Free to consume

I expect lawyers to use words carefully.  And I expect the ABA Journal to use words carefully, even when the words are written by a freelance writer who is not a lawyer.  Imagine my disappointment and surprise, then, to read that the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund had sued FDA and HHS claiming that "the various federal regulations that ban the sale and consumption of [non-pasteurized] milk violate constitutional rights to privacy, travel and due process."

In fact, no federal regulation prohibits the consumption of raw milk.  For that matter, no state regulation prohibits the consumption of raw milk.  It is the sale of raw milk in some places or the placing of it into interstate commerce that is banned under various state and federal regulations.  The federal regulation challenged in the lawsuit is 21 CFR 1240.3, which provides, in part,

that "no person shall cause to be delivered into interstate commerce or shall sell or otherwise distribute” any milk or milk product “in final package form for direct human consumption” unless the milk or milk product has first been “pasteurized or is made from dairy ingredients (milk or milk products) that have all been pasteurized.”

This language is taken from FCLDF's complaint, which gets this part right, at least. There are very, very few acts of consumption that are actually prohibited.  Drinking raw milk is not one of them. 

(Disclaimer: I am a vegan. I do not drink milk.  This is not a rant about raw milk; it is about inaccuracy.)

Food and zoning

I often tell people that Food Law involves all sorts of different areas of law.  Usually I forget to mention zoning. This article is about zoning.  I also tell people that any lawyer can learn any area of law, even tax.  This article is not about tax, but it IS about a lawyer successfully negotiating an area of law that is not his specialty.  Way to go, Paul Hletko!  From the ABA Journal:

Legal Spirits: Attorney Distills His Legal Acumen to Steer Career Shift

Patent attorney Paul Hletko . . .wanted to open his distillery within walking distance of his home to be close to his family. But he faced one significant problem: Evanston is famously dry. The suburb just north of Chicago is where the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union was started in 1874 (Hletko named Few for Francis Elizabeth Willard, the former president of the WTCU). Alcohol wasn’t served in restaurants in Evanston until the 1970s, and there are still no bars. But that didn’t faze Hletko, who used his training as an attorney to get Evanston’s laws changed so he could produce alcohol there.

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And salad too -- more recalls

Big day for recalls, just before the Fourth of July.  This time it's sprouts, lettuce, and sprouts.  Here are the details:

Banner Mountain Sprouts in California is voluntarily recalling some of its organic products because of possible contamination with salmonella.

Dole Fresh Vegetables is recalling about a thousand bags of bagged greens for possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes.   The salads were distributed in six U.S. states (Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia).

Leasa Industries Co., Inc., is recalling alfalfa sprouts because of possible contamination with salmonella.  While the recall notice does not quite specifically say so, this recall seems to be limited to Florida.

So that's two salmonellas and a Listeria all in green leafy things.  I know sprouts are grown in conditions ideal for pathogen growth, but how does the Salmonella get in there in the first place?  Salmonella "are microscopic living creatures that pass from the feces of people or animals to other people or other animals," according to the USDA.  So again, my questoin, how does Salmonella get from the feces to the sprouts in the first place?  This simply should not be happening.

Raw milk and a queso fresco recall

Food Safety News has posted another essay about the dangers of raw milk.  This piece comes from the International Food Information Council Foundation, a body which purports to be objective and unbiased, but which seems to speak for industry.  On the IFIC Blog, Food Insight, for example, are pieces in support of genetic engineering and approved herbicides and pesticides as solutions to weed and pest problems.  See In the Weeds -- – What’s a Minor Annoyance in Your Flower Beds is a Major Headache for Crop Farmers.

So it is no surprise that this was the source of a piece called Raw Milk: Clear Risks, No Benefits.  I do not promote any benefits of raw milk.  I am a vegan and do not use any dairy products myself. Humans do not need dairy products, and most of the world's population gets by just fine without them.  And while I think people should be free to consume whatever they please (and for the most part, this is true), I'm not sure adults should be free to feed children whatever they please.  But articles which deny all validity to the claims of raw milk proponents no longer seem credible to me. 

There are certainly risks. Milk can become contaminated, and it does.  Just this morning I received a notice of a queso fresco recall in New York state due to a positive test for Listeria monocytogenes.  Queso fresco is a soft cheese made from milk and aged not long at all (if at all). It can be made from pasteurized milk, but is often made from raw milk where that is permitted.  I have never tried it.

Commercial beef starts on small farms

From National Public Radio,

Unlike Chicken And Pork, Beef Still Begins With Small Family Ranches

. . .the cattle industry is still populated by mom-and-pop operations, at least at the calf-raising level. . . .

 But that small size is true only at one end of the cattle industry. In simple terms, the business is bottle-shaped — large at the bottom and narrowing to the neck, where just four companies control the majority of the market. . . .

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Food Safety Standards for Canteloupe

From Food Safety News:

California cantaloupes will soon come with the assurance that they meet strict food safety standards, thanks to a mandatory statewide program that includes both announced and unannounced inspections and certification under government oversight.

The plan is for the program to begin this season, which lasts into the fall, but approval of an audit checklist by the U.S. Department of Agriculture is still forthcoming. The goal is to get that done as quickly as possible.

A historic move, this is the state's first mandatory food safety program implemented by a commodity board. . . .

 

read more

Now Reading: Eat and Run, by vegan ultramarathoner, Scott Jurek

So far, Eat and Run is an engaging read.  The story moves along well and is interrupted occasionally by recipes that look easy enough.  Here's an excerpt from a recent interview on boston.com:

Q. When did you change to a vegan diet?

A.I was not raised vegan. I was raised hunting and fishing in Minnesota, and ate meat and potatoes. Corn, carrots, and peas were really the only vegetables I ate as a kid, and in college, working part time I ate junk food and fast food. Then, after reading Dr. Andrew Weil’s book "Spontaneous Healing, realized it’s really about a whole picture of nutrition and the maintenance of your body’s healing system.

And a trailer for the book:

FSN: Red Meat Allergy Caused by Ticks

Sometimes it's just a matter of asking the right question.  From Food Safety News:

Red Meat Allergy Likely Caused by Tick Bites

by Gretchen Goetz | Jun 26, 2012

A few years ago, doctors in the southern United States started noticing an odd phenomenon: people were becoming allergic to red meat, seemingly out of the blue. What in the environment was causing this response? The answer, surprisingly, turned out to be ticks.  

. . . 

Then, in August of 2009, the answer quite literally came to Platts-Mills when his own IgE to alpha-gal levels suddenly spiked days after he was bitten repeatedly by ticks while on a hike in the woods.  

Out of curiosity, the researchers began asking patients if they had been bitten by ticks before their meat allergy developed.  

"Once we opened up that line of questioning, it just blew up on us," Commins told Food Safety News.

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USDA: Pesticide Levels are Safe; Eat your vegetables!

USDA recently released its 2010 annual summary of pesticide labels.  The conclusion is that pesticide levels are safe.

Statement from USDA:
“Age-old advice remains the same: eat more fruits and vegetables and wash them before you do
so.  Health and nutrition experts encourage the consumption of fruits and vegetables in every
meal as part of a healthy diet. This message is affirmed in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans
released last year, in USDA’s My Plate, as well as federal nutrition guidance that urges people to
make half their plate fruits and vegetables.”  

Since its inception, the program has tested 105 commodities including fresh and processed fruit
and vegetables, meat and poultry, grains, catfish, rice, specialty products, and water.  The data is
a valuable tool for consumers, food producers and processors, chemical manufacturers,
environmental interest groups, and food safety organizations. 

A commentary on Food Safety News notes that good news such as this gets little attention.  You can see the 2010 Summary here. The report itself is about 200 pages.  In addition to the summary, USDA publishes information for consumers regarding the pesticide summary on the Pesticide Data Program website.

Posted by Donna M. Byrne, William Mitchell College of Law

Food Safety Reform in Canada

From Food Safety News:  Harper Government Wants Tougher Food Safety Law for Canada

BY DAN FLYNN | JUN 08, 2012

The federal government of Canada under Prime Minister Stephen Harper of the Conservative Party is pushing for a tough new food safety law with greater penalties for violators and more unified enforcement powers.

Harper's government Thursday introduced the Safe Foods for Canadians Act, Bill S-11, to overhaul Canada's food inspection system.

 . . .

Read more

 

Fire retardants in peanut butter?!

From Huff Post Green: "In a new study of popular products purchased from grocery stores in Dallas, Texas, researchers found that nearly half of the sampled peanut butter and cold cuts, as well as turkey, fish, beef and other fatty foods, contained traces of a flame retardant commonly used in the foam insulation of building walls."

This is not about an additive that happens to also be a flame retardant.  This article is about substances that get into food that have no business being there.  It is chilling.

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Posted by Donna M. Byrne, William Mitchell College of Law

Carrageenan in organic foods

Cornucopia Institute has just published a Shopping Guide to Avoiding Organic Foods with Carrageenan , recently approved for use certified organic foods. According to Cornucopia:

Carrageenan, a seaweed derivative used as a stabilizer and thickener in foods, has been found to be contaminated with a substance (degraded carrageenan) that is classified by the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer as a “possible human carcinogen.” Research funded by the National Institutes of Health raises serious concerns about harmful effects of carrageenan as an inflammatory agent on the human gastrointestinal tract.

The shopping guide lists products that do contain carrageenan side by side with similar products that do not.

In addition to the shopping guide, Cornucopia has published a detailed report of the recent National Organic Standards Board held in Albuquerque, NM, earlier this month (May 2012).  The report describes conflicts of interest and a strong role for corporate organics. 

Wildfires Rage at New Mexican Organic Meetings

 ALBUQUERQUE, NM: Passions flared at the semiannual meeting of the USDA’s National Organic Standards Board (NOSB), last week in Albuquerque, New Mexico, as the federal advisory panel approved a number of synthetic ingredients for use in organics, over the objection of the majority of industry participants. 

The meeting came on the heels of the release of a report by an organic industry watchdog, The Cornucopia Institute, outlining corrupt practices in the constitution of the board and their past approval processes. The NOSB, created by Congress, is legally mandated to ensure that no substances are allowed in organic foods that pose a threat to human health or the environment.

keep reading

Posted by Donna M. Byrne, William Mitchell College of Law

NYC proposes to ban super size drinks

The headline reads: NYC proposes ban on sale of oversize sodas.  Naturally, my first thought was, "uh oh.  Will this apply to beer too?" (I often refer to light beer as "barley pop" so making this connection was quite reasonable.)

According to the Associated Press article by Samantha Gross, New York City's "proposal would impose a 16-ounce limit on sugary drinks sold at restaurants, movie theaters, sports venues and street carts. It would apply to bottled drinks — many plastic soda bottles contains 20 ounces — as well as fountain sodas. "

The thinking is that people consume the serving amount handed to them.  There is some validity to this assumption.  In his book Mindless Eating, Brian Wansink describes food psychology research showing that the size of the container affects the amount one consumes.  We really cannot tell when we've had enough without someone telling us. (Aside: Mindless Eating is a fascinating and entertaining read!)

The New York City proposal has exceptions for grocery stores and will not apply to alcoholic beverages, so I guess my beer is OK.  (And now I am wondering about those non-alcoholic beers . . . )

Here is the New York Times article on this proposal: New York Plans to Ban Sale of Big Sizes of Sugary Drinks

Posted by Donna M. Byrne, William Mitchell College of Law

"Natural" Orange Juice

I drink orange juice every day, but I am not a fresh-squeezed connoisseur.  So it was with some interest that I read reports that those "Not-from-concentrate" orange juices are not so close to fresh squeezed after all. But does that mean they're not "natural"?
According to Alissa Hamilton, author of Squeezed: What You Don't Know About Orange Juice, that fresh orange juice is de-oxygenated for long term storage.  This process deprives the OJ of its flavor, so flavor packets are added when it is reassembled.  The flavor is made from real oranges.  According to a short article also by Hamilton,

"When the juice is stripped of oxygen it is also stripped of flavor providing chemicals. Juice companies therefore hire flavor and fragrance companies, the same ones that formulate perfumes for Dior and Calvin Klein, to engineer flavor packs to add back to the juice to make it taste fresh. Flavor packs aren’t listed as an ingredient on the label because technically they are derived from orange essence and oil." 

So the question I started with -- is this natural? There is no definition of "natural" for food labels, but there IS litigation about it.   From the Associated Press:

Lawsuits slam 'natural' claims from OJ to chips, by Jessica Gresko

WASHINGTON — Orange juice maker Tropicana markets its brand as fresh from the grove, but a series of lawsuits nationwide claim the company's juice is so heavily processed it shouldn't be called "natural."

In approximately 20 lawsuits, the first one filed in New Jersey, lawyers claim the company adds chemically engineered "flavor packs" to its juice, making it taste the same year-round. On Thursday, lawyers came together in Washington to argue before a panel of judges about where the lawsuits should be heard as a group. . . .
keep reading 

Posted by Donna M. Byrne, William Mitchell College of Law