The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has announced the 33rd Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission slated for July 5-9, 2010, in Geneva, Switzerland. FSIS seeks public comments before the meeting on “those standards that are currently under consideration or planned for consideration and recommendations for new standards.” The standards that will be put forward for approval during the commission meeting include those concerned with food contaminants, additives, pesticide residues, analysis and sampling methods, import and export inspections, labeling, hygiene, fish and fishery products, milk and milk products, fats and oils, and processed fruits and vegetables. Also slated for consideration in Geneva is the status of the Codex Strategic Plan, the impact of private standards and the management of the “Trust Fund for the Participation of Developing Countries and Countries in Transition in the Work of the Codex Alimentarius.” Before the general commission meeting, the Codex…
Category Archives U.S. Government and Regulatory Agencies
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has published a notice of its intent to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) on genetically modified (GM) sugar beets. The agency had previously deregulated sugar beets genetically modified for glyphosate resistance without preparing an EIS and was ordered in September 2009 by a federal court in California to prepare one after its action was challenged by organic seed and nonprofit organizations. The court concluded that the environmental assessment which APHIS prepared failed to consider a number of environmental and related economic impacts of the GM crops. Thus, APHIS is planning to prepare an EIS and requests public comment by June 28, 2010, on the potential issues and reasonable alternatives it intends to include. Among those issues identified in the notice are data on production levels of organic and conventional sugar beets and other crops by region, state…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced an ambitious research effort “to determine the prevalence of parasites and disease-causing microorganisms that may be contributing to the decline of honey bee colonies nationwide.” According to a June 7, 2010, news release, the agency’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and Agricultural Research Service (ARS) will join Pennsylvania State University in surveying 350 apiaries across 13 states: Alabama, California, Georgia, Indiana, Florida, Hawaii, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Washington. Scientists will reportedly test the beehives for “specific pests and pathogens,” particularly a foreign mite of the genus Tropilaelaps. Noting that beekeepers currently provide pollination services for more than 90 commercial crops, USDA has registered a precipitous decline in honey bee populations since the 1980s. Researchers have apparently blamed the decline on numerous factors that include colony collapse disorder as well as newly introduced pests and diseases…
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced that it is submitting to the Office of Management and Budget its intention to study consumer susceptibility to fraudulent and deceptive marketing. The commission plans to conduct an “economic laboratory experiment” with 250 subjects to better target its enforcement actions and consumer education initiatives, and to improve future fraud surveys. The study, which will be conducted by a George Mason University faculty member, was previously announced but failed to generate any public comments. FTC plans to study whether ”several decision-making biases, such as impulsivity, over-optimism, and loss aversion, that can cause inaccurate assessments of the risks, costs, and benefits of various choices,” are related to consumers’ vulnerability to unfair and deceptive marketing claims. The commission will study the subjects’ assessment of potentially deceptive and non-deceptive advertisements and their ability to differentiate between seemingly fraudulent and legitimate advertisements. FTC requests public comments by July…
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) last week announced that Kellogg Co. has agreed to resolve an “investigation into questionable immunity-related claims for Rice Krispies cereal.” The agreement reopens a prior order involving Kellogg’s® Frosted Mini-Wheats®; the FTC will now require “substantiation for all health claims for any food” based on “competent and reliable scientific evidence,” defined as “tests, analyses, research, or studies that have been conducted and evaluated in an objective manner by qualified persons and are generally accepted in the profession to yield accurate and reliable results.” According to the concurring statement of Commissioner Julie Brill and FTC Chair Jon Leibowitz, the company was “developing its questionable Rice Krispies campaign last year [while] it was simultaneously negotiating with the FTC to resolve earlier allegations that the company had deceptively marketed Frosted Mini-Wheats as improving children’s attentiveness.” The concurring statement also notes, “What is particularly disconcerting to us is that at…
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has issued a June 2010 report claiming that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) “continues to be reactive, lacking a systematic focus on prevention.” According to a June 8, 2010, press release, IOM has advised FDA to adopt a “risk-based model” that involves increased coordination “with state and other federal agencies that share responsibility for protecting the nation’s food supply.” The institute has also called on Congress to amend the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act “to explicitly provide the authority FDA needs to fulfill its food safety mission.” Enhancing Food Safety: The Role of the Food and Drug Administration apparently provides a blueprint for overhauling FDA, which IOM criticized in a report brief for continuing to address problems “on a case-by-case basis.” Its recommendations include integrating food safety programs and public education, enhancing the efficiency of the inspection process, and modernizing legislation in an effort…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Department of Justice (DOJ) recently held the second workshop in a series dedicated to competition and regulatory issues in agriculture. Held in Normal, Alabama, the forum reportedly focused on the poultry industry and featured the remarks of U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, as well as roundtable discussions with farmers, academics and other stakeholders. According to a May 21, 2010, USDA press release, Holder reiterated that both agencies were committed to “protecting competition in those markets.” News sources have also noted Holder’s pledge to “understand why a growing number of American producers and farmers find it increasingly difficult to survive what they’ve done for decades.” A transcript of the proceedings will become available on the DOJ Antitrust Division website at a later date. See The Huntsville Times, May 21, 2010.
U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Gary Locke (D) has reportedly declared a fishery disaster in the Gulf of Mexico as a result of the ongoing Deepwater Horizon oil spill’s effect on commercial and recreational fisheries in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Made in response to requests from Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal (R) and Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour (R), the determination will help ensure that the federal government “is in a position to mobilize the full range of assistance that fishermen and fishing communities may need,” Locke said. The Commerce Department has asked for $15 million in supplemental funding “as a backstop to address this disaster,” $5 million in economic development assistance through the Economic Development Administration and unemployment coverage. In addition, the Small Business Administration has offered economic injury disaster loans to help fishermen and other affected businesses. See U.S. Commerce Department Press Release, May 24, 2010.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) this week released a report assessing Food and Drug Administration (FDA) efforts to address “serious deficiencies” in its food safety research. After a recent survey indicated that only 36 percent of FDA managers felt the agency “was making great progress in keeping pace with scientific advances,” GAO began investigating the ways in which “FDA may use science to more effectively support its regulatory work and to inform the public about food content and safety.” To this end, the report examines FDA’s “(1) progress in addressing selected recommendations identified by the Science Board; (2) incorporation of scientific and risk analysis into its oversight of the accuracy of food labeling, fresh produce, and the safety of dietary supplements; and (3) a new computer screening tool that may improve its efforts to screen imports using a risk-based approach.” It specifically notes the creation of the Office of the…
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued draft industry guidance in a question-and-answer format that provides information about complying with the reportable food registry requirements of a 2007 law. The purpose of the registry is to provide a “reliable mechanism to track patterns of adulteration in food [which] would support efforts by the Food and Drug Administration to target limited inspection resources to protect the public health.” The draft guidance is a second edition, updated to provide information about a new federal safety reporting portal. FDA requests public comments by July 26, 2010. The agency is particularly interested in comments addressing the meaning of the word “transfer” which is used in the context of an exemption from the requirement that “a responsible party submit a reportable food report.” For the exemption to apply, “the adulteration must have originated with the responsible party, the responsible party must have detected the…
