The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has announced an expansion of the Salmonella Initiative Program (SIP) to help industry reduce foodborne pathogens in raw meat and poultry products. The agency has extended the comment period to September 12, 2011. According to FSIS, the voluntary, incentive-based program allows “participating establishments to operate under certain regulatory waivers to try new procedures, equipment or processing techniques to better control Salmonella.” As a condition for participation, establishments selected for SIP must regularly collect product samples to test for Salmonella, campylobacter and generic E. coli, and then share the data with the agency. FSIS has set new deadlines for establishments currently operating with regulatory waivers to apply for SIP and has allowed a “limited number of establishments to operate with modified line speed” which will be evaluated by a National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health study. See USDA…
Category Archives Legislation, Regulations and Standards
The United States and Mexico have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that resolves a long-haul, cross-border trucking dispute involving “retaliatory tariffs” on more than $2 billion in U.S. exports, including food and agricultural products. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), the July 6, 2011, agreement will “lift tariffs and put safety first.” Under the agreement, Mexico will immediately suspend half of the retaliatory tariffs imposed in March 2009, with the remaining 50 percent to be removed within five days of the first Mexican trucking company receiving U.S. operating authority. In return, Mexican long-haul truck drivers will be allowed to ship goods into the United States after complying with, among other things, the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and electronic vehicle monitoring designed to track “hours-of-service compliance” to ensure that drivers make cross-border shipments and not “domestic cargo between points within the United States.” According to U.S. Agriculture…
The Corporate European Observatory (CEO) has published a report accusing European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) food additive experts of concealing conflicts of interest and industry ties. CEO claims that 11 out of 20 experts on EFSA’s Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources in Food (ANS) “have a conflict of interest, as defined by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development,” which states that such conflicts arise when an individual or corporation “is in position to exploit his or their own professional or official capacity in some way for personal or corporate benefit,” whether or not an unethical or improper act results. The report also alleges that four ANS members have “failed to declare active collaborations with the food-industry funded think-tank and lobby group, the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI).” In particular, CEO faults EFSA for failing to adopt a “red list” similar to the one used by the European Medicines…
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has released a June 23, 2011, report titled Early Childhood Obesity Prevention Policies that recommends “evidence-based strategies… to promote healthy weights in children from birth to age 5.” According to IOM, “almost 10 percent of infants and toddlers carry excess weight for their length, and slightly more than 20 percent of children between the ages of two and five already are overweight or obese.” IOM urges health care professionals to measure weight and length or height at every routine pediatric visit “in a standardized way, using the most current growth charts from the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” as well as determine which patients are at the highest risk of obesity based on their rate of weight gain, parents’ weight status and whether their “growth measurements [are] at or above the 85th percentile curves.” IOM also advises parents and caretakers…
Scholars with the Center for Progressive Reform have written a letter to Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) Administrator Cass Sunstein asking that OIRA conclude its review of the proposed listing of bisphenol A (BPA) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Stating that the review has been “delayed far longer than Executive Order guidelines allow,” the June 20, 2011, letter was apparently prompted by an earlier U.S. Chamber of Commerce letter that urged OIRA to suspend the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) consideration and initiation of all TSCA listings. The center scholars note that the listing, which includes “chemicals of concern,” informs the public about EPA’s current thinking about these chemicals and could lead to a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that would invite public comment. According to the letter, the Chamber pays “lip service” to such transparency, but “its goal is to head off issuance of an NPRM.”…
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (IG) has issued a June 21, 2011, report criticizing the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) imported food recall guidance as “not adequate to ensure the safety of the nation’s food supply because it was not enforceable.” According to the audit, which covered the period from July 1, 2007, through June 30, 2008, “FDA oversaw 40 Class I recalls of imported food products contaminated with pathogens and other harmful substances that can cause serious illnesses.” After reviewing 17 of those recalls, the IG concluded that firms (i) “did not promptly initiate recalls,” (ii) did not submit viable recall strategies, (iii) “did not issue accurate and complete recall communications to their consignees,”, and (iv) “did not submit timely and complete recall status reports.” The report also faults FDA for the inconsistent application of its own monitoring procedures, including the…
A bipartisan group of senators has introduced a bill (S. 1211) aimed at phasing out routine use of antibiotics in food-producing animals. Spearheaded by U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act (PAMTA) is identical to a House bill (H.R. 965) introduced earlier this year by U.S. Representative Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.), who has championed such legislation since 2007. PAMTA “addresses the rampant overuse of antibiotics in agriculture that creates drug-resistant bacteria, an increasing threat to human beings,” Feinstein noted in a press release. The legislation would also (i) “require new applications for animal antibiotics to demonstrate (that) the use of the antibiotic will not endanger public health” and (ii) “not restrict the use of antibiotics to treat sick livestock or to treat pets.” The bill’s provisions would limit agricultural use of seven types of antibiotics identified by the Food and Drug Administration as “critically important…
A federal court in California has denied Safeway, Inc.’s motion to dismiss or stay proceedings alleging that it has an obligation to use information in its loyalty card customer database to provide email notice about produce recalls ordered by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or U.S. Department of Agriculture. Hensley-Maclean v. Safeway, Inc., No. 11-1230 (N.D. Cal., order entered June 13, 2011). Additional details about the case, which was first filed in state court, appear in Issue 380 of this Update. The grocery company argued that the “primary jurisdiction doctrine” or “equitable abstention” required the court to dismiss or stay the litigation “until and unless regulatory agencies have had the opportunity to consider and adopt appropriate rules governing the obligations a grocery store has with respect to providing its customers notice of such recalls.” According to Safeway, the Food Safety Modernization Act requires FDA to develop notice guidelines by…
The Los Angeles Unified School District has reportedly removed flavored milk from school menus in an effort to combat rising rates of childhood obesity. The school board approved a five-year, $100 million dairy contract excluding chocolate and strawberry milk in favor of low-fat and nonfat plain milk, and soy and Lactaid products. Beginning in the 2011-12 school year, the menu overhaul will also include more vegetarian and ethnic fare and eliminate corn dogs, chicken nuggets and other breaded items. See Los Angeles Times, June 15, 2011.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has issued a public call for data “on the artificial sweetener aspartame (E 951) for consideration in a full re-evaluation to be completed in 2012 as requested by the European Commission [EC].” EFSA has asked interested parties and stakeholders to submit “scientific or technical data—published, unpublished and newly generated—related to the use of aspartame in food and drinks and as a tabletop sweetener.” Originally scheduled for 2020, the aspartame review is “part of the systematic re-evaluation of all authorized food additives in the European Union.” EFSA apparently agreed to move up the proceedings after European Parliament members voiced concerns about the sweetener. “Due to EFSA’s scientific cooperation efforts, particularly with its partners in EU Member States, ongoing liaison with international partners and its stakeholder dialogue, EFSA can draw on a well-established network to ensure that all the relevant data are considered,” stated the agency, which…
