Category: Issue 448
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Chilean Senator Seeks to Enforce Fast-Food Toy Ban
Chilean Senator Guido Girardi has reportedly filed a formal complaint with the country’s Ministry of Health, alleging that fast-food companies have violated a new ban on using toys and other giveaways to market children’s meals. According to media sources, the complaint claims that several fast-food restaurants have flouted the law, along with other food manufacturers…
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EFSA Calls for Additional Scientific Data on Aspartame
As part of an ongoing food additive assessment, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has requested additional scientific data on aspartame “related to 5-benzyl-3,6-dioxo-2-piperazine acetic acid (DKP) and other primary or secondary degradation products from aspartame.” Asked by the European Commission in 2011 to reevaluate the safety of aspartame as a food additive, EFSA’s Scientific…
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FSIS, EPA Announce “First-Ever” Microbial Risk Assessment Guideline
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have announced the availability of a guideline “for conducting microbial risk assessment (MRA).” Intended for government risk assessors and other public stakeholders, the guidance seeks to promote transparency and consistency between the two agencies as they conduct risks…
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NOP Addresses Tetracycline, Formic Acid and Attapulgite Use in Organics
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Program (NOP) has issued a final rule revising the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances with regard to the use of tetracycline, formic acid and attapulgite during the production and processing of organic crops and food ingredients. According to NOP, the most recent iteration of the National List…
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USDA Deregulates GE Sugar Beets
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has determined that genetically engineered (GE) sugar beets are “no longer considered a regulated article under our regulations governing the introduction of certain genetically engineered organisms.” According to the agency, the crop, which is engineered to tolerate the herbicide glyphosate and is…
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FDA Seeks Comments on Recordkeeping Burdens for Certain Beer Makers
FDA has issued a request for comments on a proposed information collection that will add the manufacturers of certain beers as respondents to its labeling regulations and seeks Office of Management and Budget approval of allergen labeling for these beers. The agency explains that after the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau determined that…
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GAO Report Criticizes FDA Food Recall Process
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued a July 26, 2012, report criticizing the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) efforts to implement a comprehensive food advisory and recall process. As directed by the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, GAO reportedly assessed the agency’s ability to order recalls and effectively inform consumers and retailers about food safety…