Responding to a lawsuit filed by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) and the Mercury Policy Project (MPP), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will soon update guidance on the permissible levels of mercury in seafood and the associated potential risks for pregnant women and young children. While CSPI and MPP urged the agency to mandate mercury-level labeling on seafood and at fish counters in grocery stores, FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said that labels would not be mandated under its forthcoming guidelines. Previous guidance issued in 2010 indicated that pregnant women should limit seafood intake to less than 12 ounces weekly and discouraged consumption of shark, swordfish, tilefish, and king mackerel. See Associated Press, May 30, 2014. Issue 525
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has announced a June 26, 2014, public meeting in Washington, D.C., to discuss two proposed rules aimed at updating nutrition information and serving size requirements on Nutrition and Supplement Fact labels. Introduced 20 years ago, the Nutrition and Supplements Facts labels “help consumers make informed food choices and maintain healthy dietary practices.” Among others, the agency has proposed the following changes: (i) to require information about “added sugars”; (ii) to update daily values for nutrients such as sodium, dietary fiber and Vitamin D; (iii) to require manufacturers to declare potassium and Vitamin D amounts on the label, because they are new “nutrients of public health significance”; (iv) to change the serving size requirements to reflect how much people “actually” eat; (v) to require that packaged foods, including drinks, that are typically eaten in one sitting be labeled as a single serving and that calorie…
In response to Affordable Care Act provisions, requiring restaurants and similar retail food establishments to provide calorie and other nutrition information for menu items, U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and a bipartisan group of senators have reportedly requested that the Office of Budget and Management (OMB) review nutrition labeling regulations to “ensure that any measures adopted will allow flexibility for restaurants and avoid unnecessarily burdening food retail establishments where nutrition information is already prevalent.” “Since FDA published its proposed rule to implement nutrition labeling of standard menu items at chain restaurants, many concerns have been raised about the regulations expanding to non-restaurants, such as grocery and convenience stores, where the vast majority of food products are already labeled with nutritional information,” wrote the senators in a May 30, 2014, letter to OMB Administrator Howard Shelanski. “The proposed rule also could affect restaurants with highly variable items or different food service…
The Netherlands and Sweden have issued a discussion paper arguing that labeling food with “best before” dates results in unnecessary food waste and that European Union (EU) requirements should be adjusted to allow some foods to be sold without them. The paper, which Germany, Denmark, Austria, and Luxembourg also back, echoes a report published in April 2014 by the U.K.’s House of Lords EU Committee urging the development of “aspirational targets for each level of the supply chain” to reduce food waste in Europe. According to the European Commission (EC), up to 100 million metric tons of food are wasted each year in Europe, and a 2013 report from the London based Institution of Mechanical Engineers found that 30 to 50 percent of food on shelves is wasted, possibly due to poor understanding of “best before” and “use by” dates. The EC said that it is examining possible avenues of…
According to a new Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) report titled “Label Confusion: How ‘Humane’ and ‘Sustainable’ Claims on Meat Packages Deceive Consumers,” the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) fails to verify the accuracy of label claims on most meat and poultry products sold in the United States. The report suggests that food label claims used on millions of meat packages lack “any apparent verification, and AWI has asked USDA to require independent third-party certification. Noting that the use of animal welfare and sustainability claims has increased dramatically during the past decade as consumers become more aware of—and concerned about—the well-being of animals raised for food and the purported negative impacts of animal agriculture on the environment, AWI contends that the public’s interest in these claims makes them ripe for exploitation. During the past three years, AWI researched the USDA approval process for 25 animal welfare and environmental claims, such as…
A federal court in California has dismissed all but one claim in a putative consumer-fraud class action against The Hershey Co., finding that, based on his deposition, the plaintiff relied only on the label claims for antioxidants in making his purchasing decisions. Khasin v. The Hershey Co., No. 12-1862 (N.D. Cal., order entered May 5, 2014). Information about a prior court ruling that dismissed other claims appears in Issue 463 of this Update. The court granted the company’s motion for summary judgment as to claims made on its website or in off-label advertising and as to “any claims based on alleged misrepresentations or omissions regarding vanillin, PGPR, serving size and alkalized cocoa powder.” The court also granted summary judgment as to claims alleging a failure to make disclaimers on the company’s mint products, i.e., that they should not be substituted as an entrée, lunch or meal and that they are not…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued draft guidance intended to help the food industry prepare submissions for obtaining exemptions from the labeling requirements for major food allergens. The Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004 (FALCPA) requires that food labels identify products containing major food allergens (milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, wheat, peanuts, and soybeans). Because an ingredient derived from a major food allergen may be modified to such an extent that it does not contain allergenic protein or does not cause an allergic response that poses a risk to human health, FALCPA apparently provides two processes through which manufacturers can obtain an exemption from this labeling requirement for a specific ingredient. An ingredient may be exempted through submission and approval of either (i) a petition containing scientific evidence which demonstrates that the ingredient “does not cause an allergic response that poses a…
With an aim to “improve public awareness of product identities by providing truthful and accurate labeling of meat and poultry products,” the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has submitted its final rule for labeling products that contain an “added solution” to the federal Office of Management and Budget for review. Observing that “without adequate labeling information, consumers cannot distinguish between raw meat and poultry product[s] that contain added solutions and single-ingredient meat and poultry products,” FSIS proposes that all meat and poultry products, raw or partially cooked, that contain at least a 3 percent saline or other liquid solution or marinade, bear a label stating that the product has been “enhanced” with solution. The agency estimates a one-time total cost to modify all federally inspected meat labels of about $80 million. Issue 523
A California Senate bill (S.B. 1000) that would require warning labels on sodas and other sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) was put on hold April 28, 2014, over concerns about enforcement costs of the legislation. In a 6-0 vote, the Senate Appropriations Committee referred the bill to its suspense file, which means it will be reconsidered after the state budget has been prepared. Introduced in February by Sen. Bill Monning (D-Carmel), the bill would require labels warning of obesity and diabetes risks on all beverages with added sweeteners, including soda, tea, juice, and almond/rice/soy milk products, that have 75 or more calories per 12 ounces. Labels would also be required on self-serve soda dispensers and restaurant menus. According to news sources, the California Department of Public Health expects to incur between $150,000 and $300,000 in costs to adopt regulations to implement the bill and to allow local agencies to enforce its provisions. Further,…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) National Organic Program (NOP) has issued final guidance on the use of “Made with Organic” claims on product labeling. According to NOP, the guidance seeks to clarify “the following aspects of products in this labeling category”: (i) “composition”; (ii) “compliant organic labeling claims”; (iii) “organic and nonorganic forms of the same ingredient”; (iv) “percentage of organic ingredients statements”; and (v) “ingredients or food groups in the ‘made with organic’ claim.” Available through “The Program Handbook: Guidance and Instructions for Accredited Certifying Agents and Certified Operations,” the new policies reflect NOP’s current thinking on organic product labeling. In particular, “Made with Organic” products “must contain at least 70 percent organic ingredients, excluding salt and water”; “may contain up to 30 percent nonorganic ingredients,” provided any nonagricultural ingredient is allowed by the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances; and “must not contain any ingredient that was produced…
