CCC’s Monthly Digest serves to inform its members of developments from the previous month concerning topics of interest to the Council. Below are highlights which cover past, current, and on-going regulatory updates, industry & consumer issues.
US Policy and Regulatory Updates
• FDA CFSAN Announces National Food Safety Education Conference 2019
• CRA Submits Report to FDA on Consumer Understanding of ‘Healthy’ and ‘Natural’
• Challenges Predicted for FDA After Trump Approves Short-Term Funding to Reopen Government
• Brashears, Earp, and Hutchins Start Work at USDA
• U.S. Court Blocks San Francisco Health Warning on Soda Ads
• Soda Tax Associated with 50 Percent Drop in Sugary Drink Consumption in Berkley, CA
• Connecticut Governor Proposes Tax on Sugary Drinks
• Spending Bill Requires USDA to Report on DGA Process
• 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans Takes Shape
• Two Year Stay Lifted on KIND ‘All Natural’ Lawsuit
• Campaign Successfully Curbs Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption in New Jersey
• Public School Wellness Policy Prohibits Alternative Sweeteners
• California Lawmakers and Health Groups Back Soda Tax, Ban on Jumbo-Size Sugary Drinks
International Policy and Regulatory Updates
• China Looks to ‘Cigarette-Style’ Labeling for Health Foods
• Barbados’ Sugar Tax May be Increasing Sugar Intake
• Chilean Food Regulations Prove Effective at Changing Mothers’ Food Behaviors
• France Adopts Amended Junk Food Bill
Council Updates
• CCC Staff Attends U.S. CCFA Public Meeting
• CCC Staff participates in IFT Food Policy Impact Conference
• CCC Staff attends Eat-Lancet Report Launch
• Communications Update
FDA CFSAN Announces National Food Safety Education Conference 2019
On January 31, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) published an update announcing on-going registration for the seventh national Consumer Food Safety Education Conference (CFSEC), which will be held March 6-8 in Orlando, Florida. The name of this year’s conference is “From Consumers to Chefs: Food Safety Education Matters.” The conference is designed to bring together food safety educators from academia, government, industry, professional organizations and consumer advocacy and assistance groups. Please see the registration information page for additional details.
CRA Submits Report to FDA on Consumer Understanding of ‘Healthy’ and ‘Natural’
On January 24, the Corn Refiners Association (CRA) submitted a report to FDA, which was commissioned by Jayson Lusk, Head of the Department of Agriculture Economics at Purdue University, on consumers’ understanding of “healthy,” “natural,” and various ingredient names in food products. The survey was conducted online in December 2018 and included 1,290 participants. The study’s key findings are noted below:
Based on the study findings, CRA provided the following rulemaking recommendations to FDA:
Challenges Predicted for FDA After Trump Approves Short-Term Funding to Reopen Government
On January 28, Food Chemical News (FCN) (subscription required) published an article which included post-government shutdown predictions from Howard Sklamberg, former FDA deputy commissioner for global regulatory operations and policy. Sklamberg notes the agency did an admirable job in overseeing recalls and surveillance of high-risk activities in the food program. However, while the agency prioritized high-risk inspections during the shutdown, it was unable to perform non-high-risk inspections, so there will be a backlog of low-risk inspections that need to be handled. As a result, FDA will likely have fewer inspections conducted this year because the same amount of personnel will have to handle the backlog and the inspections they would have completed during the partial government shutdown.
Another item that will need to be addressed is policy making, particularly after reports that some 90% of CFSAN staff was furloughed for over a month. Further, while cooperation with states may have continued for high-risk inspections, this was not happening on the policy level. Sklamberg adds FDA may need to consider whether it should extend comment period deadlines.
From an internal staffing perspective, Sklamberg said he’s “very worried” about the long-term consequences for FDA staff when it comes to morale, retention and recruiting. A lot of people in the food program are approaching retirement age. “This whole experience could make people think, ‘I really don’t want to deal with this anymore,'” he said. At the same time, recruiting new people may prove to be quite difficult, especially as the agency competes with industry where federal employees could make more money.
Brashears, Earp, and Hutchins Start Work at USDA
As reported on January 29 by Food Safety News (FSN), Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue named the following top officials at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA): Mindy Brashears as Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety, Naomi Earp as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, and Scott Hutchins as Deputy Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics.The three had previously been nominated by President Donald Trump for more senior roles reporting to Secretary Perdue, but those three spots require Senate confirmation. However, “Deputy” positions do not require Senate confirmation, so Brashears, Earp, and Hutchins are able to begin work immediately as they await full Senate confirmation for higher-level roles.
U.S. Court Blocks San Francisco Health Warning on Soda Ads
According to a February 4 article in NPR, San Francisco is weighing its options after a warning on soda ads was ruled unconstitutional on January 31. The warning was approved by the city in 2015, and would occupy 20% of ad space for soda and any other non-alcoholic beverages that contain added sugars and more than 25 calories per 12 ounces (except for milk and 100% fruit juice).
The federal appeals court declared the warning was an infringement on commercial speech, and that the requirement is “not justified when balanced against its likely burden on protected speech.” The justices also said the soda warnings aren’t based on established fact, citing FDA statements that sugar is “generally recognized as safe” when not consumed to excess. However, Andrea Guzman, a spokesperson for San Francisco City attorney Dennis Herrera stated, “The court found that 20 percent is too large but suggested 10 percent would be sufficient…We’re evaluating our next steps in light of this decision. But make no mistake, we’re committed to protecting the health of San Francisco residents by allowing them to get factual information.”
While it’s unclear if or what next steps will occur to implement a warning requirement, the beverage industry welcomed the January 31st ruling. The American Beverage Association (ABA) commented, “We are pleased with this ruling, which affirms there are more appropriate ways to help people manage their overall sugar consumption than through mandatory and misleading messages.” ABA also added that nearly half of the beverages that the soda industry sells today contain no calories, and assured that companies put clear calorie information on the front of every product to encourage consumers to check calories before they buy. On the other hand, consumer groups such as the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) were disappointed with the ruling and urged their support for a wide range of policies to combat “soda-related disease.”
Soda Tax Associated with 50 Percent Drop in Sugary Drink Consumption in Berkley, CA
Although San Francisco blocked mandatory health warnings on soda ads in the city (see previous entry), a February 21 article published by ABC News reports that the 1-cent-per-ounce tax on sugar-sweetened beverages implemented in 2015 just outside San Francisco in Berkeley, California, led to a 52 percent decrease in consumption of sugary drinks between the years 2014-2017. During the same time period, water consumption rose by 29 percent. Notably, there were no significant changes in beverage consumption in San Francisco or nearby Oakland.
While the above results reveal potential positive effects of a soda tax, the article notes there was a relatively small number of people surveyed. In addition, self-reported studies are more likely to involve biases or other errors.
Connecticut Governor Proposes Tax on Sugary Drinks
According to a February 20 Politico Pro article (subscription required), Connecticut governor Ned Lamont has proposed a tax on sugary drinks, as well as alcohol, plastic bags and e-cigarettes under a budget proposal for FY 2020-2021. The tax on sugar-sweetened drinks would be 1.5 cents per ounce, according to the Hartford Courant, and is not solely aimed at raising funds, but rather meant to encourage a healthy shift in consumer behavior.
Spending Bill Requires USDA to Report on DGA Process
As reported in a February 14 article in Politico Pro (subscription required), the spending bill released February 13, which became law two days later on February 15, requires USDA to report to Congress on how it is modifying its approach to develop the next five-year update to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs). The provision gives USDA 180 days to issue a report to Congress summarizing its process for updating the guidelines for 2020-2025. This report would need to include an explanation of why USDA has decided to either incorporate or exclude recommendations from that National Academies’ 2017 report, which were developed to improve the transparency of the process and enhance public trust. The bill also makes more than $12 million available until September 2021 for the development and dissemination of the guidelines themselves.
2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans Takes Shape
In a February 21 release, USDA announced the appointment of 20 scientists to serve on the 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC), which will review and report on various diet-related topics and questions, which were refined by USDA and HHS with the input of stakeholders and the public, including CCC. These topics and questions have been posted online in two formats for ease of review. List A is organized by life stage, which follows the format of the topics and questions posted for public comment. List B provides the identical topics and questions, organized to reduce redundancy and better reflect how the Departments will ask the Committee to proceed with its scientific review.
Three of the five experts nominated by CCC were named to the Committee: Ron Kleinman, Heather Leidy and Barbara Schneeman. In addition, Rick Mattes, who spoke at CCC’s 2018 Annual Meeting, was named. Following is the full DGAC roster:
The Committee is expected to hold its first meeting in the coming weeks. The date and registration information for this meeting has not yet been announced, but staff is actively monitoring and plans to participate as appropriate.
Regarding the substance of the 2020-2025 DGAs, groups are speculating that low-carb and portion sizes may take a central focus. According to a February 4 Politico Pro article (subscription required), there has been a significant level of advocacy and activism supporting inclusion of a low-carb diet in the guidelines, as evidenced by the low-carb focus of one third of the 6,000 comments USDA received earlier this year. In addition, low-carb advocates included Atkins Nutritionals have lobbied Capitol Hill and USDA for several years, asking that the DGAC include some academics who are friendly to the low-carb approach and are willing to push for discussion about where that research fits into the larger body of evidence.
Furthermore, a February 6 article published by Politico Pro (subscription required) shared that consumer groups have teamed up with trade groups, including the Grocery Manufacturers Association, American Frozen Food Institute, American Beverage Association, National Confectioners Association, Sugar Association and the Sustainable Food Policy Alliance, to urge the government to focus more on limiting portion sizes in the next update to the DGAs. In a joint letter sent to USDA and HHS, the groups argued that the increasing rates of obesity and overweight is due in part to “an increase over the last four decades in the portion sizes of meals, snacks and beverages.”
Two Year Stay Lifted on KIND ‘All Natural’ Lawsuit
As reported on February 13 by the National Law Review, a New York federal court has ordered a consumer class action suit to move forward against KIND LLC for their alleged mislabeling of products that purportedly contain synthetic and genetically modified ingredients as both “non-GMO” and “all natural.” The lawsuit was previously stayed in 2016 pending possible new FDA guidelines on use of the term “natural.” However, although FDA published a request for information and comments in 2015 regarding use of the term “natural” in the labeling of food products, including those that contain genetically-engineered ingredients, the Agency has not taken any further action to regulate the term. U.S. District Judge William H. Pauley explained, “There is no indication whether the FDA is earnestly working toward a uniform ‘natural’ standard, or whether it has shelved that effort…As such, this court explained that it ‘cannot sit idly by on an illusory assurance that something is likely to happen.'”
Campaign Successfully Curbs Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption in New Jersey
According to a local news source, an initiative in New Jersey to reduce sales of soda and fruit drinks appears to have achieved a significant level of success. The year-long campaign, ran by the Nicholson Foundation, engaged dozens of community organizations who participated in a social media campaign to encourage New Jersey families to choose water, instead of soda (regular or diet) or fruit drink mixes.
Following the campaign, per capita sales of soda dropped 7.6 percent and fruit juice declined nearly 8 percent in Passaic County. In addition, consumption went down statewide. Specifically, New Jersey saw a 4.3 percent decrease for juice drinks and 1.7 percent for sodas, which the authors speculate may be a reflection of a growing number of online conversations about the dangers of sugary drinks. A follow-up poll regarding the campaign’s targeted social media activity revealed that after the campaign, participants (in Passaic County and statewide) had a better understanding of the connection between SSBs and tooth decay or chronic diseases like diabetes.
The Nicholson Foundation argued, “Sweetened foods and beverages are a leading contributor to the nation’s obesity epidemic, and artificially or sugar-sweetened beverages (known as SSBs) are the largest source of added sugar in the American diet.” While the campaign wasn’t created to advocate for an additional tax on sugary beverages, researchers assessed the level of support for this idea. Statewide, about 40 percent of those surveyed opposed paying an extra tax on SSBs, and 40 percent supported the idea. These numbers changed little when respondents learned more about how the revenue could be used to improve public health.
Public School Wellness Policy Prohibits Alternative Sweeteners
A local Virginia news source reported on February 20 that the Springfield Public School District has approved a Wellness Policy that sets several rules governing nutrition and health for students. The provisions of the policy “prohibit food sold in competition with school meals, including food-based fundraiser and vending machines during school meals times.” In addition, the Wellness Policy outlines specific requirements for which food can be served to students. Of interest to CCC, the requirements include:
As CCC’s scope is both national and international, CCC staff does not plan to actively address this local school issue, but will monitor for similar policies in other school districts and respond as appropriate.
California Lawmakers and Health Groups Back Soda Tax, Ban on Jumbo-Size Sugary Drinks
A February 20 article in USA Today reported that California lawmakers are proposing a series of five new bills, including a soda tax and warning labels, to combat dietary threats to public health. Assemblyman David Chiu stated, “The soda industry is the new tobacco industry,” and believes prohibiting establishments with self-serve machines from selling soda in cups larger than 16 ounces will help. Other proposed bills will ban stores from displaying sugary drinks at checkout areas and prohibit companies from providing discount coupons. Further, a proposal includes a fee on sugary beverages that would take a two-thirds vote to approve. At the same time, health groups are vocalizing support, and are circulating petitions to put a tax of 2-cents-per-ounce on the 2020 ballot.
Aside from soda, lawmakers said they are targeting sports drinks, sweetened coffee and tea, and other sugary beverages, although it appears diet sodas, milk and juice, as well as infant formula and medical beverages, would be exempt.
At the same time, as informed by a February 20 release, the California Medical Association (CMA), which represents over 44,000 physicians, has joined the California Dental Association and other health stakeholders in support of the above legislative package aimed at reducing consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages. CMA’s statement reads, “The legislation targets soda, energy drinks, sweet teas and sports drinks that contribute to obesity, diabetes, tooth decay and heart disease, as well as ensures that [industry] stops targeting low-income communities and pay their fair share of public health costs.”
China Looks to ‘Cigarette-Style’ Labeling for Health Foods
According to a January 29 article in Nutra Ingredients Asia, Chinese authorities are planning to study the cigarette labeling system and consider its use for the labelling of health foods this year. This decision was inspired by the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) who claims there is a need to distinguish the difference between health foods, general foods, and medicine. The top priority areas for SAMR are health foods and foods sold in schools. Interventions may include placing key phrases such as “health foods do not possess the ability to prevent and treat illness” or “this product cannot be used in place of medicines” on product labels.
Barbados’ Sugar Tax May be Increasing Sugar Intake
According to a February 8 article in Food Navigator, Barbados’ tax on sugary drinks has been effective in reducing sales of sugar-sweetened beverages, but the tax may also encourage consumers to switch to cheaper, more sugary brands. Barbados’ tax is known as an “ad valorem” tax, which adds a percentage of the product’s own value to its price. The tax, which was implemented in 2015 and exempts diet beverages, has resulted in a price increase of 5.9%. The article highlights results of a recent study published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity (IJBNPA), in which researchers looked to assess whether the tax structure (i.e. ad valorem vs. volume-based) is associated with a differential effect. The researchers ultimately found evidence to suggest that consumers may have changed their behavior in response to the tax by purchasing cheaper sugary drinks, in addition to substituting untaxed products. It is noted this research may have important consequences on public health and may cause questions over the effectiveness of SSB taxes on consumers’ overall diets.
Chilean Food Regulations Prove Effective at Changing Mothers’ Food Behaviors
On February 15, EurekaAlert posted a release declaring that food regulations in Chile targeted at reducing obesity are making a positive impact on mothers. The article highlights the findings of a study published February 13 in IJBNPA which examined the impact of Chilean food regulations on the purchasing habits of mothers, as this is the group primarily responsible for food-related decisions in the household. The comprehensive food regulation policies of interest to the study’s researchers were adopted by Chile in 2016, and were implemented using a three-pronged approach of front-of package labeling, marketing restrictions and school regulations. Specifically, the regulations required foods high in added sugar, saturated fats, calories and added sodium to display a black stop sign on the package. Further, these products are not permitted to be sold or promoted in schools, advertised in child-targeted media or included marketing strategies that appeal to children.
One year after the announcement of the regulations, the study’s researchers conducted nine focus groups, each with ten mothers, in Chile’s capital city of Santiago. The results showed that every mother in the focus groups understood that the purpose of the new front of package regulations was to combat childhood obesity, and they recognized products that were less healthful choices. While mothers reported that the schools’ that switched to healthier offerings had a more significant impact on younger children compared to teenagers, teens did perceive the school environment as healthier than before. However, mothers found industry-developed on-pack labels confusing. Lead researcher, Teresa Correa, PhD, of Diego Portales University, concluded, “This study showed the importance of tackling obesity with a set of different strategies because we found that they reinforced each other.”
France Adopts Amended Junk Food Bill
As reported by Food Navigator in an article published February 22, the French National Assembly voted to adopt legislation originally titled “Bill to protect the population from the dangers of junk food.” While the bill was initially developed to decrease consumption of junk food, the La Repúblique en Marche (LREM), the liberal majority in the National Assembly, backed a series of amendments that limited the scope of the bill and renamed it “Bill to improve the nutritional quality of food and encourage good eating practices.” Jean-Luc Mélenchon, assembly member of the democratic socialist party, announced, “Although LREM has partially emptied our bill to fight junk food, this proposal has just been adopted unanimously by the National Assembly.”
While the revised bill no longer contains a ban on advertising foods high in sugar, fat and salt to children, it contains three major changes, the largest of which is a mandatory requirement to display the multi-color, multi-letter Nutri-Score label. Starting in January 2021, a Nutri-Score label will need to be included on any advertisement for food products broadcast from French territory or received in France. However, this requirement may be avoided if advertisers pay a fee to France’s National Health Agency. Second, the bill sets forth a mechanism for French regulators to monitor reported nutrition data from manufacturers on an annual basis and, based on this data, set voluntary reduction targets for salt, sugar, and unsaturated fat in popular food items. Finally, the bill introduces an optional directive for nutrition education in schools during after-school activities.
CCC Staff Attends U.S. CCFA Public Meeting
Staff and several CCC members attended the February 12 public meeting at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to review draft U.S. positions for CCFA51. Attached is a copy of the U.S. Backgrounder, which includes the U.S. positions. The document listed under Agenda Item 5 (d) of the CCFA51 provisional agenda will form the basis for the discussion of an alternative to Note 161 relating to the use of sweeteners. Staff is developing complete CCC positions for CCFA which will be circulated shortly.
CCC Staff participates in IFT Food Policy Impact Conference
CCC attended the one and a half day Institute of Food Technologists Conference held in Washington, D.C., February 11-12. Speakers included representatives from USDA’s Center for Nutrition and Policy Promotion, National Institutes for Health and others throughout the food and agriculture industry. Slides from presenters can be found here.
CCC Staff attends Eat-Lancet Report Launch
The EAT-Lancet Commission, which attracted extensive media coverage over the last month after recommending drastic cuts in meat consumption to promote human and environmental health, held a launch event in Washington, D.C. on February 20. The event included a presentation by Dr. Walter Willet, one of the authors of the report. A summary of the report can be found here and the full report here.
The Commission describes a healthy diet based on increasing consumption of healthy foods (such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, and nuts), and a decreasing consumption of unhealthy foods (such as red meat, sugar, and refined grains). The Lancet is a general medical journal with the goal to make science widely available so that medicine can serve and trans
Communications Update
General Program
Council Response to Stroke Study: CCC responded to research published February 14 in the journal Stroke “Artificially Sweetened Beverages and Stroke, Coronary Heart Disease, and All-Cause Mortality in the Women’s Health Initiative.”
Northeast Region Texas Academy Seminar: Council social media advisor, Neva Cochran, MS, RDN, LD, conducted a presentation on February 15 at the regional Texas Academy Seminar in Dallas, TX on the benefits and safety of low- and no-calorie sweeteners to over 120 dietitians. Neva also distributed information to attendees about the Calorie Control Council.
Sweetener-Specific Activities
Do you have questions about low-calorie sweeteners? Want to learn more about maintaining a healthy lifestyle? You asked and we listened. Our resident Registered Dietitians answered the most popular questions about low-calorie sweeteners.
