After hundreds of children across the U.S. contracted lead poisoning after eating fruit puree pouches containing contaminated cinnamon, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has identified six additional ground cinnamon products that were found to contain elevated levels of lead. The agency has issued a recall.
A recently introduced bill in New York State legislature seeks to seeks to establish requirements for the reporting of substances considered “generally ruled as safe” (GRAS).
The presence of veterinary drugs and other substances in food animals and animal-derived foods in the EU remains low, according to the most recent data reported by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
The European Parliament and Council have reached a provisional agreement on the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), which, if ratified, would require all packaging used in the EU to be recyclable, set restrictions on plastic packaging, and ban the use of toxic PFAS in food contact packaging.
States like California have been active in the past few years passing laws to regulate PFAS in products. So far, 12 states have enacted laws that ban or impose reporting or disclosure requirements for PFAS in products. As states continue to move forward with emerging PFAS product restrictions, those who manufacture, distribute, and sell such products must prepare for the changing legal landscape.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has updated its list of chemicals that are undergoing postmarket safety assessment. The list also newly includes information about the status of the postmarket assessments and links to public information about postmarket actions that have been taken.
FDA has announced that, thanks to voluntary phase-out by industry, toxic PFAS are no longer being sold by manufacturers for use in food-contact grease-proofing agents in the U.S. FDA also said it is working towards a validated analytical method that would enable the agency to monitor the market for PFAS in food packaging.
In a recently published joint report on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Europe for 2021–2022, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) highlight the progress in reducing AMR in some countries, but warn about repeatedly observed resistance to common antibiotics in Salmonella and Campylobacter.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has published a new guidance for food safety authorities in Europe about the prevention and control of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the food supply chain.