Category: Issue 553
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Food Contaminants, Veterinary Drug Residues Topics of Upcoming Codex Delegate Meetings
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, Food and Drug Administration, and Department of Health and Human Services have announced a February 23, 2015, public meeting in College Park, Maryland, to discuss draft positions for consideration at the 9th Session of the Codex Committee on Contaminants in Food in…
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Study Allegedly Links Daily SSB Consumption to Earlier Menarche
A study allegedly linking daily sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption to earlier menarche has raised concerns about the long-term implications for breast cancer risk. J.L. Carwile, et al., “Sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and age at menarche in a prospective study of US girls,” Human Reproduction, January 2015. Relying on dietary questionnaires completed by 5,583 girls ages 9 to…
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New Yorker Examines Role of Litigation in Food Safety
A February 2, 2015, New Yorker article following the career of plaintiffs’ attorney Bill Marler examines how litigation has shaped the food-safety landscape in the absence of robust regulatory oversight. Viewing the U.S. inspection and recall system through the lens of a 2013 Salmonella Heidelberg outbreak that reportedly sickened an estimated 18,000 people, Wil Hylton interviews…
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ENSSER Publishes Statement Challenging Consensus on GMO Safety
Led by the European Network of Scientists for Social and Environmental Responsibility (ENSSER), a group of independent researchers has released a joint statement in Environmental Sciences Europe that challenges “recent claims of a consensus over the safety of genetically modified organisms (GMOs).” According to the January 20, 2015, statement, “the scarcity and contradictory nature of…
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German Groups Convene Nanotechnology Symposium in Berlin
The Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) and the Fraunhofer Nanotechnology and Food Chain Management alliances have organized a two-day public event on March 5-6, 2015, in Berlin to discuss a range of risk-related issues related to the use of nanomaterials. Symposium topics will include (i) European Food Safety Agency guidance on nanomaterials, (ii) the NanoDefine…
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California Company to Halt European Candy Imports in Agreement with Hershey
Let’s Buy British Imports (LBB Imports) has reportedly agreed to stop importing Cadbury chocolate made overseas pursuant to the settlement of a lawsuit in which Hershey Co. alleged that the importer violated the candy company’s trademarks and trade dress of Cadbury, Kit Kat® and other products by selling versions produced internationally. Hershey Co. v. LBB…
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“Fat Noodle” Too Similar to “Chubby Noodle,” Complaint Says
Noodles Raw Catering, owner of Chubby Noodle restaurants, has filed a lawsuit alleging that Saison Group’s Fat Noodle restaurant infringes on Noodles Raw’s trademark. Noodles Raw Catering LLC v. Saison Group LLC, No. 15-316 (N.D. Cal., filed January 22, 2015). The complaint asserts that although Chubby Noodle, which sells “high-quality, well-priced Asian-inspired” food, does not…
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Groups Challenge California Pesticide-Spraying Plan
Several organizations, including the Center for Biological Diversity, Environmental Working Group and Center for Food Safety as well as the city of Berkeley, California, have filed a lawsuit against the California Department of Food and Agriculture to contest the agency’s approval of a pest management plan that allows pesticide spraying on organic farms, schools and…