Bimbo Bakeries’ response letter to an FDA warning letter about intentionally adding sesame to its products and falsely listing sesame as an ingredient on products has been revealed by consumer protection groups. In short, the company defended its practice.
Recently signed into law, California Assembly Bill 660 standardizes the use of “Best if Used By” and “Use By” dates on food labels, and prohibits the use of “Sell By” and other, inconsistently used dates.
A recent sampling assignment conducted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in Pennsylvania and Michigan found milk in 6.2 percent of dark chocolate and chocolate-containing products labeled as “dairy-free,” although all positive samples were also labeled with an allergen advisory statement.
A recent study explored how the use of uniform, threshold-based precautionary allergen labeling could increase food safety for allergic consumers, as well as enhance the number of foods available to them on the market.
USDA has released an updated guideline to strengthen animal-raising and environment-related label claims on meat and poultry products, such as “raised without antibiotics.” Due to specific concern over negative antibiotic claims, USDA may undertake future sampling and rulemaking to ensure label claims are truthful.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has sent a warning letter to Bimbo Bakeries USA Inc. for listing “contains” statements for major food allergens on the labels of products that do not actually contain the listed allergens. The warning letter follows an FDA statement denouncing a trend of food manufacturers attempting to circumvent allergen cross-contamination requirements by exploiting loopholes around “may contain” label statements.
West Virginia passed a bill known as the Truth in Food Labeling Act, restricting the language that can be used on labels for cell-based meats, plant-based meat alternatives, and other “analogue products,” such as insect-based foods. The bill awaits the Governor’s signature.
New food allergen labeling requirements recently came into effect in Australia and New Zealand. A guidance for industry has been published to help manufacturers, importers, and retailers with compliance.
The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) is launching an educational campaign to address widespread misconceptions about “vegan” versus “free-from” labels and raise awareness about precautionary allergen labeling.
The French government has issued a decree that would ban the use of “meaty” descriptor terms for plant-based meat alternative products produced in the country, with the aim of tackling misleading food labels.
