Articles Tagged with ''Closer to Zero''

As FDA expands its oversight of food contaminants, manufacturers, retailers, and distributors must understand evolving regulatory expectations and take proactive steps to identify, monitor, and mitigate contamination risks.

The actions are part of FDA's Closer to Zero initiative, which aims to continually reduce dietary exposure to toxic heavy metals among babies and young children.

Monitoring impurities in foods is an important tool for protecting vulnerable populations. However, as consumers encounter more reports of detectable impurities in everyday foods, concern is likely to grow unless these findings are clearly communicated in the context of potential health risk. 

FDA issued a new final guidance for industry on the action levels for lead in processed food intended for babies and young children. Action levels are levels of a contaminant at which the agency may consider a food to be adulterated. 

On September 25, FDA will hold a public meeting on its work to develop an enhanced systematic process for the postmarket assessment of chemicals in foods, with in-person and virtual attendance options available.

NASEM has completed a study to better understand the nutritional benefits of seafood consumption versus the health hazards posed by contaminants like toxic heavy metals. The study fulfills a request from FDA, partly in a Closer to Zero effort to answer questions about mercury exposure. A webinar about the findings will be held on March 26, 2024.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA’s NIFA) has granted a Michigan State University (MSU) research team $611,000 to explore the uptake of toxic heavy metals in food crops, with the goal of providing a guide containing mitigation strategies and decision-making resources for growers and policymakers.

This article discusses the consumer and regulatory drivers of the current focus on heavy metals in foods for babies and young children, and also explores the congressional investigation and FDA's subsequent Closer to Zero effort. It also discusses the latest developments and what moves can be expected next from FDA. 

In support of FDA's Closer to Zero initiative, researchers have conducted a risk assessment that estimates the U.S. population’s dietary exposure to cadmium. The study found children aged 6–24 months and 24–60 months to be the populations most highly exposed to cadmium, with concerning levels of exposure when compared to guidelines set by regulatory agencies.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released a final guidance for industry, titled, Action Level for Inorganic Arsenic in Apple Juice, which identifies an action level of 10 parts per billion (ppb) for inorganic arsenic in apple juice.