Regulation & Safety

FDA enforces gluten-free definition

Are you sure that’s gluten free?

By Maggie Hennessy

Whether it’s designated “gluten-free”, “no gluten”, “without gluten”, “free of gluten”, tomorrow (Aug. 5) is the deadline for manufacturers to ensure they meet the Food and Drug Administration’s definition of a gluten-free food. 

Archer Daniels Midland agreed to settle the Clean Water Act violations

ADM to pay $430,000 settlement for violations

By Joseph James Whitworth

Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $430,000 to settle allegations that it violated the Clean Water Act (CWA) at five large oil storage facilities.

A new EU report suggests taxes on fat, sugar, or other unhealthy foods can help to reduce consumption levels. However the report also warns that the issues are complex and that such levies can have unexpected effects

'Sin taxes' on unhealthy foods will work, says EU report

By Nathan Gray

Taxes imposed on sugary, salty or fatty foods do lead to reductions in consumption, says the European Commission in a new report. But higher taxes could also encourage consumers to simply go for cheaper products, it warns.

Chia clear: Andean Grain Products positive after EU novel foods approval. Image credit: Stacy Spensley

Andean Grain gears up for chia cheer after EU approval

By Annie Harrison-Dunn

Andean Grain Products has received a positive draft novel food opinion from the UK’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) for its chia seeds – deeming them sufficiently ‘equivalent’ to those already approved for market in the EU.

Is your product ready for nutrition label changes?

Insights from IFT 2014

Is your product ready for nutrition label changes?

By Maggie Hennessy

Food and beverage manufacturers are holding their collective breath in anticipation of the proposed changes to the Nutrition Facts panel put forth by the Food and Drug Administration and likely to be finalized next year. 

Justice OKs Ardent Mills venture with caveats

Justice OKs Ardent Mills venture with caveats

By Maggie Hennessy

The US Department of Justice will allow the formation of Ardent Mills, the largest US flour miller, to proceed if the companies involved sell four competitively significant mills. The massive venture would combine the flour milling assets of ConAgra Mills,...

“Attempts to promote healthy diets will only work if the food systems underpinning them are put right,” warns UN Special Rapporteur Olivier De Schutter.

Unhealthy diets now rank above tobacco global as cause of preventable diseases

Battling unhealthy food requires tobacco-style response

By Nathan Gray

The international community must develop a global convention similar to the legal framework for tobacco control to fight diet-related ill health, warn Consumers International and the World Obesity Federation.

Dr Url: “I commit myself to working with staff, scientific experts, European institutions, member states and stakeholders to uphold EFSA’s core values and to work towards more open risk assessment and further building trust.”

EFSA MGMT BOARD: "Bernhard will ...provide Europe with the best scientific advice to protect consumers from food-related risks..."

EFSA confirms Bernard Url as new chief

By Shane STARLING

Doctor Bernhard Url is the new chief of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) after its management board confirmed the acting-chief as its next executive director this week.

Cereal Partners said the additional chocolate chips had been balanced with an overall sugar reduction, although the ASA did state that the sugar content remained high

Cereal Partners UK defends kids’ advertising complaint

By Kacey Culliney

Cereal Partners UK has defended its cinema advert for Nestlé Cookie Crisp breakfast cereal and the health values of the product, following a complaint claiming it encouraged an unhealthy lifestyle in children.

FSANZ toughens stance on cyanide harm from apricot kernels

FSANZ toughens stance on cyanide harm from apricot kernels

By RJ Whitehead

Food Standards Australia New Zealand, the industry regulator in the Antipodes, has strengthened its cautionary stance on raw apricot kernels following findings showing that eating the seeds could pose a public health and safety risk to consumers. 

Consumer complaint prompts Nestlé cereal recall

Dead insect findings prompt Nestlé recall

By Joseph James Whitworth

Nestlé said it was 'very concerned' to learn of a consumer complaint about a batch of its cereal in Greece containing dead insects.

The Westminster government has been urged to enforce the mandatory fortification of bread and flour with folic acid across the UK

Call for UK-wide folic acid fortification

By Rick Pendrous

The government at Westminster is being urged to press ahead with mandatory fortification of bread and flour with folic acid across the UK in a bid to reduce neural tube defects in foetuses.

French parliamentary report pushes 'fast-food' tax

French parliamentary report pushes 'fast-food' tax

By Nathan Gray

A French senatorial report has proposed a 'junk-food' tax on products that are linked to heart disease - with the report taking particular aim at soft drinks, which currently benefit from low taxes.

Not all folate forms are the same argues Dr Robert Verkerk

Folic acid: The double-edge sword of the golden micronutrient

Folic acid is backed to deliver important health benefits in the scientific literature and by regulators – but is over-consumption a real problem? asks Robert Verkerk, PhD, the founder, executive and scientific director of the Alliance for Natural Health...

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