Trace amounts of a bioengineered variety of rice have been detected
in samples of commercial rice seed and may have entered the food
supply in the United States, it emerged last week.
A legal complaint filed against the nation's largest organic dairy
firm has rekindled an ongoing debate surrounding the integrity of
organic production.
Bottled water containing cancer-causing bromate above the level
allowed by America's food safety watchdog has been pulled from
shelves by one of the country's upmarket retailers.
The FDA plans to amend voluntary nutrition labeling regulations by
updating the names and the nutrition labeling values for the 20
most frequently consumed raw fruits, vegetables and fish in the US.
The USDA Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has
amended its requirements for the movement of fresh fruit from
Florida as of this month.
The US government has proposed that its Women, Infants and Children
(WIC) nutritional program should be revised for the first time in
over 25 years in order to better reflect the Dietary Guidelines for
Americans.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is under-resourced,
under-staffed, and essentially incapable of overseeing potential
threats to the US food supply, according to a former FDA official
who last week opposed the National Uniformity...
Different standards and warnings imposed on food in one state but
not in others impede commerce, confuse consumers, and increase the
cost of food without commensurate benefit, according to an
authority on food law.
An Ohio-based cereal manufacturer is to face a lawsuit under
California's Proposition 65 because its cereal product contains
acrylamide, even though the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
does not require warning labels on...
The nation's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been accused of
misleading Congress by ignoring the enforcement of key regulatory
provisions intended to provide accurate food labeling.
Senators and prominent industry figures yesterday addressed a
Senate committee on the National Uniformity for Food Act,
expressing both support and contempt for a bill that could
standardize food safety requirements and warning labels...
Changes to the labeling requirements of calorie content, trans fats
and portion sizes are among the issues being considered by the US
Food and Drug Administration, according to a recent food labeling
seminar.
In the US, the role of court action in defining limits not set by
regulators is generating a flood of costly court cases for the food
industry: much unnecessary, and all damaging.
A lawsuit filed this week against Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) for
its use of undeclared trans fats is a new indication that the issue
is far from forgotten, even though the battle appears to have edged
away from food processors for...
US beer firm Anheuser-Busch has been slapped with a lawsuit for
using a song in its commercials for which it had paid rights to the
record company alone, and not to the rock band that created the
song.
A lawsuit filed against the US government aims to establish strict
safety laws for all genetically engineered foods, and require these
to be labeled once they are approved.
A supply chain tracking company has created an online database food
firms can use to track their freight containers in real time using
radio frequency identification (RFID) technology.
A new US Food & Drug Administration report could spell market
opportunities for healthy ingredients as it aims to heighten
awareness of the nutritious potential for foods eaten or prepared
away from the home.
In a move to avoid a lawsuit, Frito Lay said it will change the
labeling on its 'Light' range of potato chips in order to make it
clearer that they contain the controversial fat substitute olestra.
Coca-Cola and Cadbury Schweppes have joined the list of beverage
firms set to be sued in Florida over allegations their drinks
contained benzene, 15 years after the industry first pledged to fix
the problem.
Five US soft drinks were found containing the cancer-causing
chemical benzene at levels above the legal limit for drinking
water, America's food safety watchdog has announced, sparking calls
for more thorough testing.
The nutraceuticals industry has a dynamic technology landscape
where a product life cycle may be abbreviated. Amid the constant
pressure to drive new products to market and the struggle to
establish and maintain market share, engaging...
The US food regulatory agency last week rejected a proposed health
claim submitted by Nestlé, which would have implied that its whey
protein infant formulas reduced the risk of food allergy symptoms.
Just a month after the reformulation of its flagship 7Up drink,
Cadbury Schweppes is set to face a lawsuit that accuses the firm of
deceptively advertising the product as 'natural'.
Carmine and cochineal extracts, the red food dyes made from the
dried bodies of the cochineal insect, should be removed from the
food supply once and for all, claims the non-profit Center for
Science in the Public Interest (CSPI).
The US food regulator says it is still investigating claims by
researchers in Italy that aspartame causes cancer, despite a
European finding that the study was flawed.
State governor Jodi Rell has pledged to sign a bill that would make
Connecticut the fourth US state to ban sales of sodas and other
sugary beverages in state elementary, middle and high schools.
The National Uniformity for Food Coalition this week released a
legal analysis that claims the proposed legislation would only
affect 11 state laws as part of an effort to set national standards
for food safety regulations.
The nationwide initiative to improve school nutrition is gathering
momentum, with Connecticut becoming the next in line to pass
legislation aimed at reducing childhood obesity.
A new test should more accurately show the amount of benzene in
soft drinks on shop shelves, but that does not mean there is no
problem, says the scientist behind the new procedure to
BeverageDaily.com.
A proposal by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) to ban
schools from selling junk food and soda has been blocked by a
legislative committee on the grounds that it does not provide a
"total approach" to child nutrition.
Lawyers in the US announced yesterday they were taking two soft
drinks firms to court, alleging lab tests showed drinks
contaminated with benzene above America's safety limit for tap
water.
By next month food companies will be required to have more explicit
instructions that uncooked, breaded or boneless poultry products
need to be cooked.
A bill introduced in Congress yesterday proposes a radical overhaul
of the nutritional standards for foods sold in schools, a move
likely to change the face of the type of products available to
children throughout the school day.
Coca-Cola can continue selling orange juice fortified with calcium,
after having settled with Procter and Gamble over a patent
infringement lawsuit a development that opens the way forpotential
collaborations in the future.
A petition has been filed with the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) calling on the agency to revoke its approval of the sweetener
Splenda, a move branded by manufacturer Tate & Lyle as a
commercial conspiracy to damage its product's...
Soft drinks makers have been hauled before the European Commission
to explain the presence of benzene traces in drinks, putting the
industry under pressure after recalls in the UK.
A federal court has dismissed a lawsuit brought by McNeil
Nutritionals, the marketer of Splenda, against the Sugar
Association, accusing it of false advertising.
The battle surrounding the technology rights for the production of
soy isoflavones has been refired as Archer Daniels Midland files a
lawsuit against a US firm for infringing patent rights.
Britain's food safety watchdog has demanded recalls on four soft
drinks brands, after it found they were contaminated with benzene
at up to 28 times the country's limit for drinking water.
A Codex committee meets this week to hammer out international
standards for the dairy industry, including contentious issues such
as who can label their cheese as "parmesan".
Codex has launched a searchable web-based version of its standard
General Standard for Food Additives (GSFA) to inform food firms
about the latest developments.
Elementary and middle schools in Illinois could be banned from
selling junk food and soda in a move designed to improve children's
health and mental abilities through good nutrition.
The House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a bill that
would standardize food safety labeling requirements throughout the
US, a move that would bring significant benefits to the food
industry.
The gamble by US authorities 15 years ago to let the industry deal
with benzene residues in soft drinks has failed, and instead only
kept those who needed to know in the dark.
The Sugar Association has filed a petition with the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) requesting the establishment of a clear
definition for the use of the term 'natural' on food and beverage
product labels.