The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has just released a report that discusses how the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) new overseas food safety offices are functioning and offers recommendations for enhancing strategic planning and developing a workforce plan “to help recruit and retain overseas staff.” Titled “Overseas Offices Have Taken Steps to Help Ensure Import Safety, but More Long-Term Planning Is Needed,” the report was prepared for the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. According to the report, an FDA presence in foreign countries has improved the agency’s ability to build relationships with stakeholders abroad, to inspect foreign facilities and provide limited food safety training to overseas counterparts. Still, with only 42 total staff covering China, Europe, India, Latin America, and the Middle East, resources are apparently stretched and FDA has had some challenges with staffing. Foreign language capabilities and the domestic reintegration of staff serving abroad have apparently posed…
Category Archives U.S. Government and Regulatory Agencies
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released a 10-year tracking report that calls for increased focus on food safety practices in retail food establishments. A companion 2009 retail food report highlights the need for certified food protection managers to help achieve higher food-safety compliance levels. The 1998-2008 tracking report, which studied more than 800 retail food establishments in 1998, 2003 and 2008, focused on five key risk factors: (i) food from unsafe sources, (ii) poor personal hygiene, (iii) inadequate cooking, (iv) improper holding of food (time and temperature), and (v) contaminated food surfaces and equipment. According to an FDA press release, “continued improvements are needed across the board” regarding personal hygiene, holding of food and food surfaces and equipment. The 2009 report found that the presence of a certified food protection manager in full-service restaurants, delicatessens, seafood markets, and produce markets was correlated with “statistically significant higher compliance…
A federal court in New Jersey has granted the defendant’s unopposed motion to extinguish the stay in a lawsuit contending that Snapple beverage products are falsely advertised as “natural” because they contain high-fructose corn syrup, a purportedly non-natural ingredient. Holk v. Snapple Beverage Corp., No. 07-3018 (D.N.J., decided October 15, 2010) (unpublished). The court had stayed the litigation pending the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reaching a decision about the definition of “natural.” According to the court’s order, “The FDA in response has declined to address that issue.” Noting that another district court in New Jersey has lifted a stay imposed for the same reason in similar litigation (Coyle v. Hornell Brewing Co.), the court agreed to reopen the case, but refused to reinstate the motions that were pending when the case was “administratively terminated.” The court ordered the parties “to move again, upon new notices of motion and in accordance with…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service has announced the availability of five draft guidance documents for National Organic Program (NOP) certifying agents and certified operations. The documents cover the following topics: (i) Compost and Vermicompost in Organic Crop Production (NOP 5021); (ii) Wild Crop Harvesting (NOP 5022); (iii) Outdoor Access for Organic Poultry (NOP 5024); (iv) Commingling and Contamination Prevention in Organic Production and Handling (NOP 5025); and (v) The Use of Chlorine Materials in Organic Production and Handling (NOP 5026). Once finalized, the guidance will become available through “The Program Handbook: Guidance and Instructions for Accredited Certifying Agents (ACAs) and Certified Agents,” which provides “those who own, manage, or certify organic operations with guidance and instructions that can assist them with complying with the [NOP] regulations.” To this end, NOP will accept written comments on the drafts until December 13, 2010. See The Federal Register, October 13,…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has issued draft guidelines for video monitoring at federally inspected meat and poultry plants. Although the guidelines do not require in-plant video monitoring, such practices can be used to help strengthen food safety and humane animal-handling practices, and to monitor product inventory and building security, according to an October 14, 2010, FSIS news release. “Records from video or other electronic monitoring or recording equipment may also be used to meet FSIS’ record-keeping requirements,” the agency stated. The guidelines stem from a 2008 USDA Office of Inspector General (OIG) recommendation that called for FSIS to “determine whether video monitoring would be beneficial in slaughterhouse establishments,” FSIS Administrator Al Almanza was quoted as saying. “In agreeing to that OIG recommendation, FSIS committed to issuing compliance guidelines for using video records and a directive clarifying FSIS’ authority to access establishment video…
According to an agricultural and food law blog, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has published the U.S. Standards for Grades of Olive Oil and Olive-Pomace Oil, effective October 25, 2010. They supersede standards that were in effect since 1948. According to the agency, the standards “are designed to facilitate orderly marketing by providing a convenient basis for buying and selling, for establishing quality control programs, and for determining loan values. The standards also serve as a basis for the inspection and grading of commodities by the Federal inspection service.” The USDA website contains only a cached version of this document; it is unclear whether the material is undergoing some further change. See U.S. Agricultural & Food Law and Policy Blog, October 20, 2010.
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has released the first phase of its report on front-of-package (FOP) rating systems and symbols for food products and recommends that the nutrients of greatest concern to consumers—calories, saturated fats, trans fat, and sodium—as well as serving size, should be highlighted, with calorie-count and serving-size information displayed prominently. According to IOM, “The inclusion of total calories is one way to emphasize the importance of calories in the diet and may help consumers identify lower calorie foods and track the number of calories consumed, . . . [while] serving size information may help consumers better visualize realistic serving sizes and put that portion into context with the other foods and beverages they are consuming.” Sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the report, titled “Examination of Front-of-Package Nutrition Rating Systems and Symbols: Phase 1 Report,” examines and compares…
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning letter to Chiquita Brands International, Inc. indicating that the company is violating the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act by misbranding several of its pineapple products. According to FDA, because Pineapple Bites with Coconut® is made with a coconut-flavored spray, the product’s statement of identity and ingredient statement are false and misleading and should instead be identified as containing “coconut flavor.” The labeling also apparently states that the product contains antioxidants but does not include the names of the nutrients that are the subject of the claim. FDA further contends that the products include the claim “Plus Phytonutrients.” Because no recommended daily intake or daily recommended value has been established for phytonutrients, such nutrient content claims are not authorized, according to the agency. The products also apparently include the statement “Only 40 calories,” which FDA says implies that the products…
U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) has introduced a bill (H.R. 6325) that would require labeling for food that contains genetically engineered (GE) animal products. The Consumer Right to Know Food Labeling Act of 2010 would amend the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and Meat Inspection Act to compel the disclosure of product ingredients derived from cloned animals or their progeny. It would also mandate labeling for food products that contain GE salmon. In addition to providing for civil penalties and citizen suits in the event of misbranded food, the bill would direct the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to develop and implement a recordkeeping audit trail applicable to “any person that prepares, stores, handles, or distributes a cloned product for retail sale.” “A recent Food & Water Watch survey revealed that 78 percent of Americans do not want genetically-engineered salmon to be approved and made available…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has announced an October 13, 2010, public meeting in College Park, Maryland, to provide information and receive public comments on draft U.S. positions to be discussed at the 32nd Session of the Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses (CCNFSDU) on November 1-5 in Santiago, Chile. The meeting will address a discussion paper on the “Inclusion of New Part B for Underweight Children in the Standard for Processed Cereal-Based Foods for Infants and Young Children.” Other agenda items will include (i) proposed revision of “Codex General Principles for the Addition of Essential Nutrients to Foods”, (ii) proposed revision to the “Guidelines on Formulated Supplementary Foods for Older Infants and Young Children”, and (iii) “Proposed Draft Nutrient Reference Values for Nutrients Associated with Risk of Diet-Related Noncommunicable Diseases for General Population.” See Federal Register, October 1, 2010. FSIS…
