The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently opened a docket pertaining to a petition filed by Philadelphia seeking to exempt from preemption a menu labeling ordinance that requires chain restaurants and retail food facilities in the city to provide calorie, fat and sodium information for the food and beverage products they sell. According to the petition, the ordinance meets three requirements under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act allowing FDA to grant an exemption from preemption: the ordinance “was designed to address a particular local need for information which need is not met by the requirements” of federal labeling law, the exemption from preemption “would not unduly burden interstate commerce,” and the exemption “would not cause any food to be in violation of any applicable requirement under federal law.” Philadelphia contends that while Congress required uniformity in chain restaurant menu labeling as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable…
Category Archives Legislation, Regulations and Standards
California EPA’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has extended the deadline for public comment on a proposal to increase the no significant risk level (NSRL) for 4-methylimidazole (4-MEI) to November 7, 2011. The action was taken in response to a request from the American Beverage Association and International Technical Caramel Association. The chemical has been identified as a by-product of fermentation, heating or roasting in certain foods and beverages, such as coffee, some carbonated beverages, beer and wine, soy sauce, molasses, and crackers. The new proposed NSRL is 29 micrograms per day, an increase from the 16 micrograms per day level that OEHHA proposed in January.
The European Commission (EC) has adopted a recommendation defining “nanomaterials” as materials “whose main constituents have a dimension of between 1 and 100 billionth of a meter.” According to an October 18, 2011, press release, this definition considers only “the size of the constituent particles of a material, rather than hazard or risk.” As such, it describes nanomaterials as “a natural, incidental or manufactured material containing particles, in an unbound state or as an aggregate or as an agglomerate and where, for 50% or more of the particles in the number size distribution, one or more external dimensions is in the size range 1 nm – 100 nm.” The definition apparently relies on input from the Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) and the Joint Research Centre (JRC), whose draft recommendations were covered in Issue 355 of this Update. The EC hopes that the adopted version…
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has released the second of its two-phase report on front-of-package (FOP) rating systems and symbols for food products, advocating a “fundamental shift” in labeling strategy. While its first phase, released in October 2010, analyzed nutrition rating systems and the scientific research that underlies them, the new 231-page assessment examines consumers’ use and understanding of FOP systems. Details of the first phase were featured in Issue 368 of this Update. Concluding that “it is time for a move away from front-of-package systems that mostly provide nutrition information on foods or beverages but don’t give clear guidance about their healthfulness,” IOM recommends that the Food and Drug Administration allow only four items on any FOP system— calories, saturated and trans fat, sodium, and sugar. It suggests the agency develop, test and implement a single, standard point system from zero to three—designated by a simple icon like check…
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced changes to its bottled water quality standard “by establishing an allowable level for the chemical di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP).” Effective April 16, 2012, the final rule establishes “in § 165.110(b)(4)(iii)(C) (21 CFR 165.110(b)(4)(iii)(C)), which includes allowable levels for pesticides and other synthetic organic chemicals, an allowable level for DEHP at 0.006 mg/L.” It also requires manufacturers to monitor their products “for DEHP at least once each year under the current good manufacturing practice (CGMP) regulations” and to monitor their source water “as often as necessary, but at least once every year unless they meet the criteria for source water monitoring exemptions under the CGMP.” According to FDA, the amended rule brings bottled water standards in line with those set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for public drinking water. The two comments opposing the rule change evidently did not provide enough evidence to challenge…
Several consumer advocacy organizations have filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) based on a report that “identifies, analyzes, and documents a set of digital marketing practices that pose particular threats to children and youth, especially when used to promote foods that are high in fat, sugars, and salt, which are known to contribute to child and adolescent obesity.” The complaint specifically targets PepsiCo and Frito-Lay, focusing on promotions for Doritos®. According to the complainants, “Frito-Lay has infiltrated the lives of teens by developing covert advertising campaigns centered on things teens love—video games, music, horror, sports, contests, and social networking.” They further contend that (i) “Frito-Lay disguises its marketing campaigns as entertaining video games, concerts, and other immersive forms of entertainment, thus making it more difficult for teens to recognize them as marketing and to be skeptical about the messages they present”; (ii) “Frito-Lay claims to protect teens’…
The U.S. Senate has reportedly adopted an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2012 Senate Agriculture Appropriations bill that would prevent the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) from reducing the amount of potatoes and other starches in school meals. According to Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine), who authored the bipartisan measure, USDA earlier this year “proposed a rule that would limit servings of a certain category of vegetables that includes white potatoes, green peas, lima beans, and corn, to a total of one-cup per week in the National School Lunch Program,” while also prohibiting “this category of vegetables from the School Breakfast Program altogether.” The amendment blocks USDA from eliminating these vegetables but keeps the requirement “that school meals be consistent with the most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans.” As a result, USDA and schools will reportedly retain the flexibility to regulate cooking methods and make “reasonable and suitable substitutions among affordable fresh…
Alaska’s U.S. Senators Mark Begich (D) and Lisa Murkowski (R) have introduced two new bills as part of their ongoing campaign to prevent the federal government from allowing the sale of genetically engineered (GE) salmon. Information about related legislative proposals they sponsored in January 2011 appears in Issue 380 of this Update. One new proposal (S. 1717) would make it unlawful for anyone to “ship, transport, offer for sale, sell, or purchase genetically altered salmon or other marine fish, or a product containing genetically altered salmon or other marine fish, in interstate or foreign commerce.” The other proposal (S.A. 751), offered as an amendment to a House appropriations bill (H.R. 2112), would preclude the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from spending any funds to approve an application for the approval of GE fish. One such application is pending before the agency. According to Begich, “There is just too much at…
French Health Minister Xavier Bertrand has become the second cabinet member to publicly declare his support for legislation recently adopted by the National Assembly that would prohibit bisphenol A (BPA) in all food packaging as of January 1, 2014. According to an October 7, 2011, press statement issued by Bertrand, the bill—if passed by the Senate later this year—would also require packaging that contained BPA to bear warning labels directed at pregnant women and children younger than age 3. In particular, Bertrand cited a recent government report that highlighted the alleged risks associated with low-level exposure to BPA, rendering the “precautionary” bill “legitimate and even necessary.” The minister also called for an intermediary measure that would prohibit BPA in food containers designed for children younger than age 3 by 2013. “I have always said that if we had new evidence, we would assume responsibility,” Bertrand was quoted as saying. “With…
Health Canada recently announced new measures that would reclassify energy drinks as food instead of a natural health product (NHP), thus requiring each can to bear a nutritional facts table. According to an October 6, 2011, press release, the new rules would also direct energy drink manufacturers to (i) limit caffeine content to 180 milligrams per single serving; (ii) indicate caffeine amounts on product labels and identify groups, such as children, “for whom high levels of caffeine are not recommended”; (iii) declare ingredients, nutrition and allergens; (iv) ensure that “types and levels of vitamins and minerals are within safe levels”; and (v) warn consumers not to mix the product with alcohol. The proposed approach would bring energy drinks under the purview of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, while compelling producers to report any consumer complaints to Health Canada as well as submit information about consumption and sales. The agency intends…
