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Making clear its intent to correct food labeling violations, FDA issued warning letters to 17 food manufacturers last week regarding 22 products said to be making unauthorized health claims. The involved companies, including Gerber (Fremont, MI), Beech-Nut (Florida, NY), and Nestle (Vevey, Switzerland), will have 15 days to inform FDA of how they will correct their labels. On the same day, Commissioner of food and drugs Margaret Hamburg, MD, addressed the industry in an open letter, stating her commitment to improving food labeling practices.

FDA is fired up about food safety. Companies should ensure their products can stand the heat. 'Ensuring the safety of FDA-regulated products is a shared responsibility"and the FDA is ready to do its share.' Margaret Hamburg made this pledge last August in one of her first speeches as the new Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner. If the first several months of 2010 are any indication, FDA has not relaxed on its promise to make food safety a priority.

Those who knowingly distribute any tainted food product could soon face criminal charges in the state of Georgia. In a 142-20 vote today, the Georgia House passed a food-safety bill that, in addition to levying a $20,000 fine, would make distributing tainted food a crime. Those who broke the law would face up to 20 years in prison. The move to tighten food safety was spurred by the 2008 nationwide salmonella outbreak that stemmed from Peanut Corp....s of America...s processing plant in Blakely, GA.

With talk of taxing sugary foods such as sodas at a high, a study published in the March 8 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine indicates that a price hike, such as a tax, on unhealthy foods may cause may cause adults to consumer fewer of those foods. From 1986 to 2006, the study assessed the dietary habits of 5,115 young adults ages 18 to 30. Over the 20-year period, researchers found that a 10% price increase was associated with a 7% decrease in the amount of calories consumed from soda and a 12% decrease in calories consumed from pizza.

By Justin J. Prochnow, Greenberg Traurig LLP FDA published a new Draft Guidance, entitled 'Factors that Distinguish Liquid Dietary Supplements from Beverages, Considerations Regarding Novel Ingredients, and Labeling for Beverages and Other Conventional Foods,' on December 3.

Decas Botanical Synergies LLC (Carver, MA) has obtained Korean Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) approval for a health claim of supporting urinary health for PACran, its cranberry powder. PACran is a clinically supported and proanthocyanidin-standardized cranberry powder. The supplier says that the approval is the first from KFDA for a health food product for urinary health.

Morre-Tec Industries and its Extract & Ingredients Ltd. division have received ISO 9001:2008 certification. The company is a manufacturer and distributor of bromine intermediates, personal care and nutritional ingredients, and natural extracts. 'With ISO 9001:2008, CGMP compliance, and a HACCP [Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points] plan, we anticipate additional growth,' says president Len Glass.

Nutritional product manufacturer Natrol has been certified by the Natural Products Association...s CGMP program. Natrol...s line includes brands such as MRI, Prolab, Promensil, and Trinovin.

Senator John McCain (R-AZ) held a press conference last week introducing the Dietary Supplement Safety Act of 2010. The proposed legislation, which has been cosponsored by Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND), would amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), making a host of changes to operations of dietary supplement industry.

Newly proposed legislation would require FDA to step up research on nanotechnology. The Nanotechnology Safety Act of 2010 would give FDA $25 million between 2011 through 2015 to assess the health and safety implications of nanotechnology in 'everyday products,' and develop best practices for companies using nanotechnology.

In response to Senator John McCain's (R-Arizona) introduction of S. 3002, the Dietary Supplement Safety Act, Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) held a nationwide conference call today for representatives of dietary supplement companies. Hatch echoed concerns that the bill would create 'additional regulatory burdens' on responsible members of the dietary supplement industry and would curb the current consumer availability and choices of dietary supplements.

Following an audit that deemed the U.S. Department of Agriculture...s (USDA) National Organic Program (NOP) enforcement of organic products too lax in recent years, USDA...s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has promised to step up policing. AMS, which oversees the organic program, says that it will start increasing spot testing of companies operating under USDA...s certified-organic label, including companies that issue organic certification, to ensure compliance. It will also more strongly police products on store shelves that are labeled as organic.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published its final draft of dietary reference values (DRVs) for carbohydrates, dietary fiber, fats, and water. EFSA came to its final opinions on various nutrients after having met with nutrition experts from European Union member states, following two years of submitted opinions on nutrients. EFSA...s Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition, and Allergies, crafted the final opinions which include the following determinations:

On April 5, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that federal marshals had seized contract manufacturer Beehive Botanicals... (Haywood, WI) proprietary line of bee-derived consumer products. FDA said that the products were misbranded as drugs on several websites by claiming to diagnose, cure, and prevent diseases such as asthma, dermatitis, and ulcers.

ESM Technologies (Carthage, MO), a supplier of eggshell and eggshell membrane wellness ingredients, has received Good Manufacturing Practices certification from NSF International.

A new study on aloe vera gel confirms that aloe vera can be used in tooth gel to soothe tooth pain and control mouth bacteria, reports Examiner.com.

For those who suffer from birch pollen allergies, a recent study conducted in Finland may provide new information, according to Danisco Health & Nutrition (Danisco; Copenhagen).

In a review of various natural vitamin E products, ConsumerLab.com (White Plains, NY) found \"virtually all\" of two products to be composed of synthetic vitamin E. The report by ConsumerLab states that natural vitamin E is more expensive than the synthetic option.

Wisdom Natural Brands(Gilbert, AZ) received a 'no questions' letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in which an FDA expert panel of scientists granted Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) status to the whole leaf steviol glycosides (with rebaudioside A and stevioside) in the company...s SweetLeaf Sweetener... extract. SweetLeaf Sweetener is Wisdom...s all-natural, zero-calorie, zero-carb and zero-glycemic index stevia sweetener.

This week, HHS (Washington, DC) secretary Kathleen Sebelius and USDA (Washington, DC) secretary Tom Vilsack, announced the launch of a new government website at www.foodsafety.gov, according to the news agency Reuters. This website is a development of the White House...s Food Safety Working Group, which Sebelius and Vilsack are co-chairs of. The site will provide consumers and businesses with up-to-date information regarding food product recalls with the ability to receive information through email and phone alerts.

Fish oil distributor U.S. Omega, Inc. (U.S. Omega; Santa Ana, CA) began operations today with an official press release. The Southern California-based company has launched its premier product, Omega 3 Fish Oil 1000 mg soft gels, which will available in retail stores and for medical practitioners in retail-ready bottles or in bulk.

In response to Tuesday...s Senate Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs hearing, 'Body Building Products and Hidden Steroids: Enforcement Barriers,' the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN; Washington, DC) released a statement detailing its position on products containing anabolic steroids and sold as dietary supplements.

Grain Processing Corporation (GPC; Muscatine, IA) will showcase brand new products at the upcoming SupplySide West 2009 tradeshow in November. The company will present its TruBran oat fiber in a breakfast cookie. TruBran products offer high fiber sources in a variety of snacks, cereals, baked goods, and other applications.

A recent clinical study of Fast-C, a vitamin C ingredient, has confirmed the ingredient\'s quick absorption and retention rates. The study\'s findings were presented at the American College of Nutrition conference held last week in Orlando, FL.

Biocell Technology (Newport Beach, CA) announced the appointment of Joosang Park, PhD, as vice president of scientific affairs, earlier this week. Park, who has direct research experience at Harvard Medical School and Stanford University, will be responsible for all research and development affairs related to patented and branded nutraceutical ingredients; namely BioCell Collagen II and i-Sabi.

Novel Ingredient Services (West Caldwell, NJ and Los Angeles), a supplier of botanical and nutraceutical raw materials, has announced the hiring of Gisela Roufs and Yolanda Nargiella as west coast account executive and director of quality control, respectively.

The Natural Products Association (NPA; Washington, DC) has announced the hiring of John F. Gay as executive director and CEO, today. "After conducting a thorough search for someone with an outstanding background in advocacy and trade association leadership, John is the ideal person for the job,' said Pat Sardell, president of NPA. 'John has tremendous experience and a widely respected presence on Capitol Hill."

In the face of an economic recession and raids on companies selling tainted supplements, dietary supplement use appears to be steady, according to a survey conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs (Ipsos; Washington, DC) for the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN; Washington, DC).

KGK Synergize Inc. (KGK; London, ON) is proud to announce that its staff will be participating in the 'Climb of the Penguins' charity event in support of The United Way of London & Middlesex, Ontario (United Way of London) on November 5, 2009. The public charity event is a 'climb' of 427 steps to the top of One London Place, the 24-story skyscraper that houses KGK operations.

Next week at SupplySide West, Gencor Nutrients Inc. (Anaheim, CA) will present the results of a new human clinical study recently completed in Australia on male libido and Testofen, Gencor's proprietary extract of fenugreek. Gencor says that the study's results show Testofen to be a safe and effective product for increasing libido in healthy males.