The National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme of Australia’s Department of Health and Ageing has released for public comment a plan to (i) eliminate a regulatory review exemption for the production of small quantities of new nanoscale materials; and (ii) establish a voluntary reporting system for manufacturers producing nanoscale chemicals. Comments must be provided no later than December 23, 2009. U.S. observers have reportedly indicated that the Australian proposal is presented in a manner that may make it a model for other countries also grappling with safety issues involving nanomaterials. See BNA Daily Environment Report, November 17, 2009. Meanwhile, new reports on purported health and environmental effects of nanoscale materials continue to be released. The November 16 issue of Cancer Research contains a study suggesting that titanium dioxide nanoparticles, found in toothpaste, food colorants, cosmetics, sunscreens, paints, and vitamins, caused genetic damage in mice. According to senior author Robert Schiestl,…
Category Archives Legislation, Regulations and Standards
An end to the world’s longest-running trade dispute is reportedly drawing near. The European Union (EU), which purportedly started the “banana wars” by imposing higher duties on tropical fruits from Latin America in the early 1990s to favor former British and French colonies in Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific regions, is apparently poised to enter an agreement that would reduce its banana tariffs over the next seven years thus putting growers around the world on an equal footing. The United States is also apparently expected to adopt the same terms, so shoppers could soon be facing lower prices for tropical fruits and for dozens of other tropical products if the proposed settlement provides a boost to the upcoming Doha round of world trade negotiations. See The New York Times, November 17, 2009.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agriculture Marketing Service (AMS) has proposed amending regulations that govern the U.S. Standards for Condition of Food Containers. According to AMS, these revisions are necessary to “reflect current industry practices” and include “simplifying sampling plans, updating the acceptable quality levels to incorporate new defects, and updating current defects to include new packaging technologies and interior can defects.” These amendments “could potentially affect more than 26,000 food manufacturing establishments that may request to have their product containers inspected under the provisions of the U.S. Standards for Condition of Food Containers.” The agency will accept comments on the proposal until January 19, 2010. See Federal Register and AMS Press Release, November 19, 2009.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has extended the period for comments and scientific data and information on acrylamide in food as it considers industry guidance on this issue. In response to a request for a 60-day extension, FDA will accept written comments and scientific data until January 25, 2010. In its original request for comments and data published in the August 26, 2009, Federal Register, FDA described acrylamide as “a chemical that can form in some foods during certain types of high-temperature cooking,” and sought information from manufacturers on how to measure and reduce acrylamide levels in food. The agency asked responders to provide detailed feedback about: (i) techniques for acrylamide mitigation; (ii) best monitoring practices; (iii) standard practices for the delivery, storage, temperature control, reconditioning, and screening of potatoes; (iv) changes to food packaging instructions and other measures that can reduce acrylamide levels during a product’s final preparation by…
The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) has released a report that recommends guidelines for establishing a comprehensive food-tracing system along the entire supply chain to reduce foodborne illness. CSFAN commissioned the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) report in 2008, and will apparently consider its findings when determining how government and industry can more quickly identify products associated with disease and remove risky products from the market. IFT, a nonprofit scientific society focused on the science of food, reportedly examined the tracing methods of 58 diverse food companies to prepare the study, which recommends (i) creating a standard list of key data to be collected at each stage of the food chain, from farm to retailer or restaurant; (ii) developing more thorough, standardized recordkeeping methods; (iii) keeping records in electronic format; (iv) requiring a third-party audit of a company’s tracking system; and (iv)…
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced its intention to delay a 2011 ban on raw oysters harvested from the Gulf of Mexico during warm weather months. FDA heard from “Gulf Coast oyster harvesters, state officials, and elected representatives from across the region about the feasibility of implementing post-harvest processing or other equivalent controls” designed to reduce illnesses from bacteria like Vibrio vulnificus. “It is clear to FDA from our discussions to date that there is a need to further examine both the process and timing for large and small oyster harvesters to gain access to processing facilities or equivalent controls in order to address this important public health goal,” stated the agency, which will conduct an independent study to assess how bacteria controls can be “feasibly implemented in the fastest, safest and most economical way.” FDA specifically noted that it will (i) continue to collaborate with the Interstate…
Responding to a request from a coalition of state attorneys general, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has called on the makers of alcoholic energy drinks to provide information and data showing their use of caffeine in alcoholic beverages is permissible under the law. The letter, sent to nearly 30 companies, explains what the law requires in terms of food additives: the additives must meet generally recognized as safe (GRAS) standards or be given pre-market approval by the agency. According to FDA, caffeine is GRAS only when used in cola-type beverages. The letters were issued on November 13, 2009, and the companies were given 30 days to provide the requested information. In late September, the co-chairs of the National Association of Attorneys General Youth Access to Alcohol Committee called for the agency to pull the products from the market, contending that “the combination of caffeine and alcohol in AEDs [alcoholic…
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced a December 15, 2009, public forum titled “Sizing Up Food Marketing and Childhood Obesity,” which will include panels of industry representatives, federal regulators, consumer groups, scientific researchers, and legal scholars. The forum will address (i) the progress of self-regulatory initiatives, particularly the food and entertainment industries’ responses to the 2008 FTC report, “Marketing Foods to Children and Adolescents: A Review of Industry Expenditures, Activities, and Self-Regulation”; (ii) current research on the impact of food advertising on children; and (iii) the statutory and constitutional issues surrounding governmental regulation of food marketing. In addition, representatives from FTC, the Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Department of Agriculture will report on the status of recommended nutritional standards for foods marketed to children. See FTC Press Release, September 29, 2009.
The Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation’s Health Check™ program has reportedly revised its front-of-package (FOP) labeling scheme to better reflect current nutritional guidelines. Similar to the Smart Choices® system recently discontinued in the United States, Health Check allows subscribing manufacturers to use its FOP logo on products that meet specific nutritional requirements. Partly in response to criticism leveled at its U.S. counterpart, the non-profit organization has announced plans to disqualify any cookies, puddings, snack foods, flans, or frozen dairy, soy or tofu desserts from entering the program after December 28, 2009. Health Check has also set new salt, sugar and fat limits for endorsed products, stipulating that trans fat cannot comprise more than 5 percent of the total fat content. In addition, soups in the restaurant program must reduce sodium levels to 480 mg per 250 mL by November 1, 2010. “The Health Check nutrient criteria developed by the Heart…
Nearly 20 organizations reportedly testified last week about the purported link between sugar-sweetened beverages and obesity at a special joint hearing of California’s Senate Select Committee on Obesity and Diabetes and the Senate Health Committee. Several researchers reportedly linked sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and obesity, but an American Beverage Association representative cited research showing that 5.5 percent of calories come from sweetened beverages and that a lack of exercise and other foods also contribute to obesity. She said that solely targeting soft drinks will fail to properly address the obesity issue, claiming research has shown that half of adults who don’t consume soft drinks are also overweight. Senator Elaine Alquist (D-San Jose) reportedly chided industry representatives: “To be told that all calories are equal, that sweetened soda pop is not contributing to obesity . . . the public is not stupid. We know you can do better.” See The Los Angeles Times;…
