California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has determined that coffee will not be required to carry a label indicating that it contains chemicals known to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm pursuant to the state's Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act (Proposition 65). According to the notice, "Coffee, a unique and complex chemical mixture made from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, contains many different compounds, including carcinogens listed under Proposition 65, and anticarcinogens. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC)—the only Proposition 65 authoritative body to have evaluated coffee—concluded that coffee consumption is not classifiable as to its overall carcinogenicity and is associated with reduced risk of certain cancers in humans." Written comments on the determination will be accepted until August 30, 2018.
Category Archives Legislation, Regulations and Standards
The Cornucopia Institute has released "The Turkish Infiltration of the U.S. Organic Grain Market: How Failed Enforcement and Ineffective Regulations Made the U.S. Ripe for Fraud and Organized Crime," a report arguing that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has failed to "curb the infiltration of questionable organic grain imports" into the U.S. food supply. The report alleges that shipments of grain have arrived from Turkey, Russia, Moldova and Kazakhstan that were purportedly sourced from countries that do not have sufficient organic acreage to produce the amount of imported organic grains. The report accompanies a Cornucopia letter urging Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue to "implement protocols and procedures to require testing of any bulk shipment of 'organic' grain that meets minimum volume or monetary value thresholds and is presented for import at ports, docks, and border crossings of the United States." "We again urge the USDA to engage in emergency…
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has proposed changes to its compositional standards of beer, ale, stout, porter and malt liquor "to allow for innovation within the beer category while still preserving product integrity and to better reflect the tastes and needs of consumers." The proposed amendments would update the definition of beer to allow the use of microorganisms beyond yeast in the fermentation starter culture and remove the requirement that the final product "possess the aroma, taste and character commonly attributed to beer." In addition, herbs and spices would be permitted for use in product formulation, and beer would be limited to no more than 4 percent by weight of residual sugars to distinguish beer from malt-based beverages. Comments on the proposed changes will be accepted until September 14, 2018.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will host a public meeting on cultured meat, poultry and seafood on July 12, 2018. In a press release, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb asserted that the agency governs "both substances used in the manufacture of these products of animal cell culture technology and the products themselves that will be used for food" and grouped cultured meats with other "rapidly evolving areas of technological innovation" such as genetically engineered foods and microbial, algal and fungal cells generated and used as direct food ingredients. "The FDA remains committed to using our expertise in relevant scientific areas to evaluate the safety of emerging food technologies, such as foods generated by animal cell culture technology," according to Gottlieb's statement. "But as we mentioned, in addition to leveraging the existing expertise of our staff, we’re also investing in making sure we are considering all the unique attributes and challenges…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced that April 2018 proposed changes to the National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP) will be adopted. The amendments update several provisions, including "those concerning NPIP participation, voting requirements, testing procedures, and standards."
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has released guidance identifying eight non-digestible carbohydrates that the agency intends to add to its list of dietary fibers—including mixed plant cell wall fibers, alginate, polydextrose and resistant maltodextrin/dextrin—because the agency has "tentatively determined that they have physiological effects that are beneficial to human health." These additions "provide industry with additional clarity to update their product labels and accurately declare dietary fiber content on the Nutrition Facts and Supplement Facts labels for consumers," according to a constituent update.
The American Grassfed Association and the Organization for Competitive Markets (OCM) have filed a petition urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to change its policy allowing meat produced outside of the United States to be labeled as a product of the country if it passes through an agency-inspected plant. The groups call for a change to USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service Policy Book, which allows a label to bear "Product of U.S.A." if the food is "processed" within the United States. They argue that the section should be clarified to instruct that a label can bear the phrase if "it can be determined that significant ingredients having a bearing on consumer preference such as meat, vegetables, fruits, dairy products, etc., are of domestic origin (minor ingredients such as spices and flavorings are not included). In this case, the labels should be approved with the understanding that such ingredients…
Hawaii Governor David Ige has signed a bill that will ban the use of chlorpyrifos in the state beginning January 1, 2019. The law allows users of the pesticide to apply for a temporary permit allowing its use until December 31, 2022, and prohibits the use of pesticides near schools during normal school hours. The bill was passed in May 2018 by a unanimous Hawaii legislature.
U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Reps. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) and Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.) have introduced the Accurate Labels Act, a proposed amendment to the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act that would require information about the "chemical composition of, and radiation emitted by" a food product to be based on the "best available science." According to a press release from Moran, the bill "ensures that consumers have access to accurate and easy-to-understand product information" by (i) "[e]stablishing science-based criteria for all additional state and local labeling requirements"; (ii) "[a]llowing state-mandated product information to be provided through smartphone-enabled 'smart labels' and on websites, where consumers can find up-to-date, relevant ingredients and warnings"; and (iii) "[e]nsuring that covered product information is risk-based." "Consumers deserve full transparency on the products they’re buying, no matter where they live or shop," Kinzinger said in a statement. "Often times, due to various state laws, items are…
The European Commission has proposed rules intended to reduce the buildup of single-use plastic in oceans. The rules would ban plastic products with a readily available and affordable alternative, such as cutlery, plates, straws and drink stirrers. In addition, manufacturers "will help cover the costs of waste management and clean-up, as well as awareness raising measures" for several plastic products, including "food containers, packets and wrappers (such as for crisps and sweets)" and "drink containers and cups."
