Food Safety Magazine, February/March 2012

News BitesFDA Sued Over NanotechnologyConcerned by the growing body of scientific reports cautioningagainst the unregulated use of nanotechnology in consumerproducts, a coalition of nonprofit consumer safety and environmentalgroups is suing the U.S. Foodand Drug Administration (FDA)—thefirst lawsuit over the health and environmentalrisks of nanotechnologyand nanomaterials.The lawsuit demands FDA respondto a petition that the public interestorganizations—Friends of the Earth,Food and Water Watch, the Center forEnvironmental Health, the ETCGroup and the Institute for Agriculturaland Trade Policy—first filed withthe agency in 2006.The 80-page petition documentsthe scientific evidence of nanomaterialrisks stemming from their unpredictabletoxicity and seemingly unlimited mobility, requestingFDA to take several regulatory actions, including requiringnano-specific product labeling and health and safety testing,and undertaking an analysis of the environmental and healthimpacts of nanomaterials in products approved by the agency.Since 2006, numerous studies and reports, including publicationsby the Environmental Protection Agency, the Office ofthe Inspector General and the U.S. Government AccountabilityOffice, acknowledge significant data gaps concerning nanomaterials’potential effects on human health and the environment.OMB Says Food Safety Merger NextA single federal foodsafety agency will happen ifCongress grants the Obamaadministration authority to reorganizethe government.In itsJanuary 13,2012, edition, The HagstromReport said Office of Managementand Budget (OMB) Directorfor Management JeffZients said that if Congressgrants President BarackObama the power to consolidatefederal agencies, the firstproposal will be to merge thesix business-oriented agencies,folding together theCommerce Department’score business and trade functions,the Small Business Administration,the Office of theU.S. Trade Representative, theExport-Import Bank, the OverseasPrivate Investment Corporationand the U.S. Tradeand Development Agency.Zients added that a followupproposal would be to consolidateU.S. Department ofAgriculture’s Food Safety andInspection Service with thefood safety unit at the U.S.Food and Drug Administration.The Government AccountabilityOffice has called forconsolidation of all foodsafety functions into a singleagency, an end to fragmentedoversight supported by most,but not all, outside foodsafety advocates, which generallysee such “consolidationpowers” for Obama as a rareopportunity to achieve along-elusive goal.NEWS FLASH:Highlights of the FSM eDigestAn article in our January eDigest(available at the eDigest archives atwww.foodsafetymagazine.com/exclusives.asp)focused on global imports and exports, and howthe Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011 affectssuch international trade. In “Quality and FoodSafety in the International Arena of FoodProduction,” Herbert Weinstein, Ph. D.,discusses the best ways for foreign foodproducers to successfully produce anddeliver products that meet thesenew specifications.Report Details EU Food Safety Testing MarketLarger than U.S. MarketEurope is a substantial market for food microbiology testing. The population of the27 countries of the European Union (EU) is 500 million,nearly 60 percent greater than the U.S. population. Altogether,the countries of the EU performed an estimated275 million food micro tests in 2011,according to Food Micro, Sixth Edition: FoodMicrobiology Testing in Europe (FoodMicro—6), a new market report from StrategicConsulting Inc. In comparison, therewere 213 million tests conducted in theU.S. in 2010. The report analyzes the distinctand important EU food microbiologytesting market in relation to that in the U.S.In addition to size, the European foodsafety testing market differs from the U.S.market in areas such as methods used, organismstested and current and pending regulations.For more information about the report,visit www.strategic-consult.com.Recent Articles Available Online atwww.foodsafetymagazine.com/signature.aspMicrobial contamination is a constantthreat to the food products soldaround the world. In the Celsis RapidDetection article “Reduce the Impact ofContamination Events with Rapid MicrobialMethods,” approaches for managingrisk and enhancing food safety arediscussed in the context of rapid microbiologicalmethods. New tools and technologyfor preventing microbialcontamination of food are highlightedin the DeltaTRAK article “Focusing theSpotlight on Prevention.” Finally,Vedeqsa showcases their article “LauricArginate—A New, Active PreservativeDerived from Natural Materials.” Lauricarginate functions as an antimicrobialcompound.8 F O O D S A F E T Y M A G A Z I N E