Category: Issue 490
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FSA Issues Final Report on Horse Meat Investigation
At the behest of the U.K. Food Standards Agency (FSA), an independent reviewer has issued a final report on the agency’s response “to the adulteration of processed beef products with horse and pork meat and DNA.” Authored by Pat Troop, former chief executive of the Health Protection Agency, the report evaluates FSA’s “relevant capacity and…
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EFSA Finalizes Guidance on Pesticide-Related Risk to Bees
Following a request from the European Commission concerning the declining health of bees in Europe, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published new guidance for assessing the potential risks to bees from the use of pesticides. Noting that a previous risk assessment for honeybees did not fully account for risks from chronic or repeat…
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Codex Adopts New Food Safety and Nutrition Standards
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…
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NOAA Issues Final Dolphin-Safe Tuna Labeling Rule
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has published a final rule “to enhance the requirements for documentation to support labels on tuna products that represent the product as dolphin-safe.” According to NMFS, the rule “is intended to better ensure dolphin-safe labels comply with the requirements of the…
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USDA Approves Horse Slaughter Plant
According to a news source, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has granted permission for slaughterhouses in New Mexico and Iowa to convert their facilities into horse-processing plants, the first such facilities to be licensed since Congress banned the practice seven years ago. Other applications for horse-processing plants are reportedly being considered in Missouri, Oklahoma…
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FDA Finalizes Rule on BPA in Infant Formula Packaging
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a final rule amending 21 C.F.R. 175.300 to reflect the industry’s abandonment of bisphenol A (BPA)- based epoxy resins as coatings in infant formula packaging. As of July 12, 2013, the food additive regulations will no longer provide for this use of BPA. According to FDA, its…
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FDA Proposes Action Level for Inorganic Arsenic in Apple Juice
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has proposed “an ‘action level’ of 10 parts per billion (ppb) for inorganic arsenic in apple juice,” the same level established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for drinking water. According to a July 12, 2013, press release, FDA set this threshold based on its latest analysis of organic…