The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has reportedly completed its review of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) proposal to take saccharin off its list of hazardous substances and wastes. The action will apparently allow EPA to grant a six-year-old industry petition claiming that scientific data suggest the artificial sweetener is “not as harmful as once thought.” EPA, which is expected to seek public comment on its proposed de-listing in April 2010, has apparently found that the “current weight of scientific evidence supports the petitioner’s request.” The substance was placed on EPA’s list when it was created in 1980 because the Food and Drug Administration had previously determined that saccharin was a potential human carcinogen. The National Toxicology Program removed it from its own list of carcinogens in 2000. See InsideEPA.com, January 5 and March 10, 2010.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recently published a second series of opinions on a list of “general function” health claims for foods. EFSA’s Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies assessed the scientific data submitted to substantiate more than 400 hundred health claims; its opinions are forwarded to the European Commission and member states, which ultimately decide whether to authorize the claims. Among other matters, the panel generally allowed adequately supported claims related to vitamins and minerals, but rejected “probiotic” and “antioxidant properties” claims for lack of information and evidence. EFSA apparently expects to complete its work by 2011, depending on the final number of claims received. See EFSA News Release, February 25, 2010.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has announced a March 23, 2010, public meeting to discuss draft U.S. positions for the 26th Session of the Codex Committee on General Principles (CCGP) slated for April 12-16, 2010, in Paris, France. Issues to be discussed include (i) “Draft Revised Code of Ethics for International Trade in Foods”; (ii) “Review of the Risk Analysis Policies of Codex Committees”; (iii) “Definition of the Term ‘Competent Authority’”; and (iv) “Discussion Paper on the Development of Joint Codex and World Organization for Animal Health Standards.” FSIS has also announced a March 29, 2010, public meeting to discuss draft U.S. positions for the 4th Session of the Codex Committee on Contaminants in Food (CCCF) slated for April 26-30, 2010, in Izmir, Turkey. Agenda items include proposed draft maximum levels for melamine in food and feed and a priority list of contaminants and…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) held a March 10, 2010, public meeting to discuss agency procedures “for identifying suppliers of source material used to produce raw beef product that FSIS has found positive for Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157:H7.” FSIS announced the meeting as part of its ongoing efforts to evaluate “the effectiveness of its policies and procedures in responding to findings that raw beef is positive for E. coli O157:H7.” In particular, FSIS intends to issue “new instructions to Enforcement, Investigations, and Analysis Officers (EIAOs) to conduct additional verification activities at suppliers in response to positive E. coli O157:H7 results.” The agency will accept public input on these issues until May 7, 2010. See FSIS Press Release, March 3, 2010; Federal Register, March 8, 2010.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspectors issued a report March 4, 2010, stating that Basic Food Flavors, Inc., the Las Vegas-based company at the center of a massive and growing food recall, “continued to distribute HVP [hydrolyzed vegetable protein] paste and powder products” for nearly a month after receiving the first lab results “indicating the presence of Salmonella in your facility.” While no illness has apparently yet been attributed to the HVP, it is used in dozens of products. As of March 11, FDA had identified some 150 products containing HVP, including bouillon, dressing and dressing mixes, frozen foods, ready-to-eat meals, sauces and marinades, snacks and snack mixes, soups, soup mixes and dip mix products, and stuffings. According to some quality management specialists, this outbreak could be particularly challenging because HVP is considered a generic commodity; it can be purchased from many different suppliers, stored without an effective tracking system for…
According to researchers from Denmark and Greece, some juice drinks obtained from markets in the European Union (EU) contain levels of antimony, a suspected carcinogen related to arsenic, above EU drinking water limits. Claus Hansen, et al., “Elevated antimony concentrations in commercial juices,” Journal of Environmental Monitoring, February 17, 2010. According to the article, “Antimony concentrations up to a factor of 2.7 above the EU limit for drinking water were found in commercial juices and may either be leached from the packaging material or introduced during manufacturing, pointing out the need for further research.” The researchers reportedly tested antimony levels in 42 different beverages, primarily red fruit juices, produced in the United Kingdom and sold in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles or Tetra Pak® cartons. They apparently found antimony above established safe levels in eight of them. Lead researcher Claus Hansen noted that while the levels exceeded drinking water limits, because “no antimony…
A recent study has reportedly claimed that “nationally representative surveys of food intake in U.S. children show large increases in snacking between the 1989-91 to 1994-98 and 1994-98 to 2003-06 periods.” Carmen Piernas and Barry Popkin, “Trends in Snacking Among U.S. Children,” Health Affairs, March 2010. Researchers apparently examined the responses of 31,337 children ages 2 to 18 who participated in four federal food surveys, concluding that this population’s average dietary intake has risen by 113 calories per day. In addition, the study reports, “Childhood snacking trends are moving toward three snacks per day, and more than 27 percent of children’s daily calories are coming from snacks. The researchers further noted that while “desserts and sweetened beverages remain the major sources of calories from snacks,” calories from salty snack foods more than doubled between 1977 and 2006. “Our findings suggest that children ages 2–18 are experiencing important increases in snacking…
A recent study has apparently concluded that industry efforts to reduce mean sodium intake by 9.5 percent could avert “513,885 strokes and 480,358 MIs [myocardial infarctions] over the lifetime of adults aged 40 to 85 years who are alive today compared with the status quo, increasing QALYs [quality-adjusted life-years] by 2.1 million and saving $32.1 billion in medical costs.” Crystal Smith-Spangler, et al., “Population Strategies to Decrease Sodium Intake and the Burden of Cardiovascular Disease: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis,” Annals of Internal Medicine, March 1, 2010. By comparison, a sodium tax of 40 percent would achieve only a 6 percent reduction in salt intake, averting 327,892 strokes and 306,173 MIs, increasing QALYs by 1.3 million and saving $22.4 billion over the same period. Researchers specifically assessed the cost-effectiveness of two population strategies to reduce sodium intake: “government collaboration with food manufacturers to voluntarily cut sodium in processed foods, modeled on the…
The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Produce Safety Project (PSP) recently published a cost analysis claiming that health-related expenditures for foodborne illness far exceed the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s estimate of $6.9 billion annually. Authored by former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) economist Robert Scharff, the report concludes that the United States spends $152 billion per year on foodborne illnesses from all sources. The study also notes that these numbers cover health-related costs only and thus represent “a lower bound estimate of the total societal costs,” including costs to industry and government. “Even when pain and suffering losses from acute illnesses are not included, the cost to society is $103 billion,” maintains the report, which used FDA methods to determine the costs of physician services, pharmaceuticals, and hospital visits related to foodborne illnesses, as well as quality of life losses such as lost life expectancy, pain and suffering, and functional disability. Intended…
Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity has published a study alleging that the “number of products with youth-oriented cross-promotions increased by 78 percent” between 2006 and 2008. Jennifer Harris, et al., “Marketing foods to children and adolescents: licensed characters and other promotions on packaged foods in the supermarket,” Public Health Nutrition, March 2010. After examining 397 products gathered on three separate occasions from one large U.S. supermarket, researchers reported that (i) “71% of cross-promotions involved third-party licensed characters”; (ii) “57% appealed primarily to children under 12 years of age”; (iii) “the use of other forms of promotion increased from 5% of the total in 2006 to 53% in 2008”; and (iv) “promotions targeting pre-school and general audiences increased from 23% to 54% of the total.” In addition, they wrote, “Only 18% of products met accepted nutrition standards for foods sold to youth, and nutritional quality declined during…
