The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a proposed rule that would amend the agency’s animal-food regulations by requiring manufacturers to list the common or usual names of FDA-certified color additives on animal food labels, including animal feeds and pet foods. The amendment would make the regulations consistent with those that apply to human food and suggests how color additives not certified by FDA should be declared on the ingredient list of animal foods. According to FDA, the proposal responds to the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990, which modified the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act by requiring food labels to list the common or usual names of all FDA-certified color additives. The 1990 amendments apply both to human and animal foods, but apparently regulations pertaining to animal foods have yet to be issued. Written comments will be accepted until February 22, 2010. See Federal Register, November…
Tag Archives artificial coloring
Starting from the premise that consumer enjoyment of food is linked directly to its color, this article discusses the types of substances that have been used over the centuries to change the appearance of food products and how various governments have tried to regulate their use. The earliest food coloring regulations in the United States were developed under pressure by dairy producers who were able, at one time, to persuade the legislatures of five states to pass laws requiring that margarine be dyed pink to compromise its acceptability in the marketplace. The author traces the history of U.S. laws regulating color additives, noting how debate has raged over the application of strict standards that bar the use of substances with even a 1 in a billion cancer risk to applying what the Food and Drug Administration has championed and called de minimis exceptions that would allow the use of color…
On January 5, 2009, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a rule ordering food and drink manufacturers that color their products with cochineal extract and carmine to declare the presence of those ingredients on labels. Further details about the rule appear in issue 287 of this Update. Last week, FDA confirmed the effective date for full compliance with the rule as January 5, 2011. FDA revised its requirements for these color additives in response to reports of severe allergic reactions to food containing cochineal extract and food and cosmetics containing carmine. The colorings, derived from the dried bodies of beetles, are used in various products such as ice creams, yogurts, fruit drinks, alcoholic beverages, and candy products. They make the products pink, red or purple. The coloring agents were previously listed under “artificial color” or “artificial color added” on ingredient labels. Beginning in 2011, FDA will require foods containing…
The U.S. Supreme Court has denied a petition seeking review of a California Supreme Court ruling that allowed plaintiffs to pursue putative class claims alleging that grocery stores failed to inform California consumers about the artificial coloring used in the farm-raised salmon they sold. Albertson’s Inc. v. Kanter, No. 07-1327 (U.S., certiorari denied January 12, 2009). The retailers had asked the Court to find the claims preempted by the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. The case should now proceed to trial. Food and Drug Administration regulations allow salmon farmers to augment the normally grayish pigment of farm-raised fish with chemicals, but also require that the use of coloring be indicated on product labels. Federal law does not allow individuals to enforce the law through litigation, but it does not, according to attorneys involved in the case, bar civil lawsuits for violations of state law. The litigation was brought on both federal and…
FDA this week issued a final rule requiring food and cosmetic manufacturers to declare the presence of cochineal extract and carmine in their products. Derived from dried insect bodies, the two coloring agents were previously labeled under “artificial colors” or “color added” on ingredient lists. “This final rule responds to reports of severe allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis to cochineal extract-containing food and carmine-containing food and cosmetics and will allow consumers who are allergic to these color additives to identify and thus avoid products that contain these color additives,” according to FDA, which requires full compliance with the rule by January 5, 2011. See FoodNavigator-USA.com, January 6, 2009. Meanwhile, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has criticized the final rule for failing to indicate the extracts’ insect origins. The consumer advocacy group first petitioned FDA in 1998 for more stringent labeling of cochineal and carmine, citing their widespread…
