Liz On Food

"Lifestyle Nutritionists" Mitchell and Webb Strike Again

For your entertainment, presenting "lifestyle nutritionists" Mitchell and Webb. Thanks to fellow RD Dave Grotto for the heads up on Facebook.

FDA Seizes $1.5 Million of Food and Ingredients from American Mercantile

Acting on behalf of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), U.S. Marshals seized on May 7, 2009, more than $1.5 million worth of food products, including herbs and botanicals, stored under filthy conditions at the American Mercantile Corporation of Memphis, Tenn.

In March, FDA investigators found extensive rodent and insect infestation throughout the company’s warehouse, and subsequently, the company failed to correct these problems. Acting on a warrant issued by the United Stated District Court in Memphis, U.S. Marshals seized all FDA-regulated food products exposed to rodent and insect contamination at the facility, because the items were held under insanitary conditions.

We may be seeing related recalls from dietary supplements and herbal tea brands, though the FDA has no reports of illness associated with consumption of the products. American Mercantile stores and processes food ingredients, which are then sold to and used in the dietary supplement and herbal tea industries. The seized articles include food products, such as sarsaparilla, spearmint leaves, cornstarch, sweet orange peels powder, licorice powder, sassafras, and salt. The company's site indicates the supplier offers certified organic ingredients as well as kosher-certified products.

 The get-tough action comes on the heels of an extensive Salmonella outbreak in 2008-2009 related to unsanitary conditions at peanut processing facilities owned by the Peanut Corporation of America. Attorney-at-Law indicates that outbreak caused about 600 illnesses, nine deaths and one of the largest food recalls in U.S. history, involving some 3,200 products.

Of the American Mercantile seizure, Michael Chappell, the FDA’s acting associate commissioner for regulatory affairs, says, “FDA will not tolerate a company’s failure to adequately control and prevent filth in its facility. The FDA is prepared to use whatever legal means are necessary and appropriate to keep potentially contaminated products out of the marketplace.”

And expect the FDA to continue strengthening its food safety protection efforts, particularly in the area of prevention. The Obama administration plans to revamp and bolster the FDA's capabilities, which have weakened signficantly in recent years due to federal budget constraints even while the food supply chain has become increasingly global. Part of the President Obama's fiscal year (FY) 2010 budget includes $3.2 billion for the FDA, a 19 percent increase over the current FDA fiscal year budget. The FY 2010 request, which covers the period of Oct. 1, 2009, through Sept. 30, 2010, includes increases of $295.2 million in budget authority and $215.4 million in industry user fees. The FDA budget proposes two major initiatives for FY 2010: Protecting America’s Food Supply and Safer Medical Products. The Protecting America's Food Supply initiative, with a $259.3 million budget, invests in priorities that strengthen the safety and security of the supply chain for foods. Supply chain safety and security relies on the principle of risk-based prevention with verification, and the FDA initiative will focus on both foreign and domestic sources of ingredients, components, and finished products at all points in the supply chain, including their eventual consumer use.

Update May 17, 2009: NutraIngredients reports that "the U.S. dietary supplement industry is facing a massive media onslaught" bringing attention to the regulatory weaknesses of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA).

Stevia - Dietary Supplement, Now Food Ingredient

A friend recently asked me about stevia, which is a naturally sweet plant native to Central and South America. In the United States, stevia has been marketed as a dietary supplement for years because, until recently, it did not have approval as for use as a food ingredient. However, a purified extract of stevia, rebaudioside A (trade name Rebiana), was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in December 2008 as a general purpose sweetener for use in foods. Truvia is the consumer brand for a food sweetener made from Rebiana - being marketed by Cargill and Coca-Cola. PureVia is the consumer brand for Whole Earth Sweetener Company's Rebiana, which is a supplier to PepsiCo. Both Truvia and PureVia are available as sugar packets, similar to other non-nutritive sweeteners. Several low-calorie and calorie-reduced beverages have been launched under Sprite, Odwalla, SoBe and Tropicana brands.

The plant Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni is a member of the Compositae (astor or sunflower) family, which includes marigolds, dandelions, chrysanthemums, zinnias, artichokes, lettuce and endive. The sweetness in stevia comes from glycosides (technically a molecule comprised of a sugar attached to another component) that are natural constituents of the plant's leaves. In fact, stevia leaves contain at least ten different glycosides, the major ones being stevioside and rebaudioside A. Of note, the FDA food ingredient approval is for the purified extract of rebaudioside A; however, dietary supplement versions of stevia may contain other glycosides.

The regulatory history of stevia is an interesting tale. Steviol glycosides are used to sweeten a number of foods in China, Japan, and South America. Also, Stevia leaves are used to prepare sweetened tea in numerous countries. However, concerns about safety prompted the FDA to ban imports of stevia from 1991 to 1994, which ruled the herbal sweetener an "unsafe food additive." The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994 formed the impetus for the FDA to permit stevia to be marketed as a dietary supplement (not as a food additive). In 1999, the European Commission banned the use of stevia in foods marketed in the European Union. But the World Health Organization published an extensive literature review of stevioside and rebaudioside A in 2006 that concluded stevioside and rebaudioside A are not toxic or carcinogenic at levels consumed by humans. The report also noted that stevioside has shown some evidence of pharmacological effects in patients with hypertension or with type-2 diabetes but indicated more research is needed. And the potential therapeutic aspects may play into a future regulatory challenge. According to a March 16, 2009, Food Product Design article, "A Citizen’s Petition was filed with FDA in late 2008 to prevent the addition of steviol glycosides to foods because of the drug status alleged for the sweeteners. [The] FDA is also attempting to implement recent legislation that more broadly prohibits the addition of drugs to foods. FDA’s resolutions of these two matters could impact the future food uses of steviol glycosides."

In the mean time, the approval of Rebiana for use as a general purpose sweetener offers another non-nutritive sweetener option for U.S. consumers.