Category: Issue 551
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BPA/BPS Study Calls on Regulators to Rethink Low-Dose Exposure Assessments
A study claiming that low doses of bisphenol A (BPA) and bisphenol S (BPS) increased brain-cell growth in embryonic zebrafish—which later exhibited hyperactive behaviors as larvae—has urged health authorities to reconsider the use of linear dose-response relationships to set tolerable daily intake levels. Cassandra Kinch, et al., “Low-dose exposure to bisphenol A and replacement bisphenol…
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Study Allegedly Links Red Meat Sugar Molecule to Cancer Risk
Researchers with the University of California, San Diego, have reportedly linked a sugar molecule found in red meat to the development of spontaneous cancers. Annie N. Samraj, et al., “A red meat-derived glycan promotes inflammation and cancer progression,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, January 2015. According to a December 29, 2014, press release, N-glycolylneuraminic…
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Italian Winemakers Threaten Legal Action Against British Pubs for Selling Prosecco on Tap
A consortium of prosecco manufacturers has reportedly contacted the United Kingdom’s Food Standards Agency and Intellectual Property Office to threaten legal action under EU trading regulations against British wine bars and pubs that refuse to stop serving the sparkling wine from a keg. Prosecco sales apparently surpassed those of its rival, champagne, for the first…
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Lagunitas Files, Retracts Lawsuit Alleging Sierra Nevada Trademark Infringement
Two days after filing a lawsuit alleging that Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. infringed its stylized label trademark featuring the letters “IPA,” Lagunitas Brewing Co. filed a notice of voluntary dismissal without prejudice in the case and its owner, Tony Magee, publicly commented that he had been “seriously schooled” by the “Court of Public Opinion” following…
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Federal Circuit Affirms USDA’s Grape Patents
The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a lower court’s ruling that unauthorized public use of the Scarlet Royal and Autumn King varieties of table grapes does not invalidate the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) patents on them. Delano Farms Co. v. Cal. Table Grape Comm’n., No. 2014-1030 (Fed. Cir., order entered January 9,…
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European Parliament Approves GMO Cultivation Regulation
Confirming a December 2014 “hand-shake” agreement, the European Parliament has reportedly approved a law giving member states the authority to regulate the cultivation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) within their borders. Until the new rules take effect in spring 2015, EU member states can limit cultivation of approved GMOs only if they present new evidence…
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Argentine Import Restrictions Violate WTO Rules, Appellate Body Affirms
The World Trade Organization’s (WTO’s) Appellate Body has affirmed its August 2013 decision condemning Argentina’s broad trade-related restrictions affecting a variety of goods and food products. In one case that the WTO considered, Argentine government officials approved an agreement with a firm that imported Porsche vehicles that would require the company to offset the imports…
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EFSA Seeks Comments on Caffeine Safety Assessment
The European Food Safety Authority (ESFA) has opened a public consultation on a draft scientific opinion finding that “single doses of caffeine up to 200 mg and daily intakes of up to 400 mg do not raise safety concerns for adults.” Authored by EFSA’s Nutrition Unit, the draft opinion also concludes that (i) “it is…