From FlexNews:

Following a request from the European Commission, EFSA has been working since 2007 on a comprehensive evaluation of flavouring substances currently in use in the European Union.

Flavourings are divided into 48 chemical groups and EFSA is evaluating each group separately, focusing on the implications of individual flavourings for human health. Since EFSA’s update in January, the former AFC[1] Panel looked at a further 15 flavouring groups. The Panel identified data gaps for some of the flavourings including carvone-5, 6 oxide (FL-no: 16.042), butyramide (FL-no:16.049), aminoacetophenone (FL-no:11.008), 5-methylfurfural (FL-no:13.001), 2-benzofurancarboxaldehyde (FL-no:13.031). These flavourings are currently used in different types of foods, including dairy products, confectionary, meat and fish products and alcoholic beverages

The Panel concluded that data currently available were insufficient to exclude genotoxic potential of these substances and is requesting that applicants provide information that will confirm that these flavourings are safe to use in foods.

Since the beginning of the evaluation, the Panel has discussed and adopted some 70 opinions on food flavourings. Some of these 70 opinions have been published and some are now undergoing final editorial changes and will be shortly published on the EFSA website. EFSA intends to complete the evaluation of all flavourings by mid-2009.

Click on the above link for the full story. More in Future not so bright for food colourants:

But i July the European parliament took a very bold step towards that ban, by adopting a legislative package that will compel the makers of products containing any of the six artificial colours named in the Southampton study to include a health warning for children on the label.

They are tartrazine ,E102, quinoline yellow, E104, sunset yellow, E110, carmoisine, E122, ponceau 4R, E124, and allura red, E129.

The warning will read: “May have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children”.

Manufacturers have 18 months to comply with the new labelling requirements.

From McClatchy Washington:

American companies will spend $2.5 billion next year complying with new country-of-origin food label rules, the Agriculture Department now estimates…

The department published its cost estimates Friday in a 45-page assessment in the Federal Register, the official document for federal rule-making. They’re markedly lower than the department previously had estimated.

The new label requirements will kick in Sept. 30, after years of political wrangling. They’ll cover beef, chicken, fresh produce, and frozen fruits and vegetables, among other products.

The assessment in the Federal Register is available here.

From SFGate:

Besides Frito-Lay, which sells most of the potato chips in California, the other companies agreeing to reduce acrylamide levels are Kettle Foods, maker of Kettle Chips, and Lance Inc., maker of Cape Cod Chips, Brown’s office said. In another settlement last week, Heinz agreed to cut in half the acrylamide levels in Ore-Ida frozen french fries and tater tots and pay $600,000 in penalties and costs, the state said…

Procter & Gamble agreed in January to reduce acrylamide by 50 percent in Pringles potato chips. McDonald’s, KFC, Wendy’s and Burger King agreed last year to post warnings about acrylamide in chips and fries…

The settlement requires the potato chip producers to reduce acrylamide to 275 parts per billion in three years, a low enough level to avoid a Prop. 65 warning label. That amounts to a 20 percent reduction for Frito-Lay and an 87 percent reduction for Kettle Chips, Brown’s office said. Little or no reduction will be needed for most Cape Cod chips, but one product, Cape Cod Robust Russets, will require a warning label, the attorney general said.

The companies also agreed to pay nearly $2 million in penalties and costs.

Click on the above link for more information.

From Health Canada:

The Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of Health, today announced increased protection for Canadians with food allergies by introducing new labelling requirements for food allergens, gluten sources and added sulphites contained in prepackaged foods…

The current Food and Drug Regulations require that ingredients of food products be declared on the labels of most prepackaged foods. However, components of certain ingredients are exempted from declaration in the list of ingredients…

The improved regulations would require that manufacturers declare all food allergens, gluten sources and added sulphites on labels of prepackaged foods. The regulations would also detail exactly how these allergens, glutens and sulphites are to be listed on food labels.

Click on the above link for more information.

From the CBC:

The federal government said Tuesday its new Product of Canada regulations will roll out for goods produced after Dec. 31…

Prime Minister Stephen Harper in May announced new guidelines regulating the use of the Product of Canada label. Under current Canadian law, if 51 per cent of the production costs were incurred in Canada and the last substantial transformation of the product occurred in Canada, it is legal to use those labels.

The revised guidelines require that all major ingredients and labour used to make the product come from Canada.

Harper said under the new guidelines, if a product is to be marketed as made in Canada, the product must be manufactured or processed in Canada.

Products may contain non-Canadian contents but must indicate it contains imported ingredients or materials.

Click on the above link for more information.

From Marketing News:

The European Parliament has called for warnings on foods containing certain food colours to say: “May have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children”.

The Parliament has voted in favour of labelling foods containing the six food colours E110, E104, E122, E129, E102 and E124.

The move comes after research commissioned by the UK Food Standards Agency last year.

The research, known as the Southampton Study, was published last September and revealed that a combination of six food colours and one preservative increased hyperactivity in a cross section of children - not just those who had been previously diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, more commonly known as ADHD.

Foods containing these six dyes will have to carry the warning label within 18 months of the official publication of the law, expected within the next few weeks.

For more information, click on the above link.

But not for consumer products, according to a recent article:

The classification and communication of chemical hazard labelling will be implemented in the industrial and agriculture sectors apart from consumer products by 2010, said Deputy Human Resource Minister Datuk Noraini Ahmad…

“Unlike in the European countries, Malaysia was a bit slow in implementing the GHS because it had to be carried out in stages and with the agreement of the other nine Asean countries,” she told reporters after opening the two-day Chemical Management at the Work Place Seminar here Wednesday…

Noraini said after the implementation of the GHS, all imported products would be uniformly labelled and classified to facilitate their usage in the chemical industry. “For example, the chemical elements in imported hair shampoos sold in Malaysia were not uniformly labelled and unclear because of the differences in labelling definitions, thus they needed to be harmonised,” she said.

Click on the top link for the full article.

Nexreg has more information on GHS at the following link:

• GHS Strategic Planning (English)

To speak to a Nexreg representative about how GHS or REACH will impact your company, please call or e-mail Nexreg at:

Nexreg Toll Free: 1-866-361-3032
E-mail:info@nexreg.com

From Food Navigator Europe:

The 31st session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission in Geneva this week will discuss over 30 texts concerning international food standards for subjects including the use of flavourings and product labelling…

The draft guidelines, amendments and codes of practices on the agenda for this year’s five-day meeting cover a wide range of categories, such as mycotoxin contamination, the use of flavourings, quantitative ingredient declarations and gluten-free foods…

The Codex group will also look at labelling issues this week. It will discuss the draft amendment to the guidelines for the Production, Labelling and Marketing of Organically Produced Foods; the amendment to the guidelines for use of nutrition and health claims; and the standard for quantified labelling of prepackaged foods…

Regarding gluten-free foods, the Codex commission will aim to determine an acceptable level and method for detection of gluten to allow better protection for people who are allergic to gluten.

Click on the above link for the full story.

The new environmental guidelines we mentioned earlier in the week have been released. A press release from the competition bureau states:

Environmental Claims: A Guide for Industry and Advertisers addresses a number of commonly used green claims and provides examples of best practices on how such claims can be used by businesses to comply with the false or misleading provisions of the laws enforced by the Competition Bureau. Among other practices, the Guide states that:

• The use of vague claims implying general environmental improvement are insufficient and should be avoided.
• Environmental claims should be clear, specific, accurate and not misleading.
• Environmental claims should be verified and substantiated, prior to being made.

…The Bureau recognizes companies may wish to reassess their advertising and labelling in light of the Guide. A one-year transition phase will allow legitimate businesses to change their marketing practices, if necessary, and will also allow the Bureau and CSA to raise awareness and understanding on the new environmental guidelines.

During this one-year transition period, the Bureau will not hesitate to pursue egregious cases of deceptive environmental claims.

Although the Guide is not law, following the best practices outlined will help businesses to avoid making misleading claims that contravene the laws enforced by the Bureau. The Guide will be used by the Bureau to assess environmental advertising that raise concerns under its legislative mandate.

Click on the above link for the full press release.

We highly encourage our colleagues and clients to ensure that their labels comply with the guidelines. A PDF copy of the guidlines is available here (PDF).

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