FOOD SAFETY

Clarifications to California’s Proposition 65 Warning Requirements under Consideration

27 November 2018

California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment will hold a hearing on 17 December and will accept input from interested parties by 31 December on a proposal to clarify recent changes concerning the responsibility for providing warnings under California’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act (commonly known as Proposition 65) as well as the term “actual knowledge” in subsection (f) of the regulations. More

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Authorisation for Food Contact Use of 26 Substances Proposed to be Withdrawn

15 November 2018

The FDA is accepting comments through 14 January 2019 on a petition to withdraw authorisation for the use of 26 ortho-phthalates in various food contact applications because these uses have been permanently abandoned. More

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U.S. Consumer Groups Hail FDA Decision to Ban Use of Seven Food Additives

23 October 2018

The Center for Food Safety and the Natural Resources Defense Council are hailing a recent FDA decision to remove seven synthetic food flavouring substances and flavour enhancers (adjuvants) from its approved food additives list. This action was taken in response to a petition filed in 2016 by these two groups and seven other non-profit advocacy organisations that cited test results from the National Toxicology Program that these flavourings cause cancer. More

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FDA Bans Pharmaceutical Ingredient Imports from Mainland Chinese Supplier

02 October 2018

The FDA announced on 28 September that it will no longer allow imports of active pharmaceutical ingredients made by mainland China’s Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceutical. Huahai has been added to Import Alert 66-40 – detention without physical examination of drugs from firms which have not meet drug good manufacturing practices – following recent discoveries of problems regarding impurities in the company’s manufacturing process. More

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Food Facility Re-registration Period Opens on 1 October

02 October 2018

Food facilities required to register with the FDA must renew their registrations between 1 October and 31 December 2018. Food being imported or offered for import into the United States from a foreign facility for which registration has not been submitted or renewed must be held at the port of entry for and may not be delivered to the importer, owner or consignee until the foreign facility is registered. More

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Expedited Inspection Process Offered to Food Processing Facilities by FDA

02 October 2018

The FDA is soliciting businesses with multiple food processing facilities that implement centrally-developed supply chain programmes and recall plans to volunteer for two-tier inspections. More

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Mainland China Could Continue to Export Siluriformes Fish to the United States under New Proposal

18 September 2018

Interested parties may submit input by 19 October on a FSIS proposal to amend its fish inspection regulations to list mainland China as a country eligible to export Siluriformes fish and fish products to the United States. If this action is finalised, mainland China will be able to continue to export these products to the U.S. market. More

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Fruit and Vegetable Import Approval Process Revised

17 September 2018

APHIS has issued a final rule that effective 15 October will amend its regulations to provide for the approval of all new fruits and vegetables for importation into the United States using a notice-based process. This rule will also remove the region- or commodity-specific phytosanitary requirements currently found in the regulations. More

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CBP Preparing to Implement New Requirements for Imports of Shrimp and Abalone

17 September 2018

CBP has issued an update on the forthcoming implementation of the reporting, recordkeeping and permitting requirements of the Seafood Import Monitoring Program for shrimp and abalone species originating from both wild capture fisheries and aquaculture operations. More

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Processed Food and Beverages Industry in Hong Kong

10 September 2018

In the first half of 2018, Hong Kong’s total exports of processed food and beverages increased by 19%, reaching HK$37.1 billion. Chinese mainland was the largest export market for Hong Kong’s processed food and beverages (accounting for 36% of the total), followed by Taiwan (27%). More

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