According to a notice published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), several Codex Alimentarius committees have invited member countries and observer organizations to join electronic working groups (eWGs). The Food Hygiene Committee seeks participation on a parasites eWG to further develop proposed draft guidelines on controlling the zoonotic parasites Trichinella spp. and Cysticercus bovis. The Fish and Fish Products Committee seeks participation on a food additives eWG “to prepare proposals for food additives in the standards for fish and fishery products, following the approach taken for the Standard for Smoked Fish and to focus on technological justification for those food additives.” This committee also seeks participants for fish sauce and scallop meat eWGs. The Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses Committee seeks participation on a nutrient reference values eWG and an addition of essential nutrients to foods eWG. Deadlines for and more details…
Category Archives Legislation, Regulations and Standards
Democratic U.S. Sens. Edward Markey (Mass.), Richard Durbin (Ill.) and Richard Blumenthal (Conn.) have issued letters to 14 energy drink companies, including Red Bull, Pepsi Co. Inc. and Monster Energy, seeking answers to more than a dozen questions. Responses are requested by February 1, 2013. Noting that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is investigating the industry, the senators contend that “[t]he blurred distinction between supplements and conventional foods or beverages combined with recent published reports by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and FDA regarding consumption of energy drinks has led to significant consumer confusion and concern about the safety and use of these products.” Among other matters, the senators ask (i) whether each company’s product is a “supplement, conventional food/beverage or neither,” (ii) how each company presents nutritional information on product labels, (iii) how much caffeine is present in the company’s product and whether this…
The Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has reportedly indicated its support of a state ban on the chemical bisphenol A (BPA) for infant formula packaging, but stopped short of suggesting that the chemical be prohibited from baby and toddler food containers, which environmental activists have been requesting. Maine already bans the chemical from baby bottles, sippy cups and reusable food and beverage containers, but, according to news sources, DEP officials claim that the scientific evidence is limited on whether the most common baby food containers—glass jars with metal lids that contain BPA—cause children to be exposed to the chemical. Agency officials are also apparently concerned about whether rules implementing the chemical ban would be sufficiently clear for consumers and companies to follow. News sources state that DEP is expected to make a recommendation on extending the BPA ban by the end of January 2013, and that an expanded ban…
New Mexico has joined Washington and California in considering GM (genetically modified) labeling on food products. Sponsored by state Senator Peter Wirth (D), the proposal (S.B. 18) seeks to amend the New Mexico Food Act and Commercial Feed Law to require the labeling of any food or commercial animal feed containing more than 1 percent of GM material. It would also require the label to be “conspicuous and easily understandable to consumers.” The bill is the latest in a series of state-based initiatives aiming to force companies to label foods containing GM ingredients and follows California’s Proposition 37—which was narrowly defeated in November 2012—and Washington’s I-522, a citizen-backed initiative which recently secured enough signatures to go be submitted to the secretary of state.
California EPA’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has issued a notice of intent to list styrene as a chemical known to the state to cause cancer under Proposition 65 (Prop. 65), citing the National Toxicology Program’s (NTP’s) finding that styrene is “reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen.” Comments are requested by February 4, 2013. According to the notice, the proposed listing “meets the standard set out in the recent Court of Appeal decision in the Styrene Information and Research Council v. Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (3rd District, Nov. 15, 2012) case because the NTP conclusion is based on sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in experimental animals.” Often used in food packaging materials, styrene occurs naturally at low levels in certain shrubs and trees. California consumers must be provided with warnings about those chemicals included on the Prop. 65 list. See OEHHA Notice of Intent, January 4, 2013.
According to a news source, the United Kingdom’s Community Trade Mark Office has determined that the shape of a KitKat® bar, which Nestlé registered as a community trademark in 2006, is valid, thus barring any other confectioners from selling products with a similar shape in the European Union. Nestlé competitor Cadbury makes a similar product and sought to invalidate the mark shortly after it was registered, claiming that the trait was too general to be protected. Cadbury is reportedly considering whether to appeal the ruling. See Huffington Post, January 3, 2013.
New Canadian regulations that took effect January 1, 2013, have reclassified energy drinks as food instead of natural health products and capped their caffeine content at 180 mg per serving. First proposed in 2011, the regulations aim to address concerns that consumers imbibing such beverages could exceed the maximum caffeine intake levels recommended by Health Canada. “Therefore, Health Canada conducted a scientific assessment of the potential hazards and exposure associated with the common ingredients found in these caffeinated beverages (including caffeine, vitamins, minerals, taurine etc.),” stated the agency, which ultimately reported that children and adolescents were “most at risk of exceeding Health Canada’s Recommended Maximum Daily Intakes (RMDI) for caffeine because of the volumes potentially consumed and the lower RMDI established for these populations, in comparison to adults.” In particular, the new regulations establish “an initial maximum limit for total caffeine of 400 mg per liter with a maximum amount…
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has launched a public consultation on its “first full risk assessment” of the artificial sweetener aspartame. According to a January 8, 2013, news release, EFSA’s Scientific Panel on Food Additive and Nutrient Sources Added to Food (ANS Panel) has issued a draft scientific opinion on the safety of aspartame that entailed “an in-depth review of peer-reviewed scientific and other literature on aspartame and its breakdown products, including new human studies.” Based on this information, the ANS Panel has concluded that aspartame and its breakdown products “pose no toxicity concern for consumers at current levels of exposure. The current Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) is considered to be safe for the general population and consumer exposure to aspartame is below this ADI.” “The ANS Panel’s draft opinion has benefitted from the latest scientific thinking and methodological approaches,” concludes EFSA, which has requested comments on the draft…
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently drawn criticism over the delayed release of documents evaluating the environmental impact of genetically engineered (GE) salmon. Created by Massachusetts-based AquaBounty Technologies, the GE salmon in question evidently contain genes from Chinook salmon as well as ocean pout that allow the company to bring the fish to market in half the normal time. After a publicly contentious review process, FDA released the May 4, 2012, draft assessment and a preliminary finding of no significant impact in late December, raising questions among groups such as the Genetic Literacy Project (GLP) about whether the agency froze the application to avoid political turmoil during the election season. “The delay, sources within the government say, came after meeting with the White House, which was debating the political implications of approving the [GE] salmon, a move likely to infuriate a portion of its base,” GLP Executive Director…
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is seeking comments and other information, including data, to help determine whether the agency can establish regulatory thresholds for major food allergens such as milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, wheat, peanuts, and soybeans. In a recent notice, FDA states that although “[We have] used several risk management strategies to reduce the risk from unlabeled major food allergens, such as targeted inspections or discussions with industry organizations, we have not established regulatory thresholds or action levels for major food allergens. The establishment of regulatory thresholds or action levels for major food allergens would help us determine whether, or what type of, enforcement action is appropriate when specific problems are identified and also help us establish a clear standard… Regulatory thresholds also would help industry to conduct allergen hazard analyses and develop standards for evaluating the effectiveness of allergen preventive controls.” In particular, FDA…
