The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938 was passed not long after the accidental deaths of 100 people who consumed an untested version of a popular drug. It turned out that an additive in the drug was responsible for the poisoning of the 100 individuals. This new law was developed in the interest of the consumer and focused on ensuring that people knew exactly what was in the products they purchased, and that the ingredients were safe. As the food industry has grown into a multi billion-dollar industry, the task of ensuring all ingredients are safe for consumption has become a bit more complicated. The law has been amended over the years in an attempt to address the thousands of new additives that have been developed. A result of attempting to streamline the process has been that companies are permitted to add certain types of ingredients to foods without premarket approval from the overloaded Food and Drug Administration. To put it simply, there are substances in our food that are completely unknown to the FDA (Nicole, 2013).
In depth regulation of food additives began in 1958 when Congress passed the Food Additives Amendment to the FD&C Act of 1938. This amendment required premarket approval of additives, and established safety standards. The amendment had the FDA rule how safe a product was, without consideration of benefits in order to truly keep the safety of the customer priority (FDA, 2011). The 1958 amendment also included the Delaney Clause, which bans any ingredient that has been shown to cause cancer in animals or humans at any dose. A separate amendment in 1960 required premarket approval for all color additives, synthetic and natural (Wirth, 1984). The FDA regulates colors separately from other additives. ...
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...gerous substances are studied, such as nanomaterials, and that no substances are allowed to “slip through the cracks.” Anyone can petition the FDA with concerns about a GRAS substance, color additive, or food additive. The most important thing to realize is that citizen action has been the most effective means for bringing about change and bringing awareness to the public.
Works Cited
Beil, L. (2011). The color of controversy. Science News, 180(5), 22-25.
FDA: No link between food colorings and hyperactivity in most children. (2011). Harvard Mental Health Letter, 28(1), 8.
Gleason, S. (2011, March 29). Artificial Food Dyes Scrutinized By FDA. Wall Street Journal - Eastern Edition. pp. D1-D2.
Nicole, W. (2013). Secret Ingredients. Environmental Health Perspectives, 121(4), A126-A133.
Wirth, D. A. (1984). FDA on Food Additives and Salt. Environment, 26(1), 3.
Just like the kid that buys a sugary cereal just because it has Spongebob Squarepants on it, or like the person that goes to Disneyland to have fun but at end of that day, they can buy a churro. Parents also need to take a action in this too, just because you kid gives you a temper tantrum doesn’t mean that you need to buy them the candy they want in order for them to stop crying, and parents should also be informed of the things that their kids are consuming at their schools. Food companies should market or promote the TINY WORDS on the back of their product that informs all of the substances they used to make the product, to the consumer. Just like they would promote their food products to get consumers. Think about these following questions: What will you do to be informed of the chemicals used on the products you and your family consumes? Is it worth buying just because it has your favorite characters, movie, or games on
Pomeranz, Jennifer L. "A Comprehensive Strategy To Overhaul FDA Authority For Misleading Food Labels." American Journal Of Law & Medicine 39.4 (2013): 617-647. Academic Search Complete. Web. 4 Apr. 2014.
The act of manufactures labeling of our foods products in terms of the ingredients a particular product contains and the nutritious facts is sometimes taken for granted, we often see the labels on our food products, but ignore them because we’re so used to seeing them in our daily lives. Surprisingly, food product labeling, specifically that pertaining to allergen warnings, were not always available to consumers until a government mandate in 2004 (FALCPA). I think part of the reason for such a lateness in regulation was due to a social stigma regarding allergies, that having them was some sort of natural selection and not an issue that should be taken care of. Another surprising notion I came across was that although there was no government regulation, manufactures of food products took a good amount of initiative in letting their consumers know of potential allergens in their products.
The momentum generated by the passage of the Meat Inspection Act helped secure the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act, which had been stalled in Congress since 1905. With these two pieces of legislation, the federal government took important steps to assure the public that the food they were eating met minimu...
Though his work had done wonders for the food we eat, is it accurate to say that the food produced after these laws were created is safe to consume? According to journalist, James Andrews: In 1994, Beef Products Inc. (BPI) CEO, “Eldon Roth, started developing a pH Enhancement System to reduce the number of pathogens in beef.” Which soon led to the introduction of Lean Finely Textured Beef (LFTB); and is known for another name, “pink slime” (Andrews). According to Josh Sanburn, below explains the creation of
This report will explain the current status of Lazar Sharipoff’s final report to Richard A. Durst, the chairman of the Food Advisory Committee for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This status report includes the relativity of labeling Genetically Engineered (GE) products to Richard, who the stakeholders are, disagreements among experts on GE products. The most interesting information Lazar has found so far, and what information he needs to complete his research.
To begin, the Federal Food and Drug Administration does not have the power to regulate supplements like it does with drugs. Once a product is out on the market, the FDA has to prove that it is dangerous or has illegal additives before it can be removed. The FDA has targeted around seventy tainted weight loss products after learning that they had been mixed with undeclared stimulants, diuretics, and antidepressants (Trebilcock 2). The Federal Food, and Drug, Administration is responsible for ensuring that the manufacturers of foods provide safe ingredients and the correct amount of dosages for their products.
About 10,000 diverse species of pigments and dyes are used in industries, which show that an annual use of almost 7×105 tonnes in world. Dyes are intractable and toxic materials, they oppose biological breakdown (Souza et al., 2007).
Tirrel, Meg. "FDA Delays Food Safety Regulations." Claim Journal. N.p., 20 Dec 2013. Web. 23 Jan 2014.
The federal government has a huge amount of power over America’s food and monitoring food safety. They have many rules and regulations that are required to be followed nationwide. The Delaney Clause of 1958, the regulation of genetically modified organisms and organic agriculture, and the Healthy and Hunger Free Kids Act are just a few of the many ways in which the government regulates the country’s food and the citizens that purchase and ultimately consume it.
The FDA regulates and monitors food safety in the US. Because food safety is a priority in this country, by law, factories are obligated to follow the needed steps to prevent any safety issues from occurring (FDA, 2015).
The initial wave of class action litigation filed against food manufacturers challenged a variety of claims, such as terms, “trans-fat free” and “all-natural” or “100 percent natural”, used to label products. See, e.g., Garrison v. Whole Food Market Inc., No. 13-05333 (N.D. Cal. Nov. 8, 2013). At the first outbreak of the food labeling lawsuits, plaintiffs’ bar initially attacked these suits with a variety of legal theories, but struggled to overcome common defenses, such as lack of standing, preemption, and primary jurisdiction. Furthermore, regulatory agencies, such as the U.S Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”), have continued to refrain from providing sufficient guidance to food manufacturers, specifically as to what constitutes “natural” or “all natural.”
These synthetic dyes are preferred more than any other dye by companies for the intensity of brightness of color and the uniformity it gives the food unlike some natural dyes would give. These dyes are derived from other food like grapes, potent fruit, spices like saffron, paprika and vegetables like carrots, beets and algae. Of course the natual dyes can also cause a discussion if they are safe or not. In 1998 some natural food dyes were made out of female beetles to replace unnatural red dye. (stevens, Beil)
According to the The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, a dye is a “synthetic or natural coloring used to color various materials.” Today, many dyes are used in foods all around the world. As of January 2014, the United States Food and Drug Administration certifies nine different dyes-Blue 1, 2; Green 3; Red 3, 5, 6, 40; Yellow 5 and 6 (Beil). Blue dyes are usually found in ice creams, blueberry-flavored foods, and baked goods. Red dyes are often in candies, cookies, and chips. Cheeses and buttered treats contain yellow dyes while green dyes are not as common in food products but are in fruit-flavored candies. Natural colored foods could be strawberries or ketchup. Even though artificial colorings are allowed, the amount used in foods is limited. European countries have conducted research and banned all dyes from being added to their foods. These countries believe dyes pose as a health threat. Some citizens from the United States have said dyes are not necessary in foods and others wish that dyes will still be used in their favorite foods. However you look at it, dyes being used in foods is a very controversial health problem today.
At this point, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has started increasing regulations for prepared foods, however, only a few years ago they had some vague laws concerning these foods and companies could get away a lot more than they can now. One of the reasons for this was that the FDA was more concerned about the certain effects store bought food had on people and were less concerned about misleading labels on packaging. However, they seem to have become more aware of the fact that a lot of companies are tricking consumers into believing that their product is the best, and the FDA has started to regulate companies that have misleading advertisements.