Category: UK Food Standards Authority
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FSA Investigates Meat from Offspring of Cloned Cow
The U.K. Food Standards Agency (FSA) has announced that meat from a cloned cow’s offspring has evidently entered the food supply, sparking concerns about the country’s livestock registration and tracking requirements. The agency apparently traced four female and four male calves to a cloned Holstein cow from the United States. According to FSA, farmers have…
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Diminished FSA to Retain Food Safety Mandate
The UK Department of Health (DH) has announced its intention to preserve the Food Standards Agency (FSA) as a non-ministerial authority responsible for food safety policy and enforcement. According to a July 20, 2010, press release, DH will take over England’s nutrition policies, including those related to (i) food labeling and health claims; (ii) dietetic…
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FSA Targeted as Next Victim of Coalition Government’s Austerity Measures
The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) is reportedly the next target of the new Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government and Secretary of State for Health Andrew Lansley, who has released a white paper pledging to cut the National Health Service (NHS) and abolish quasi-governmental organizations “that do not need to exist.” Although a structural plan published alongside…
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GeneWatch UK Director Resigns from FSA Steering Group on GM Foods
GeneWatch UK Director Helen Wallace has apparently resigned from a Food Standards Agency (FSA) steering committee dedicated to discussing genetically modified (GM) foods, after claiming that the group “is nothing more than a PR exercise on behalf of the GM industry.” Charged with managing a public dialogue on the potential risks and benefits of GM…
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FSA to Create Nanotechnology Research Registry
The U.K. Food Standards Agency (FSA) Board has reportedly agreed to maintain a confidential database of food industry research into nanotechnology, as well as a public registry of food and food packaging products that contain both approved nanomaterials and materials appearing to have nanoscale elements. “The way that we respond in terms of nanotechnology is…
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U.S. Poultry Industry Asks WTO to Examine European Ban on Antimicrobials
The National Chicken Council and several other industry groups have signed a letter to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, requesting the initiation of a World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement panel to re-establish poultry exports to Europe. According to the letter, the European Union prohibits four antimicrobials commonly applied in the United States…
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Cereal Manufacturers Dispute FSA Ads Warning of Excessive Salt Content
The Association of Cereal Food Manufacturers (ACFM) has reportedly asked the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) to delay a forthcoming public health initiative that warns of excessive salt content in cereals and other products. Slated for release next month, the TV and radio advertisements are part of an ongoing FSA effort to reduce the average…
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EU Ramps Up Regulation of Functional Food Health Claims
The European Commission (EC) has reportedly entered the second phase of a crackdown on functional food health claims advertising a product’s purported health benefits. EC regulations currently require the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to draw up a “positive list” of permitted health claims by 2010, but the commission is now discussing further restrictions on…