FDA
Senators, USDA nominee agree labels should say if it’s animal or cell-based meat
When cell-based meat appears in grocery stores, it should be labeled so that consumers know it came from a lab and not from livestock, two cattle-state senators told the Trump administration’s nominee to run the USDA’s food safety unit on Wednesday.
FDA and USDA to jointly oversee cell-based meat
The USDA and FDA will both oversee the production of cell-cultured food products derived from livestock and poultry, FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb and USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue announced Friday, ending a dispute about the future oversight of the nascent industry.
USDA and FDA seek to cooperate on regulating cell-culture technology
The Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration began a two-day stakeholder meeting Tuesday to discuss how to regulate livestock and poultry produced with cell-culture technology. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb emphasized that both agencies have a role in creating a regulatory framework for lab-grown meat, but suggested such a framework will still take months to complete.
FDA on ‘fast track’ to assess labeling of non-dairy milks
The Food and Drug Administration announced on Thursday that it is moving ahead on modernizing its standards of identity for plant-based dairy alternatives, like soy and almond milks.
FDA moves to name sellers of contaminated foods during worst outbreaks
If a new Food and Drug Administration draft guidance is implemented, food recall notices could begin to include the names of retailers that have sold the contaminated foods, the agency said Wednesday.
FDA will strengthen controls over antibiotics in livestock, says Gottlieb
Under criticism, FDA changes plan on honey and syrup labeling
It won’t be official for months, but FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb outlined on Thursday a solution to a food-labeling issue that had honey producers buzzing and had tapped the ire of the maple syrup industry.
Industry proposal: USDA and FDA should share oversight of ‘cell-based’ meat
The U.S. meat industry and nascent competitor Memphis Meats agreed on a standard name — “cell-based meat and poultry” — for food produced from lab-cultured animal cells on Thursday and proposed joint FDA and USDA regulation of cell-based meat.
Produce safety rule will weigh heaviest on small growers
The smallest fruit and vegetable growers will pay comparatively more than big operators to comply with the so-called Produce Rule from the FDA — as much as 6.8 percent of their sales compared with less than 1 percent for big farmers, said three USDA economists on Wednesday.
At Pennsylvania hearing, dairy farmers testify about their struggling industry
On Tuesday, in Lairdsville, Pennsylvania, farmers gathered to discuss the current crisis in the dairy industry. They testified about the impact of falling milk prices, considered possible solutions, and expressed anger at federal policymakers’ spotty record of supporting the industry at a time when dairy farms across the country are going out of business.
Is BPA safe? FDA says yes, but independent scientists say not so fast.
A six-year effort to determine the best way to assess the toxicity of man-made chemicals in the food supply, such as bisphenol A (BPA), is winding down. But the debate over what the results mean is just getting started, with independent scientists worried that the FDA is ignoring cutting-edge research and doubling down on the industry-backed status quo that says BPA is safe, according to FERN’s latest story, published with HuffPost. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
FDA plans to update definition of “milk”
Dairy farmers lament that the supermarket dairy case is packed with soy milk and almond milk as well as milk from cows. FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb says the agency will update its definition of milk over the next year. "An almond doesn't lactate, I will confess," said Gottlieb at a Politico showcase.
At FDA meeting, controversy over lab-grown meat
The Food and Drug Administration held a public meeting Thursday on the safety and labeling of alternative “meat” proteins produced with animal cell culture technology. In a packed room, FDA employees, industry stakeholders, and scientists discussed current trends in the controversial sector, which some imagine could reshape how Americans consume meat. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
FDA to reconsider labeling rule for honey and maple syrup
Maine Rep. Chellie Pingree said the FDA will take a second look at how it will identify pure honey and maple syrup on the updated Nutrition Facts label.
FDA says it has jurisdiction over lab-grown meat
The field of lab-grown meat is "dynamic," "complex" and "evolving," said FDA leaders in declaring the agency, which regulates most of the food supply, has the technical expertise and the statutory authority to regulate so-called clean meat. The cattle industry protested that the USDA is in charge of meat safety.
Senate panel again calls for FDA labeling of GMO salmon
The Senate Appropriations Committee approved a $145 billion USDA-FDA funding bill on Thursday that would extend a ban on the sale of genetically modified salmon until the FDA requires special labels on the fish.
In GMO-labeling plan, USDA wants to let it BE
Food makers would be allowed to use a circular logo with the initials “BE” to identify foods made with GMO ingredients under a labeling rule proposed by the USDA.
Informal FDA tests find glyphosate residue pervasive in food
The Food and Drug Administration says it has not found illegally high residues of the weedkiller glyphosate in samples of corn, soy, milk or eggs. But informal work by its scientists found residues in an array of commonly consumed food, said the Guardian. The FDA has been testing food for traces of glyphosate for two years and will likely release an official report later this year or in early 2019.
Trump picks Kennedy, vaccine skeptic, for health secretary
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will head the Department of Health and Human Services in the new administration, said President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday. “For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and drug companies who have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation when it comes to public health,” said Trump in announcing the nomination.