A report by the European Court of Auditors has identified “notable gaps” in the EU legal framework around food labeling and enforcement of regulations, and offered recommendations for improvement.
In an effort to reduce food waste caused by consumer confusion, and following new legislation passed in California standardizing the use of “Best By” dates on food, USDA and FDA have issued a joint request for information about industry practices, consumer perceptions, and impacts related to food date labeling.
On December 18, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will hold an educational webinar for regulators and industry about food labeling and allergen labeling requirements.
A recent study of salmon sold at Seattle, Washington grocery stores and sushi restaurants found 18 percent of samples to be mislabeled overall, with one-third of “wild-caught” salmon sold at sushi establishments being mislabeled.
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.
