Category: Other Developments
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China Cracks Down on Food Producers in Major Food Safety Campaign
According to a news source, Chinese officials have arrested about 2,000 people and shut down almost 5,000 food production facilities since April 2011, in an effort to stop the industry’s use of illegal food additives. The initiative apparently followed scandals involving pork so full of bacteria that it allegedly glowed in the dark and milk…
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CSPI Targets Serving Sizes in Letter to FDA
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) recently sent a letter to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Margaret Hamburg urging the agency to act on an April 2005 advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) related to serving-size regulations. According to the letter, CSPI first responded to the ANPR by asking FDA to…
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Industry Groups Concerned About Efforts to Stop FDA’s Review of GE Salmon
A coalition of 38 industry organizations has sent a letter to U.S. House and Senate leaders urging Congress to allow the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to complete its review of an application for genetically engineered (GE) salmon. The coalition’s letter comes on the heels of a recent House-approved appropriations amendment that prohibits FDA from…
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IOM Publishes Summary of Food Technology and Obesity Workshop
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) recently released the summary of a November 2-3, 2010, public workshop titled “Leveraging Food Technology for Obesity Prevention and Reduction Effort,” which addressed how the food industry “can continue to leverage modern and innovative food processing technologies to influence energy intake.” According to IOM, “Eating is impacted not only by…
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NAD & CARU Announce 2011 Annual Conference
The National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Council of Better Business Bureaus and the Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU) have announced the agendas for their joint 2011 annual conferences slated for October 3-5, 2011, in New York. The two-day NAD conference, “What’s New in Advertising Law, Claim Support and Self-Regulation,” will include keynote remarks by…
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New Book Deems Corporate Agriculture “Perpetrator of Climate Change”
Corporations and Health Watch writer Monica Gagnon recently interviewed Anna Lappé about her new book, Diet for a Hot Planet, which describes the agricultural industry as “not just a victim but also a perpetrator of climate change.” According to Lappé, “Our food system indirectly and directly is responsible for about one-third of all greenhouse gas…
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CFBAI Announces New Ad Guidelines as Food Fight Escalates
The 17 companies comprising the Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI) have reportedly agreed to abide by new uniform nutrition criteria as part of a voluntary effort to encourage healthier dietary choices among children. Under the new rules, CFBAI signatories have pledged not to market the following products to children: (i) juices with added…
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Ongoing E. Coli Investigation Implicates Egyptian Fenugreek
The European Union (EU) has temporarily prohibited the importation of some seeds and bean sprouts from Egypt after a European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) report linked the products to an E. coli O104:H4 outbreak that reportedly killed 51 people, including as many as six U.S. citizens. According to a July 5, 2011, EU press release,…