Category: Issue 511
-
Parties Respond to FDA Letter on GM Ingredients and “Natural” Food Labeling
In response to a court order requiring the parties to respond to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) refusal at the court’s request to determine whether foods with genetically modified (GM) ingredients may be labeled “natural” or “all natural,” the parties to litigation involving tortilla chips have filed their pleadings. Cox v. Gruma Corp.,…
-
GM Labeling Bill Fails in N.H. House
New Hampshire lawmakers reportedly voted 185-162 against legislation (H.B. 660) that would have required food distributors to label foods that contain genetically modified (GM) ingredients. According to news sources, the vote not only puts a damper on the labeling fight in New Hampshire, but also sets back similar campaigns in Maine and Connecticut. Both states passed…
-
Hawaii Considers SSB Ban
The Hawaii Senate has introduced legislation (S.B. 2693) that would prohibit the sale of regular soft drinks and sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) in containers larger than 16 ounces. Noting that obesity is an increasingly “common and costly problem for the state,” and claiming that limiting the intake of sugar-sweetened beverages would “encourage healthier diets in the…
-
Trichloroethylene Added to Prop. 65 List as Reproductive Toxicant
California EPA’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has announced that, effective January 31, 2014, trichloroethylene will be listed as known to the state to cause reproductive toxicity for purposes of Proposition 65 (Prop. 65). According to OEHHA, the listing is “based on formal identification by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), an…
-
OEHHA Proposes Regulatory Provisions on Labor Code Listing Mechanism
California EPA’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has proposed adding a regulation to Title 27 of the California Code of Regulations to “clarify the procedure and criteria OEHHA uses to list and de-list chemicals via the ‘Labor Code’ listing mechanism of Proposition 65.” A public hearing on the proposal has been slated for…
-
EFSA Launches Consultation on Draft BPA Assessment
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has launched a public consultation on its draft assessment of the human health risks posed by bisphenol A (BPA). According to a January 17, 2014, press release, the agency has recommended temporarily lowering the current tolerable daily intake (TDI) for BPA from its current level of 50 µg/kg bw/day…
-
Upcoming Codex Meetings to Address Food Additives
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service and the Food and Drug Administration have announced a February 11, 2014, public meeting in Washington, D.C., to provide information and receive comments on agenda items and draft U.S. positions for discussion during the 46th Session of the Codex Committee on Food Additives of the…
-
FDA Schedules Additional Meetings on Proposed FSMA Rule to Address Intentional Food Adulteration
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced two additional public meetings, February 27, 2014, in Chicago, Illinois, and March 13 in Anaheim, California, to discuss the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) proposed rule for “Focused Mitigation Strategies to Protect Food Against Intentional Adulteration.” The meetings are the second and third in a series…