Chemical Control

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Following a health assessment of brominated vegetable oil (BVO), Health Canada has revoked its authorization for use as a food additive.

To understand the full extent of human exposure to all food contact chemicals, the Food Packaging Forum has created the FCChumon Database, which documents for the first time hundreds of chemicals found in humans, and which of those are hazardous or have unknown toxicity.

The European Parliament blocked two European Commission decisions that would have set tolerances for EU-banned pesticides in a range of imported foods.

Senator Cory Booker’s Safe School Meals Act proposes widespread reforms that would reduce the presence of toxic heavy metals, pesticides, artificial food dyes, and chemicals in school lunches, and would mandate research to progress remediation methods for environmental contaminants polluting farms.

Food manufacturers continue to face an evolving and expanding patchwork of state-specific restrictions on food additives. 

In an article published in the New England Journal of Medicine, leading medical and food law experts have raised concerns about the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS) process for the introduction of ingredients to the food supply, and are calling on the agency to proactive steps to ensure the safety of new food substances.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) is considering changes to maximum residue limits (MRLs) for certain agricultural and veterinary chemicals in foods. A call for comment on the proposal is open.

In light of a recent investigation that found nearly half of honey imported to the EU is adulterated, UK researchers have demonstrated the promise of two innovative techniques—DNA barcoding and spatial offset Raman Spectroscopy—for detecting sugar adulterants in honey.

A recent University of Delaware study has shown that, although certain irrigation management approaches can reduce the levels of either cadmium or arsenic in rice crops, irrigation management may not be able to simultaneously mitigate both of the chemicals.

With relation to circular agri-food production models, a recent article authored by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) experts has explored the current and emerging risks, data gaps, and opportunities for food safety.