"fda" news and stories

Until now, we've only guessed the amount of antibiotics used were high to keep our pig, cattle and poultry stocks healthy. In fact, the Animal Health Institute predicted 11.1 million kilograms were used nationwide in 2005. But the Food and Drug Administration's records don't go back that far.

For the first time, the FDA has released an estimate. In 2009 alone, "13.1 million kilograms of antimicrobial drugs were sold or distributed for use in food-producing animals" in the U.S., cites Livable Future from the report (.pdf) made available to the public last Thursday. There's also a chart listing approved antibiotics in each drug class.

That 13.1 million kilograms is just short of 29 million pounds. "That's a lot," writes Maryn McKenna on her Wired magazine blog. (McKenna is a journalist specializing in infectious diseases, and the author of Superbug, notes Food Safety News.)

We think of antibiotics as a good thing, something to rid ourselves of disease, but overuse can lower resistance, and that's exactly what we're seeing in meat production. This in turn calls for stronger antibiotics, which don't just stay with the animal. It carries through to the land and those working on it, not to mention its unidentified consequences to those who consume the meat.

Nutritionist Marion Nestle notes in The Atlantic that since this is the first report, "it is not possible to say whether the numbers are going up or down. But the agency is now requiring meat producers to report on antibiotic use so we now have a baseline for measuring progress."

The fight over facts presented on the front of packages are about to come to a head. The battle has long been over the selective truths and marketing ploys that riddle our cardboard boxes, from those that tout immunity to those that give a nondescript check of approval. Now, the Grocery Manufacturer's Association (GMA) has announced a front-of-package labeling initiative that will supposedly work to "inform consumers and combat obesity," as the organization's October 27th press release states.

Too bad, though, that it actually comes after the FDA-sponsored memo from the Institute of Medicine, "recommending that FOP [front of package] symbols only mention calories, sodium, trans fat and saturated fat," writes nutritionist and NYU professor Marion Nestle in a recent article for The Atlantic Food Channel. But rather than advertise what could be bad in a product, companies would much prefer to let you know what's good about it, notes Nestle.

According to the press release from GMA, "This program will add important nutrition information on calories and other nutrients..." and "to appeal to busy consumers, the information will be presented in a fact-based, simple and easy-to-use format." We would hope they'd be fact based, but don't think this means you shouldn't look to that table on the back. Companies will focus on the nutrients they do provide, but may choose to omit those facts that can harm.

A new bill being put to the United States Senate zeroes in on "bad actors" in the food industry. Currently, the FDA can tell a company to recall suspect food, but if that company refuses to comply (i.e., "acts badly"), the FDA has limited ability to force follow-through. The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, or S. 510, is intended to expand the FDA's authority in these matters. A similar bill passed through the House months ago, but got held up in the Senate's recent logjam of health care and financial reform. Now the bill is receiving new attention, reports the Minnesota Star-Tribune, in the wake of a rash of tainted food recalls.

Senator Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., lead sponsor of the bill, explained to Minnesota Public Radio that the latest troubles with eggs, peanut butter, and jalapeño peppers underscore the need for enhanced legislation. "I think we can do a lot better with our food safety system," she told reporters. "...There is a glaring problem with the FDA and a glaring problem with resources and their lack of authority to do recalls and get company records."

The Food Safety Modernization Act addresses FDA involvement in oversight of food production, increasing the number of inspections as well as establishing regional CDC outlets to deal more closely with local public health communities. The bill also spells out protections for whistle-blowers, especially employees involved in processing or packaging food items.

Over the past 70 years, the U.S. has seen drastic changes in food operation, including the introduction of industrial agriculture and mass foodborne illnesses. And yet standards set by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have barely changed, save for the USDA's and FDA's joint egg inspection plan introduced on July 9th.

The outdated rules have left the FDA with insufficient funds and without authority to order recalls -- that call, believe it or not, is left to the individual companies, which often wait too long, resulting in a slew of consumer illness reports. A new bill -- the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (S. 510) -- would finally update standards and give the FDA the power it now needs to better moderate our current system, including conducting more frequent inspections of high-risk facilities. The bill was passed by the House of Representatives over a year ago, on July 30, 2009, and has been sitting with the Senate ever since.

You've always known that that giant tub of buttered popcorn at your local cineplex wasn't exactly good for you. And that chocolate long john you picked up on your way to work after filling up at the gas station -- you probably should have grabbed a banana instead. We know which foods are bad for us; what we often don't know is how bad they are.

The Food and Drug Administration is about to change that.

As the Wall Street Journal reports, the FDA has recently announced new guidelines that would require a whole new range of businesses to post calorie counts for the food they sell, including movie theaters, convenience stores, and even airplanes. The businesses would also have to make other nutritional information available upon request, such as fat, sodium and carbohydrate content.

It's all part of the massive health-care overhaul passed earlier this year. The new law requires that restaurant chains with 20 or more locations post calorie counts and provide nutritional information. Now the FDA is saying the law applies to more than just restaurants.