Category: Issue 341
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OEHHA Extends Public Comment Period on Prop. 65 Listing of Fungicide
California EPA’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has extended until April 7, 2010, the public comment period on its proposal to add epoxiconazole, a triazole fungicide used on coffee beans and bananas grown outside the United States, to the state’s Proposition 65 (Prop. 65) list of chemicals known to cause cancer or reproductive…
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New York Assembly Considers Banning Sodium in All Restaurant Foods
New York Assemblyman Felix Ortiz (D-Brooklyn) has reportedly introduced legislation (A.B. A10129) that would bar restaurants from using salt “in any form” during food preparation. According to the bill, which cites the World Health Organization, “three quarters or more of the sodium intake in the United States comes from processed or restaurant foods.” Proposing to…
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Battle over Soft Drink Taxes Gains Momentum
Facing budget shortfalls in the upcoming fiscal year, several state and city legislatures are reportedly considering a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages. Kansas Senator John Vratil (R-Leawood) this week proposed a bill (S.B. 567) that would tax such products, including energy and sports drinks, at the rate of one penny per teaspoon of sugar. According to…
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Swiss Reject Proposal to Appoint Lawyers for Abused Animals
While the city of Zurich reportedly employs a lawyer to represent animals in cases alleging abuse or excessive cruelty to animals, Swiss voters have overwhelmingly rejected a measure that would have expanded the practice throughout the country. Some 70.5 percent of the electorate defeated a proposal that would have required paying 25 or more lawyers…
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DOJ Opens Series of Antitrust Workshops to Consider Concentration in Agriculture Sector
The Department of Justice (DOJ) was scheduled to begin a series of antitrust workshops March 12, 2010, in Iowa, to hear from agricultural interests about consolidation and competition in the industry. The workshops have drawn considerable commentary, with some focusing on the biotechnology giants that control most of the patented soybean and corn seeds in…
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New York Senator Urges Adoption of Dairy COOL Act
U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) has responded to a recent recall of melamine-tainted milk from China by urging her peers to pass country-of-origin labeling (COOL) legislation (S.B. 1783) for all dairy products sold in the United States. Introduced by Al Franken (D Minn.) as the Dairy COOL Act of 2009, the bill would extend current…
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OMB Completes Review of Proposal to Remove Saccharin from Hazardous Substances List
The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has reportedly completed its review of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) proposal to take saccharin off its list of hazardous substances and wastes. The action will apparently allow EPA to grant a six-year-old industry petition claiming that scientific data suggest the artificial sweetener is “not…
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EFSA Issues Opinion on Hundreds of “General Function” Health Claims
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recently published a second series of opinions on a list of “general function” health claims for foods. EFSA’s Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies assessed the scientific data submitted to substantiate more than 400 hundred health claims; its opinions are forwarded to the European Commission and member states,…