The Institute of Medicine’s (IOM’s) Food and Nutrition Board has announced a June 7, 2011, meeting that will focus on the safety of imported foods “with the purposed of engaging science, technology, and policy personnel representing the global food supply chain, government agencies, and academia.” Titled “Food Forum Meeting on Supply Chain and Policy/Regulatory Approaches to Import Safety,” the meeting will include a morning panel featuring actors representing the supply chain “from producer to retailer/food service provider” and an afternoon panel of government officials representing “governance processes from the state to global level.” By focusing on the Food and Drug Administration’s new authority granted under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), including “importer accountability, third party certification, certification for high risk foods, voluntary qualified importer program, and authority to deny entry,” the meeting aims to “provide perspectives and ideas useful for the development and implementation of the multifaceted import tools available…
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued a report criticizing the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) oversight of imported seafood safety. Noting that about one-half of imported seafood comes from fish farms that may use antibiotics to prevent bacterial infections, the report claims that “residues of some drugs can cause cancer and antibiotic resistance.” Titled “FDA Needs to Improve Oversight of Imported Seafood and Better Leverage Limited Resources,” the report urges FDA to enhance its import sampling program. “FDA’s oversight program to ensure the safety of imported seafood from residues of unapproved drugs is limited, especially as compared with the European Union,” the report states, adding that FDA inspectors “generally do not visit the farms to evaluate drug use or the capabilities, competence, and quality control of laboratories that analyze the seafood.” The report also recommends that FDA (i) “study the feasibility of adopting practices used by other entities to…
U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) has asked the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) “to clarify its authority to regulate foods that contain additives, such as baked goods that contain high doses of melatonin,” after media reports drew attention to so-called “relaxation brownies” touted for allegedly alleviating stress and easing sleep deprivation. In a May 18, 2011, letter to FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, Durbin argues that melatonin-laced sweets “with names such as Lazy Cakes, Kush Cakes and Lulla Pies” could raise health concerns for consumers who “may not recognize they are consuming a neurohormone, that they should consult a doctor before eating it, and that it may not be appropriate for children, people with auto-immune diseases, or women who are pregnant or breast-feeding.” He notes that these products contain “roughly 8 milligrams of melatonin—almost double the upper limit of a typical dose” set by the Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database, which advises…
Canadian researchers have allegedly detected the presence of Cry1Ab toxin in human blood, raising questions about whether “pesticides associated to genetically modified [GM] foods (PAGMF)” break down during digestion as previously claimed. Aziz Aris and Samuel Leblanc, “Maternal and fetal exposure to pesticides associated to genetically modified foods in Eastern Townships of Quebec, Canada,” Reproductive Toxicology, 2011. The study apparently focused on 30 pregnant and 39 non-pregnant women with no direct or indirect contact with pesticides. The findings evidently showed Cry1Ab toxin—“an insecticidal protein produced by the naturally occurring soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis [bt]” and used in GM maize—“in 93% and 80% of maternal and fetal blood samples, respectively and in 69% of tested blood samples from non-pregnant women.” According to the study’s authors, these results suggest “(1) that these toxins may not be effectively eliminated in humans and (2) there may be a high risk of exposure through consumption…
“Over the course of the past half century, during which PepsiCo’s revenues have increased more than a hundredfold, a public-health crisis has been steadily growing along with it. People are getting fatter,” opines The New Yorker’s John Seabrook in this article examining the tension between the ubiquitous snack food empire and its recent foray into “authentic, scientifically advantaged” functional foods designed “for different life stages—snacks for teens, snacks for pregnant women, snacks for seniors.” In particular, Seabrook focuses on PepsiCo’s recruitment of academics, scientists and former regulators to bolster its new global health agenda, which includes efforts to reduce sodium and sugar in its flagship products, as well as launch “better for you” foods that re-create both the physical and aspirational experience associated with high brand recognition. “No one I met at PepsiCo better represents the complicated relationship between private food companies and public health than Derek Yach, the company’s…
Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity has released a new study claiming that “a penny per ounce” tax on sugar sweetened beverages “has the potential to reduce consumption and generate significant revenue.” Tatiana Andreyeva, et al., “Estimating the potential of taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages to reduce consumption and generate revenue,” Preventive Medicine, April 2011. To estimate revenues from an excise tax on sugar-sweetened beverages, the study’s authors evidently constructed “a model projecting beverage consumption and tax revenues based on best available data on regional beverage consumption, historic trends and recent estimates of the price elasticity on sugar-sweetened beverage demand.” Using this model, the authors described the public health impact of beverage taxes as “substantial,” estimating that a penny-per-ounce tax would reduce sugar-sweetened beverage consumption by 24 percent and lower “the daily per capita caloric intake from sugar-sweetened beverages from the current 190-200 cal to 145-150 cal, if there…
The Metzger Law Group has filed a lawsuit under the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act (Prop. 65) on behalf of the Council for Education and Research on Toxics (CERT), seeking an order to require coffee makers and retailers to warn consumers that coffee contains acrylamide, a chemical known to the state to cause cancer. CERT v. Brad Berry Co., Ltd., No. BC461182 (Cal. Super. Ct., Los Angeles Cty., filed May 9, 2011). The defendants include manufacturing companies, coffee shops and major food retailers. Raphael Metzger and CERT have filed a number of Prop. 65 lawsuits, including claims against fast-food restaurants, for failing to warn consumers about the acrylamide in fried and baked potatoes. Acrylamide, formed when certain foods are roasted, baked or exposed to high-temperature cooking processes other than boiling or steaming, has been listed as a carcinogenic chemical in California since 1990, but was not discovered in…
A New York City deli has filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking a declaration that it has not infringed the trademark of an Arizona-based restaurant by selling an “Instant Heart Attack Sandwich” and planning to sell a “Triple Bypass Sandwich.” Lebewohl v. Heart Attack Grill LLC, No. 11-3153 (S.D.N.Y., filed May 10, 2011). According to the plaintiff, who owns the 2nd Avenue Deli, the Arizona eatery threatened to sue the deli in a March 29, 2011, letter, claiming that the deli’s use of these terms for its menu items violated the defendant’s Lanham Act rights. The Heart Attack Grill has purportedly registered the trademarks “Heart Attack Grill,” “Triple Bypass Burger” and other “Bypass” marks. The New York deli claims that it has been selling its “Instant Heart Attack Sandwich,” which consists of two large potato pancakes with a choice of deli meats, and accompanied by matzo ball soup, since…
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has filed a complaint for permanent injunction against Tennessee-based companies that process food products and ingredients, such as spices, spice blends, herbs, and sauces, claiming they have repeatedly violated the law by selling adulterated foods. United States v. Am. Mercantile Corp., No. 11-02371 (W.D. Tenn., filed May 11, 2011). According to the complaint, the foods are adulterated because “they have been prepared, packed, and held under insanitary conditions whereby they may have become contaminated with filth.” An array of insects and insect and rodent excreta were allegedly observed on a number of occasions at defendants’ facilities, and repeat visits by inspectors showed that the cited violations had not been corrected. Other problems included spilled food, unsatisfactory cleaning, gaps in the building exterior, and expired products. FDA seeks to permanently enjoin the defendants from “introducing or delivering for introduction into interstate commerce any article of food…
A federal court in California has denied without prejudice the motion of Ferrero U.S.A., Inc. to transfer a consolidated consumer-fraud class action involving its Nutella® spread to a New Jersey district court. In re: Ferrero Litig., No. 11-205 (S.D. Cal., decided May 11, 2011). According to the court, the convenience of the parties and witnesses and the interests of justice would best be served by allowing the plaintiffs to remain in their chosen jurisdiction. The court noted that similar litigation is pending in New Jersey, but that case was filed after the California lawsuits, “likely giv[ing] the cases in this district priority.” Additional details about the case can be found in Issue 380 of this Update.
