Led by the European Network of Scientists for Social and Environmental Responsibility (ENSSER), a group of independent researchers has released a joint statement in Environmental Sciences Europe that challenges “recent claims of a consensus over the safety of genetically modified organisms (GMOs).” According to the January 20, 2015, statement, “the scarcity and contradictory nature of the scientific evidence published to date prevents conclusive claims of safety, or lack of safety, of GMOs.” In particular, the signatories not only argue that scientific agreement on the safety of GMOs is “an artificial construct that has been falsely perpetuated through diverse fora,” but suggest that the current regulatory approach to vetting GMOs case-by-case belies any purported consensus. As evidence, they cite “the different research methods employed, an inadequacy of available procedures, and differences in the analysis and interpretation of data,” as well as unaddressed concerns raised by independent animal-feeding studies and other research.…
Category Archives Other Developments
The Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) and the Fraunhofer Nanotechnology and Food Chain Management alliances have organized a two-day public event on March 5-6, 2015, in Berlin to discuss a range of risk-related issues related to the use of nanomaterials. Symposium topics will include (i) European Food Safety Agency guidance on nanomaterials, (ii) the NanoDefine project, (iii) migration potential of nanomaterials in food contact plastics, (iv) inhalation toxicology, and (v) public acceptance of nanotechnology. Charged with “providing information on possible, identified and assessed risks which foods, substances and products may entail for consumers,” BfR reports to the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture. Issue 553
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s (RWJF) Healthy Eating Research initiative has published a January 2015 report seeking to close alleged loopholes in industry efforts to regulate the marketing of foods and beverages to children. Focusing on children younger than age 14, Recommendations for Responsible Food Marketing to Children notes that although new advertising standards have led to improved nutritional profiles for many products, these guidelines often exclude product packaging, in-store promotions, toy incentives, and other strategies from their definitions of child-directed marketing. To this end, the report offers model definitions that aim to cover diverse brand architectures as well as new media and venues for marketing activities. The authors recommend that companies restrict their advertising to products that meet nutritional criteria when (i) “children constitute 25 percent or more of the audience (e.g., viewers, listeners, readers, participants, or visitors) at the time of ad placement based on projected attendance,” (ii) “children are…
A consortium of prosecco manufacturers has reportedly contacted the United Kingdom’s Food Standards Agency and Intellectual Property Office to threaten legal action under EU trading regulations against British wine bars and pubs that refuse to stop serving the sparkling wine from a keg. Prosecco sales apparently surpassed those of its rival, champagne, for the first time in 2014, and in the same year the United Kingdom replaced Germany as the top export market for prosecco. “If prosecco is sold on tap then it is no longer prosecco—it needs to be served directly from the bottle,” Luca Giavi, director of the consortium, told The Telegraph. The winemakers cite a 2009 European law which states that “prosecco wine shall be marketed exclusively in traditional glass bottles,” and the president of the consortium, Stefano Zanettin, asserted that violations can merit fines ranging from €2,000 to €20,000. Michele Anzaldi, a member of the Italian…
Citing the role of excess dietary sodium in the development of cardiovascular disease and industry resistance to federal action mandating reductions, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) this week issued a report claiming that the top 25 U.S. restaurant chains have failed to lower the amount of sodium in nearly 3,000 menu items between 2012 and 2014. “As a whole, the nation’s leading restaurants are failing miserably when it comes to their patrons’ heart health,” CSPI Executive Director Michael Jacobson said. “And, unfortunately, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has failed for decades to tell the food industry to lower sodium and by how much.” The public health watchdog reportedly analyzed restaurant sodium data from Menustat.org, a New York City health department database providing nutritional information about fare served at the nation’s largest restaurant chains. See CSPI News Release, December 2, 2014. Issue 547
The Pew Charitable Trusts Campaign on Human Health and Industrial Farming has published an issue brief concluding that gaps in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) guidance for antibiotic use in livestock have allowed “some injudicious practices to persist.” Released in December 2013, FDA Guidance for Industry #213 aims to combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria by restricting the use of antibiotics in food animals for growth promotion. To this end, the agency asked drug companies to remove “feed efficiency” and “weight gain” indications from product labels and required veterinary oversight when these drugs are added to feed or water. After reviewing all 287 antibiotics affected by Guidance #213, Pew researchers reported that approximately one-quarter of these drugs “can be used in at least one species of livestock (chickens, turkeys, pigs or cattle) for disease prevention at levels that are fully within the range of growth promotion dosages and with no limit…
The U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) has proposed “Guidance on Food Fraud Mitigation,” a new appendix to the Food Chemicals Codex (FCC), to “offer a framework for the food industry and regulators to develop and implement preventative management systems to deal specifically with economically motivated fraudulent adulteration of food ingredients.” The guidance will be published for public comment in the FCC Forum from December 31, 2014, to March 31, 2015, but USP has released it early to provide additional time for review and comment. The document was designed for broad application and to provide a structured approach to characterizing and mitigating food fraud, including guidelines to (i) assess contributory factors, (ii) assess potential impacts and (iii) develop a mitigation strategy. The briefing also promises that “similar guidance sections that tailor this general approach to specific ingredient categories such as milk-based food ingredients” will appear in the future. Issue 546
The Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity has published Sugary Drink FACTS 2014, a report funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation that targets trends in beverage advertising to children. Claiming that companies spent $866 million on advertising for sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs) in 2013, the report argues that even though youth-oriented TV programs and websites showed fewer SSB ads in 2013 than in 2010, the advertising available “is still overwhelmingly for unhealthy drinks.” The authors point out that as SSB advertising on children’s websites declined by 72 percent, “the popularity of energy drinks and regular soda brands on social media increased exponentially from 2011 to 2014.” According to the report, energy drink and regular soda brands now represent 84 percent of the 300 million Facebook likes for the brands included in the analysis, 89 percent of 11 million Twitter followers, and 95 percent of 1.8 billion YouTube views. In…
According to a joint World Health Organization (WHO)/Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) news release, the ministers and senior officials of 170 countries convening in Rome have adopted a Framework for Action and a Declaration on Nutrition. Opening the Second International Conference on Nutrition, WHO Secretary General Margaret Chan reportedly criticized the production of what she characterized as less healthy industrialized food and called attention to the consequences of its contribution to obesity and overweight along with the emergence of diabetes, cancers and heart disease. The commitments and recommendations set forth in the framework and declaration are intended to ensure “that all people have access to healthier and more sustainable diets.” They also commit the governments to prevent malnutrition “in all its forms, including hunger, micronutrient deficiencies and obesity.” Among other matters, governments are urged to “educate and inform their citizens about healthier eating practices” and reinforce obesity initiatives “by the creation…
Consumer advocacy watchdog Environmental Working Group (EWG) has issued a new iteration of its “Dirty Dozen Guide to Food Additives.” Reportedly based on hundreds of studies and information culled from EWG’s Food Scores database, the resource purports to cover “food additives associated with serious health concerns, ingredients banned or restricted in other countries, and other substances that shouldn’t be in food.” The substances that EWG deems the “dirty dozen” include nitrites and nitrates; potassium bromate; propyl paraben; butylated hydrosyanisole (BHA); butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT); propyl gallate; theobromine; secret flavor ingredients; artificial colors; diacetyl; phosphate-based food additives; and aluminum-based food additives. See EWG Press Release, November 12, 2014. Issue 545
