Regulation

23-May-2011 - Most Americans would be prepared to pay more for food in order to fund new food safety measures, according to a survey conducted on behalf of Pew Charitable Trusts.

Kraft Foods to pay $8.1m in pollution lawsuit

23-May-2011 - Kraft Foods has said it will pay $8.1m to settle a class action lawsuit over air and groundwater pollution from an Attica, Indiana facility, which was caused by the site’s former owner.

FDA’s Michael Taylor: Preventive approach ‘may seem obvious’ in hindsight

20-May-2011 - The Food Safety Modernization Act’s preventive approach to food safety may seem obvious in hindsight – and it is already a food industry norm, FDA’s deputy commissioner for foods said on Thursday.

Senator Durbin urges FDA action on ‘relaxation’ brownies

19-May-2011 - Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) has asked the FDA to clarify its regulatory position on dietary supplements and food additives on the back of widespread concerns about the marketing of melatonin-containing baked goods.

APEC and World Bank sign food safety agreement

19-May-2011 - APEC’s Food Safety Cooperation Forum and the World Bank have signed a memorandum of understanding in Big Sky, Montana this week intended to strengthen food safety collaboration in the Asia-Pacific region.

FSIS halts testing for E. coli strain in dried sausages

18-May-2011 - The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has said it is suspending testing of dry and semi-dry fermented sausages for E. coli O157:H7 after not finding a single positive result for nine years.

GAO criticizes FDA seafood import safety program as ‘limited’

18-May-2011 - The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has criticized the FDA’s program to oversee the safety of imported fish and seafood as ‘limited’, in a new report issued this week.

FDA: Foods vs supplement feedback raises ‘complex legal questions’

13-May-2011 - The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says feedback it has received about its December 2009 draft guidance clarifying where a liquid dietary supplement ends and a conventional beverage begins has raised “complex legal questions”.

California Assembly votes to label GM fish

10-May-2011 - Genetically modified fish in California would have to be labeled as such according to a bill approved by the California Assembly Health Committee last week.

News in brief

Coke and Pepsi settle trademark lawsuit

10-May-2011 - The Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo have settled a trademark lawsuit over PepsiCo’s Trop50 juice packaging design, which Coca-Cola had claimed was too similar to that of its Simply juice range.

Pass trade agreements quickly to boost US exports, industry urges Congress

09-May-2011 - Fourteen major food and beverage organizations have written to Congress urging swift passage of free trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama in order to protect and expand US exports.

FDA issues first food safety regulations under new law

05-May-2011 - The Food and Drug Administration has issued its first regulations under the Food Safety Modernization Act – providing stricter control of food imports and giving FDA authority to detain potentially unsafe food.

Food and agricultural policy needs compromise, says new organization

04-May-2011 - Stakeholders in the food and agriculture industry have formed a new coalition organization intended to bring together groups that have not traditionally worked together to tackle long-term policy issues.

Sugar industry members sue over corn sugar advertising

29-Apr-2011 - A group of sugar farmers and refiners has filed a lawsuit against members of the corn refining industry in an attempt to stop them from claiming that high fructose corn syrup is a natural corn sugar.

Dairy associations: New labeling bill is not COOL at all

27-Apr-2011 - Legislation designed to help US dairy farmers could have the unintended consequence of encouraging firms to replace dairy ingredients from US suppliers with non-dairy ingredients just to avoid labeling headaches, trade associations have warned.

New guidance aims to reduce RTE meat contamination

26-Apr-2011 - The Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) has issued draft guidelines to help small ready-to-eat meat manufacturers reduce the risk of harmful bacteria in their products, following related recalls last year.

ABA: Organic yeast proposal could cause massive headache for bakers

26-Apr-2011 - Proposals to prevent bakers from calling their wares organic if they use standard baker’s yeast could “dramatically impact availability in the organic bakery product category”, the American Association of Bakers (ABA) has warned.

Canadian medical group calls for food safety overhaul

15-Apr-2011 - Canadian regulatory authorities and food manufacturers are not doing enough to ensure a safe Canadian food supply, claims an editorial in the latest Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ).

Free Speech About Science is admirable, but could it re-open DSHEA to amendments?

11-Apr-2011 - The Natural Products Association (NPA) sympathizes with the motivations behind the Free Speech About Science Act 2011 just introduced into Congress, but fears it could be a double-edged sword.

Sugar policy reform bills attract industry support

08-Apr-2011 - Sugar policy reform is back on the US legislative agenda, as two new bills that aim to end the sugar price support program have attracted broad food industry support.

Campbell’s Soup ‘less sodium’ soup case to proceed

06-Apr-2011 - A federal judge has ruled that a case against the Campbell Soup Company can proceed, in which four New Jersey women claim that the company’s ‘less sodium’ claim on tomato soup is misleading.

USDA proposes 'test and hold' procedure to boost meat safety

06-Apr-2011 - The US Department of Agriculture has proposed that companies should hold meat and poultry products until inspectors have received foodborne pathogen test results, in an effort to reduce illness.

FDA delivers food recall search site, as required by food safety bill

05-Apr-2011 - The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has launched an easier-to-use version of its food recall search engine, in direct response to Food Safety Modernization Act requirements, the agency said Tuesday.

Comment

Novel foods progress may mean removing clones

04-Apr-2011 - All is not well down on the novel foods farm. If food innovation in Europe is to thrive anew, MEPs and the Council need to get past the recriminations over the failed talks and remove the troublesome question of cloned foods from the negotiating table.

FDA proposes calorie labeling on vending machines and menus

04-Apr-2011 - The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has proposed calorie labeling on food sold from vending machines, as well as on restaurant menus, in an effort to fight back against the nation’s obesity problem.