The Cornucopia Institute, which represents the interests of small organic agricultural operations, has called on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to investigate charges that Aurora Dairy’s High Plains facility is operating in violation of National Organic Program (NOP) standards. In its August 31, 2009, letter, the institute refers to a similar complaint it filed about Aurora Dairy in 2007. According to the letter, the agency assured the institute that the 2007 complaint “would be incorporated into the probation that Aurora Dairy was operating under, pursuant to a consent agreement signed with the Department. Based on freedom of information documents, obtained by The Cornucopia Institute, no scrutiny of this facility ever took place and the allegations we communicated in 2007 were never investigated.” The letter outlines how Aurora Dairy has allegedly fallen short of NOP requirements and specifically points to the planting of an annual forage crop in the animals’…
Category Archives Legislation, Regulations and Standards
The Boulder County Board of Commissioners has reportedly delayed a decision about whether genetically modified (GM) sugar beets can be grown on open-space land. At a August 25, 2009, public hearing, six farmers who in December requested permission to grow the beets on county land apparently asked the commissioners to delay the decision. “I don’t think any of us thought for a second that this issue would have become as emotionally charged as it has today,” one of the farmers was quoted as saying. In 2003, the commissioners voted to allow GM corn but stipulated that any new GM crop would need new permission. This spring, county staffers researched the pros and cons of GM sugar beets but during the recent meeting the commissioners asked the Parks and Open Space Department to create a broader policy that would address GM crops in general. “We do not want to be in…
The European Commission (EC) has reportedly entered the second phase of a crackdown on functional food health claims advertising a product’s purported health benefits. EC regulations currently require the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to draw up a “positive list” of permitted health claims by 2010, but the commission is now discussing further restrictions on functional foods that also contain high levels of sugar, saturated fat or salt. According to EFSA, the agency has received “4,185 main health claim entries” that each comprise “a food component, a health relationship and an example of wording.” This review process “takes into account the conditions of use and references available for around 10,000 similar health claims.” Meanwhile, the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) has asked the commission to restrict advertising for products with more than 15 percent sugar content, although the final threshold appears likely to fall between 20-25 percent sugar content. Several…
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a request for “comments and scientific data and information on acrylamide in food,” noting that the agency is considering industry guidance on this issue. Describing acrylamide as “a chemical that can form in some foods during certain types of high-temperature cooking,” the agency is seeking information from manufacturers on how to measure and reduce acrylamide levels in food. The agency has also 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 consumers; (v) food types for which the agency could recommend target acrylamide levels; and (vi) achievable acrylamide levels for french fries, potato chips, breakfast cereals, coffee, cookies, and other baked goods…
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced the creation of a Dairy Advisory Committee that will “play an important role in building a more stable market for dairy production for years to come,” according to an agency news release. The two-year committee will specifically review farm milk price volatility and dairy farmer profitability, and offer suggestions on how USDA can best address these issues to meet the dairy industry’s needs. The 15 members will include producers and producer organizations, processors and processor organizations, handlers, consumers, academia, retailers, and state agencies involved in organic and non-organic dairy at the local, regional, national, and international levels. Nominations will be accepted through September 28, 2009. See USDA News Release, August 25, 2009.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) have announced a series of public workshops “to explore the competition issues affecting the agricultural sector in the 21st century and the appropriate role for antitrust and regulatory enforcement in that sector.” Organized in response to “concerns about changes in the agricultural marketplace, including increasing processor concentration in some commodities,” these meetings will focus on “the dynamics of competition in agricultural markets, including, among other issues, buyer power (also known as monopsony) and vertical integration.” The workshops will also address (i) “the impact of agricultural concentration on food costs”; (ii) “the effect of agricultural regulatory status and other applicable laws and programs on competition”; (iii) “issues relating to patent and intellectual property affecting agricultural marketing and production”; and (iv) “market practices such as price spreads, forward contracts, packer ownership of livestock before slaughter, market transparency, and increasing retailer…
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), U.S. Department of Agriculture and Office of the Acting Secretary for Food Safety have announced a public meeting to address an upcoming session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, the international food standards body established by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organization. Slated for October 8, 2009, the meeting will consider U.S. draft positions pertaining to the 31st Session of the Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses (CCNFSDU) to be held November 2-6 in Dusseldorf, Germany. CCNFSDU studies nutritional problems and advises the Codex on general nutritional issues; drafts general provisions concerning the nutritional aspects of all foods; develops standards, guidelines and related texts pertaining to foods for special dietary uses; and considers provisions on nutritional aspects proposed for inclusion in Codex standards. The U.S. agencies will also hold a working group on October…
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced the availability of draft guidance titled “Guidance for Industry: Labeling of Certain Beers Subject to the Labeling Jurisdiction of the Food and Drug Administration [FDA].” The agencies have issued the document “in light of the recent ruling by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) (formerly The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF)) clarifying that certain beers do not meet the definition of a ‘malt beverage’ under the Federal Alcohol Administration Act (FAA Act).” According to HHS, beers that do not fall under FAA Act jurisdiction “are subject to the labeling provisions of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) and the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act (FPLA).” The draft guidance also “reminds manufacturers that the labeling of wine beverages containing less than 7 percent alcohol by volume, such as wine coolers, diluted wine…
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that it will decide by November 30, 2009, whether the chemical bisphenol A (BPA) is safe for use in food packaging. FDA Acting Deputy Commissioner and Chief Scientist Jesse Goodman has reportedly told the agency’s Science Board that a group of FDA scientists will conduct a new review of more than 100 studies on BPA and that the review will be assessed by a group of government scientists not affiliated with FDA. Commissioner Margaret Hamburg will review the science and recommendations, and then determine whether BPA is safe when used in food containers. Scientific evidence on whether the levels of BPA in products are harmful has been hotly disputed. Last year, FDA said the chemical was safe because the small amounts that leach from food containers do not threaten children or adults. But its Science Board rejected that decision, apparently claiming that…
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals has determined that federal food labeling law does not preempt the state law-based claims filed by a consumer who challenged Snapple’s designation of beverages containing high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) as “natural.” Holk v. Snapple Beverage Corp., No. 08-3060 (3d Cir., decided August 12, 2009). The appeals court reversed a lower court ruling dismissing the claims on the basis of implied preemption. The complaint, originally filed in state court, but removed to federal court in 2007 under the Class Action Fairness Act, initially asserted that Snapple products were not “All Natural” because they contained HFCS; they were not “Made from the Best Stuff on Earth”; and Snapple falsely labeled some beverages, naming them after fruit-juice varieties that were not actually in the beverages. The plaintiff alleged unjust enrichment and common law restitution, breach of express and implied warranties and violations of the New Jersey…
