MAY 2002
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...INTOUCH...
Monthly Updates on Government Action Affecting Food Labels
May 3, 2002
Brought to you by The Food Consulting Company
Your source for food label help
http://www.foodlabels.com
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Greetings! This month INTOUCH welcomes 200 new sub-
scribers. Many are clients of The Food Consulting
Company.
Our mission is to make accurate labels a breeze.
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Supplement Industry Called to Better
Self-Regulate
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Federal Trade Commissioner Sheila F. Anthony called on
the
dietary supplement industry to institute more and
better self-
regulation. While speaking to the Food and Drug Law
Conference in Washington, D.C., Anthony said
misleading or
unsubstantiated claims in dietary supplement
advertising
constitute a large and growing part of the Federal
Trade
Commission's (FTC) enforcement agenda. The Commission
has brought over 60 law enforcement actions in the
past five
years challenging false or unsubstantiated claims, and
many
more are pending. Parties such as catalog marketers,
retailers,
infomercial producers, TV home shopping companies, and
expert or celebrity endorsers can also be liable for
their roles
in disseminating deceptive claims.
Read press release:
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2002/04/anthony.htm
Read Anthony's remarks:
http://www.ftc.gov/speeches/anthony/dssp2.htm
Author's Note: The FTC provides "Dietary Supplements:
An Advertising Guide for Industry":
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/dietsupp.htm
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FSIS Updates Information on Meat, Poultry, and Egg
Labeling
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The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the
United
States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has recently
updated
information on labeling meat, poultry, and egg
products. View
updates:
Ten Most Commonly Asked Questions
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/larc/TenQuestions.htm
Labeling Situations that Can Not Have a Temporary
Approval
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/larc/No_Temp_Lab.htm
Extraordinary Circumstances -- Procedures for
Evaluating
Labeling, when there is an unforeseeable
impediment to
movement of meat or poultry product AND a
temporary label
approval would remove the impediment.
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/larc/Extra.htm
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Government and Private Enterprise Help With Organic
Labeling
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The National Organic Program (NOP) has recently posted
answers to frequently asked questions about the
labeling of
organic products, and the Food Safety and Inspection
Service
(FSIS) has done the same specifically for organic meat
and
poultry. Natural Foods Merchandiser (NFM)*, a monthly
online
publication, is midway through a ten-part series
informing the
food and organic industry of the NOP requirements.
Read NOP Q&A:
http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop/nop2000/nop2/FAQ.htm
choose
Subpart D.
Read FSIS Q&A:
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/larc/FSISRespons.htm
Access NFM series:
http://www.newhope.com/nfm-online/nfm_backs/may_02/news5.cfm
* Natural Foods Merchandiser is published monthly by
New Hope
Natural Media, a division of Penton Media, Inc.
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FYI TIP: Beginning October 21, 2002, all food
products that
are sold, labeled, or represented as organic must be
in
compliance with NOP standards. The Food Consulting
Company will review labels for organic products to
assure
compliance with NOP standards as well as USDA, FDA,
and FTC regulations.
© Food Consulting Company, 2002. |