The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced an April 9, 2019, public meeting to receive comments on the United States' positions for the Codex Committee on Food Labelling meeting to be held in Canada in May 2019. Among the announced topics are (i) "Proposed draft Guidance for the Labelling of Non-Retail Containers"; (ii) "Proposed draft Guidelines of Front-of-Pack Nutrition Labelling"; (iii) "Innovation—use of technology in food labelling"; (iv) "Labelling of alcoholic beverages"; and (v) "Criteria for the definition of 'high in' nutritional descriptors for fats, sugars, and sodium."
Category Archives Legislation, Regulations and Standards
French fraud investigators have reportedly accused seven kiwi suppliers of stamping kiwis imported from Italy as "French origin." French authorities apparently noticed an influx of French kiwis on the market during the off-season for the fruit, leading them to investigate where the kiwis were sourced. According to The Guardian, investigators found that 12 percent of kiwis labeled as French were imported from Italy, where they can be grown with lower production costs and treated with products banned in France that can result in a higher yield. If convicted, the suppliers may receive prison sentences and €300,000 fines.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has announced an April 25, 2019, public webinar about "genome editing in animals, an innovative and rapidly evolving technology that offers significant public health benefits." The webinar will focus on "current scientific evidence, promising uses of this technology in animals, and the potential risks." FDA intends the webinar to help "those using genome editing to develop animals with genomic alterations," but registration is open to the public.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a report calling for "greater monitoring" of "unhealthy food products, especially those high in salt, sugar and fat." The report asserts that "exposure of children to the online marketing of unhealthy food products" remains "commonplace"—despite the organization's 2010 recommendations on limiting such exposure—and "urgently calls for developing and implementing a set of tools for monitoring the exposure of children to digital marketing." The establishment of a tool to monitor exposure could help "strengthen the case to national governments" for stronger measures limiting children's exposure to digital marketing of "unhealthy products," WHO states.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced that it will accept nominations for five vacancies on the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB). Each position on the board is categorized under the Organic Foods Production Act. USDA will accept nominations for: "One individual with expertise in areas of environmental protection and resource conservation"; "one individual who owns or operates an organic farming operation or employees of such individuals"; "one individual who owns or operates a retail establishment with significant trade in organic products or an employee of such individuals"; and "two individuals who own or operate an organic handling operation or employees of such individuals." The chosen candidates will serve on the NOSB from January 24, 2020, to January 23, 2025. Nominations will be accepted until May 20, 2019.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has deactivated an import alert that prevented the introduction of genetically engineered (GE) salmon into interstate commerce. The agency's statement indicates that it placed the ban in 2016 with the intention of lifting it when standards for labeling GE food were finalized. With the implementation of the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard in late 2018, the authority to regulate GE food shifted to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), according to the statement, so the import ban deactivation will remove barriers for USDA regulation. "With the deactivation of the import alert, AquAdvantage Salmon eggs can now be imported to the company’s contained grow-out facility in Indiana to be raised into salmon for food. As was determined during the FDA’s 2015 review, this fish is safe to eat, the genetic construct added to the fish’s genome is safe for the animal, and the manufacturer’s…
Kind LLC has submitted a citizen petition urging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to require disclosure of added sugar and trans fat on food packaging and remove the required disclosures for total fat and cholesterol. In addition, the petition recommends that FDA "[r]evise its nutrient content claim regulations to only allow a food to bear a nutrient content claim highlighting the presence or absence of a nutrient if the food contains a meaningful amount of at least one health-promoting food, such as: vegetables, fruits (especially whole fruits), whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds, which are recommended in the most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans."
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Health and Human Services (HHS) have announced the first meeting of the 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee and the opening of the public comment period on the development of the updated guidelines. The March 28-29, 2019, meeting is open to the public and is the first of five public meetings the agencies intend to hold.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb has indicated that he will resign by the end of March 2019. Gottlieb reportedly said that he no longer wanted to commute between Washington, D.C., and Westport, Connecticut, where his family lives. Commentators have speculated that Gottlieb's departure may affect FDA initiatives, such as its planned review of the safety of cannabidiol as a food additive.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced an online listening session to hear public input about "a new program to regulate hemp production." The agency's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) will host the webinar on March 13, 2019, with registration required by March 11 to speak during the session. "The Secretary of Agriculture and the respective USDA agencies, including AMS, are working to implement the provisions of the 2018 Farm Bill as expeditiously as possible to meet the needs of producers and other stakeholders," the announcement states. "To allow for public input and ensure transparency, it is important to hear from stakeholders regarding their priorities, concerns, and requests."
