The Codex Alimentarius has announced new food safety and nutrition standards that strive to “protect the health of consumers worldwide.” The regulations include guidance on preventing and reducing ochratoxin A—a reportedly carcinogenic contaminant—in cocoa, avoiding microbiological contamination of berries, preventing hydrocyanic acid in cassava, and when to label food with ”non-addition of sodium salts.” The commission also seeks to protect consumers against fraud and ensure fair food trade practices for products such as avocados, chanterelles, pomegranates, olives, and fish products. “The standards help buyers and sellers establish contracts based on Codex specifications and make sure that the consumers get from the products what they expect,” explained a news release. The recommendations also include nutrient references for sodium and saturated fat, as well as maximum pesticide residue limits for certain food additives. Meanwhile, Codex celebrated its 50th anniversary at its annual meeting, held in Rome, July 2, 2013. The session was attended by 620…
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The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court ruling affirming the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) decision that genetically modified (GM) alfalfa is not a “plant pest” and thus that it lacked authority to stop its deregulation or to consult with the Fish and Wildlife Service regarding potential environmental impacts. Ctr. for Food Safety v. Vilsack, No. 12-15052 (9th Cir., decided May 17, 2013). The Center for Food Safety, an organization dedicated to environmental advocacy, has announced its determination to appeal the ruling and to pursue other legal options to stop the planting and cultivation of GM alfalfa. The gist of the Ninth Circuit’s ruling is that while the plaintiffs’ environmental and economic concerns may be valid, they have no bearing, under the current statutory scheme, on APHIS’s authority vis-à-vis GM crops. The court’s opinion methodically explains how GM alfalfa is created…
Public interest advocacy organization the Center for Food Safety has issued a report titled “Best Public Relations Money Can Buy: A Guide to Food Industry Front Groups,” authored by food activist and attorney Michele Simon. The report describes what front groups are and how they purportedly function, drawing parallels with a cigarette industry trade group, which, according to Simon, by distorting science “effectively delayed public policy on tobacco for decades. The food industry’s current effort to distort science is similar, but somewhat more subtle, operating through less obvious front groups.” Among the groups mentioned are (i) the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance— “[t]he group calls itself ‘farmers and ranchers’ because that sounds better than Monsanto and the Pork Board”; (ii) No on 37—a group fighting a ballot initiative in California that would have required labels on foods with genetically modified ingredients; it allegedly “claimed to be a ‘coalition of family…
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has issued its 2013 Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce, which “ranks pesticide contamination on 48 popular fruits and vegetables, based on an analysis of more than 28,000 samples tested by the U.S. Department of Agriculture [USDA] and federal [Food and Drug Administration].” This year’s “Clean Fifteen™” list—fruits and vegetables with the least pesticide load—includes corn, onions, pineapples, avocados, cabbage, frozen sweet peas, papayas, mangoes, asparagus, eggplant, kiwi, grapefruit, cantaloupe, sweet potatoes, and mushrooms. Topping the “Dirty Dozen™” list of the “most pesticide-contaminated produce” are apples, followed by strawberries, grapes and celery. According to EWG, this is the second year in a row that the group “has expanded the Dirty Dozen™ with a Plus category to highlight two crops— domestically-grown summer squash and leafy greens, specifically kale and collards.” Evidently, these crops “did not meet traditional Dirty Dozen™ criteria but were commonly contaminated with pesticides…
Beekeepers, environmentalists and advocacy organizations have filed an action for declaratory and injunctive relief against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), claiming that the agency has failed to take any regulatory action on pesticide products containing the active ingredients clothianidin and thiamethoxam in violation of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), Endangered Species Act (ESA) and Administrative Procedure Act. Ellis v. EPA, No. 13-1266 (N.D. Cal., filed March 21, 2013). According to the complaint, “In a vast and extremely risky experiment, EPA has allowed over two million pounds of clothianidin and thiamethoxam to be used annually on more than 100 million acres and on dozens of different plant corps without adhering to existing procedural frameworks and with no adequate risk assessments in place.” The plaintiffs allege that this inaction has “been a major factor in excessive honey bee mortality and the decline of pollinator populations in the same…
The U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have scheduled a March 28, 2013, public meeting in Arlington, Virginia, to address draft U.S. positions for discussion at the 45th Session of the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues of the Codex Alimentarius Commission during a May 6-13 meeting in Beijing. Agenda items include (i) a report by the 2012 joint Food and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organization meeting on pesticide residues; (ii) a discussion paper on principles and guidance for estimating maximum residue limits for pesticides; and (iii) a discussion paper on guidance for establishing maximum residue limits for pesticides for minor and specialty crops. See Federal Register, March 14, 2013.
A putative class action alleging that Dole Food Co. misleads consumers by claiming it is an environmentally friendly and socially responsible company despite purportedly purchasing bananas from growers using pesticides in Guatemala has reportedly been filed in a California federal court. According to a Hagens Berman news release, the suit, filed on November 13, 2012, alleges that Dole’s supplier destroyed wetlands and poisoned water sources. Steve Berman said, “Dole promised its customers it had an ‘unwavering commitment’ to environmental responsibility. Yet, it gave its business to a plantation that showed a complete disregard for the local environment.” See Hagens Berman Press Release, November 13, 2012.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published an inventory of its activities on bees and bee health as part of a forthcoming report to the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation. Spurred by a worldwide decline in the bee population, the agency created a task force with expertise in pesticides, animal health and welfare, genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and plant health “to provide risk managers with comprehensive advice in the area of bee health.” In compiling the inventory, the task force identified 355 bee-related scientific outputs that EFSA has already published or developed, with the majority of these outputs involving applications for regulatory products such as pesticides and GMOs. “With its mandate to improve EU food safety and to ensure a high level of consumer protection, EFSA has a responsibility to protect bees and the ecosystem services they provide to humans,” stated the agency in a November 20,…
University of California, Los Angeles, and University of California, Davis, researchers have published a study examining the health effects of foodborne toxin exposure in children and adults. Rainbow Vogt, et al., “Cancer and noncancer health effects from food contaminant exposures for children and adults in California: a risk assessment,” Environmental Health, November 2012. Based on self-reported food frequency data as well as food chemical levels obtained from publicly available databases, the study estimated exposure to multiple food contaminants for preschool age children (2-4 years), school-age children (5-7 years), parents of young children, and older adults. The results allegedly showed that cancer benchmark levels “were exceeded by all children (100%) for arsenic, dieldrin, DDE, and dioxins,” while non-cancer benchmarks were exceeded by more than 95 percent of preschool-age children for acrylamide and by 10 percent of preschool-age children for mercury. The data also indicated that “the greatest exposure to pesticides from…
A California Superior Court has reportedly dismissed a lawsuit filed by nearly 3,000 Philippine banana plantation workers who claimed that exposure to the pesticide 1,2-Dibromo-3-chloropropane (DBCP) more than 30 years ago caused physical and mental injury including sterility, testicular atrophy, miscarriages, and cancer. Macasa v. Dole Food Co., No. BC467134 (Cal Super. Ct., decided August 8, 2012). More details about the litigation appear in Issue 405 of this Update. According to a company spokesperson, the claims were fraudulent and should not have been brought because no reliable scientific evidence links DBCP agricultural exposures to the injuries alleged. The company reported that an identical lawsuit filed 13 years ago in the Philippines was also dismissed. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has apparently prohibited the pesticide’s use in the United States, classifying it as a probable human carcinogen. See Ventura County Star, August 9, 2012.
