The U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) has proposed “Guidance on Food Fraud Mitigation,” a new appendix to the Food Chemicals Codex (FCC), to “offer a framework for the food industry and regulators to develop and implement preventative management systems to deal specifically with economically motivated fraudulent adulteration of food ingredients.” The guidance will be published for public comment in the FCC Forum from December 31, 2014, to March 31, 2015, but USP has released it early to provide additional time for review and comment. The document was designed for broad application and to provide a structured approach to characterizing and mitigating food fraud, including guidelines to (i) assess contributory factors, (ii) assess potential impacts and (iii) develop a mitigation strategy. The briefing also promises that “similar guidance sections that tailor this general approach to specific ingredient categories such as milk-based food ingredients” will appear in the future. Issue 546
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety and the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition have announced a January 13, 2015, public meeting in College Park, Maryland, to discuss draft U.S. positions for consideration during the 24th Session of the Codex Committee on Fats and Oils slated for February 9-13 in Melaka, Malaysia. Agenda items at the January meeting include a proposed draft standard for fish oils and discussion papers focusing on (i) cold pressed oils and (ii) amended standards for sunflower seed oils and high oleic soybean oil. See Federal Register, November 19, 2014. Issue 546
The U.S. Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration have scheduled an October 28, 2014, public meeting in Washington, D.C., to solicit comments about draft positions to be considered at the 36th Session of the Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses (CCNFSDU) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission in Bali, Indonesia, on November 24-28. Issues on the October 28 meeting agenda include a (i) discussion paper on biofortification, (ii) proposed draft revision of the Codex General Principles for the Addition of Essential Nutrients to Foods, (iii) proposed draft revision of the list of food additives, and (iv) a proposal to review the Codex Standard for Follow-Up Formula. See Federal Register, September 10, 2014. Issue 537
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food Safety and Inspection Service is convening a September 25, 2014, public meeting in Washington, D.C., to receive public comments about draft positions to be discussed at the 21st Session of the Codex Committee on Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems of the Codex Alimentarius Commission in Brisbane, Australia, on October 13-17. Issues on the September 25 meeting agenda include (i) a discussion paper on Principles and Guidelines for Monitoring Regulatory Performance of National Food Control Systems and (ii) draft amendments to Guidelines for the Exchange of Information between Countries on Rejections of Imported Food. USDA and the Food and Drug Administration have a public meeting slated for October 23 in Washington, D.C., to provide information and receive public comments about draft positions to be discussed at the 46th Session of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene in Lima, Peru, on November…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Agricultural Marketing Service has requested comments “on how a Federal standard of identity for honey would be in the interest of consumers, the honey industry, and U.S. agriculture.” Noting that the Food and Drug Administration in 2011 rejected an industry-backed citizens petition seeking such a standard, USDA as charged by the 2014 Farm Bill will produce a report examining the issue, “including any current industry amendments or clarifications necessary to update the petition.” In particular, USDA points to the existence of several standards for the inspection and grading of honey, including state-level schemes designed to prevent product adulteration. “While some are following the 2006 honey industry petition and using an amended version of the Codex Standard for Honey, CODEX standard 12-1981, Rev. 2 (2001), variations in the state standards of identity for honey are inevitable,” concludes the agency, which will accept comments until September…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has denied the May 2011 petition filed by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) seeking an interpretive rule declaring certain antibiotic-resistant (ABR) strains of Salmonella to be adulterants when found in raw ground meat and raw ground poultry. Additional information about the petition appears in Issue 396 of this Update. CSPI also asked the agency “to ensure adequate sampling and testing for these pathogens and to remove contaminated ground meat and ground poultry products from the human food supply.” FSIS essentially found insufficient data to distinguish ABR Salmonella strains from other Salmonella strains that are susceptible to antibiotics and thus stated that additional data on the characteristics of ABR Salmonella are needed to determine whether the strains identified in the petition “could qualify as adulterants under the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) (21 U.S.C. 601…
Representatives of more than 170 countries, the European Union and governmental and non-governmental organizations convened in Geneva, Switzerland, on July 14-18, 2014, for the annual meeting of the Codex Alimentarius Commission. Delegates reportedly adopted a recommendation that no more than 0.01 mg/kg of lead be allowed in infant formula and that raw materials be sourced from geographical areas where lead is less prevalent, citing the particular vulnerability of infants and young children to developmental health effects from lead exposure. Codex also set a maximum allowable level for arsenic in rice of 0.2 mg/kg because long-term exposure to the naturally occurring chemical has been linked to the development of cancer, heart disease and diabetes. Other decisions made during the annual meeting related to restricting the use of eight veterinary drugs (chloramphenicol, malachite green, carbadox, furazolidone, nitrofural, chlorpromazine, stilbenes and olaquinadox) in food-producing animals to prevent any residual quantities in meat, milk,…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Food Safety and the Agricultural Marketing Service have announced an August 12, 2014, public meeting in Washington, D.C., to provide information and discuss draft U.S. positions to be discussed at the 27th Session of the Codex Committee on Processed Fruits and Vegetables slated for September 8-12 in Philadelphia. Agenda items include draft standards and proposed draft annexes for certain canned fruits and quick frozen vegetables as well as a proposed draft standard for ginseng products. See Federal Register, July 8, 2014. Issue 529
In advance of the July 14-18, 2014, 37th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission in Geneva, Switzerland, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has published a notice soliciting public comments to inform U.S. positions on various proposed commission standard-setting actions. No deadline for submitting comments has been specified. FSIS is responsible for keeping the public informed of the activities of international standard-setting organizations, including the Codex Alimentarius Commission, which was created in 1963 by two U.N. organizations—the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Health Organization (WHO)— to establish food standards that are often adopted and implemented by governments around the world, including the United States. Codex committees discussed in the FSIS notice include those focusing on residues of veterinary drugs in foods, contaminants in foods, food additives, pesticide residues, methods of analysis and sampling, food labeling, food hygiene, fresh fruits and vegetables, nutrition and…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service and the Food and Drug Administration have announced a June 18, 2014 public meeting in Washington, D.C., to provide information and receive comments on agenda items and draft U.S. positions for discussion during the 37th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission in Geneva, Switzerland, July 14-18, 2014. Agenda items include (i) proposed amendments to the procedural manual;(ii) amendments to Codex standards and related texts; (iii) proposals for theelaboration of new standards and related texts and for the discontinuation of work; (iv) matters referred to the Commission by Codex committees and task forces; (v) the Commission’s 2014-2019 strategic plan; and (vi) relations between the Commission and other international organizations. See Federal Register, April 30, 2014. Issue 522
