The European Food Standards Authority (EFSA) has issued a priority list of food additives “for which scientific data are required to finalize their re-evaluation within deadlines established by European legislation.” Tasked with re-evaluating hundreds of food additives by 2020, EFSA’s Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources Added to Food (ANS Panel) has asked member states and other stakeholders to provide the following information for 51 food additives: (i) “figures from industry on the amounts of these additives they report using in their products”; and (ii) “data derived from analyses indicating actual levels of these additives found in foods and drinks from national food authorities, research institutions, academia, food industry, and other stakeholders.” To meet the evaluation deadlines, the ANS Panel has divided food additives into groups “based on the availability of scientific data.” The panel will accept data related to the 15 additives in the first group—which includes β-apo-8’-…
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has announced a forthcoming public consultation to discuss its draft opinion on the potential health risks of bisphenol A (BPA). Slated for final adoption in November 2013, the draft opinion will take into account “ongoing scientific work on BPA at European and national levels” as well as the work of EFSA’s Panel on Food Contact Materials, Enzymes, Flavourings and Processing Aids (CEF Panel), which in February 2012 agreed to undertake “a full re-evaluation of the human risks associated with exposure to BPA” from both dietary and non-dietary sources. According to a March 26, 2013, press release, EFSA last completed a full risk assessment for the substance in 2006, concluding at the time that dietary BPA exposures for adults, infants and children “were all well below” the Tolerable Daily Intake set at 0.05 mg/kg body weight/day. Since the 2006 opinion, however, scientific experts and national…
U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) recently sent letters to the CEOs of Monster Beverage Corp., Rockstar, Inc., and Red Bull North America, accusing the companies of marketing energy drinks to children. Citing “growing concern about the potential health risks posed by energy drinks,” the legislators claim that despite pledges to abstain from targeting children with direct advertisements, energy drink manufacturers have sponsored athletic competitions and professional athletes that appeal to youth. In particular, the letters single out Monster Beverage Corp. for purportedly advertising on a Little League scoreboard; distributing free product samples at skate park events geared toward children; and sponsoring “Monster Energy Drink Player of the Game” awards for student athletes. Blumenthal and Durbin also highlight Rockstar’s sponsorship of “a 15-year-old professional skateboarder and role model to young fans” as well as Red Bull’s involvement with a high school football tournament and the Red Bull…
U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) has introduced legislation (H.R. 1249) that would amend the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic (FD&C) Act “to improve and clarify certain disclosure requirements for restaurants, similar food retail establishments, and vending machines.” Titled the “Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act of 2013,” the bill would classify a restaurant or similar retail food establishment subject to federal menu labeling laws as one “that derives more than 50 percent of its total revenue from the sale of food of the type described” by the FD&C Act. Touted as a means to lessen the regulatory burden on some retailers, the legislation would, among other things, (i) strike from the FD&C Act language requiring restaurants, retail food establishments and vending machines to list “the number of calories contained in the standard menu item, as usually prepared and offered for sale” and instead insert language specifying that these establishments must…
Among other measures added to the six-month Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act of 2013 signed into law by President Barack Obama (D) on March 26, 2013, are a number of provisions—or “riders”—that apparently either override previously adopted laws or require the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to ignore judicial rulings on challenges to the deregulation of genetically engineered (GE) crops. The riders reportedly include (i) cuts to a school breakfast program to avoid disruptions to food safety inspections which would have affected meat processing operations; (ii) an order that the USDA secretary rescind regulations adopted in 2012 protecting growers under contract with large chicken processors; (iii) the removal of funds from USDA’s budget to implement 2008 farm bill reforms protecting small ranchers and farmers that raise animals for slaughter; and (iv) a requirement that the USDA secretary “immediately grant” temporary permits to farmers, growers or producers on request to…
According to news sources, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) removed some provisions from the regulatory implementation package that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposed under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). Analysis of documents submitted to the rulemaking docket apparently reveals that the following requirements were removed from the draft rules submitted for OMB review: (i) company programs to monitor the environment for pathogens, (ii) finished product testing for pathogens, (iii) the assumption that pathogens found on food contact materials are also in the food, (iv) a supplier approval and verification program, (v) company review of consumer safety complaints, and (vi) FDA authority to copy company records. See Food Politics and Law360, March 25, 2013. Meanwhile, the Center for Food Safety has reportedly called on a federal court in California to impose deadlines on FDA to implement food safety regulations, arguing that the FSMA set…
Research presented at the American Heart Association’s (AHA’s) latest scientific meeting has reportedly concluded that “sugar-sweetened sodas, sports drinks and fruit juice may be associated with about 180,000 deaths around the world each year,” according to March 19, 2013, press release. Featured at AHA’s Epidemiology and Prevention and Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism 2013 Scientific Sessions, the abstract in question apparently relied on data from the 2010 Global Burden of Diseases Study to calculate “the quantities of sugar-sweetened beverage [SSB] intake around the world by age and sex; the effects of this consumption on obesity and diabetes; and the impact of obesity and diabetes-related deaths.” The results allegedly linked SB intake to 133,000 diabetes deaths, 44,000 deaths related to cardiovascular diseases, and 6,000 cancer deaths worldwide in 2010, raising concerns about the disproportionate impact on low- and middle-income counties. In particular, the report’s authors estimated that in terms of mortality…
A recent study funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and National Institutes of Health has allegedly concluded that sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs) “are primarily responsible for the higher caloric intakes” of children who consume them. Kevin Mathias, et al., “Foods and Beverages Associated with Higher Intake of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages,” American Journal of Preventative Medicine, April 2013. Using data from 13,421 children enrolled in the What We Eat In America, NHANES 2003-2010 surveys, researchers with the University of North Carolina Department of Nutrition apparently determined “the contribution of SSBs to higher caloric intakes” by comparing the total non-SSB caloric intake of both SSB consumers and nonconsumers. The results purportedly showed that for children ages 2 to 11, “total non-SSB intakes did not differ between nonconsumers and SSB consumers at any level of SSB consumption, indicating that SSBs were primarily responsible for the higher caloric intake among SSB consumers.” The authors also…
The Cornucopia Institute (CI) has issued a report that questions the safety of food-grade or undegraded carrageenan, “a common food additive extracted from red seaweed.” Titled “Carrageenan: How a ‘Natural’ Food Additive is Making Us Sick,” the report claims that animal studies “have repeatedly shown that food-grade carrageenan causes gastrointestinal inflammation and higher rates of intestinal lesions, ulcerations, and even malignant tumors.” Distinguishing between undegraded and degraded carrageenan—which the report describes as “a potent inflammatory” processed with acid instead of alkali—CI emphasizes that even the food-grade version poses a health risk to consumers who ingest the additive in a wide variety of products, including dairy and dairy alternatives, deli meats, and prepared soups and broths. In particular, the report points to a 2001 literature review published by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences that purportedly warned against “‘the widespread use of carrageenan in the Western diet’ due to evidence…
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has published a report titled “Selfish Giving: How the Soda Industry Uses Philanthropy to Sweeten its Profits.” Noting that the African-American and Hispanic organizations that brought a successful court challenge against New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s size restrictions on sugar-sweetened beverages were the recipients of grants from the soft drink industry, the report suggests that industry sponsorships are used to leverage their reputations. While the money allows organizations serving minorities and underserved populations to achieve their goals, CSPI contends, “The [beverage] companies sometimes exploit those partnerships to support their political objectives.” CSPI calls for recipient organizations to think twice about accepting money from the industry. According to the report, advocacy organizations, government officials and health-care providers have increased their efforts to reduce sugar-sweetened beverage consumption, which CSPI indicates has dramatically increased and accuses of “increasing the risk for diabetes, heart…
