Peru has passed a law that prohibits genetically modified organisms (GMOs) from being imported, produced or used anywhere within the country for the next 10 years. The law, which was approved by President Ollanta Humala last year and took effect last week, is aimed at preserving Peru’s agricultural diversity, preventing cross-pollination and supporting local farmers. According to news sources, GMOs threaten the country’s heritage plant species, including several varieties of colorful corn, which are becoming increasingly popular export commodities. Violating the law will result in a maximum fine of 10,000 UIT tax units, which is about 36.5 million soles ($14 million). The goods can also be seized and destroyed. See Andean Air Mail & Peruvian Times, November 17, 2012.
A Mexican lawmaker has proposed a 50 percent tax on chewing gum. According to news sources, Institutional Revolutionary Party Deputy Juan Manuel Diez Francos claims such a tax could fund efforts to clean up the gum discarded in various public venues. Mexico is apparently the second largest consumer of gum behind the United States—citizens chew an average of 2.5 pieces daily. A similar proposal is currently being sought in Northern Ireland for the same reasons. See VOXXI, November 28, 2012.
Health Canada has issued a notice of modification adding steviol glycosides derived from the stevia plant to its list of permitted sweeteners. After concluding a technical consultation published on July 31, 2012, in response to three separate food additive submissions, Health Canada has evidently agreed that “available data support the safety and efficacy of steviol glycosides when used as described.” The revised list of permitted sweeteners authorizes the use of steviol glycosides as a tabletop sweetener and as a food additive in a number of food categories, including those pertaining to breakfast cereals, confections, nut and peanut spreads, fruit spreads, sauces, beverages, baking mixes, desserts, chewing gum, and condiments. Health Canada has directed food labeling questions about the use of common names for steviol glycosides, such as “purified stevia extract” and “stevia leaf extracts,” to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued final rules amending food additive regulations pertaining to the use of ionizing radiation in the production, processing and handling of meat and poultry products. Promulgated at the request of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the rules took effect on November 30, 2012. FDA requests written objections or requests for a hearing by December 31. The meat-product irradiation amendment would “provide for the safe use of a 4.5 kilogray (kGy) maximum absorbed dose of ionizing radiation to treat unrefrigerated (as well as refrigerated) uncooked meat, meat byproducts, and certain meat food products to reduce levels of foodborne pathogens and extend shelf life.” The poultry-irradiation amendment would “increase the maximum dose of ionizing radiation permitted in the treatment of poultry products, to include specific language intended to clarify the poultry products covered by the regulations, and to remove the limitation that any packaging used…
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has proposed revoking “the standards of identity for artificially sweetened jelly, preserves and jam,” concluding that these standards “are both obsolete and unnecessary in light of [] regulations for food named by use of a nutrient content claim and a standardized term.” Responding to a citizen petition submitted by the International Jelly and Preserve Association (IJPA), the proposed rule notes that standards implemented in 1959 for fruit spreads containing nonnutritive sweeteners (NNSs) only provided for the use of saccharin, sodium saccharin, calcium saccharin, or any combination thereof (21 CFR 150.140 and 150.160). These standards did not include other NNSs approved for food use since 1959, although FDA later established under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act a general standard of identity for foods named by a nutrient content claim such as “low calorie” or “sugar free” “in conjunction with a standardized food term,”…
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a proposed rule that would update tolerances “for residues of approved and conditionally approved new animal drugs in food by standardizing, simplifying, and clarifying the determination standards and codification style.” According to FDA, the regulations describing how to set animal drug tolerances for human food are not uniform, do not provide all relevant information, and “no longer accurately reflect current regulatory science.” “For example, the regulations provide the ADI [acceptable daily intake] and safe concentrations for some, but not all, drugs,” states the proposed rule. “In addition, the regulations list some tolerances as being for ‘negligible’ residue, and others as ‘no residue,’ ‘zero’ or ‘not required,’ but they do not explain what these important terms mean. The proposed rule addresses these inconsistencies by simplifying and standardizing the determination standards and codification style and by adding definitions for key terms.” FDA will accept…
U.S. Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) has written a November 30, 2012, letter to Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Jon Leibowitz asking the agency to investigate advertising claims made by energy-drink manufacturers. Alarmed by recent media reports allegedly linking products such as 5-Hour Energy® to consumer deaths, Markey notes that many energy drinks “are sold as dietary supplements” that do not fall under Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rules for caffeine content or labeling, and do not require FDA approval before going on the market. “As you know, the FTC has in the past successfully investigated and took action against claims made by alcohol-containing energy drinks found to be engaging in unsafe, deceptive marketing claims,” writes Markey, who has also asked FTC to describe its coordination with FDA and other federal agencies. “I believe an investigation into energy drinks that do not contain alcohol and are often targeted at children may…
A recent study has reportedly linked the availability of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) to an increase in the prevalence of type 2 diabetes across the world, raising questions about the sweetener’s impact on global human health. Michael Goran, et al., “High fructose corn syrup and diabetes prevalence: A global perspective,” Global Public Health, November 2012. Researchers with the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine and the University of Oxford apparently examined HFCS consumption in 42 countries, concluding that in countries like the United States, which had the highest per capita HFCS consumption of 55 pounds per year, the average prevalence of type 2 diabetes was 8 percent “compared to 6.7 percent in countries not using HFCS.” “The study reports that countries that use HFCS in their food supply had a 20 percent higher prevalence of diabetes than countries that did not use HFCS,” according to a Keck School of…
A recent article in The New York Times has highlighted the efforts of Fast Food Forward, a campaign seeking to unionize fast-food workers in New York City. According to Times labor and workplace reporter Steven Greenhouse, the campaign has worked with 40 full-time organizers with the support of community and civil rights groups to recruit employees at fast-food restaurants across the city and coordinate a walkout in protest of low wages “and retaliation against several workers who have backed the unionization campaign.” In particular, Greenhouse notes the many challenges facing the nascent initiative, which has not yet decided on an overall strategy or mechanism for pursuing unionization. Labor experts and companies also emphasized that the high turnover in most fast-food positions makes organization difficult. “It’s a fairly high-turnover position, so there’s never been a successful union effort,” said one spokesperson for Domino’s Pizza. “People who are doing this part time,…
A Change.org petition started by a high school student urges PepsiCo Americas Beverages and Gatorade Canada to remove brominated vegetable oil (BVO) from their products, citing a December 12, 2012, Scientific American article allegedly linking the stabilizer to “impaired neurological development, reduced fertility, early onset of puberty and altered thyroid hormones.” Garnering more than 180,000 signatures, the petition argues that BVO is banned in both the European Union and Japan, where Gatorade sports beverages do not contain the ingredient. “You put slick ads on TV encouraging people like me to buy your products, but it’s shocking that you have a flame retardant chemical called ‘brominated vegetable oil’ in some flavors,” opines the petitioner. “Please stop deceiving consumers and remove this chemical from your products.” In a related development, the U.K. Food Standards Agency (FSA) has issued a call for research on the occurrence of brominated flame retardants (BFRs) in food…
