Regulatory Affairs Syndicator

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued an import alert regarding entry of cantaloupe from Agropecuaria Montelibano, a Honduran grower and packer, because, based on current information, fruit from this company appears to be associated with a Salmonella Litchfield outbreak in the United States and Canada. The import alert advises FDA field offices that all cantaloupes shipped to the United States by this company are to be detained.

Questions and answers regarding draft guidances on Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat foods.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced that Brownwood Acres Foods Inc., Cherry Capital Services Inc. (doing business as Flavonoid Sciences) and two of their top executives have signed a consent decree that effectively prohibits the companies and their executives from manufacturing and distributing any products with claims in the label or labeling to cure, treat, mitigate or prevent diseases.

Final Guidance. This guidance is intended for all fresh-cut produce firms, both domestic and foreign, to enhance the safety of fresh-cutproduce by minimizing the microbial food safety hazards. This guidance is not a set of binding requirements nor does it identify all possible preventive measures to minimize microbial food safety hazards.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is alerting consumers, food service operators, and food retailers that New Era Canning Company, New Era, Mich., is broadening its nationwide recall of canned vegetable products for a third time because of the potential for its foods to be contaminated with Clostridium botulinum (C. botulinum).

Results of selected TDS foods from each market basket in FY05 and FY06 to
determine the occurrence of acrylamide in a wide variety of products in the U.S. food supply.

This guidance provides a recommended maximum lead level of 0.1 ppm in candy likely to be consumed frequently by small children. FDA considers the recommended maximum lead level to be achievable with the use of good manufacturing practices in the production of candy and candy ingredients and to be protective of human health.

Health Claim Notification for Saturated Fat, Cholesterol and Trans fat and Reduced Risk of Heart Disease. Notification to manufacturers that they may use the specified claim by Kraft Foods, relating to the relationship between dietary consumption of saturated fat, cholesterol and trans fat, and the risk of heart disease, on the label and in labeling of any food product that meets the eligibility criteria described in the Kraft notification and as amended, unless or until FDA or a court acts to prohibit the claim.

Tips for Holiday Food Safety: steps to reduce the risk of foodborne illness - clean, separate, cook, chill; tips for fresh produce; separate for safety; baked goods; egg nog; apple cider and other juices; turkey; oysters and seafood

Satellite Broadcast — Nov. 30, 2006, 1:00 - 3:30 pm EST

The Department of Health and Human Services and the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition in HHS’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced the availability of two new learning tools to help consumers use the Nutrition Facts label to choose nutritious foods and achieve healthy weight management.

• Make Your Calories Count: Use
  the Nutrition Facts Label for Healthy Weight Management November 2006
  • Nutrition Facts Label brochure (PDF, 350Kb)
  • Questions and Answers

FDA has developed the Draft Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards (Program Standards) through ideas and input from federal, state, and local regulatory officials, industry, trade and professional associations, academia and consumers on what constitutes a highly effective and responsive retail food regulatory program. This is the fifth revision.

Listing of Jurisdictions Enrolled in the Draft Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards

The government’s complaint, filed today by the United States Department of Justice in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota after settlement talks failed, charges the defendants with violating the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act by processing seafood products under conditions that may cause the food to become injurious to health.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced the results of an investigation by state and CDC investigators, which found consuming tomatoes in restaurants as the cause of illnesses in the Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak. To date, 21 states have reported 183 cases.