FDA Gives OceanBound Plastic Green Light for Food Packaging
The US Food and Drug Administration has given the go-ahead to Envision Plastics for use of the company’s post-consumer resin called OceanBound plastic in food packaging.
FDA
FDA to Food Industry: Stop Waste by Fixing Your Date Labels
The US Food and Drug Administration’s deputy commissioner of food policy and response sent a letter to the food industry urging better date labels. Consumer confusion over date labeling accounts for about 20% of food waste in the country, the FDA letter said.
Pharmaceutical Waste Management: Flush, Take-Back Laws or Something Else?
How to best manage pharmaceutical waste has become a hot-button issue. In September the EPA proposed new Management Standards for Hazardous Waste Pharmaceuticals, which sets regulations on how healthcare facilities, including retail stores and pharmacies, manage and dispose of pharmaceutical waste. The EPA says its proposal would protect waterways, including ... Read more »
Evoqua Supplies Ultra-Pure Water to FDA Regional Lab
Evoqua Water Technologies has been awarded a renewal contract to supply the US Food & Drug Administration’s (FDA) Arkansas Regional Laboratory in Jefferson, Arkansas with its ultra-pure laboratory deionized water system. The contract awarded to Evoqua renews a five-year agreement with the FDA where Evoqua has supplied reverse osmosis, control ... Read more »
Groups Petition FDA to Ban Imported PFCs in Paper Products
A group of consumer and health organizations has filed a petition with the Food and Drug Administration asking the agency to ban perchlorate and perfluorocarboxylates in paper products that are imported into the US, citing potential harm to human health. In 2011, three US manufacturers voluntarily stopped using the chemicals ... Read more »
Häagen-Dazs Won’t Use Synthetic Vanilla
Nestlé, which produces Häagen-Dazs in Canada and the US, and General Mills, which produces Häagen-Dazs outside of North America, have confirmed that they will not source vanilla flavor produced through synthetic biology. Vanilla made with synthetic biology, or synbio, is designed to replace natural vanillin flavoring from vanilla beans, and ... Read more »
Food Companies to Report Chemicals to FDA
The Grocery Manufacturers Association, whose 300-plus members include the Coca-Cola Company, General Mills and Kraft Foods, has launched an initiative that will, among other things, give the FDA access to a database of food companies’ safety information for chemicals and other ingredients used in processed foods. The GMA says it’s ... Read more »
Lawsuit Says Kroger Bread Contains Carcinogen
Supermarket chain Kroger is allegedly selling wheat bread containing high levels of urethane without a required warning on the packaging, according to a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The lawsuit, filed by Custodio & Dubey LLP, says urethane is a carcinogen and California Proposition 65 requires manufacturers ... Read more »
Colgate Toothpaste’s Triclosan Toxicology Studies Released
Colgate-Palmolive’s Total toothpaste uses triclosan, an antibacterial chemical linked to cancer-cell growth in animals, to fight gum disease. While the company maintains that triclosan is safe for humans, some studies suggest the chemical is now found throughout the environment in including water and soil. And some of the scientific findings ... Read more »
Pepsi, Goya Findings Put 4-MEI on FDA Regulatory Agenda
Consumer Reports’ findings on 4-methylimidazole in Pepsi and Goya Foods products, among others, has sparked lawsuits and a renewed FDA investigation of the chemical’s safety. The magazine found that single servings of Pepsi One and Malta Goya exceeded the 29 micrograms level that is the threshold in California, without carrying the warning required ... Read more »
FDA Rules Pose Threat to Organic Farmers
Organic farmers may fall foul of regulations proposed by the US Food and Drug Administration, The Los Angeles Times reports. In 2010, after a campaign lasting several years, food safety activists managed to convince Congress that the agency should be have the authority to monitor farm practices. In 2011, 33 ... Read more »
Ecolabels Don’t Influence Consumer Food Choice, Study Says
Consumers are concerned about sustainability, but their understanding is limited and ecolabels rarely influence food purchases, according to a study by the European Food Information Council. The “Sustainability labels on food products: Consumer motivation, understanding and use study,” which surveyed 4,408 respondents living in the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden and Poland. says ... Read more »