Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Margaret Hamburg has reportedly indicated that the agency will review its 2008 decision that bisphenol A (BPA) in children’s food and beverage containers is, for the most part, safe. An agency spokesperson has apparently indicated that a new decision on the chemical, which is also used to seal canned food containers, will be released within “weeks not months.” The action comes after House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) asked the commissioner to reconsider the agency’s decision in light of “longstanding questions about the scientific data relied on by FDA under the previous Administration, as well as new press accounts detailing the influence of industry lobbyists on FDA’s scientific analyses.” Waxman cites several Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel articles, based on agency emails and a leaked industry report of a public relations strategy meeting, apparently indicating that (i) “when FDA conducted its review of BPA,…
UK scientists have shown in new research that the food-poisoning bug Salmonella relies on glucose for its survival, a discovery that could apparently provide a new way to vaccinate against it. Steven D. Bowden, et al, “Glucose and glycolysis are required for the successful infection of macrophages and mice by Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium,” Infection and Immunity (April 20, 2009). Institute of Food Research (IFR) scientists claim that their discovery of Salmonella’s weakness for sugar could also lead to vaccine strains to protect against other disease-causing bacteria, including superbugs. “This is the first time that anyone has identified the nutrients that sustain Salmonella while it is infecting a host’s body,” said study co-author Arthur Thompson in a statement from IFR, which called the discovery “a major breakthrough.” The next phase of the research will reportedly test whether mutant strains elicit a protective immune response in mice. See IFR Press Release, May 2009.
This article examines the claim that the production of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) has a greater environmental impact than similar processes used to manufacture sucrose from sugar cane or sugar beets. According to Slate columnist Nina Shen Rastogi, “sugar cane seems to be the most efficient producer of sugar and potentially the lightest user of fossil fuels, even though its significant water requirements can’t be ignored.” The article reports that one consulting firm ranked HFCS processing “the most energy-intensive food-manufacturing industry in America, meaning it spent the most on electricity and fuel per dollar-value shipments made,” while “sugar beet processing comes in at No. 2” and “sugar cane mills and refineries, collectively, are No. 3.” Other researchers reportedly concluded that, “on average, greenhouse gas emissions, and the release of acidifying substances seemed highest with corn sugar.” Rastogi notes, however, that each type of processing “returns some useful byproducts that can…
The Food Safety Research Consortium (FSRC) has released a report titled Strong Partnerships for Safer Food: An Agenda for Strengthening State and Local Roles in the Nation’s Food Safety System, which recommends the creation of an “integrated food safety system that operates as a full partnership among federal, state and local agencies.” A collaboration among diverse research institutions, FSRC aims to develop “analytical and decision tools for devising research, regulatory, and educational interventions and making resource allocation decisions” related to food safety reform. This latest project involved the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services in partnership with the Association of Food and Drug Officials, Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, and National Association of County and City Health Officials. In addition to detailing the strengths and weakness of the current system, the report makes 19 recommendations designed to support the state and local agencies that…
The British Court of Appeal has determined that “Regular Pringles,” a snack food made by Procter and Gamble, are subject to the value-added tax under a provision that applies to “potato crisps, potato sticks, potato puffs and similar products made from the potato, or from potato flour, or from potato starch.” Revenue & Customs v. Procter & Gamble UK, [2009] EWCA Civ 407 (Eng. & Wales Ct. App. (Civ. Div.), decided May 20, 2009). Foods are generally not taxed in Britain, but an exception has been carved out for “food not normally bought primarily for nutrition but eaten as snacks.” The question before the court was whether the Pringles chips, with just 42 percent potato flour content, are “similar to potato crisps and made from the potato.” The company apparently argued that products subject to the tax should be made from 100 percent potato or near 100 percent, to give the…
According to news sources, a bottled water industry trade association and several companies that produce bottled water have sued New York in federal court seeking to overturn an amendment to the state’s Returnable Container Act imposing a 5-cent deposit on water bottles. Int’l Bottled Water Ass’n v. Paterson, No. 09-4672 (S.D.N.Y., filed May 19, 2009). The original law, reportedly adopted in 1982, was intended to encourage recycling and reduce litter and waste. Currently applying to bottles and cans containing soft drinks, beer and wine coolers, the 5-cent-per-container charge can be recovered by consumers who return their empty cans and bottles to the retailer. The deposit for water bottles containing flavored water, vitamin water and artificial sweeteners becomes effective June 1, 2009. An exception is made for bottled water products with sugar. While the plaintiffs are not apparently challenging the law’s sustainability goals, their lawsuit takes issue with its new labeling…
A federal magistrate in Colorado has consolidated two lawsuits that address whether Aurora Dairy Corp.’s insurers are required to defend or indemnify the organic dairy in a host of consumer class actions alleging that the company falsely certified its milk as organic. ACE Am. Ins. Corp. v. Aurora Organic Dairy Corp., No. 08-1236 (D. Colo., order entered May 20, 2009). The putative class actions, consolidated before a multidistrict court in Missouri, claim that Aurora’s milk products do not conform to organic standards, citing a U.S. Department of Agriculture report that purportedly found shortcomings in Aurora’s organic operations. Among other matters, the claimants seek disgorgement for unjust enrichment. Aurora sued Nationwide Agribusiness Insurance Co. seeking a declaration that the insurer was required to defend it in at least one of the pending class actions. The dairy also sued for bad faith, breach of contract and related claims. A group of insurers…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced plans to reestablish the Fruit and Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee charged with examining the array of issues faced by the industry and providing suggestions on ways that USDA can tailor its programs to better meet the industry’s needs. A minimum of 25 committee slots need to be filled for two-year terms. Written nominations must be received on or before July 1, 2009. See Federal Register, May 18, 2009.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has launched a website designed to inform and welcome input about President Barack Obama’s Food Safety Working Group. The group, chaired by the secretaries of USDA and the Department of Health and Human Services, is charged with upgrading food safety laws for the 21st century, fostering coordination throughout government, and designing and enforcing laws to keep the American people safe.
U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) have introduced companion bills (S. 1048 and H.R. 2426) that would amend the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act “to extend the food labeling requirements of the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990” to standard menu items offered at large chain restaurants. Known as the MEAL Act, the bills would require restaurants with “20 or more locations doing business under the same name” to display “in a prominent location on the menu” the amount of calories, saturated fats, trans fats, carbohydrates, and sodium contained in each menu item. The legislation asserts that “the provision of nutrition information for away-from-home foods has a positive influence on food purchase decisions,” thus enabling consumers to “manage their weight and reduce the risk of, or manage, heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure, which are the leading causes of death, disability, and…
