The European Food Safety Authority has issued several opinions, in keeping with its Farm to Fork Strategy, that provide guidance on compliance when transporting animals to food processing facilities and slaughterhouses. The opinions identify possible hazards to animal welfare in transport and provide information on combating disease or other disorders that would threaten animal welfare. Types of animals covered by the opinions include cattle; pigs; domestic birds and rabbits; sheep and goats; and horses and donkeys.
Category Archives Legislation, Regulations and Standards
A notice in the Official Journal of the European Union has announced a tightening of restrictions on the allowable amount of ethylene oxide, “an important chemical substance having multiple uses, including the use as a sterilising agent and as a raw material in the manufacture of various products,” that is “a substance of concern classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic and toxic for reproduction.” The current regulation dictates that ethylene oxide may not be used for sterilizing purposes in food additives, but it did not set a quantified limit on the allowable amount for all food additives. Under the amended regulation, which is set to take effect in September 2022, ethylene oxide will not be authorized for food additives, and a residue of the substance above 0.1 mg/kg will be in violation of the rule.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has released its final rule amending its labeling provisions requiring dual labeling for meat or poultry products, which will take effect Oct. 17, 2022. The proposed rule sought to amend the Food Safety and Inspection Service’s (FSIS) labeling regulations to remove provisions that require packages of meat or poultry products that contain at least one pound or pint, but less than four pounds or one gallon, to express the net weight or net content in two different units of measurement on the product label. FSIS revisited the regulations in response to a petition submitted by a small meat processing establishment. After conducting a review of the regulatory provisions and comments on the proposed rule, FSIS determined the provisions were unnecessary. The final rule adopts the requirements of the proposed rule, with some non-substantive changes to the proposed regulatory language. Under the final rule, all FSIS…
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has filed a regulatory petition asking the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) "to require on the principal display panel of a food an easy-to-understand, standardized system that is 1) mandatory, 2) nutrient-specific, 3) includes calories, and is 4) interpretative with respect to the levels of added sugars, sodium, and saturated fat per serving." The petition argues that current food labeling requirements and voluntary industry initiatives are "insufficient to promote healthy diets" because the Nutrition Facts label "has low utilization." "Dozens of countries have implemented [front-of-package nutrition labeling (FOPNL)], and over one hundred experimental and real-world studies have tested the effects of different FOPNL systems," the petition asserts. "These studies find that well-designed interpretive FOPNL can significantly improve the healthfulness of foods selected by consumers and prompt product reformulation. The U.S. should learn from experiences abroad and follow the science to…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is accepting comments on proposed changes to organic standards for livestock and poultry production. Issues addressed in the proposed changes include livestock health care practices, living conditions, transport and slaughter. The many proposed changes include a limit on the types of physical alterations permissible in organic livestock production, such as needle teeth clipping and tail docking in pigs, and the establishment of a distinction between requirements for mammalian living conditions and avian living conditions based on different physiological needs. Comments will be accepted until October 11, 2022.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued a report suggesting that federal agencies can better coordinate guidance on healthy eating. The report found that GAO's previous recommendations had not been implemented, including a 2021 recommendation that Congress "consider identifying and directing a federal entity to lead a strategy on diet-related efforts." The agency also recommended in 2017 that the presidential administration develop a strategy for federal food oversight. "We have long reported on the fragmented federal food safety oversight system. We added federal oversight of food safety to our high-risk list in 2007; federal government operations on this list either need broad reform or are vulnerable to fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement. We added this issue to the list because of inconsistent oversight, ineffective coordination, and inefficient use of resources. For example, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) had critical information on contaminated eggs that ultimately sickened more than…
The attorneys general of 22 states have submitted a letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Department of Agriculture (USDA) asserting that the agencies "are not sufficiently prioritizing a public health problem long overdue for robust action: children’s exposure to neurotoxic heavy metals (lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury) through foods specifically designed and marketed for babies and young children." Led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, the group argues that the existing plan to set limits on heavy metals, the Closer to Zero Plan, has "lengthy and vague timelines, which now extend to mid-2024 and beyond," and is "already behind schedule." "As a result of this and other agency delays, U.S. baby food manufacturers continue to largely self-regulate the amount of lead (and other toxic elements) that is contained within their products. Indeed, it remains up to the manufacturers to decide whether even to test their…
The attorneys general of 21 states have filed a petition for reconsideration for a citizen petition denied May 2, 2022, that urged the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) "to adopt a series of interim guidance measures intended to complement the long-term approach of the Closer to Zero Plan," which aims to reduce the amount of contaminants in baby foods. The attorneys general sought interim guidance to (i) set action levels for inorganic arsenic, lead, cadmium and mercury; (ii) set an action level for inorganic arsenic in infant rice cereal that is lower than the existing action level of 100 parts per billion; and (iii) issue guidance to industry that testing for heavy metals is a "preventive control" manufacturers should perform. The reconsideration petition takes issue with multiple points in the denial, including the argument that FDA did not consider relevant information as to its own authority. The attorneys general…
Politico has published a report on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) based on more than 50 interviews with current and former employees of the agency, including former FDA commissioners. "There is a remarkable level of consensus that the agency is simply not working," states the report. "Current and former officials and industry professionals used terms like 'ridiculous,' 'impossible,' 'broken,' 'byzantine' and 'a joke' to describe the state of food regulation at FDA." Subjects examined by the investigation include leadership issues within the food division of the agency, a lack of action on foodborne illnesses, the issue of heavy metals in baby food and delays on nutrition targets. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) sent a letter to Commissioner Robert Califf expressing concern over the findings of Politico's investigation. "This report highlighted several delays in regulatory action that have endangered the public health. Over a decade after the Food Safety Modernization…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued draft guidance on how it will evaluate the public health importance of a food allergen not listed as a major food allergen. Topics in the guidance include (i) scientific factors FDA will consider; (ii) what types of information will be relevant to the labeling and production of food containing the allergen; and (iii) recommendations for identifying and analyzing evidence for the evaluation of a non-listed food allergen.
