foodlawlatest

[foodlawlatest]

Where's my coconut?!

FDA revised its food allergen labeling guidance. On 7th January 2025, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) revised for the fifth time its food allergen labeling guidance. As a guidance, this document is not amending the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004 (FALCPA) but is updating the FDA thinking on its interpretation. However the FDA view is changing substantially:…

[foodlawlatest]

Clarity

This is an article from my LinkedIn newsletter “Food in the Spotlight“ “In a word deluged by irrelevant information, clarity is power”. This is the powerful first line of 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, by Y. N. Harari. The book is dense with thoughtful conversations and an essential guide to understanding the political and cultural challenges of our time, but the essence is in this short…

[foodlawlatest]

Trump effect

Donald Trump is back in office. Personally and especially as a European – due to the complex geopolitical landscape – I look at this with a mix of preoccupation and curiosity. Now the EU should make decisive steps forward in terms of unity of intent and institutional reforms, or the challenges ahead might be difficult to overcome. What I can say to my Democratic friends, is that in Italian…

[foodlawlatest]

“There is nothing permanent, except change.” - Heraclitus

You may not realize it, but you are familiar with Heraclitus, a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher. It was the one to which is attributed the saying: “everything flows” ( πάντα ῥεῖ in ancient Greek). He expresses his thoughts through practical examples, such as: “Nobody can enter the same river twice”. However, modern folks often misunderstand such quotes. The phrase “everything flows”, as…

[foodlawlatest]

🌱 New Allergen Exception in EU Reg. 1169/2011 for mustard and products thereof

📣 EU Commission Delegated Regulation 2024/2512 is adding an exception to the declaration as an allergen of certain products, amending Reg. EU 1169/2011. In particular, see art. 1:“Mustard and products thereof, except: behenic acid with a minimum of 85 % of purity and obtained after two distillation steps used in the manufacturing of the emulsifiers E 470a, E 471 and E 477;’”Foods legally placed…

[foodlawlatest]

PFAS Immunotoxicity: EFSA Project's Novel Methodological Approaches for Safety Assessment

🔍Food safety updateThe European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has launched a project to explore the immunotoxicity of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), widely used chemicals that pose potential health risks and are under increasing regulatory scrutiny in several countries.Epidemiological studies have shown that PFAS can potentially cause immunosuppression, increase the risk of infections, and…

[foodlawlatest]

Build Quality

This is a re-post of our "Food in the Spotlight" LInkedIn newsletter, where I dwell about the idea of quality in the food business, life and relationships.

This article is a re-post of my LinkedIn newsletter “Food in the Spotlight”. You can subscribe: here. “When you are not cultivating quality, you are essentially cultivating sloppiness” (J. Waitzkin) Yesterday, I was looking at my younger child. I went to the summer camp to see his improvements in swimming. I was a water polo player and swimming instructor, so he asked for me for a few…

[foodlawlatest]

WTO report on "Illicit trade in food and food fraud"

World Trade Organization (WTO) just published an interesting report titled “Illicit trade in food and food fraud“.Key elements/inputs:🛡️ WTO role: The WTO agreements provide a legal framework for combating illicit trade in food.🔍 hashtag#FoodSafety: Emphasis on modern food safety legislation to prevent fraud.🤝 Collaboration: The importance of public-private and international cooperation is…

[foodlawlatest]

Food law pills are back - Food for thought on recalls

Food law pills videos are back on our YouTube channel. Share your thoughts about the harmonization of food recall procedures in the comments and please, if you want to support our work, hit the like button on the video and on the channel.

[foodlawlatest]

More smoke flavourings soon banned in the EU

📣 Fresh from the press! See the EU Commission newsroom. ⚠ Member States have endorsed a proposal from the EU Commission to not renew the authorisation of 8 smoke flavourings for food. 📅 The Regulation will set out different phase-out periods to give time for producers and operators to adapt to the new rules.When used to replace traditional smoking (e.g. hams, fish, cheeses) the phase-out period…

[foodlawlatest]

Navigating the Regulatory Landscape of Beauty Supplements at TOSLA Nutricosmetics show

In this new episode of the Nutricosmetics 2030 Show, host Matic Batagelj sits down with me, diving deep into the complex world of beauty supplement regulations, challenges, and opportunities within the industry, touching on topics from health and beauty claims to the intricacies of marketing within legal boundaries. HIGHLIGHTS: 00:00: Introduction to the complex world of beauty supplement…

[foodlawlatest]

EU wine labels: how to label the ingredients list?

Since December 2023, the labeling of wines has undergone significant changes following the introduction of Regulation (EU) 2021/2117. These changes have made it mandatory to include ingredients and a nutrition declaration in the labeling of wine products, necessitating a reassessment of labeling practices in the wine sector. Concerning the indication of ingredients, as stipulated in point 38 of…

[foodlawlatest]

Chatting with Chat-GPT4 on EVOO frauds

Yesterday, I spent 15 minutes chatting with the most well-known AI around food fraud in the extra virgin olive oil sector. The conversation will include elements around the prices of such oil, since Italian surveys show that now – at 9-10 €/liter – consumers are shifting to oil mixes and seeds oil to absorb the impact on their wallets. In this article, you can read our entire chat, so that you…

[foodlawlatest]

Navigating the New Landscape: FDA's Upcoming Food Regulations and Their Impact on Manufacturers

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plays a pivotal role in ensuring the safety and proper labeling of food products in the United States. The latest update on its website details a range of regulations under development that will significantly impact the food industry. These upcoming regulations are designed to enhance transparency, improve food safety standards, and provide clearer guidance…

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"And here I go again..."

This article is a re-post of my LinkedIn newsletter “Food in the Spotlight”. You can subscribe: here. 2023 is behind us. For me, it has been a year of significant changes, both personally and for our business. Let’s start with the first topic. I turned 40. I faced both family issues and, as usual, business challenges. Due to the first, I had to be separated from my kids for a long time, which…

[foodlawlatest]

Recent fraudulent practices on wine, oil, and packaging

In this article, a few hints about interesting frauds discovered in the wine sector in Italy, extra virgin olive oil in Germany, and food contact materials in China. The links lead mostly to Italian sources, taken from our weekly paid newsletter FoodLegis Plus, but here is a brief description of the cases for our readers. Agricultura.it reported a major seizure of 8,000 liters of counterfeit…

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Food Orbit in Frankfurt - Take away messages

First of all, for those of you who have not noticed on LinkedIn, the question is: what’s “Food-Orbit”?! Food-Orbit is our last endeavor, started at the end of 2022 with the aim to become the one-stop shop where legal, scientific, and communication expertise cross pathways to solve the problems surrounding the food supply chain. Together with Bert Popping, Carmen Diaz-Amigo, and Francesco…