The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) has issued a proposed rule that would amend the standards of identity for distilled spirits to include Cachaça as a type within the class designation for rum. Responding to two petitions from the Brazilian Embassy, TTB has concluded that it is appropriate to recognize Cachaça, which derives from cane sugar, “as a distinctive product of Brazil” provided it is manufactured “in compliance with the laws of Brazil regulating the manufacture of Cachaça for consumption in that country.” The proposed rule would apparently allow the distilled spirit to be marketed as “Cachaça” without the term “rum” on the label, “just as a product labeled with the type designation of ‘Cognac’ is not required to also bear the class designation ‘brandy.’” In keeping with Brazilian regulations, TTB would also refuse the Cachaça designation to distilled spirits that use any corn or corn syrup…
Category Archives Legislation, Regulations and Standards
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 14 people in nine states have purportedly been stricken with a Salmonella strain identical to that found in “multiple brands of dry pet food produced by Diamond Pet Foods at a single manufacturing facility in South Carolina.” CDC’s May 3, 2012, announcement indicates that the strain, Salmonella infantis, is rare and could have infected humans after contact with dry pet food or with an animal that has eaten it. Five of those afflicted have apparently been hospitalized. The Salmonella was first detected by the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development during a routine retail testing of dry pet food, and the company has voluntarily recalled three of its dry dog food products since then.
California Senator Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) has sent a May 3, 2012, letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food Safety and Inspection Service, asking the agency to investigate the restaurant industry’s use of transglutaminase or “meat glue” to allegedly bind together “disparate parts of meat products to form a larger piece of meat.” Citing unnamed media reports, Lieu claims that caterers and other facilities sometimes use transglutaminase to combine meat scraps into whole steaks, which are then sold as more expensive cuts like filet mignon. According to the letter, this practice not only deceives customers who believe they have purchased a higher quality product, but purportedly poses a health risk insofar as “reformed” steak may contain contaminated meat that is not thoroughly cooked or served rare. “I respectfully request the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service to thoroughly investigate the industry’s use of meat glue, the possible dangers posed…
A federal grand jury in Illinois has brought criminal indictments against four individuals who allegedly distributed more than 110,000 pounds of Mexican cheese in the United States in 2007 despite Food and Drug Administration (FDA) “hold” orders and also allegedly “washed” cheese returned by dissatisfied customers by scraping off mold and fungus so it could be resold. United States v. Zurita, No. __ (N.D. Ill., indictment returned April 18, 2012). No illnesses or other public health issues were attributed to the adulterated cheese distribution in the six-count indictment. The charges involve three separate shipments of cheese from Mexico that FDA ordered to be held and then later ordered either “detained” or “refused” after testing revealed the presence of Salmonella, E. coli, alkaline phosphate (found in unpasteurized products), and Staphylococcus. The defendants allegedly conspired to distribute the shipments despite FDA orders not to do so. They also allegedly distributed cheese before inspection, failed…
Health Canada has reportedly notified companies that it will no longer accept natural-health product (NHP) applications for functional foods and similar products that are “represented, packaged and sold as foods.” According to media sources, the agency in a letter to industry explained that NHPs such as prepackaged beverages, protein mixes and other products resembling conventional foods would henceforth fall under food regulations and must adhere to food safety, labeling and marketing standards. Among the approximately 1,000 products affected are those whose manufacturers must work with Health Canada to substantiate health claims, those ready for market without formulation, and those that will need reformulation before accessing the market. The agency anticipates that, with the exception of energy drinks, foods currently being marketed as NHPs will conclude the transition process by the end of December 2012. See Post Media News, April 19, 2012. This latest move to re-categorize NHPs is apparently part…
During a recent meeting of the European Union’s (EU’s) Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health, EU member states reportedly endorsed a European Commission proposal to establish a new list of permitted flavoring substances for food products. The committee also approved a transitional measure on other flavorings, including those made from non-food sources. Expected to be formally adopted unless opposed by the European Parliament, the two pieces of legislation aim to create clear rules for the use of flavoring substances within the European Union. The European Food Safety Authority and other scientific bodies assessed 2,800 flavorings to establish the list of allowable flavorings for use in food. Set for publication in an online database for consumers, industry and national food-control authorities, the list will be enforced six months after its adoption to provide sufficient time for the EU food industry to comply. See Europolitics, April 24, 2012.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released a report describing its efforts to ensure the safety of imported food, drugs, medical devices, and other regulated products. Titled “Global Engagement,” the report asserts that FDA-regulated products originate from more than 150 countries, 130,000 importers and 300,000 foreign facilities. According to FDA, food imports have grown each year from 2005 to 2011 by an average of 10 percent, with Americans consuming approximately half of their fresh fruits, 20 percent of fresh vegetables and 80 percent of seafood from imports. “As the volume of imported food increases, so too does the risk that some products will fail to meet FDA standards,” the report states. “The realities of the global marketplace add substantial challenges to FDA’s ability to protect U.S. consumers.” Among its strategies to ensure imported product safety, FDA said it uses portable instruments to screen products, collaborates with coalitions of regulators…
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently published its second annual Reportable Food Registry (RFR) report summarizing information submitted by manufacturers, processors, packers and holders through the online Food Safety Portal from September 8, 2010, to September 7, 2011. Covering all human and animal food/feed regulated by FDA “except infant formula and dietary supplements,” RFR tracks “patterns of food and feed adulteration” to help FDA administer inspection resources more effectively. According to the report, FDA received 1,153 total entries in RFR’s second year compared with 2,600 in its first year, a difference which the agency ascribes to three major events in 2009-2010 that generated 1,284 subsequent records related to sulfites in prepared side dishes, Listeria monocytogenes in cheese spreads and Salmonella in hydrolyzed vegetable protein. Without these entries, FDA stated, the tallies for the first and second years would have differed by only 74 records. In particular, the second annual…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has issued a statement confirming that its Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service identified a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in a dairy cow from central California. According to the April 24, 2012, news release, the cow presented with an atypical type of BSE “not generally associated with an animal consuming infected feed” and was never destined for human consumption. “The United States has had longstanding interlocking safeguards to protect human and animal health against BSE,” said USDA Chief Veterinary Officer John Clifford, adding that milk does not transmit BSE. “For public health, these measures include the USDA ban on specified risk materials, or SRMs, from the food supply. SRMs are parts of the animals that are most likely to contain the BSE agent if it is present in the animal. USDA also bans all nonambulatory (sometimes called ‘downer’) cattle from entering the…
Noting that higher crop yields and improved nutrition could be achieved with the application of nanotechnology, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) has issued its most recent report addressing topics that may affect the country’s ability to move nanotech from research laboratories to commercial products. Those topics include federal research and development investments under the National Nanotechnology Initiative; U.S. international competitiveness; environmental, health and safety issues; nanomanufacturing; and public attitudes toward, and understanding of, nanotechnology. According to the report, “widespread uncertainty” continues as to the potential environmental, health and safety implications of nanotechnology, and bringing nanotech products “into safe, reliable, effective, and affordable commercial-scale production in a factory environment may require the development of new and unique technologies, tools, instruments, measurement science, and standards for nanomanufacturing.” CRS also reports that more than 42 percent of Americans had never heard of nanotechnology as of 2007, while 6 percent indicated that they had…
