Los Angeles city council members Paul Koretz and Mitch O’Farrell have reportedly introduced a motion that would call on the city attorney to “prepare and present an ordinance which would prohibit the growth of genetically modified (GM) crops within city limits. Specifically, the ordinance should prohibit each [of] the following practices related to the growing of GM crops within city limits: the planting of GM seeds; the sale of GM seeds by vendors; the sale of any seeds that could potentially be contaminated by other genetically modified organisms (GMOs); the sale of GM fruit trees and plants.” The motion notes that 52 percent of “LA County residents voted in favor of Proposition 37, which would have required labeling on raw or processed genetically modified food products offered for sale to consumers.” It also raises questions about the safety of consuming GM foods and risks to the environment, including honey bee…
California EPA’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has requested comments on proposed changes to the requirements pertaining to scientific experts appointed to Proposition 65 (Prop. 65) advisory committees by the governor. The proposed revisions would specify the expertise required—completion of a doctoral degree and research experience in an area of specialization, along with demonstrated “ongoing expertise in the conduct of advanced scientific work of relevance to the identification of carcinogenic chemicals [or “that pose reproductive or developmental hazards”] using generally accepted and scientifically valid principles and methodologies.” The proposal would also remove certain financial disclosure provisions now redundant given the addition of advisory committee members to OEHHA’s Conflict of Interest Code. Comments are requested by December 9, 2013. Issue 501
India’s Supreme Court has reportedly accepted a government scientific panel’s finding that the chemical additives in soft drinks— e.g., artificial sweeteners, phosphoric acid, carbon dioxide, coloring agents, benzoic acid, and caffeine—are well within safety levels and do not pose a health hazard to citizens. According to a news source, the Union government insisted that the Food Supply and Standards Act, 2006, along with its rules and regulations, constituted a “vigorous regulatory regime and [was] being implemented meticulously.” At the same time, however, the court ordered the Food and Safety Standards Authority of India to monitor and conduct regular checks of all carbonated soft drinks sold in the country, indicating that the matter relates to citizens’ fundamental right to life guaranteed under the Constitution. The order was passed by a bench composed of Justices K.S. Radhakrishnan and A.K. Sikri, who were hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking the establishment of an independent…
Mexico’s lower house has reportedly approved a new fiscal package that would, among other things, tax high-calorie foods—such as chocolate, sweets, pudding, potato chips, and ice cream. The new tax, which complements a planned charge on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) discussed in Issue 497 of this Update, is part of a broader package proposed by President Enrique Peña and is expected to pass in the Senate by the end of the October. According to news sources, the proposed legislation would tax high-calorie foods—defined as those providing 275 calories or more per 100 grams—at 5 percent of the ticketed price and chewing gum at 16 percent. The price of soft drinks would increase by about 8 cents per liter. The move is supported by health experts who note that Mexico has one of the world’s highest rates of obesity, reportedly surpassing the United States, and who applauded higher prices for chips, candy and…
The European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) Panel on Additives and Products or Substances Used in Animal Feed (FEEDAP) has issued guidance to assist applicants “in the preparation and submission of technical dossiers for the renewal of the authorization of additives for use in animal nutrition.” According to EFSA, EU regulations require applicants to renew feed additive authorizations every 10 years by submitting stand-alone dossiers that take into account “the most up-to-date scientific knowledge” as well as “the current scientific/methodological approaches.” Although the information included in each dossier will depend on “the additive nature, the functional group, the substance itself, the target animals, and the conditions of use,” the submission must enable regulators to assess the additive in question “based on the current state of knowledge” and to determine whether the additive complies with the “fundamental principles for the renewal of authorization.” “During the last years, the FEEDAP Panel has developed several guidance…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has developed new guidance, titled “FSIS Compliance Guide for a Systematic Approach to the Humane Handling of Livestock,” that outlines a set of practices for livestock slaughter establishments that support the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act. Noting that the agency has taken “significant” measures during the past few years to strengthen its ability to enforce humane handling laws at livestock slaughter facilities nationwide, FSIS Administrator Al Almanza said that the guidance will assist facilities in “minimizing excitement, discomfort and accidental injury” of animals presented for slaughter. FSIS has also reiterated its intent to better equip employees to prevent and respond to inhumane handling incidents by delivering “more practical, situation-based humane handling training to inspectors and veterinarians who verify and enforce humane handling requirements at livestock slaughter establishments.” The training covers various realistic animal-handling scenarios that employees may encounter, including truck…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), currently under a district court timeline for completing the implementing regulations required under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), has filed an emergency stay pending appeal before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, arguing that the 16-day government shutdown in October makes compliance “not only unsound but impossible.” Ctr. for Food Safety v. Hamburg, No. 13-16841 (9th Cir., filed October 18, 2013). Details about the district court’s refusal to amend the deadlines appear in Issue 494 of this Update. FDA specifically requests relief from the November 30 deadline for the publication of a proposed rule “addressing novel requirements for preventing the intentional adulteration of food.” The agency claims that compliance would “threaten[] to waste scarce agency resources and risk results inconsistent with the public interest by requiring FDA to spend the next several weeks completing and publishing a proposal that does not take…
U.S. Reps. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), John Conyers (D-Mich.) and Lucille Roybal Allard (D-Calif.) have circulated a request to their colleagues that they join a letter to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Margaret Hamburg asking that the agency take action on two citizen petitions, pending before the agency for some eight years, seeking a rule that sugary beverages “carry a rotating series of health messages on their labels in order to educate consumers on the health risks of sugar overconsumption.” The first petition was filed in 2005 by the Center for Science in the Public Interest. See “Ask the FDA to Review Petitions on Sugary Beverages,” October 22, 2013.
Two new studies recently published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases have reportedly identified for the first time in more than 40 years a new strain of Clostridium botulinum, prompting debate over whether the genetic sequences needed to reproduce the toxin should be made available to the public despite concerns that the information could pose a security risk. Jason Barash and Stephen Arnon, “A Novel Strain of Clostridium botulinum That Produces Type B and Type H Botulinum Toxins,” Journal of Infectious Diseases, October 2013. Nir Dover, et al., “Molecular Characterization of a Novel Botulinum Neurotoxin Type H Gene,” Journal of Infectious Diseases, October 2013. According to an October 10, 2013, article in CIDRAP News, the California Department of Public Health researchers who discovered botulinum neurotoxin type H (BoNT/H) using an infant botulism case have declined to release their data until an antitoxin has been developed. They apparently arrived at their decision after…
A recent study has concluded that multi-sensory environmental factors play an important role in how consumers perceive the taste of whiskey. Carlos Velasco, et al., “Assessing the influence of the multisensory environment on the whisky drinking experience,” Flavour, October 2013. Oxford University researchers apparently asked 441 volunteers to sample the same glass of whiskey while visiting each of three rooms engineered to evoke the smell of grass, the taste of sweetness and the texture of wood. Participants then reportedly rated the whiskey as (i) being grassier on the nose when they visited the room decorated with artificial turf and infused with the smell of fresh-cut grass and the sounds of sheep, (ii) tasting sweet when they visited the room with a sweet scent that was also awash with red light and high-pitched “tinkling” sounds; and (iii) having a woody aftertaste when they visited the room decorated like a cedar forest.…
