Category: Issue 682
-
FDA Announces Modernization for Dairy Product Identities
Following his related statements at a conference, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb has announced that the agency will review the standardized identities of dairy products and products marketed as their substitutes, including beverages made from almonds, rice or soy. The announcement suggests that allowing the plant-based substitutes to be labeled as…
-
Foodborne Disease Report Released
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released a report on foodborne illnesses in the United States from 2009 to 2015. The agency’s Foodborne Disease Outbreak Surveillance System received reports of 5,760 outbreaks, resulting in 100,939 ilnesses, 5,699 hospitalizations and 145 deaths. The data reportedly revealed that norovirus was the most common outbreak…
-
FSIS Proposes to Loosen “U.S. Inspected and Passed” Livestock Requirement
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has proposed an amendment to a rule requiring that livestock carcasses be “marked with the official inspection legend at the time of inspection in a slaughter establishment” if the carcasses will be processed further at the same location. According to FSIS, the rule was…
-
EFSA Releases Report on Improving Risk Assessments
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has released a scientific report identifying potential areas of improvement in the agency’s emerging risks identification procedure. The report highlights “weaknesses with respect to data collection, analysis and integration” and suggests that broader analyses would improve the system. Recommendations include (i) integrating social sciences “to improve understanding of interactions…
-
ASA Bans Heinz Ad After Revision Fails to Correct Complaint
The U.K. Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has again barred HJ Heinz Foods UK from airing a television commercial suggesting that the nutritional benefits of beans and a protein supplement are comparable. After ASA found that the ad made an unpermitted nutrition claim, Heinz changed a line in the commercial to reduce an implied comparison between…
-
Shook Attorneys Present Part I of Webinar Series on Navigating Prop. 65
Shook Partners Frank Rothrock, Naoki Kaneko and Chris Johnson, with Associate Emily Weissenberger, have presented a webinar on California’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act (Prop. 65). Available on demand, the webinar covers an overview of Prop. 65 and strategies for managing its regulatory scheme.
-
CRISPR-Edited Organisms Are GMOs, European Court Holds
The Court of Justice for the European Union has held that techniques to edit an organism’s genes without inserting foreign DNA—such as CRISPR/Cas9—result in the creation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) subject to the EU GMO Directive. Confédération paysanne v. Premier ministre, No. C-528/16 (CJEU, entered July 25, 2018). The plaintiff, a French agricultural union,…
-
Court Approves Preliminary Ban on Imports from Mexican Fisheries Using Gillnetting
The U.S. Court of International Trade has approved a preliminary injunction preventing the importation of fish from Mexican commercial fisheries that use gillnets near where vaquitas are found. NRDC v. Ross, No. 18-0055 (Ct. Intl. Trade, entered July 26, 2018). The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) filed the lawsuit to protect the remaining population—about 15—of…