Citing the need to help curb food loss and waste, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has announced new guidance that encourages food manufacturers and retailers to use the phrase “Best if Used by” on date labeling. Infant formula is the only product currently subject to mandatory date labeling under federal law. Date labeling for other food and beverage products is voluntary, and the variety of “Sell by” and “Use by” phrasing used to describe quality dates has apparently led to the early disposal of products that are still safe to consume. See FSIS News Release, December 14, 2016. Issue 626
Category Archives Legislation, Regulations and Standards
Responding to food manufacturers’ requests, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has published industry guidance to clarify when fruit and vegetable juices “may be used as color additives for foods without additional premarket review and approval from the agency under its color additive petition process.” Under current regulations, the agency provides that “the safety of fruit juice and vegetable juice as color additives for use in food is assured by the fact that the fruit or vegetable from which the color additive is derived has been safely consumed as food, such that there would not be safety concerns in using the juice or water soluble color components from the fruit or vegetable as a color additive.” In particular, FDA clarifies what it means by the terms “fruit,” “vegetable,” “mature,” “fresh,” and “edible,” as well as “expressing the juice” and “water infusion of the dried fruit or vegetable.” The agency…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has denied a February 9, 2012, petition filed by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) that requested “a performance standard of non-detectable as determined by the best available method of detection for Vibrio vulnificus in molluscan shellfish intended for raw or processed raw consumption.” Citing V. vulnificus as “the leading cause of seafood-associated deaths in the United States,” the petition notes that FDA already enforces a zero tolerance standard for V. vulnificus in ready-to-eat fish and a non-detectable standard of less than 30 most probable numbers per gram (MPN/g) for post-harvest processed shellfish. According to CSPI, the Food Safety Modernization Act directs the agency to set performance standards for significant foodborne contaminants. In rejecting the petition, FDA notes that other strategies—including state adherence to and federal oversight of control measures designed to manage V. vulnificus risk—have effectively reduced oyster-associated V.…
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court’s determination that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had the discretion to issue an incorrect contamination warning about Salmonella-tainted tomatoes, which devalued a tomato farmer’s crop by $15 million. Seaside Farm v. United States, No. 15-2562 (4th Cir., order entered December 2, 2016). Details about the lower court’s decision appear in Issue 588 of this Update. The lawsuit stemmed from FDA’s warning against eating raw tomatoes in 2008 following an outbreak of Salmonella that was later traced to jalapeno and Serrano peppers. Seaside Farm filed suit alleging FDA negligently issued the warning, impairing the value of its crop. The trial court found that FDA was acting within its discretion to issue the warning. Seaside argued that FDA’s warning was overly broad and based on insufficient evidence, noting that the agency failed to test any tomatoes before issuing its…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Program (NOP) has proposed guidance “for calculating the percentage of organic ingredients in multi-ingredient products.” Intended for accredited certifying agents and handling operations, the draft guidance responds to a National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) request for correction and clarification of the requirements codified at 7 CFR 205.302(a), which defines the method of calculating the percentage of organically produced ingredients as ‘‘[d]ividing the total net weight (excluding water and salt) of combined organic ingredients at formulation by the total weight (excluding water and salt) of the finished product.’’ Per NOSB’s recommendations, the draft guidance corrects this language “to clarify that organic percentages should be calculated by dividing the total net weight (excluding water and salt) of combined organic ingredients at formulation by the total net weight (excluding water and salt) of all ingredients,” as opposed to “the weight of the ‘finished product’ because most…
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has petitioned the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for "a Label on Processed Meat and Poultry Products Warning the Public that Frequent Consumption May Increase the Risk of Colorectal Cancer." Citing the International Agency for Research on Cancer's finding that smoked, salted and/or cured bacon, hot dogs, ham, sausages and similar products are "carcinogenic to humans," CSPI argues that epidemiological studies backed by "mechanistic evidence" support the alleged link between processed meat and an increased risk of colorectal cancer. The group also points to similar conclusions drawn by the World Cancer Research Fund International, American Institute for Cancer Research, Imperial College London and the American Cancer Society, the latter of which "advises the public to 'minimize consumption of processed meats such as bacon, sausage, luncheon meats, and hot dogs' based on evidence that the risk of colorectal cancer increases by 15…
The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against two Washington companies—Washington Potato and Pasco Processing—for allegedly discriminating against immigrants during the employment eligibility verification process. United States v. Wash. Potato Co., No. 16-1320 (D.O.J., filed November 14, 2016). The complaint alleges the companies required non-U.S. citizens to submit specific documentation to process the Form I-9 and E-Verify while allowing U.S. citizens more flexibility in their documentation. “Federal law protects individuals with legal work authorization from facing discriminatory obstacles during employment eligibility verification,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta in a November 14, 2016, press release. “All people with legal employment status in the United States must receive an equal opportunity to prove they can work, regardless of their citizenship or immigration status.” Issue 623
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) has reportedly voted 10-3, with one abstention, to remove carrageenan from the national list of substances allowed in organic processing and handling. Held November 16-18, 2016, in St. Louis, Missouri, the NOSB’s semi-annual meeting included a review of carrageenan on the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances that identifies “the synthetic substances that may be used and the nonsynthetic (natural) substances that may not be used in organic crop and livestock production.” Other substances slated for sunset in 2018 include agar-agar, animal enzymes, calcium sulfate-mined, glucono delta-lactone, tartaric acid, cellulose potassium hydroxide, silicon dioxide, and beta-carotene extract for use as a coloring agent. According to news sources, NOSB did not impugn the safety of carrageenan but took into account the availability of other substances to replace the seaweed-based thickening agent. If it accepts NOSB’s recommendation, the National Organic Program…
The U.S. Surgeon General has issued a landmark report intended “to address substance use disorders and the wider range of health problems and consequences related to alcohol and drug misuse in the United States.” Seeking “to galvanize the public, policymakers, and health care systems,” the report claims, among other things, that more than 25 percent of the adult and adolescent population experienced at least one binge drinking episode in the past month—that is, men consumed five or more standard alcoholic beverages in a single occasion and women consumed four or more such beverages in a single occasion. Divided into seven chapters, the report includes sections on “the neurobiology of substance use, misuse, and addiction,” prevention and early intervention strategies, and recovery paths. In particular, the report highlights “well-supported scientific evidence” purportedly showing that (i) “addiction to alcohol or drugs is a chronic brain disease that has potential for recurrence and…
Four cities and one county have reportedly passed taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), joining Berkeley, California, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in adopting measures purportedly designed to curb sugary-drink consumption. According to media sources, voters in Boulder, Colorado, passed a 2-cent-per-ounce excise tax on SSB distributors, while those in San Francisco, Oakland and Albany, California, passed a 1-cent-per-ounce levy on distributors. In Cook County, Illinois, the board of commissioners also voted in favor of a 1-cent-per-ounce SSB tax. “The tide has turned on this issue, and momentum has swung in our favor,” said Howard Wolfson, senior advisor to former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. “I am confident in the months ahead more municipalities will seek to implement soda taxes to help their citizens, and we will be willing to help them as they do.” See The New York Times, November 9, 2016; Crain’s Chicago Business, November 10, 2016. Issue 622
