FDA
Report: Many options for replacing antibiotics in meat supply, but is demand high?
Since the FDA began moving three years ago to control antibiotic use in meat animals — an effort that culminated in January with a ban on growth-promoter antibiotics, which fatten livestock inexpensively — farmers have wondered whether anything can take the drugs’ place.
Canadian province approves AquaBounty plan to raise GE salmon on land
The Prince Edward Island environment minister approved a proposal by AquaBounty, the developer of a genetically engineered salmon, to produce 250 tonnes a year of the fish at Rollo Bay West, on the northeastern shore of the province, reported the CBC.
FDA delays compliance date for new Nutrition Facts label
The Food and Drug Administration decided foodmakers need more time to put the updated Nutrition Facts label on their packages and said it will allow additional time beyond the July 28, 2018, deadline set two years ago. The new deadline will be announced later, said the agency, to the applause of the food industry and the dismay of consumer groups.
Consumer groups sue FDA to put calorie counts on menus
Last month, the FDA gave restaurants, fast food companies and convenience stores an additional year, until May 2018, to include on their menus the caloric content of the food and beverages that they sell. Now, the decision is being challenged in U.S. district court by two consumer groups who say the agency is "randomly sowing chaos" with its delay of useful information.
FDA says it will allow more time to comply with farm water standards
In the face of industry complaints, the Food and Drug Administration said it would extend the date, now set for January 2018, to comply with agricultural water standards for produce. In an announcement, the agency said "the length of the extension is under consideration" and will be determined "using appropriate procedures at a later time." The extension does not apply to sprouts.
Maryland joins California in restricting use of antibiotics on livestock
Gov. Larry Hogan stood aside and let a Maryland law take effect without his signature that will bar use of medically important antibiotics to promote weight gain among cattle, hogs and poultry. The Maryland law will take effect on Jan. 1, 2018, the same implementation date as a similar law enacted in 2015 in California, the only other state to control antibiotic use with the goal of preserving the effectiveness of the drugs to fight disease in humans.
Senate confirms Trump nominee Gottlieb as FDA commissioner
Scott Gottlieb, a deputy FDA commissioner during the George W. Bush era, will assume the top job in the agency following a 57-42 confirmation vote in the Senate that broke mostly along party lines. Republicans, who provided all but six six of the votes for Gottlieb, said the physician and political conservative will bring the steady hand of experience to an agency with responsibilities ranging from testing medical devices to assuring the safety of a large part of the U.S. food supply.
FDA asks for longer compliance period for menu labeling
Groceries and convenience stores ask FDA for delay in menu-labeling rule
Trade groups for grocers and convenience store operators made a list-minute request to the FDA to delay the menu-labeling requirement due to take effect on May 5.
FDA nominee might delay new Nutrition Facts label
President Trump's nominee for FDA commissioner, Scott Gottlieb, says he might delay the debut of the updated Nutrition Facts label, now set for July 2018. For the first time, the label would list how many grams of sugar are added to foods during processing, said Food Navigator. Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts asked Gottlieb to consider a delay on grounds FDA has not finalized its "guidance" documents on dietary fiber and added sugar.
GAO: Large gaps in U.S. rules restricting antibiotic use in livestock
At the start of this year, the FDA shut off the use of medically important antibiotics to speed up weight gain in cattle, hogs and poultry as part of a government-wide drive to maintain the efficacy of antimicrobials in treating disease in humans. The Government Accountability Office says, "[O]versight gaps still exist" that could allow long-term use of medicine in the name of disease prevention, weakening the limitations on the drugs.
Can Trump budget find traction on the cold shoulder of Capitol Hill?
Farm-state lawmakers were chilly to icily dismissive of President Trump's proposals for large cuts in programs helping agriculture and rural communities. North Dakota Republican John Hoeven, who chairs the Senate Appropriations subcommittee in charge of the USDA and FDA budget said the proposal was unfair given the three-year slump in the farm economy.
Warning labels for food dyes? It’s possible in California.
California state Sen. Bob Wieckowski has introduced a bill to require warning labels on food containing synthetic food dyes, including food sold in restaurants, says Civil Eats. If he succeeds, it would be the first such labeling law in the nation.
For FDA chief, Trump selects Scott Gottlieb, a former deputy commissioner
President Trump selected a physician and political conservative, Scott Gottlieb, to become commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, the White House announced. If confirmed, he will succeed Robert Califf, who held the job for the final 11 months of the Obama administration. Gottlieb was deputy FDA commissioner for medical and scientific affairs during the second term of President George W. Bush.
With no regulations on arsenic in food, experts suggest ‘prudent avoidance’
Arsenic’s reputation as a potent poison has been known since ancient Greeks and Romans used it to dispatch rivals. But scientists are just beginning to get a handle on the risks that come from chronic exposure to low doses of arsenic, which has complicated efforts to regulate the most common route of exposure: through diet.
Will Trump end four decades of fragmented oversight of food safety?
U.S. food safety relies on the piecemeal work of 16 federal agencies, four Democratic senators said in asking President Trump for White House leadership in writing a national strategy on food safety and assuring agencies follow it. The request was not as sweeping as past proposals for a single food-safety agency but it faces many obstacles.
Beekeepers, veterinarians face problems with FDA’s new ABX rules
Starting this month, U.S. beekeepers will need a veterinarian for certain bee medications. Under the FDA’s new Veterinary Feed Directive rules, which took effect January 1, vets oversee the use of most antimicrobials in beehives — and both beekeepers and veterinarians are confused.
Forty years later, FDA finally restricts use of antibiotics in livestock
Forty years after it first made the attempt, the U.S. government has instituted controls on some antibiotics used in meat animals to prevent the emergence of resistant bacteria that threaten human health.
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.