Regulatory

A bill to levy tougher regulations on the U.S. cosmetics industry was introduced to Congress in late July. The Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010 (H.R. 5786) calls for a list of ingredients prohibited from use in cosmetics, new recall authority for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), randomized postmarket cosmetics testing, and new registration fees for companies, among other measures, according to Representative Jan Schakowski (D-IL), who introduced the bill together with Ed Markey (D-MA) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI).

As part of the European Food Safety Authority's (EFSA; Parma, Italy) ongoing series of public consultations on health claims guidance, the agency has announced that it will hold a meeting on scientific requirements for gut health and immune function health claims on December 2, 2010, in Amsterdam.

TSI Health Sciences’ (Missoula, MT) Pureflex chondroitin sulfate sodium line has obtained self-affirmed Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) status for use in food and beverages. The company has also obtained self-affirmed GRAS status for its Pureflex glucosamine line. The GRAS affirmation for chondroitin was conducted by a panel of independent experts, which deemed the Pureflex products, derived from bovine, avian, marine, and porcine sources, safe when added to conventional foods and beverages.

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FDA has been faced with evaluating and regulating an increasing range of health-related product claims from food and supplement companies. Does the agency have the tools to judge whether proposed claims are valid?

The Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act of 2010 is the most recent initiative in Washington that could affect nationwide food standards for children. Announced by Representative George Miller (D-CA) on June 10, the bill calls for enhancing and expanding access to school food programs and “…for the first time, establish[ing] nutrition standards for all foods sold in schools,” according to Miller’s Web site.

The People’s Republic of China recently approved omega-3 fish oil and fish oil powder as Novel Food Ingredients in food and beverages for consumers of all ages, according to Ocean Nutrition Canada (ONC; Dartmouth, NS), the supplier of MEG-3 brand omega-3 EPA/DHA food and dietary supplements.

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Nearly 38% of American adults and 12% of children use some form of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), according to the latest statistics by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. It's good to see, then, that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that President Obama signed into law on March 23 did not leave out this important category of medicine.

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When the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) slapped General Mills with a stern warning letter over its Cheerios heart-health claims last May, it signaled the start of increased scrutiny by the agency of misleading food labels.

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Originally Published <a data-cke-saved-href="/sites/beta.nutritionaloutlook.com/files/articlelist.php?issueid=57" href="/sites/beta.nutritionaloutlook.com/files/articlelist.php?issueid=57" "="">NO January/February 2010

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Originally Published <a data-cke-saved-href="/sites/beta.nutritionaloutlook.com/files/articlelist.php?issueid=57" href="/sites/beta.nutritionaloutlook.com/files/articlelist.php?issueid=57" "="">NO January/February 2010BIOTHERA FORMS ADVISORY BOARD

With steroid issues making serious headlines throughout the year, the September Senate hearing on "hidden steroids" in dietary supplements could prove to be a turning point. On September 29, the Senate Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs convened the hearing, Body-Building Products and Hidden Steroids: Enforcement Barriers.

Sharfstein Doesn't Rule Out DSHEA Change FDA principal deputy commissioner Joshua Sharfstein, MD, told the dietary supplements industry in October that FDA has no immediate plans to consider reforms to the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA). However, he did not rule out future change. "Our priority is to use the tools of DSHEA," he said. "At the same time, I can't say if that's going to be enough. Industry has to be open to other solutions if we think they're needed."