The European Parliament has approved a major reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) that aims to return fisheries “to sustainable stock levels” by 2020. According to a February 6, 2013, press release, the reforms will prevent member states “from setting quotas that are too high to be sustainable” and compel fishermen “to respect the ‘maximum sustainable yield’ (MSY), i.e., catch no more than a given stock can reproduce in a given year.” The revised CFP will also address how the industry treats “discards,” that is, “fish thrown back, usually because they are of an unwanted species or size,” by requiring fishing vessels “to land all catches in accordance with a schedule of specific dates for different fisheries, starting from 2014,” and by restricting landed catches of undersized fish “to uses other than human consumption.” In addition, the European Parliament has agreed to take a long-term approach to fishery management…
Category Archives Legislation, Regulations and Standards
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a final rule that adopts, without change, the interim final rule (IFR) titled “Criteria Used to Order Administrative Detention of Food for Human or Animal Consumption” that was published in the Federal Register on May 5, 2011. Effective February 5, 2013, the final rule affirms IFR’s change to the criteria for ordering administrative detention of human or animal food as required by the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). Under the new criteria, “FDA can order an administrative detention if there is reason to believe that an article of food is adulterated or misbranded.” See Federal Register, February 5, 2013.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has proposed amending the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances to change annotations pertaining to the use of peracetic acid in organic crop production and the use of potassium hydroxide, silicon dioxide and betacarotene extract color in organic handling. Following the recommendation of the National Organic Standards Board, AMS has also proposed removing non-organic annatto extract color from the list of approved substances for organic handling. In particular, AMS has requested comments that (i) “identify any formulated hydrogen peroxide products labeled for agriculture use that contain more than 5% peracetic acid,” and (ii) “describe whether product reformulation will be necessary to comply with the proposed amendment for silicon dioxide at section 205.605(b) and the proposed removal of annatto extract color from section 206.606.” The agency has requested comments on the proposed amendments by March 7, 2013. See Federal Register, February 5,…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has proposed new rules that would regulate the nutritional content of snacks, soft drinks and meals sold in school cafeterias, vending machines and snack bars. According to a USDA news release, the “Smart Snacks in School” proposal draws upon “recommendations from the Institute of Medicine, existing voluntary standards already implemented by thousands of schools around the country, and healthy food and beverage offerings already available in the marketplace.” Required under the Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010, the new rules are part of the government’s efforts to combat childhood obesity by establishing nutrition standards for all food sold in schools—not just federally subsidized school breakfasts and lunches. “Parents and teachers work hard to instill healthy eating habits in our kids, and these efforts should be supported when kids walk through the schoolhouse door,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “Good nutrition lays the groundwork…
Rep. Joe Farias (D-San Antonio) has proposed a bill (H.B. 779) that would impose a statewide penny-per-ounce tax on soft drinks, particular sweetened beverages and the powders and syrups used to make them. The tax would increase each year by the same percentage as the “most recent annual revised Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers.” The legislation, which purportedly aims to fight obesity and supplement funding for health programs in public elementary and secondary schools, calls for 80 percent of the tax revenue collected to go to the Texas Education Agency and 20 percent to the Department of State Health Services. The proposed tax would apply to all nonalcoholic, carbonated and noncarbonated beverages and mixes that contain natural or artificial sweeteners. Exceptions to the tax would be certain sports drinks, 100 percent fruit and vegetable juices, infant formula, milk products, and beverages containing sweeteners that do not add calories.…
According to a news source, Germany’s Federal Cartel Office (BKA) has imposed €60 million (US$81.4 million) in fines against 11 chocolate and confectionary companies, including the German subsidiaries of Kraft Foods and Nestlé SA, for allegedly establishing a cartel in the late 2000s to fix prices. While Nestlé has reportedly indicated that it will challenge the fines, claiming that the allegations are unjustified and that BKA misinterpreted the law, a Kraft spokesperson has apparently confirmed that the company will pay its fine. BKA President Andreas Mundt said, “In 2007 raw materials prices for chocolate production such as milk and cocoa rose sharply. Companies obviously wanted to be sure they could pass these costs on to consumers. Competition with competitors was quickly switched off and consumers were burdened with price increases.” Prices reportedly rose by as much as 25 percent. Company offices were searched after a whistleblower came forward in 2008, and…
The U.K. Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has declined to uphold five complaints alleging that a TV commercial for Weetabix Ltd.’s Weetos breakfast cereal promoted “poor nutritional habits and an unhealthy lifestyle in children, because… it encouraged excessive consumption.” According to ASA, the ad in question showed a child eating Weetos for breakfast and later in the day as a snack, with the product’s tagline stating “FOR BREAKFAST AND BEYOND.” Rebutting the allegations, Weetabix reportedly said that “the ad was lighthearted but did not encourage excessive consumption” or poor nutritional habits, especially since the cereal advertised was “not a high fat, salt or sugar (HFSS) product as defined by the Food Standards Agency.” The company also argued that the portions shown in the commercial were consistent with marketing conventions and standards, as well as research indicating that consumers often ate Weetos for snacks and meals other than breakfast. “[Weetabix] considered that…
The U.K. Food Standards Agency (FSA) has published its “Forward Evidence Plan for 2013,” outlining its “priority science and evidence activities for the coming year.” Although subject to budgetary confirmation, the plan seeks to alert stakeholders to new and ongoing activities as well as identify additional research areas and sources of funding in support of FSA’s Strategic Plan 2010- 2015, which the agency last updated in January 2013. In particular, FSA has prioritized activities related to (i) “microbiological food safety, including campylobacter, E. coli, listeria and norovirus”; (ii)”food and feed hygiene policy”; (iii) “chemical safety of food, including metals and organic contaminants”; (iv) “the next round of the FSA strategic challenge cal”; and (v) “diet and health related work funded by the FSA in Scotland and Northern Ireland.” The agency has requested feedback on the plan by February 15, 2013. See FSA Press Release, January 31, 2013.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have announced an April 17, 2013, public meeting in Washington, D.C., to provide information and receive public comments on agenda items and draft U.S. positions for discussion during the 41st Session of the Codex Committee on Food Labeling of the Codex Alimentarius Commission in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada, on May 14–17. Agenda items include (i) implementation of the World Health Organization global strategy on diet, physical activity and health, including a proposed draft revision of the “Guidelines on Nutrition and Health Claims concerning Non-Addition of Sodium Salts”; (ii) guidelines for the production, processing, labeling, and marketing of organically produced foods, including use of ethylene as a sprouting inhibitor for onions and potatoes, and organic aquaculture; (iii) date marking; and (iv) the labeling of food derived from crops biofortified by natural selection. See…
U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) has responded to a January 25, 2013, Federal Register notice describing a “new” Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) method of conducting “ongoing equivalence verifications of the regulatory systems of countries that export meat, poultry, or processed egg products to the United States.” According to DeLauro’s letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack, “it seems that FSIS fundamentally changed the process used to assess ongoing equivalency with our trade partners without publishing a single public notice in the Federal Register on the revisions or seeking public comment on the proposed changes. It appears that the agency has been implementing and refining these changes for several years.” She was particularly disturbed that FSIS has failed to disclose these changes in budgetary justification documents submitted to Congress since 2009. DeLauro also claimed in the letter that FSIS has exhibited “indifference to the advisory committees” that…
