The European Commission has approved a list of 222 health claims—“for example on the role of calcium and bone health or vitamin C and the immune system”—that are permitted for use on food labeling and advertising. According to a May 16, 2012, press release, food manufacturers must adapt their practices to the new requirements by the beginning of December 2012, at which point “all claims that are not authorized and not on hold/under consideration shall be prohibited.” “Today’s decision is the culmination of years of work and marks a major milestone in regulating health claims on food,” said Health and Consumer Policy Commissioner John Dalli. “The EU-wide list of permitted health claims will be available on-line and will allow consumers everywhere in the EU to make an informed choice. Non-scientifically backed claims will have to be removed from the market after a short transition period.”
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has issued a call for data as part of its ongoing risk assessment of bisphenol A (BPA) that includes an exposure assessment from both dietary and non-dietary sources. Spurred in part by a September 2011 report published by the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety, EFSA has asked member states, researchers and other stakeholders to submit (i) “occurrence data in food and beverages intended for human consumption”; (ii) “migration data from food contact materials”; and (iii) “occurrence data in food contact materials.” According to EFSA, its latest BPA assessment will consider the “most vulnerable groups of the population (e.g. pregnant women, infants and children, etc.)” and rely on occurrence data “available in the public domain and from scientific literature” as well as any available biomonitoring data. The agency will accept data submissions until July 31, 2012.
Health and consumer organizations have urged the Obama administration to provide calorie labeling in “all retail food establishments that sell restaurant-type food, including supermarkets, convenience stores, movie theaters, casinos, bowling alleys, stadium, cafes in superstores, and hotels.” In a May 16, 2012, letter, representatives of more than 20 organizations in the National Alliance for Nutrition & Activity (NANA) took issue with the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) definition of “retail food establishments” as outlined in an April 2011 proposal for nutritional menu labeling for chain restaurants and vending machines mandated under the Affordable Care Act. The proposed rule was covered in Issue 389 of this Update. NANA argued that the definition would not only exclude other venues but “significantly limit the ability of consumers to make informed choices by reducing the number of venues providing calorie labeling.” In addition, the group advocates the inclusion of alcohol labeling in FDA’s final…
Referring to a report on the presence of antibiotic residues in distillers grain, an ethanol-production byproduct used as animal feed, U.S. Representatives Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) have requested that Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Margaret Hamburg provide information about the agency’s surveys of these residues and explain why FDA has not acted to ensure that ethanol producers are complying with federal food additives law. In their May 11, 2012, letter, the lawmakers contend that the misuse of antibiotics leads to the growth of antibiotic-resistant bacteria that threaten human health and results in the deaths of some 90,000 people annually. They note, “[t]he same antibiotics that are used in animal agriculture and that are important for human medicine such as penicillin, erythromycin, virginiamycin and tylosin, are also used by ethanol producers in order to prevent bacterial growth during the corn-based ethanol fermentation process. Producers sell the byproduct…
A recent study has reportedly claimed that bisphenol A (BPA) alters mammary gland development in rhesus monkeys, raising concerns about the chemical’s alleged link to breast cancer in humans. Andrew Tharp, et al., “Bisphenol A alters the development of the rhesus monkey mammary gland,” PNAS, May 2012. According to the study, researchers fed fruit containing 400 µg of BPA per kilogram of body weight to pregnant rhesus monkeys to achieve BPA serum levels “comparable to [those] found in humans.” The authors then examined the mammary glands of female offspring after birth, noting that “the density of mammary glands was significantly increased in BPA-exposed monkeys, and the overall development of their mammary gland was more advanced compared with unexposed monkeys.” Based on these results, one study author told media sources that the sum of scientific evidence suggests that BPA is also “a breast carcinogen in humans” and that its use should be…
Asking “Wouldn’t it be better, as a general rule, if judges who meet regularly with prosecutors in advance of a cascade of high-profile indictments didn’t hear the cases that follow?,” Slate court-watcher Emily Bazelon recently discussed the petition for certiorari currently pending before the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of the kosher meatpacking facility manager convicted of bank fraud and sentenced to 27 years, essentially a life term for the 50-year-old defendant from Iowa. Rubashkin v. United States, No. 11-1203 (petition for cert. filed April 2, 2012). Mostly on procedural grounds, a federal appeals court rejected the defendant’s claims that the judge should have recused herself because she participated extensively with prosecutors in activities that led to an immigration raid on the facility, the detention and deportation of hundreds of workers, and charges of harboring illegal immigrants, child labor law violations and bank fraud. Bazelon suggests that the Court…
A Wisconsin-based cheese maker has reportedly agreed, under pressure from its Swiss parent and the Swiss gruyère industry, to cease using the word “gruyère” in labeling and promoting its Grand Cru Gruyère cheese. The change, effective in May 2013, was agreed to despite a recent decision by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) refusing the “le gruyère” trademark because “[t]he existence of seven U.S. cheese manufacturers of gruyère cheese and the widespread generic internet and dictionary usage . . . clearly demonstrate that gruyère has lost its geographical significance and is now viewed as a genus of cheese.” Geographical food and beverage designations are significant in Europe where many EU countries give them legal protection; a French reporter apparently visited Wisconsin to cover the negotiations leading to the agreement. She indicated her wish that American cheese makers adopt the European approach and name their cheeses after the area of…
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has published a May 8, 2012, consensus report assessing more than 800 obesity prevention strategies and identifying those “with the greatest potential to accelerate success.” Released at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Weight of the Nation™ conference and funded by the National Academies of Sciences, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, the report evidently focuses on five goals for preventing obesity: (i) “integrating physical activity into people’s daily lives”; (ii) “making healthy food and beverage options available everywhere”; (iii) “transforming marketing and messages about nutrition and activity”; (iv) “making schools a gateway to healthy weights”; and (v) “galvanizing employers and health care professionals to support healthy lifestyles.” Included in these goals are specific recommendations that address, among other things, sugar-sweetened beverage consumption, the availability of lower-calorie children’s meals in restaurants, nutritional labeling, and food and beverage marketing to children.…
The Center for Environmental Health has reportedly sued several grocery chains in California alleging that independent testing has shown that the honey they were selling contains high levels of lead in violation of Proposition 65 (Prop. 65). Some of the honey purchased and tested allegedly contained lead levels more than double the legal limit. According to the center, honey suppliers sometimes use metal barrels with lead solder that can leach into the honey. It is seeking agreements that would bind the companies to use non-leaded containers for their honey and to test their supplies for lead content. See Center for Environmental Health News Release, May 2, 2012.
The Court of Justice of the European Union (EU) has agreed, in part, with the European Commission’s challenge to requirements imposed by the Dutch government on contractors providing organic and fair trade products in its automatic coffee machines. EC v. Kingdom of the Netherlands, No. C-368/10 (E.C.J., decided May 10, 2012). According to the Court, government requirements for the award of contracts may be based on environmental or social criteria, but the criteria must be clear and the government must allow proof “that a product satisfies those criteria by all appropriate means.” The Court also held that “all the conditions and detailed rules of the award procedure must be drawn up in a clear, precise and unequivocal manner in the notice or contract documents.” To the extent that the Dutch requirements fell short of these standards, the Court found that the government failed to fulfill its obligations under the award of…
