Public Wants More Info on Food Labels

A national poll shows strong consumer support for improved food labeling and more frequent inspections of food-processing facilities. According to food safety advocates, Americans want labels that identify use of genetically engineered or cloned ingredients, as well as expanded country-of-origin labeling. Labels are one of the most effective means to inform the public about the health, safety, origins, and environmental impact of a product.

read in full

FDA to Open Regulatory Offices in Foreign Countries

On Oct. 16, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Michael Leavitt announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will send personnel overseas to staff offices to help ensure the safety of imported food and drugs. The plan calls for staff to be assigned to offices in China, India, Europe, and Latin America. Many assignments will begin before the end of 2008.

read in full

Foreign Foods Evade FDA's Watch

The ability of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to monitor and police imported foods is once again under scrutiny. A public health crisis originally thought to be limited to China crept into the U.S. when FDA announced recalls of products tainted by melamine, a dangerous chemical.

read in full

EPA Withholds Pesticide Information While Bees Die

A conservation organization has sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for failing to release information about a pesticide linked to dramatic declines in honeybee populations. The pesticide was approved on the condition that the manufacturer study the effects of the chemical on the bee species. The EPA has received the studies but refuses to release them to the public, even though a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request was filed.

read in full

FDA Fighting Mounting Evidence on BPA

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continues to claim there is insufficient evidence about the health effects of a chemical widely used in consumer products to justify regulating the substance. Evidence is mounting from a variety of other sources, however, that bisphenol-A (BPA) may affect human development and mental health. FDA continues to advise consumers that there is no reason to "discontinue using products that contain BPA."

read in full

Pesticide Problems Go Unnoticed by EPA

The Center for Public Integrity (CPI) has discovered that two groups of common pesticides, generally considered to be "safer" chemicals, are responsible for one quarter of reported human pesticide poisonings, based on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) own data. CPI spent several years demanding the release of the data through repeated Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. A trade association representing the interests of the consumer specialty products industry denounced the report.

read in full

Tomato, Beef Recalls Show Problems with Food Tracking

Federal officials are having difficulty providing consumers with information on two recent food-borne illness outbreaks. Investigators are still searching for the source of an ongoing salmonella outbreak, and officials have been unable to provide detailed information for consumers on a batch of E. coli-contaminated beef, which has spread to a number of states across the country.

read in full

Farm Bill Proposes Food Safety Improvements

The huge farm bill reauthorization under discussion among House and Senate conferees contains two food safety-related items that could help regulatory agencies better protect the U.S. food supply and provide consumers with more information when making purchasing decisions. First, the bill contains country-of-origin labeling, primarily for marketing livestock by-products. Second, it proposes a bipartisan food safety commission to review the existing food system and make recommendations for improvements.

read in full

Federal Meat Inspectors Spread Thin as Recalls Rise

The federal regulator of meat, poultry, and egg products, the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), faces resource limitations that make it more difficult for the agency to ensure the safety of the food supply. Although the agency's budget has risen since it was created, staffing levels have dropped steadily. Widespread vacancies in the agency have spread FSIS's inspection force too thin. Meanwhile, the number of meat, poultry, and egg product recalls has risen, and a recent recall of 143 million pounds of beef is the largest in the nation's history.

read in full

High Court Expands Federal Preemption in Medical Cases

The U.S. Supreme Court has taken up a series of cases that addresses the issue of whether federal agency approval of medical devices and drugs shields manufacturers of those products from liability under state laws. In a case decided Feb. 20, the Court held that federal law preempts state liability claims if certain medical devices received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval. The Court also considered if that same protection should be extended to drug manufacturers.

read in full

Pages

Subscribe to Food & Drug Safety (Articles and Blog Posts)