Breaking News on Food & Beverage Development - North AmericaEU edition | Asian edition

News in brief

McCain turns to NDI guidance after dropping Bill

12-Mar-2010 - Arizona Senator John McCain will push FDA to announce publicly guidance for awaited new dietary ingredient notification after backing off from the controversial s3002 bill.

State House approves food safety bill

11-Mar-2010 - A bill providing tougher punishments for those who knowingly distribute or fail to report tainted food ingredients has been approved by the Georgia state House.

News in brief

GM alfalfa edges closer to approval

09-Mar-2010 - Comments on the draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for genetically modified (GM) alfalfa, completed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), have now closed, moving the crop closer to approval.

Still no ruling on GM sugar beets

09-Mar-2010 - A federal court judge has yet to reach a decision about whether the cultivation of genetically modified (GM) sugar beets should be blocked until an Environmental Impact Statement has been completed.

FDA should improve GRAS oversight, says GAO

08-Mar-2010 - The FDA needs to improve its oversight of GRAS (generally recognized as safe) food ingredients, claims a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

FDA cracks down on label claims

04-Mar-2010 - FDA chief Margaret Hamburg has pushed forward the agency’s promised crackdown on labeling claims with an open letter to industry, and 17 individual warning letters.

Senator Gillibrand backs dairy COOL

04-Mar-2010 - New York’s Senator Gillibrand has added her voice to a call for country of origin labeling (COOL) to be expanded to dairy products, following a further recall last month of melamine-tainted milk from China.

Acrylamide could get prop 65 for reproductive harm

01-Mar-2010 - California health officials have proposed that acrylamide, the suspected carcinogen produced during the cooking of certain foods, should be listed as a known reproductive toxicant.

Nutrition experts call for ban on front-of-pack label claims

24-Feb-2010 - The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should consider an outright ban on front-of-pack labeling claims, say two nutrition experts in a Journal of the American Medical Association commentary.

Dingell criticizes Senate for food safety standstill

23-Feb-2010 - Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich) has criticized the Senate for stalling over food safety legislation that passed from committee in November with strong bipartisan support.

No trans fat ban for Louisville – yet

22-Feb-2010 - A proposed trans fat ban in Louisville, Kentucky has been rejected in favor of a public education effort, better labeling and a voluntary phase-out – despite a taskforce recommendation for an outright ban.

Health Canada proposes stricter color labeling

19-Feb-2010 - Health Canada is seeking comments on a proposal to change Canadian regulations on how food colorings are listed on ingredient labels, the agency said on Thursday.

Most New Yorkers support soda tax ‘to balance budget’, survey finds

19-Feb-2010 - A majority of New Yorkers support a proposed soda tax, according to a new poll from Quinnipiac University – reversing the response from a similar survey conducted two weeks earlier.

California may name and shame BPA as toxin

18-Feb-2010 - The controversial chemical Bisphenol-A (BPA) could be listed as a toxin by the Californian Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment.

New Mexico food tax passes state Senate

16-Feb-2010 - The state Senate of New Mexico has voted to implement a food tax that applies to nearly 40 percent of foods sold in the state in order to help balance the state’s budget.

Colorado to remove tax breaks on soda and candy

15-Feb-2010 - The Colorado State Senate has passed a bill to remove a tax break on soda and candy, voting along party lines after days of debate.

USDA issues final rule on organic dairy

15-Feb-2010 - The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has unveiled new rules for organic livestock production, with the aim of setting consistent standards for pasture use across the dairy industry.

Nationwide soda tax proposal fizzles out

09-Feb-2010 - The prospect of a national tax on soft drinks has been effectively quashed for the time being as a key congressional committee has refused to consider such a levy, according to a report in the LA Times.

Louisville Health Board endorses trans fat ban

09-Feb-2010 - The Metro Health Board in Louisville, Kentucky has endorsed plans to bring in a trans-fat ban in the city within 18 months.

News in brief

New computer system to target riskiest food imports

08-Feb-2010 - Border inspectors will soon be using a new computer system to help them screen for the riskiest food imports, head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Margaret Hamburg said on Thursday.

ConAgra blast prompts calls for national safety changes

05-Feb-2010 - A US federal agency has said vital new gas safety measures should be introduced across the country in the wake of the deadly explosion at a ConAgra meat processing plant last summer.

Roquette gains further maltitol patent protection in the US

04-Feb-2010 - A US District Court has ruled that no dry form of maltitol from Yucheng Lujian Biological Co. or its associated companies may enter the US, in the latest chapter of a patent dispute filed by French firm Roquette.

FDA creates 'slippery slope' with liquid supplements advice: CRN

03-Feb-2010 - The Food and Drug Administration’s recently issued draft guidance on the difference between liquid supplements and beverages is confusing and may create a slippery slope of inappropriate criteria and mis-categorized products, according to the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN).

Subsidized healthy foods cheaper option to improve nutrition: Study

03-Feb-2010 - Subsidizing fruit, vegetables and milk for Food Stamp Program participants would be more cost effective to increase consumption than raising the overall level of food stamp benefit, according to a new study.