The Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB) and the National Confectioners Association have announced the Children’s Confection Advertising Initiative (CCAI), “a new self-regulatory initiative that promotes responsible advertising to children.” Modeled after the Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI), which includes six major confectioners, CCAI asks participating companies not to advertise to children younger than age 12 or in schools from pre-kindergarten through sixth grade. Six candy companies have already pledged to abide by CCAI advertising rules. As Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Edith Ramirez remarked, “This new initiative is a welcome addition to the CBBB’s existing Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative and represents the type of self-regulatory solution the FTC has long advocated. The commitment by six confectionery companies to refrain from advertising in elementary schools and in media targeted at children is a positive step. I also hope that this new partnership with the National Confectioners…
Category Archives U.S. Government and Regulatory Agencies
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Program (NOP) has published revised National List Petition Guidelines for requesting amendments to the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances (National List). According to NOP, the National List not only identifies “the synthetic substances that may be used and the non-synthetic (natural) substances that may not be used in organic crop and livestock production,” but designates “a limited number of non-organic substances that may be used in or on processed organic products.” Clarifying the petition process as well as “the information to be submitted for all types of petitions requesting amendments to the National List,” the guidelines address, among other things, (i) who can submit a petition, (ii) what types of substances can be petitioned, and (iii) the criteria by which the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) evaluates petitions. These criteria include: (i) “the potential of the substance for detrimental chemical interactions…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are holding an April 13, 2016, public meeting in College Park, Maryland, to discuss U.S. draft positions for consideration at the 43rd Session of the Codex Committee on Labeling in Foods (CCFL) in Ottawa, Canada, on May 9-13. CCFL is charged with drafting food labeling provisions and addressing issues related to the advertisement of food with particular claims or misleading descriptions. Agenda items for the April 13 meeting include discussion papers focused on Internet food sales and the labeling of non-retail containers; proposed revisions to guidelines for use of the term “Halal”; and date marking. See Federal Register, February 26, 2016. Issue 598
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has called on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to require labeling on foods containing synthetic food dyes such as FD&C Green 3 and FD&C Blue 2. CSPI’s latest move follows its January 2016 publication of a report critical of FDA’s inattention to food dyes and pointing to studies allegedly linking food-dye consumption to behavioral issues in children, particularly those with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The health advocacy group’s proposed labeling would state: “WARNING: This food contains synthetic food colorings that may impair the behavior of some children.” “As long as dyes are permitted, only a warning label will provide consumers with the appropriate information to enable them to make the association between foods containing those dyes and their children’s behavioral symptoms,” CSPI said in its March 15, 2016, letter to FDA. “The FDA has mandated such labeling in the…
U.S. Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) have written a March 14, 2016, letter requesting that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) act on recommendations contained in a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on bee health. Summarizing federal initiatives designed to improve bee health and protect pollinator populations, the report calls on USDA to “coordinate with other agencies to develop a plan to monitor wild, native bees, and evaluate gaps in staff expertise in conservation practices.” In particular, GAO recommends that USDA redouble its efforts with the White House Pollinator Health Task Force to “develop a mechanism, such as a federal monitoring plan, that would (1) establish roles and responsibilities of lead and support agencies, (2) establish shared outcomes and goals, and (3) obtain input from relevant stakeholders, such as states.” According to the report, USDA should also update…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that two rules requiring calorie information to be listed on menus and menu boards in chain restaurants will not be enforced December 1, 2016, as initially planned, but will instead be delayed until one year after final guidance is issued. The announcement credits the omnibus appropriations bill enacted December 18, 2015, as cause for the delay. The agency is currently reviewing comments about related draft guidance issued in September 2015. See FDA Statement, March 9, 2016. Issue 597
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued guidance titled “Acrylamide in Foods” that finalizes a November 2013 draft on the topic. The document provides information about reducing acrylamide in potato-based, cereal-based and other foods as well as information to provide consumers on cooking packaged frozen french fries. See Federal Register, March 11, 2016. Issue 597
The founder of Midamar, an export company charged with fraud for sending “halal” meat to Malaysia that failed to meet halal slaughtering standards, has reportedly been sentenced to two years in federal prison and ordered to pay $60,000 in fines and $184,983 in disgorgement. Midamar was fined $20,000 and ordered to forfeit $600,000. A U.S. Department of Agriculture investigation revealed that William Aossey, Jr. instructed his employees at Midamar to change the application forms to indicate the meat had been produced at a Malaysia-approved facility instead of Midamar’s unapproved supplier. Aossey was convicted of making false statements on export applications, selling misbranded meat and committing wire and mail fraud in July 2015. The court cited Aossey’s advanced age and lack of criminal history to lower his sentence from the guideline sentencing range of 87-108 months. Aossey’s sons, Jalel and Yahya, have also been convicted of similar charges and will be…
Two cheese companies and an executive from a third company have pleaded guilty to charges relating to the manufacture and sale of adulterated and misbranded Parmesan cheese products. The companies, Universal Cheese & Drying, Inc. and International Packing, LLC, were charged with conspiracy to introduce misbranded cheese products into interstate commerce and to commit money laundering, while Michelle Myrter, an executive at Castle Cheese Co., pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of aiding and abetting the introduction of misbranded cheese. “The Department of Justice prosecutes people and companies who introduce adulterated or misbranded food into interstate commerce,” U.S. Attorney David Hickton said in a February 26, 2016, press release. “In this case, the fraud was perpetrated on consumers who purchased Parmesan and Romano cheeses that were inferior to what they believed they were buying.” Additional details about the Castle case and the ensuing media attention about the cellulose content in…
A Maine federal court has granted the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) a permanent injunction against Mill Stream Corp., a seafood company that allegedly failed to take measures preventing the formation and growth of Clostridium botulinum, the cause of botulism, or Listeria monocytogenes, the cause of listeriosis. U.S. v. Mill Stream Corp., No. 16-0080 (D. Me., order entered February 12, 2016). The injunction prevents the company and its employees from processing or distributing food produced at Mill Stream’s facilities or by its owner until several conditions have been satisfied, including: (i) retention of an independent laboratory to test for Listeria, (ii) development of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point plans by an independent expert, (iii) implementation of such plans, (iv) completion of additional employee training, and (v) approval to reopen by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). “The failure to plan for and control the presence of bacteria and neurotoxins…
