The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that soy leghemoglobin has been approved for use "as a color additive in ground beef analogue products" following a petition submitted by Impossible Foods. The announcement notes that the agency previously found soy leghemoglobin to be generally recognized as safe as a flavor additive. "FDA concurs with the petitioner that the genetic modifications made to generate the non-toxigenic and non-pathogenic production strain are well-characterized and the production process conforms to good manufacturing practice," the announcement states. "In addition to specification limits for lead, arsenic, mercury, and cadmium, we are requiring a specification for the minimum purity of soy leghemoglobin protein as a percent of the total protein in the color additive." The rule takes effect September 4, 2019, and objections can be filed until September 3.
Category Archives Legislation, Regulations and Standards
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning letter to Curaleaf Inc. for "illegally selling unapproved products containing cannabidiol (CBD) online with unsubstantiated claims that the products treat cancer, Alzheimer's disease, opioid withdrawal, pain and pet anxiety." FDA cites the company's website and social media accounts to assert that Curaleaf's marketing establishes its products—including "Bido CBD for Pets"—as drugs or animal drugs because the products are portrayed as able to help alleviate anxiety and fear, among other purported benefits. The agency also indicated that it will update the public on its progress towards creating a CBD regulatory framework by fall 2019. "We understand this is an important national issue with public health impact and of interest to American hemp farmers and many other stakeholders. The agency has a well-established pathway for drug development and drug approvals, and we remain committed to evaluating the agency’s regulatory policies related…
The U.K. Cabinet Office has begun an open consultation on general health policies, including nutrition initiatives. The consultation includes an announcement that the government will ban the sale of energy drinks to children under 16, with the full policy to be announced "in our consultation response shortly." The consultation response will also include details of a proposed policy on "making calorie labelling mandatory in the out-of-home sector, such as restaurants, takeaways and cafes." Further, the government has identified five areas of the country that will test programs to restrict advertising for foods high in fat, sugar and salt, incentivize business to "improve their retail offer," improve accessibility and affordability of healthy foods and "create healthier food environments through the planning system." The consultation also includes plans for "infant feeding, clear labelling, food reformulation improving the nutritional content of foods, and support for individuals to achieve and maintain a healthier weight."
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced that Michael Casey, vice president of Casey's Seafood Inc., has pleaded guilty to charges of falsely labeling almost 400,000 pounds of crab meat as derived from Atlantic blue crab in the United States despite importing the meat from a number of countries, including Indonesia, China, Thailand and Vietnam. Casey's guilty plea comes after a conviction for his father on similar charges. The foreign crab meat, which the company reportedly repacked into containers labeled "Product of USA," had a wholesale value of approximately $4,324,916. “U.S. consumers expect the origin of their seafood to be correctly identified. When sellers attempt to deceive the public about their product’s origins, they put the public’s health at risk by introducing seafood of unknown origin,” a DOJ investigator is quoted as saying in an agency press release. “When sellers are deceptive about their products’ origins, they deprive the…
The EU International Platform of Insects for Food and Feed (IPIFF) has released guidance intended to assist industry with labeling provisions for insect-based foods. "While specific insect-based products are currently approved by certain Member States, it is foreseen that a number of novel food applications will be authorised by the European Commission in the near future - eliminating the barriers for the EU trade of edible insect-based products," a press release states. The guidance includes instructions for nutrition and health claims, country of original labeling, allergen labels, food naming and ingredient listings.
A group of 38 state attorneys general have submitted a letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in response to the agency's call for comments on possible regulatory approaches for cannabis and cannabis-derived products such as cannabidiol (CBD). "As the primary enforcers of our respective states' consumer protection laws, we offer a unique perspective as to the new legalized market of certain cannabis and cannabis-derived compounds, including CBD products," the letter states. "A crucial element of FDA regulation and oversight should be an on-going assessment of the potential risks or benefits of these products, particularly for specific populations such as pregnant women, adolescents and children, and the elderly. How these products interact with other dietary or pharmaceutical products should be included in this assessment. It is also important that companies not mislead consumers. Scientific and medical data from the FDA would assist in meaningful enforcement of advertising laws…
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reportedly rejected efforts to ban chlorpyrifos, finding that "the data available are not sufficiently valid, complete or reliable to meet petitioners' burden to present evidence demonstrating that the tolerances are not safe." The decision follows a 2015 ban and 2017 reversal, which prompted legal challenges. EPA will reportedly continue to review the safety of chlorpyrifos through 2022.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has released a pair of studies purportedly finding that "a high proportion of baby foods are incorrectly marketed as suitable for infants under the age of six months, when in fact much of it contains inappropriately high levels of sugar." Researchers reviewed 7,955 baby-food products in Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary and Israel and reportedly found that more than half of the products available in three of the countries provided more than 30% of their calories from sugars. WHO also noted that between 28% to 60% of products indicated that they were appropriate for infants under six months, which contradicts WHO guidance on exclusively breastfeeding until that age.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued guidance revising advice for pregnant women about safe fish consumption. “Advice About Eating Fish: For Women Who Are or Might Become Pregnant, Breastfeeding Mothers, and Young Children” includes "a statement that eating fish when pregnant or breastfeeding can provide health benefits and states that fish and other protein-rich foods have nutrients that can help children's growth and development. The revisions also include a statement that, as part of a healthy eating pattern, eating fish may offer heart health benefits and lower the risk of obesity. The revised advice also makes clear that many types of fish are both nutritious and lower in mercury." FDA will accept comments until September 9, 2019, about suggested additional target populations for the advice, suggestions for effective means to distribute the advice and other information that may be useful to include.
Eurojust, with Italian and Serbian national authorities, has arrested nine suspects allegedly perpetrating a "transnational large-scale fraud in the production and trade of allegedly organic food and beverages from rotten apples." The apples were apparently used to create juice, jams and other canned food products adulterated with "mycotoxins and other toxic chemical substances, unsuitable for human consumption and dangerous for public health." The products were "refined with water and sugars, and falsely labelled and promoted as organic products of European origin."
