“Americans now eat an average of 33 pounds of cheese a year, nearly triple the 1970 rate,” writes New York Times investigative reporter Michael Moss in this article about Dairy Management Inc., a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) “marketing creation” with a $140 million annual budget “largely financed by a government-mandated fee on the dairy industry.” According to Moss, “The organization’s activities, revealed through interviews and records, provide a stark example of inherent conflicts in the Agriculture Department’s historical roles as both marketer of agriculture products and America’s nutrition police.” Moss claims that despite federal efforts to curb the consumption of saturated fats, Dairy Management has “worked with restaurants to expand their menus with cheese-laden products,” in addition to spending “millions of dollars on research to support a national advertising campaign promoting the notion that people could lose weight by consuming more dairy products.” His exposé opines that the group’s…
Category Archives U.S. Government and Regulatory Agencies
Beyond Pesticides, a Washington, D.C.-based organization opposed to the use of pesticides, has issued a call for comments to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Program (NOP) supporting recommendations by the National Organic Standards Board that would prohibit the use of engineered nanomaterials from certified organic products. According to the organization’s blog, the board passed the recommendations during its October 25-26, 2010, meeting. Among other matters, the recommendations include a working definition for engineered nanomaterials and propose that engineered nanomaterials be prohibited in both organic production processing and packaging. The board also called for NOP to schedule a symposium on the topic to consider whether the definition is adequate and enforceable and the best regulatory approach to address the matter. Beyond Pesticides is concerned about the unknown “long-term impacts of nanomaterials on human health and the environment.”
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has published a notice inviting public comment on its draft environmental assessment for genetically engineered (GE) sugar beets. Comments must be submitted by December 6, 2010. APHIS conducted the assessment in response to a request that it partially deregulate GE sugar beets “to authorize the continued cultivation of the GE sugar beets subject to carefully tailored interim measures proposed by APHIS.” A federal court in California determined in August that APHIS had violated federal environmental laws by approving the crop’s deregulation without the preparation of an appropriate environmental assessment. More information about the court’s decision appears in Issue 361 of this Update. When USDA then began issuing permits to sugar beet seed producers to allow GE sugar beets to be planted in fall 2010, environmental groups and farmers challenged the action, and the court found…
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced an extension of the comment period for a draft compliance policy guide that proposes “certain criteria should be considered in recommending enforcement action against animal feed or feed ingredients that are adulterated due to the presence of Salmonella.” FDA will now accept comments until December 31, 2010. Additional information about the draft guidance appears in Issue 359 of this Update. See Federal Register, October 29, 2010.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has proposed two new information collections related to voluntary registration, recordkeeping and mandatory third-party disclosure under section 4205 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. Section 4205 requires chain restaurants with 20 or more locations, as well as operators of 20 or more vending machines, to disclose “certain nutritional information on certain food items offered for sale so that consumers can make more informed choices about the food they purchase.” In addition, it provides for restaurants or operators with fewer than 20 locations to biannually opt in to the federal requirements. The first proposed information collection pertains to FDA’s program for voluntary registration under section 4205. FDA anticipates that chains with 10 to 19 outlets “may choose to register, either because they are growing quickly, or because they are concerned about possible regulation.” According to FDA, “[t]he primary source of potential registrants will…
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has reportedly confirmed the presence of Listeria monocytogenes at a San Antonio, Texas, processing plant implicated in four deaths. According to a November 3, 2010, FDA press release, the agency’s inspection of SanGar Fresh Cut Produce identified the bacteria “in processed celery and in multiple locations in the plant environment, including on food contact surfaces.” FDA also noted that its samples matched “the DNA fingerprint of the clinical cases of listeriosis reported by the Texas Department of State Health Services [DSHS],” which last month closed the plant and ordered a recall of all products shipped since January 2010. “It comes as no surprise to us,” one DSHS spokesperson was quoted as saying. “If there was any doubt out there, this erases it. It’s another layer of confirmation that this plant had serious issues.” Additional details about the outbreak and recall appear in Issue 369…
The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) and Food Marketing Institute (FMI) have unveiled plans to create a front-of-package (FOP) labeling system that aims to “inform consumers and combat obesity.” According to an October 27, 2010, joint press release, the FOP system will display “important information on calories and other nutrients to limit . . . in a fact-based, simple and easy-to-use format.” The two industry groups have also pledged to consult stakeholders as they work to finalize the system and “provide consumers with information on nutrients needed to build a ‘nutrient-dense’ diet and on ‘shortfall nutrients’ that are under-consumed in the diets of most Americans.” The announcement followed the release of an Institute of Medicine report calling for FOP labels that highlight the nutrients of greatest concern to consumers—calories, saturated fats, trans fat, and sodium—as well as serving size. Co-sponsored by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Phase 1 report…
The United States has reportedly decided not to file an appeal from a World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling that its ban on Chinese poultry imports, imposed in 2004 upon fears of an avian flu outbreak, was illegal. According to a news source, this ends the trade dispute. While the legislative ban expired within five years, under current U.S. law, the U.S. Department of Agriculture cannot allow poultry imports unless the foreign country’s food safety procedures are deemed equivalent to those used in the United States. A 2009 appropriations bill included this provision despite lobbying by U.S. trade organizations against it. See FoodNavigator-USA.com, October 27, 2010. Meanwhile, WTO has apparently decided to open to the public the second hearing on a complaint filed by Canada and Mexico, challenging the U.S. promulgation of country-of-origin labeling for cattle and hog imports. The parties reportedly requested an open hearing, which will take place December…
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) has filed a complaint in federal court under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), seeking documents from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) related to the development of policies to protect scientific integrity in federal agencies, such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration. PEER v. OSTP, No. __ (D.D.C., filed October 19, 2010). According to the complaint, President Barack Obama (D) issued an executive order in March 2009, requiring the development of such rules by July. They have not yet been promulgated. OSTP Director John Holdren reportedly wrote online in June 2010 that the “process has been more laborious and time-consuming than expected,” and that an interagency panel has developed draft recommendations for OSTP and Office of Management and Budget review. Representatives from the latter two offices “have been honing a final set of recommendations”…
Washington State Attorney General Robert McKenna has issued an October 25, 2010, letter to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, alleging that a recent incident involving alcoholic energy drinks (AEDs) sent nine college students to emergency rooms with alcohol poisoning. According to the letter, “Once at the hospital, medical staff found the blood-alcohol levels of the impacted students ranged from .123 percent (legally drunk) to .35 percent—a lethal level of alcohol poisoning… The investigation concludes that the students—all under 21 years old—combined AEDs with other kinds of alcohol.” Citing the October 8 police report, McKenna has claimed that the affected students were drinking an AED manufactured by Phusion Projects, LLC , known as “Four Loko,” which contains 12 percent alcohol and “high doses of caffeine and sugar.” Moreover, the letter continues, “The frightening incident… is hardly unique. In fact, AEDs are sweeping college campuses… Twenty-three students at New…
