Category: Issue 328
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OEHHA Seeks Comment on Safe Level for Corn-Based Snack Chemical and NoticeRule Amendment Under Prop. 65
California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) is requesting written comments on two proposals. One would establish a “no significant risk level” for fumonisin B1, a chemical present in many corn-based food products, at a value that is apparently significantly lower than safe levels set by other regulators and could expose many companies to…
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Cereal Makers Testify Before Canadian Health Committee
The Canadian House of Commons’ Standing Committee on Health (HESA) recently heard testimony from Nestlé S.A. and Kellogg Co. representatives about dietary salt reduction. The representatives reportedly backed recent efforts to reduce salt levels in popular products, noting that breakfast cereals account for only 3 percent of the salt in the Canadian diets. Nestlé Director…
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Australian Agency Seeks Comment on Proposal to Regulate Industrial Nanomaterials; Scientific Studies Continue to Generate Debate over Potential Health Effects
The National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme of Australia’s Department of Health and Ageing has released for public comment a plan to (i) eliminate a regulatory review exemption for the production of small quantities of new nanoscale materials; and (ii) establish a voluntary reporting system for manufacturers producing nanoscale chemicals. Comments must be provided…
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EU to Drop Duties on Bananas and Other Tropical Fruit Products
An end to the world’s longest-running trade dispute is reportedly drawing near. The European Union (EU), which purportedly started the “banana wars” by imposing higher duties on tropical fruits from Latin America in the early 1990s to favor former British and French colonies in Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific regions, is apparently poised to enter…
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AMS Proposes Amendments to Food Container Regulations
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agriculture Marketing Service (AMS) has proposed amending regulations that govern the U.S. Standards for Condition of Food Containers. According to AMS, these revisions are necessary to “reflect current industry practices” and include “simplifying sampling plans, updating the acceptable quality levels to incorporate new defects, and updating current defects to include new…
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FDA Extends Comment Period on Acrylamide in Food
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has extended the period for comments and scientific data and information on acrylamide in food as it considers industry guidance on this issue. In response to a request for a 60-day extension, FDA will accept written comments and scientific data until January 25, 2010. In its original request for…
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FDA Releases Report that Recommends Enhanced Food-Tracing Guidelines
The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) has released a report that recommends guidelines for establishing a comprehensive food-tracing system along the entire supply chain to reduce foodborne illness. CSFAN commissioned the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) report in 2008, and will apparently consider its findings when determining…
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FDA Delays Raw Oyster Ban Pending Further Study
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced its intention to delay a 2011 ban on raw oysters harvested from the Gulf of Mexico during warm weather months. FDA heard from “Gulf Coast oyster harvesters, state officials, and elected representatives from across the region about the feasibility of implementing post-harvest processing or other equivalent controls”…