The Arizona House of Representatives Commerce Committee has reportedly approved a bill (H.B. 2490) that would block cities and counties from enacting laws that would prohibit restaurants, food establishments or convenience stores from offering “consumer incentive items” with meals. Scheduled to go before the House for a full vote, the law identifies the items as “any licensed media character, toy, game, trading card, contest, point accumulation, club membership, admission ticket, token, code or password for digital access, coupon, voucher, incentive, crayons, coloring placemats or other premium or prize or consumer product.” Telling a news source that “government needs to stay out of the way of free enterprise,” Representative Jim Weiers (R-Glendale) challenged arguments that toy giveaways tied with high-fat, high-calorie meals contributed to childhood obesity. “Ask the parents who are supposed to be ultimately responsible,” he said. But House Minority Leader Chad Campbell (D-Phoenix) asserted that the issue should be…
Category Archives Legislation, Regulations and Standards
The United Kingdom’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) has reportedly launched an investigation to determine if a brand of ice cream made with donated breast milk has violated food safety regulations. Launched recently by a London-area restaurant, Baby Gaga ice cream was evidently pulled by the Westminster City Council after several complaints were lodged about whether the product was safe for human consumption. According to a news source, FSA joined with the council to decide if the ice cream breaches regulations mandating that “food shall not be placed on the market if it is unsafe” and that “food shall be deemed to be unsafe it if it is considered to be (i) injurious to health, and (ii) unfit for human consumption.” An industry source was quoted as saying that human breast milk donated to breast milk banks is required to pass rigorous screening to comply with guidelines established by the National…
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) researchers have called for rapid tracing of food source contamination to reduce illness and save lives. Casey Barton Behravesh, et al., “2008 Outbreak of Salmonella Saintpaul Infections Associated with Raw Produce,” New England Journal of Medicine, February 2011. Investigating the 2008 Salmonella outbreak first blamed on American tomatoes but later pinpointed to Mexican peppers, researchers concluded that the outbreak—linked to approximately 1,500 illnesses and two deaths—“highlights the importance of preventing raw produce contamination.” The report calls for (i) product-tracing systems improvements, including the “ability of the systems to work together for more rapid tracing of implicated products through the supply chain in order to maximize public health protection and minimize the economic burden to industry”; (ii) “an understanding of the mechanisms and ecologies that can lead to contamination of produce on farms”; and (iii) “the institution of additional control measures from the source throughout…
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a final rule that amends its food additive regulations to allow hydrogen peroxide to be used as an “antimicrobial agent in the manufacture of modified whey by ultrafiltration methods.” Effective March 2, 2011, the rule responds to a petition filed by Fonterra (USA) Inc. requesting the change as an alternative to “electrodialysis methods” used in whey processing. Hydrogen peroxide has been affirmed as generally recognized as safe (GRAS) for human consumption when electrodialysis methods are used for whey processing under certain conditions. After reviewing data on ultrafiltration methods, FDA has determined that hydrogen peroxide “will achieve its intended technical effect as an antimicrobial agent under the proposed conditions of use.” FDA requests objections to the rule or requests for a hearing by April 1. See Federal Register, March 2, 2011.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a final rule amending its regulations “for thermally-processed low-acid foods packaged in hermetically sealed containers to allow other temperature-indicating devices, in addition to mercury-in-glass thermometers, during processing.” The final rule follows from a March 14, 2007, proposal covered in Issue 207 of this Update. Effective March 5, 2012, the new regulation also “establishes recordkeeping requirements” for alternative temperature-indicating devices, “allows for the use of advanced technology for measuring and recording temperatures,” and “includes metric equivalents of avoirdupois (U.S.) measurements where appropriate.” In addition, it permits low-acid canned food processors “to transition from mercury-in-glass thermometers to alternative temperature-indicating devices,” which will “eliminate concerns about potential contamination of the food or the processing environment from broken mercury-in-glass thermometers.” See The Federal Register, March 3, 2011.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning letter to CEO John Glessner of Ohio Fresh Eggs, after finding that it had shipped nearly 800 cases of eggs from farms that had tested positive for Salmonella. The Ohio company is reportedly linked to the egg producer involved in a massive egg recall in 2010; Glessner apparently has ties to Hillandale Farms of Iowa whose owner Jack DeCoster apparently provided most of the funds to purchase Ohio Fresh Eggs from a previous owner. The company has reportedly characterized the shipment as a mistake and was quoted as saying, “Our farm cooperated fully with FDA to ensure a swift and complete recall of those eggs from our customer, and we are thankful no illnesses were reported.” See Des Moines Register, March 1, 2011.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued a March 2011 report identifying 34 areas, including agriculture, “where agencies, offices, or initiatives have similar or overlapping objectives or provide similar services to the same populations; or where government missions are fragmented across multiple agencies.” Commissioned by Congress, this first annual report also summarizes 47 areas where lawmakers or regulators could further reduce the cost of government. These results reflect both new research undertaken by GAO and previously compiled reports, such as the February 16, 2011, edition of the High-Risk Series covered in Issue 382 of this Update. When it comes to the agriculture sector, according to GAO, “[t]he fragmented federal oversight of food safety has caused inconsistent oversight, ineffective coordination, and inefficient use of resources.” The report notes that 15 federal agencies “collectively administer at least 30 food related laws,” with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) overseeing meat, poultry, processed egg…
The Center for Food Safety has returned to a federal court in California charging the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) with violations of the law in partially deregulating genetically engineered (GE) sugar beets. Center for Food Safety v. Vilsack, No. 11-0831 (N.D. Cal., filed February 23, 2011). Details about the agency’s action are included in Issue 381 of this Update. Seeking declaratory and injunctive relief, the group and several other organizations concerned about the safety of GE crops and their alleged potential to contaminate conventional and organic crops, challenge the February 4, 2011, APHIS decision to approve an environmental assessment prepared in connection with the agency’s decision to issue an interim partial deregulation of Roundup Ready® sugar beets. According to the complaint, “The partial deregulation decision purports to allow planting and use of [GE sugar beets] pending the completion by APHIS of an…
The U.K. Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) has issued a February 25, 2011, Health and Iron Report recommending that the general population eat no more than 500 grams of red and processed meat per week, or 70 grams per day. At the request of the Committee on Medical Aspects of Food and Nutrition Policy, which in 1998 linked red and processed meat to colorectal cancer risk, SACN undertook “a comprehensive review of the role of iron in human nutrition,” including “potential adverse effects both of iron deficiency and of iron excess.” It ultimately concurred with the earlier findings that “high consumers of red and processed meat should consider reducing their intakes because of possible links with a risk of colorectal cancer.” SACN particularly noted that adults consuming more than 90 grams of red and processed meat per day “should consider reducing their intakes” to reflect the population average of…
The United Kingdom’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) has announced that it is commissioning research aimed at modernizing official controls on meat. Noting that “the driving force” behind the Future Meat Controls Research Programme is to “improve public health by adopting a more risk- and evidence-based approach to meat production,” FSA said four areas of research will be part of the evidence to support regulatory change. Areas of research needed are (i) “an evaluation of food chain information, and collection and communication of inspection results for all species”; (ii) “trialling the visual inspection for fatting pigs from non-controlled housing conditions”; (iii) “a qualitative risk assessment of visual inspection of red meat and farmed/wild large game (all ages and species other than swine)”; and (iv) “trialling the use of a plant inspection assistant in approved game handling establishments (small and large wild game).” FSA requests proposals by April 6, 2011.
