The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and state and local officials have been investigating a cluster of illnesses associated with Uncle Ben’s Infused Rice Mexican Flavor sold in 5- and 25-pound bags. The manufacturer, Mars Foodservices, is recalling all bags and all lot numbers of its Uncle Ben’s Infused Rice products produced in 2013.
Rona Ambrose, Canada’s Minister of Health and the head of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), today announced the launch of a searchable database to help the food industry identify and address food safety hazards. The online database, known as the Reference Database for Hazard Identification (RDHI), provides a vital resource to assist the food industry in developing preventive food safety control plans.
President Obama today signed into law H.R. 2642, the “Agriculture Act of 2014,” which extends, expands, or modifies Federal agriculture and nutrition programs, including farm income support, crop insurance, conservation, credit assistance, trade, research, international food assistance, rural development, and other programs through the fiscal year 2018 crop year.
American farmers and representatives from a diverse group of 29 industry and non-governmental organizations yesterday announced the formation of the Coalition for Safe Affordable Food (CFSAF) and urged Congress to quickly seek a federal solution that would establish standards for the safety and labeling of food and beverage products made with genetically modified ingredients (GMOs)
Subway, one of the world's biggest bread bakers, is about to remove azodiacarbonamide — a foaming agent used in both bread and yoga mats — from its breads in response to a campaign by an influential health activist and food blogger.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today released an interim final rule that sets standards for manufacturers to produce safe infant formula that supports healthy growth. The interim final rule applies only to infant formulas represented for use by healthy infants without unusual medical or dietary problems.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) yesterday proposed a new process for identifying emerging chemical risks in the food and feed chain using a variety of databases that log the incidence of industrial chemicals and environmental chemical contaminants in the European Union (EU). The framework would enable risk assessors to anticipate contamination of the food/feed chain by chemical hazards that have not yet been assessed by the EFSA or other similar bodies.
Strong majorities of U.S. adults say food recalls have them at least somewhat concerned (86%, with 58% somewhat concerned and 28% seriously concerned) and believe there should be more government oversight in regards to food safety (73%), according to a recent Harris Poll.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are sponsoring a public meeting tomorrow, Feb. 6, to provide information, receive public comments on agenda items and draft U.S. positions to be discussed at the 33rd Session of the Codex Committee on Fish and Fish Products (CCFFP).
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced today that it is reopening, for 60 days, the comment period for specific portions of its final guidance entitled “Investigational New Drug Applications (INDs) -- Determining Whether Human Research Studies Can Be Conducted Without an IND,” which was announced in the Sept. 10, 2013 Federal Register. The comment period is reopening only for subsections of the final guidance that address the applicability of the IND regulations to clinical research studies involving cosmetics and foods (including dietary supplements).