Category: Issue 321
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CSPI Sues Quorn Foods over Alleged Allergic Reaction to Meat Substitute
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has filed a putative class-action lawsuit in a Connecticut court on behalf of an Arizona woman who allegedly had a severe allergic reaction from eating artificial chicken patties made with a Quorn Foods, Inc. fungus. Cardinale v. Quorn Foods, Inc., No. __ (Conn. Super. Ct., filed…
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Class Action Alleges Hazardous Preparation Instructions on Frozen Pot Pies
California residents have filed a putative class action against Pinnacle Foods Group, LLC in federal court, alleging that its frozen food products, if prepared as directed, will not “reach the ‘kill step’ temperature necessary to destroy dangerous bacteria.” Meaunrit v. The Pinnacle Foods Group, LLC, No. 09-4555 (N.D. Cal., filed September 28, 2009). They also claim…
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Food Producers Raise Concerns over Proposed Prop. 65 Warnings
California EPA’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) held a “pre-regulatory workshop” on September 25, 2009, to present to stakeholders its proposed warning program for exposures to Proposition 65 (Prop. 65) chemicals in foods sold at retail. According to a news source, industry representatives raised “significant” concerns over the draft proposal, which would require…
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FSIS Announces New General Food Defense Plan
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has announced the availability of a new general food defense plan developed by the Office of Data Integration and Food Protection, with input from small and very small establishments. FSIS has notified facilities identified in a 2008 survey as lacking a food defense program…
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EPA, EU Launch Research Strategies for Nanotechnology
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the European Union (EU) have announced separate plans to study nanotechnology, a field believed to have huge potential in food processing and packaging. EPA’s strategy involves studying over the next several years how manufactured nanomaterials may harm human health and the environment. “EPA’s role among federal agencies is to…
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EPA Asks Congress to Overhaul Toxic Substances Control Act
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson has urged Congress to pass sweeping legislative reform of the country’s chemical management law and announced plans to review the controversial food-packaging chemical bisphenol A and the perfluorinated chemicals used in nonstick cookware. In a September 29, 2009, speech at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco, Jackson claimed…