Canada's failure to grant a key biotechnology expert a visa in
order for him to attend this week's Cartagena Biosafety Protocol
meeting has angered activists, writes Anthony Fletcher.
President Bush reiterated the importance of using current WTO talks
to expand foreign food export opportunities during the swearing in
ceremony of US trade representative Robert Portman this week,
writes Anthony Fletcher.
Deep divisions over biotech food ingredients once again evident as
member states fail to approve a gene-altered corn designed by US
biotech giant Monsanto, reports Lindsey Partos.
The Grocery Manufacturers of America (GMA) is urging for the
immediate passage of the Central America-Dominican Republic Free
Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) in order to expand export markets for
the US food industry.
Members of Codex fail to reach a decision on the creation of
labelling guidelines for genetically modified foods as divisions on
biotech foods remain entrenched between the countries.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has proposed to amend the
rules authorizing a health claim on non-cariogenic carbohydrate
sweeteners, to include the non-nutritive sweetener sucralose.
Forcing the traceability card, the European Union has voted to
block imports of certain US grain unless they prove they are free
of the genetically modified maize Bt10,reports Lindsey
Partos.
Democrat Senator Tom Harkin yesterday sent a strong message to the
food industry, saying that it must move swiftly to stop the
advertising aimed at children that was creating a "botched"
generation.
Canada's trans fat task force held its first meeting on Friday to
decide what needs tackling and looked at the risks and benefits of
various alternatives to the much maligned oil.
Following the lawsuit against companies making "low sugar"
breakfast cereals, one lawyer believes those behind the
anti-tobacco lawsuits are now conditioning the public to accept
obesity claims against the food industry...
An American woman has launched a lawsuit aimed at food companies
including Kraft Foods, General Mills and Kellogg alleging that "low
sugar" breakfast cereals are leading the customer astray.
Democrat Tom Harkin, senator for Iowa and health and nutrition
advocate, announced at a press conference earlier this week that he
will propose a bill enabling the FTC to regulate food advertising
to children, Philippa Nuttall reports.
Dr Sin Hang Lee, founder of the green tea TeaForHealth, yesterday
demanded that the FDA introduce a tea flouride safety standard
after recent research suggested that ingesting certain levels of
the chemical could be harmful, writes...
Pressure groups plan to use this year's Food Allergy Awareness Week
to promote the need for clear and effective product labeling to the
food industry as the allergy labeling legislation deadline
approaches, Philippa Nuttall reports.
Four savory enhancers produced by food technologists Senomyx were
awarded FEMA GRAS last week. The flavor enhancers are aimed at
companies wanting to reduce the amount of monosodium glutamate
added to their foods.
US food safety procedures could be improved if the system was
consolidated suggested a report published on Wednesday by the
Government Accountability Office (GAO), but it failed to define
possible cost savings.
When nutritional labeling comes into force in Canada later this
year, manufacturers may also take advantage of the need to change
their labels to stipulate whether their products' ingredients are
genetically engineered.
A landmark settlement on trans fats in the US last week will incite
global food makers, fearful of litigation, to delve further into
new food formulations that use alternative ingredients to eliminate
harmful fatty acids, reports...
As the world dissects George Bush's budget, the FDA yesterday
(Tuesday) announced its monetary proposal for fiscal 2006 with
security at the top of the food agenda.
Pressure on price and market share for Nutrinova, a leading
supplier of non-nutritive sweetener acesulfame-K, is set to rise as
key patent for the sweetener will soon reach its deadline,
reports Lindsey Partos.
The Florida Citrus Commission has approved a proposal to allow
citrus growers to opt out of paying taxes that support its
marketing program, according to the Florida Ledger.
Representatives of the food industry yesterday filed a letter with
the FDA demanding that the government harmonizes the date for trans
fat labeling with the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer
Protection Act.
A campaign launched this month by the Center for Global Food Issues
(CGFI) warning consumers against claims made on milk cartons has
received short shrift from the organic industry, reports
Philippa Nuttall.
Food technology company Senomyx has recently taken a step closer to
commercializing several of its savory enhancers after submitting
them to be registered as GRAS, reports Philippa Nuttall.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has this week issued the
final part of the Bioterrorism Act that notes the importance of
recordkeeping for the food industry.
In May, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI)
launched a campaign to free America of trans fats. This week, the
Grocery Manufacturers of America rejected this call in a statement
to the FDA, saying that the CSPI had...
Merisant, the US maker of tabletop sweetener Equal and NutraSweet,
takes the marketer of sugar subsitute Splenda McNeil Nutritionals
to court, alleging advertising for the product is misleading.
Clearing up any confusion over food labels, US food authorities
have given the green light for food ingredients firms to use
ethanol in precipitating food grade xanthan gum and to still allow
the ingredient to keep the 'xanthan'...
Consumers were this week reminded of the dangers associated with
drinking unpasteurized fruit and vegetable juices after a foodborne
disease outbreak in New York was potentially linked to the
consumption of unpasturized apple cider.
Olive oil has become the latest food to win the FDA's approval,
receiving a cautious nod that will allow the product to display a
qualified health claim for its potential to reduce coronary heart
disease (CHD).
The glycemic index, a method established to rank foods based on the
rate of carbohydrate absorption they trigger, is seeing increasing
interest from researchers and the food industry, but there is still
much confusion as to what it...
The FDA published this week the final 2004 Produce Safety Action
Plan aimed at minimizing the number of foodborne illnesses that are
contracted each year through the consumption of fresh produce.
An international task force meeting in Brazil last week under the
aegis of Codex Alimentarius, the global food standards body,
cleared a decision after difficult discussions on defining the
identity of reconstituted orange juice.
Tackling the ongoing issue of risk assessment in the food chain the
US food safety agency plans to release two draft risk assessments
related to the harmful food pathogen salmonella.
Food makers sourcing soy ingredients from Brazil will be interested
to see that the country will not issue another decree to
temporarily lift the ban on the planting and sale of genetically
modified soybeans for the upcoming season.
The FDA has confirmed the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives'
(JEFCA) ruling in June that free lutein and zeaxanthin are safe for
human consumption - a move welcomed by Kemin Foods which produces
the ingredient FloraGlo...
Every five years the Dietary Guidelines for Americans are updated
by the Department of Agriculture, and last week's offering stirred
up an interesting mixture of praise and concern from the US food
industry.
Scientists at Europe's food watchdog have upped their assessment of
the risk of finding mad cow disease in the United States, Canada
and Norway following an extensive study of data collected between
1980-2003.
The complex issue of carbohydrate labelling fired up by the
low-carb trend will move up a gear next month when the FDA is
expected to release proposed rules on how information about
carbohydrates should appear on the nutrition facts...
Consumer trust in ingredient labels moved up a gear in the US
yesterday as President George W. Bush signed off new rules on food
allergens that will mean tighter labelling requirements for all
food makers operating in the US market,...
Food makers operating in Europe shortly face new labelling rules
for food allergens on food labels, and as the US cleared its own
new rules yesterday, manufacturers present in the US market will
see parallel changes.
In the wake of a mad cow disease-infected cow discovered at the end
of 2003 in the US, the government has come up with three new
actions to protect the food chain.
US Agro-food giant Cargill has confirmed that a $24 million
class-action lawsuit accusing the US food giant of price-fixing
will be settled following federal court approval. The end is now in
sight for a law suit that dates back nine...
The US food watchdog this week issued a 'tentative final rule' that
amends the current GRAS status for a fish oil used in food
ingredients, to control consumer intake of omega-3 fatty acids.
A technology that allows the health ingredient lutein to be
delivered to clear beverages has been given GRAS (Generally
Recognized As Safe) status from the US Food and Drug
Administration.
The current BSE crisis in the US has touched numerous industries
and ignited countless issues. One of these topics that the crisis
has brought back to life has been the simmering feud over
country-of-origin labelling of beef and other...
