Category: Legislation, Regulations and Standards
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FDA Warns Company Selling CBD Oil
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has published a warning letter it sent in September 2019 to a company selling cannabidiol (CBD) oil as a dietary supplement. “This product is labeled as a dietary supplement; however, it cannot be a dietary supplement because it does not meet the definition of a dietary supplement,” the letter…
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California, Companies Agree to Restrict Chlorpyrifos
The California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) has announced that “virtually all use of the pesticide chlorpyrifos in California will end” in 2020 “following an agreement between the Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) and pesticide manufacturers to withdraw their products.” The companies apparently agreed to end sales of chlorpyrifos by February 6, 2020, and growers will…
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EFSA Opens Public Consultation on Aflatoxins in Food
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has launched a public consultation on the risks associated with consuming aflatoxins, mycotoxins produced by two species of Aspergillus that “are known to be genotoxic (capable of damaging DNA) and carcinogenic.” Most human exposure to aflatoxins comes from contaminated grains and derived products, although they can also be found…
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U.S. Agencies Announce Actions on Organics, NPIP, Hazard Analyses
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a number of developments in their work on organic food, poultry and food safety. FDA released an update on the implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), announcing it will track outcomes for FSMA rules for inspections and recalls via the…
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House Passes Cannabis Banking Bill
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the SAFE Banking Act, which allows financial-service firms to work with “cannabis-related legitimate businesses and service providers,” providing protection from federal prosecution for banks in states that have legalized cannabis. The bill, introduced by Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.), has been sent to the Senate. In its press release…
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Guidance on Antimicrobials in Animals Released
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has released guidance on the use of “medically important antimicrobials” in “food-producing animals.” The guidance describes a voluntary process that “will help ensure new animal drugs containing antimicrobials of human importance are administered only under veterinary oversight and only for therapeutic uses.” The agency will accept comments on the…
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WHO Releases Report on E. Coli
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Health Organization (WHO) have released a report on Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) and the foods that tend to host it. Researchers analyzed data from foodborne outbreak investigations globally, finding 957 outbreaks in 27 countries. The data identified that 16% of outbreaks were…
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U.S. Lawmakers Urge FDA to Act on CBD
A group of U.S. lawmakers, led by Reps. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) and James Comer (R-Ky.), have urged the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to “quickly adopt a policy of enforcement discretion and to consider issuing an interim final rule to regulate [cannabidiol (CBD)] as a dietary supplement and food additive while simultaneously moving forward with…