The European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA’s) Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM) has issued a scientific opinion assessing the human health risks of free and esterified 3- and 2-monochloropropane-1, 2-diol (MCPD) and glycidyl esters (GE) in food. According to CONTAM, which considered 7,175 occurrence data, “esters of 3- and 2-MCPD and glycidyl esters were found at the highest levels in palm oil/fat, but most vegetable oil/fats contain substantial quantities.” The panel warned that these substances—which form when refining vegetable oils at high temperatures—pose potential health concerns “for average consumers of these foods in all young age groups, and for high consumers in all age groups.” “There is sufficient evidence that glycidol is genotoxic and carcinogenic, therefore the CONTAM Panel did not set a safe level for GE,” said CONTAM Chair Helles Knutsen in a May 3, 2016, press release. “The exposure to GE of babies consuming solely infant…
Category Archives Legislation, Regulations and Standards
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition has published a report finding that 77 percent of surveyed adults use the Nutrition Facts label at least some of the time when buying a food product. Intended to help the agency regulate food and dietary supplement labeling, the 11th edition of the FDA Health and Diet Survey relies on data from 2,480 participants interviewed by telephone or cellphone about their use of nutrition labels and understanding of nutrition claims, purchasing practices and general attitudes toward nutrition and health issues. The results highlight consumer attitudes about salt reduction, with almost all respondents agreeing “the nation eats more salt than we should.” Of these, 50 percent believe individuals are most effective in curbing their own salt consumption, while 25 percent believe the responsibility lies with food manufacturers and retailers, 5 percent with restaurants, and 5 percent with…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued final guidance to help chain establishments with 20 or more locations (e.g., grocery and convenience stores, quick-service and fast-food restaurants, pizza delivery outlets, and movie theaters) comply with menu labeling requirements for standard menu items and self-service offerings under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. According to FDA, the final guidance provides “additional examples and new or revised questions and answers on topics such as covered establishments, alcoholic beverages, catered events, mobile vendors, grab-and-go items, and recordkeeping requirements.” Enforcement of the menu labeling final rule will begin on May 5, 2017. See Federal Register, May 5, 2016. Issue 603
The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) has filed lawsuits against The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. and The Honest Co., Inc. alleging the companies’ “organic” infant formula products contain multiple substances prohibited for use in organic food by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Organic Consumers Assoc. v. Hain Celestial Grp., Inc., No. 16-2533 (D.C. Super. Ct., filed April 5, 2016); Organic Consumers Assoc. v. Honest Co., Inc., No. SC125655 (Cal. Super. Ct., Los Angeles Cty., filed April 6, 2016). The lawsuit against Hain Celestial challenges the label claims of its Earth’s Best products, which the complaint argues are all labeled organic despite none meeting federal organic regulations. “Behind the picturesque red barn of the Earth’s Best logo displayed on each of the Falsely Labeled Products lies a chemical soup of synthetic, toxic, and hazardous ingredients,” the complaint argues. “For example, of the 48 ingredients in Earth’s Best Organic Infant Formula, more than…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety is convening a June 10, 2016, public meeting in Washington, D.C. to discuss U.S. draft positions for consideration at the 39th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) in Rome, Italy, on June 27-July 1. Agenda activities at the June 10 meeting will include Codex work on antimicrobial resistance, relations between CAC and other international organizations and issues regarding food integrity/authenticity. See Federal Register, April 25, 2016. Issue 602
Public-interest group Cornucopia Institute has filed a lawsuit against Tom Vilsack in his capacity as Secretary of Agriculture alleging that he and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) violated the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 by appointing “unqualified individuals” to the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB), which develops a list of synthetic substances allowed in the production of organic food, the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances. Cornucopia Inst. v. Vilsack, No. 16-0246 (W.D. Wis., filed April 18, 2016). Federal law requires the composition of the NOSB to be “balanced and independent,” Cornucopia argues, but USDA “inappropriately influenced” the board in a number of ways, including (i) disbanding its Policy Development Subcommittee, (ii) allowing the self-appointment of the board’s co-chairperson, and (iii) removing the board’s ability to set its own work plan. “USDA’s unlawful meddling with the composition and rules governing the NOSB has created a NOSB hostile…
Healthy Boulder Kids has submitted to the city of Boulder, Colorado, a draft initiative that would impose on distributors a 2-cent per ounce excise tax on beverages that contain at least 5 grams of sweeteners per 12 fluid ounces. Pending review and approval by the city clerk, the public health coalition would then have until June 28, 2016, to collect the requisite number of signatures to get the measure on the November ballot. Revenue from the proposed tax would reportedly be directed to health and nutrition programs aimed especially at low-income residents of the Boulder community. See Boulder Daily Camera, April 21, 2016. Issue 601
The Salt Institute has penned an April 11, 2016, letter asking the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to withdraw the sodium provisions included in the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which advise individuals to consume less than 2,300 milligrams (mg) per day of sodium. According to the Salt Institute, these provisions—in addition to those that appear in the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans—violate the statutory mandate that requires them to reflect “the preponderance of the scientific and medical knowledge which is current at the time the report is prepared.” In particular, the letter argues that both the 2010 and 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committees (DGACs) based their sodium recommendations on a 2004 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report that failed to contain enough evidence to set a recommended dietary allowance. “Rather than thoroughly assessing the current scientific and medical knowledge, the Agencies reached…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved folic acid fortification of corn masa flour in response to a 2012 petition from the March of Dimes Foundation, National Council of La Raza and other groups. FDA’s action allows manufacturers to voluntarily add up to 0.7 milligrams of folic acid per pound of corn masa flour. Used in tortillas, tamales and other foods, corn masa flour is a dietary staple for many people of Mexican and Central American descent, and the petitioners sought the voluntary fortification to increase the folic acid intake for U.S. women of childbearing age who regularly consume such products. Folic acid is a synthetic form of folate, a B vitamin linked to the decreased incidence of neural tube defects. See Federal Register, April 15, 2016.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has proposed amendments to organic livestock and poultry production requirements to clarify “how producers and handlers must treat their livestock and poultry to ensure their health and well-being throughout life.” Based on recommendations from the National Organic Standards Board, the draft rules also specify “which physical alterations are allowed and prohibited” and establish “minimum indoor and outdoor space requirements for poultry.” In particular, the proposed amendments provide for “a feed ration sufficient to meet nutritional requirements, including vitamins, minerals, protein and/or amino acids, fatty acids, energy sources, and fiber (ruminants), resulting in appropriate body condition.” They also limit physical alterations to those performed only at “a reasonably young age, with minimal stress and pain and by a competent person,” and only in cases determined to “benefit the welfare or hygiene of the animals, or for identification purposes or safety.” In…
