusions to be drawn on possible environmental risks posed by…
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a notice about a collection of information titled “Experimental Study on Consumer Responses to Nutrition Facts Labels with Various Footnote Formats and Declaration of Amount of Added Sugars” that the agency has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget for review. FDA reported that it plans to use the information to promote public health and explore consumer responses to various food label formats for the footnote section of the Nutrition Facts label, including “those that exhibit information such as a description of percent Daily Value, a succinct statement about daily caloric intake, a general guideline for interpreting percent Daily Values, or a footnote about nutrients whose daily intake should be limited.” This study will also reportedly explore “how declaring the added sugars content of foods might affect consumers’ attention to and understanding of the sugars and calorie contents and other information…
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) have announced two public meetings of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) on June 13 and June 14, 2013, in Bethesda, Maryland. With an aim to create an updated version of its Dietary Guidelines for Americans report, required by HHS and USDA to be issued “at least every five years,” DGAC will reportedly evaluate new scientific evidence and resource documents to “develop a report to the Secretaries of HHS and USDA that outlines its science-based recommendations and rationale.” See Federal Register, May 30, 2013.
