Category: Europe
-
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…
-
EFSA Opens Public Consultation on Iodine Dietary Reference Values
The European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA’s) Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA) has launched a public consultation for its draft scientific opinion on dietary reference values for iodine. Using data from “a large epidemiological study in European school-aged children showing that goiter prevalence is lowest for a urinary iodine concentration ≥ 100 μg/L,”…
-
Ad Watchdog Upholds Complaint Against Naked Juice Antioxidant Claims
The U.K. Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld a complaint alleging that PepsiCo International Ltd. t/a Naked Juice made antioxidant health claims on its website that were unauthorized by the EU Register of Nutrition and Health Claims for Foods (the EU Register). According to ASA, Naked Juice argued that health claim guidance issued by the…
-
EC Publishes List of Authorized Smoke Flavorings
The European Commission (EC) has published legislation listing the 10 smoke flavoring primary products authorized for use in food. According to Smoke Flavoring Regulation EC No. 2065/2003, these primary products include smoke condensates and tar fractions that can be used directly on foods such as meat and fish to impart a smoky flavor or in…
-
EC Proposes New Directives to Ban Cloning of Farm Animals
The European Commission (EC) recently proposed two draft directives that would prohibit the cloning of farm animals in the European Union (EU) as well as the importation of cloned animals. Designed to address animal welfare concerns and provide “legal certainty in this field,” the first directive would temporarily ban cloning techniques and the sale of…
-
EC Issues Report on Meat Ingredient Origin Labeling
The European Commission (EC) has published a report titled “Origin labelling for meat used as an ingredient: consumers’ attitude, feasibility of possible scenarios and impacts” that provides an overview of the potential consequences of mandatory origin labeling of meat used as an ingredient in food. Based on an independent study completed in July 2013, the…
-
EFSA Finds Aspartame Safe at Current Exposure Levels
The European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA’s) Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources Added to Food (ANS) has published its full risk assessment on aspartame, concluding that the food additive is safe at current levels of exposure. In addition to noting that aspartame’s breakdown products— phenylalanine, methanol and aspartic acid—occur naturally in other foods, EFSA’s…
-
FSA-Commissioned Study Examines Aspartame’s Alleged Health Effects
The U.K. Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COT) has released a December 2013 position paper on the purported health effects of aspartame, which is currently being reviewed by the European Food Safety Authority as part of its re-evaluation of all food additives. Commissioned by the U.K. Food Standards…