A U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) official has declared seafood from the Gulf of Mexico safe for human consumption after 2010’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill. In December 2011, eight U.S. Senators urged the agency to “publicly and vigorously” defend the safety of Gulf seafood. In a January 11, 2012, FDA blog post, Deputy Commissioner for Foods Michael Taylor said that more than 10,000 seafood specimens were tested for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) after the spill and that PAH levels were “100 to 1,000 times below the levels which would raise a health concern.” Taylor added that FDA feels “confident that the levels that were set are safe and protect the health of anyone who eats seafood, including children and pregnant women.”
Category Archives Legislation, Regulations and Standards
Putative class actions have been filed in New Jersey and California federal courts against Tropicana Products, Inc., alleging that the company misleads consumers by labeling and marketing its orange juice as “100% pure and natural,” when it actually “undergoes extensive processing which includes the addition of aromas and flavors.” Lynch v. Tropicana Prods., Inc., No. 11-07382 (D.N.J., filed December 19, 2011); Lewis v. Tropicana Prods., Inc., No. 12-00049 (E.D. Cal., filed January 6, 2012). Both plaintiffs seek to certify nationwide classes. The New Jersey plaintiff alleges unjust enrichment, breach of express warranty, violation of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, and injunctive and declaratory relief. He requests compensatory, treble and punitive damages; prejudgment interest; restitution; injunctive relief; attorney’s fees; and expenses and costs of suit. The California plaintiff, who also seeks to certify a subclass of California consumers, alleges unjust enrichment; breach of express warranty; violation of the state Consumers…
According to news sources, the Center for Food Safety, which lost its challenge to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) decision to deregulate without restriction genetically engineered (GE) alfalfa, plans to appeal the matter to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. A federal court in California determined on January 5, 2012, that the law does not require the agency to “account for the effects of cross-pollination on other commercial crops” in assessing whether a new crop poses risks. U.S. District Judge Samuel Conti also reportedly said that USDA lacks the authority to require a buffer zone between GE crops and conventional or organic crops. Noting that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved the use of glyphosate on Roundup Ready® alfalfa, Conti further observed, “If plaintiffs’ allegations are true, then it is disturbing that EPA has yet to assess the effects of glyphosate on most of the species found near…
The New York City Health Department has launched a “hard-hitting” ad campaign encouraging subway riders to cut their portions of food and sugary drinks to reduce the health risks associated with obesity. One poster, for example, depicts a diabetic man with an amputated leg with the tagline, “Cut Your Portions, Cut Your Risk.” “The portion sizes that are marketed are often much more than humans need,” Health Commissioner Thomas Farley said. “We are warning people about the risks of super-size portions so they can make more informed choices about what they eat. Consuming too many calories can lead to weight gain, which greatly increases the risk of type 2 diabetes.” The American Beverage Association (ABA) has reportedly criticized the campaign, claiming that it inaccurately depicts the health impacts of soft drink consumption. “Instead of utilizing scare tactics, the beverage industry is offering real solutions like smaller portioned containers and new…
The Constitutional Council of France recently approved a tax on sweetened soft drinks to combat the healthcare-related costs of obesity. Effective January 1, 2012, the tax adds 1 euro cent per can and is expected to generate €120 million ($156 million) in state revenue to fund lower Social Security contributions by farm workers. “Obesity is rising as swiftly in France as it is in other EU countries and action must be taken before it gets any more serious,” a French health ministry spokesperson was quoted as saying. See France 24, December 28, 2011; Daily Mail, December 29, 2011.
A petition reportedly signed by more than one million citizens has urged the European Union (EU) to impose stricter rules on the transportation of livestock intended for slaughter. Initiated by World Horse Welfare, the petition challenged current EU regulations allowing transportation times to exceed 24 hours and instead requested an eight-hour maximum on all such journeys. With more than one million signatures needed to trigger a legislative review under the Lisbon Treaty, the long-running campaign evidently gained traction after a November 2011 European Commission (EC) report highlighted alleged failings in the enforcement of livestock welfare regulations. Meanwhile, Danish Socialist Member of Parliament (MEP) Dan Jørgensen has already collected pledges from 119 MEPs in an effort to acquire 378 signatures by March 15, 2012, at which point the European Parliament says it will officially back the measure. “I definitely expect the commission to act on this,” said Jørgensen. “The commission always…
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Office of Inspector General (IG) has issued a report critical of how effectively the agency “is managing the human health and environmental risks of nanomaterials.” Noting that EPA has the statutory authority to regulate nanomaterials, the IG found that it “currently lacks the environmental and human health exposure and toxicological data to do so effectively.” The IG also found that lack of coordination between program offices, EPA’s failure to communicate with stakeholders on nanomaterial risk issues and limitations in existing statutes that regulate chemicals “present significant barriers to effective nanomaterial management when combined with existing resource challenges.” The agency has responded to the report by agreeing with the IG’s recommendation to “develop a process to assure effective dissemination and coordination of nanomaterial information across relevant program offices” and has established a corrective action plan with milestone dates.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a final rule prohibiting the extra-label use of cephalosporin antimicrobial drugs in livestock. Citing “evidence that certain extralabel uses… will likely cause an adverse event in humans,” the agency has specifically barred using cephalosporins (i) “at unapproved dose levels, frequencies, durations, or routes of administration”; (ii) “in cattle, swine, chickens, or turkeys that are not approved for use in that species (e.g., cephalosporin intended for humans or companion animals)”; and (iii) “for disease prevention.” The final rule, however, still permits the use of an older drug, cephapirin, while allowing veterinarians to oversee limited extra-label cephalosporin use “in cattle, swine, chicken, or turkeys as long as they follow the dose, frequency, duration, and route of administration that is on the label.” “We believe this is an imperative step in preserving the effectiveness of this class of important antimicrobials that takes into account…
The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s report on the 2011 Listeria outbreak that was traced to cantaloupes grown and processed at Jensen Farms in Colorado has identified a number of problems that led to the “deadliest foodborne illness outbreak in over 25 years.” The bipartisan investigation found that a third-party auditing company (i) gave the farm high food-safety marks despite identifying major and minor deficiencies, (ii) did not hold the farm to anything other than baseline industry standards, and (iii) had no procedures in place to require corrective actions. One of the problems that led to the outbreak was the farm’s failure to use an anti-microbial solution in the cantaloupe wash water. Jensen Farms apparently stopped using the solution after consulting with the third-party auditing company in 2010 about ways to enhance its food-safety efforts. In 2011, the farm had adopted an alternative to the hydrocooler it previously used to process…
George Washington University Law Professor John Banzhaf has issued a press release highlighting recent action the Food and Drug Administration took against a food company that purportedly misbrands one of its products by declaring it “All Natural” while making the product with a synthetic chemical preservative ingredient. According to Banzhaf, the agency’s warning letter is “likely to lend support to and encourage an ever-growing number of major class action law suits being filed on these grounds, says the public interest law professor whose earlier movement to use legal action as a weapon against obesity apparently inspired these new legal actions.” He claims that The American Lawyer recognized how he started this litigation movement, noting in an article that he used the courts to address obesity, “just as he had earlier done in leading the use of legal action as a weapon against smoking.” Banzhaf further states, “The movement which Banzhaf started…