Food Regulation Paper

Food code is something that authorities write or adopt that regulates retail and foodservices operations, but these codes can differ from the FDA Food Code, because the agencies are not required to adopt them. Most food codes are different only because it can be different in one state or another or because of locality. The FDA was doing the food code every 2 years, but then the FDA decided that they wanted to move it to every 4 years in between the food code editions. Meanwhile between the periods of the full editions, the FDA may publish new updates, modifies, or clarifies certain things. FDA is the agencies that oversights the food code, they are the ones who encourage you to adopt a food code so you can help reduce the risk of foodborne

According to the regulations established by the FDA in 1992, “Under this policy, foods, such as fruits, vegetables, grains, and their byproducts, derived from plant varieties developed by the new methods of genetic modification are regulated within the existing framework of the act” (FDA). In other words, instead of creating new regulations that are specific to these completely unique food products, they are put within the umbrella of other “natural” products. As time passes it appears to be harder to establish strict regulations to manage genetically modified food. According to the Center for Food Safety the most current propose of the Food and Drug Administration establishes that agricultural biotech companies should notify the FDA within a period of 120 before the companies proceed to introduce the product to the market. Regrettably, there is not mention of any regulation that requires assessment for health and environmental safety. This leave the companies with the freedom decide the kind of test that they want to perform if they decide to do so. But most important if this proposal is successful approve it will mean that the companies will have the right to freely even control what they want to include on their labels, which it will most likely exclude the mentioning of genetically modified food.

The FDA has been protecting the American food supply for over a hundred years. They use scientific testing to examine new food, beverage, and drug products before they enter the market in order to ensure that what we purchase at the grocery store passes health and safety regulations. Currently, they are in charge of setting guidelines for the classification, certification, and labeling of organic food products. H.R. 1599, the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act, aims to give them the same authority over foods considered "natural" and "GMO-free."

Importantly, there is a current controversy concerning whether genetically modified foods should be labeled as such or if it is an unnecessary extra expense. Indeed, some individuals believe that if a product is genetically modified then it is potentially dangerous to a consumer’s health causing birth defects, increased risk of cancer, Parkinson’s, and Alzheimer’s disease (Greenpeace, n.d.). Therefore, based upon this predisposition they believe that a label should be placed on every product that is genetically modified, since it is the consumers right to know if a product has been exposed to harmful chemicals and pesticides. Contrariwise, others believe that labeling genetically modified foods is not needed, since there is presently no viable

After conducting some research I found that “The United States does not have any federal legislation that is specific to genetically modified organisms (GMOs)” . Along with this I discovered that, “The US approach to regulating GMOs is premised on the assumption that regulation should focus on the nature of the products, rather than the process in which they were produced” . I found this to be alarming. After finding this information I decided to investigate further, specifically, into the regulation of genetically modified foods. All things related to food must go through the Food and Dug Administration (FDA). Essentially the FDA regulates if foods are safe or not for a consumer. After searching high and low for any information regarding the FDA regulations for genetically modified foods, I found nothing. I found no information about what is allowed and what is not with genetically modified foods and nothing about labeling genetically modified foods, besides when allergens are present in a food. The only information I found was that “The FDA encourages developers of new plant varieties intended for food use, including GMOs, to engage in a consultation procedure with the FDA, in order ‘to ensure that human food and animal feed safety issues or other regulatory issues (e.g. labeling) are resolved prior to commercial

Although new label regulations, should relieve some fears, by year 2020, most GMOs will have appropriate labeling. There are institutions within the agricultural community that can help resolve the anxiety that oversees the mandatory regulations, which adhere to the reproduction and distribution of GMOs. The Department of Agriculture (DOA), inspects and normalizes safety concerns of growing of crops, whereas the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), lets us know if foods are safe to consume. One of the most controversial institutions is the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), The EPA protects the environment. Propaganda or misinformation continues to effect the small farmer, allowing the Big Corporations to slip through the cracks on globally- agreed mandatory regulations, testing, and exporting. These processes are critical, and must have approval, whereas the monitoring and data, is preserved for future reference, clarifying “its main objective is to determine whether the GM crop is “substantially equivalent” to its non-GM varieties and whether it poses an allergen risk” (Norwood, Oltenacu, Lorenzo, & Lancaster, 2015, p.

The role the federal government plays in the food regulation and safety is controversial. Some believe that it’s against their constitutional right for the government to step in and have a say on the food they consume. On the other hand, some believe that it’s part of the government’s job to regulate the food industries and provide health regulations to protect the society. The country is divided based on when the government should intervene when it comes to many topics such as the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act, Nutrition Content Claims, Meat Inspection, and Dietary Supplement Regulation.

To avoid widespread food contaminations to the general public, the USDA has rules and regulations in place and theses include and state that “all meat transported and sold in interstate commerce must be federally inspected”. Furthermore, the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) “carries out USDA's responsibilities under the Federal Meat Inspection Act”. Hence these laws protect the general public (consumers) by ensuring that meat products are “wholesome, unadulterated, and correctly labeled and packaged”. On the local levels, many states have their own inspection programs that are applicable for meats produced and sold within their borders, such State programs and inspection must “enforce requirements at least equal to those of Federal

The first position of the federal government on GM crops, is the department of the EPA, FDA, USDA biochemist scientists to experiment and record GMO foods are safe for the consumer to eat without any severe risk. The government department American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) approves that consuming foods from modified genetic ingredients obtained from GM crops pose no greater danger than consuming from Non-GMO foods. Therefore, the different characteristic of GM foods was altered will stay fresh for an extended amount of time, significantly delaying its expiration, for a longer period of freshens in the local grocery store. The FDA has approved that GMO is safe to consume, and there is no need to test or labeling supplements containing material made from genetically modified organisms. However, the federal government departments of the EPA, USDA, FDA does not inform the customer of the harmful ingredient injected into a seed that may cause unfavorable proteins. (Food and Drug Administration. 2013). Secondly, the government agencies and biotech company are keeping the public in the dark about the hazardous proteins in GMO foods. The federal government has assigned specific departments to safeguard the public, from the dangerous ingredients that generated from GM crops. Even though, the public is unaware about how the biotech industries have concealed the adverse results from the pubic though threatening genetic

Should government have the freedom to limit its citizens’ freedom? The answer is yes but the question is how much and for what reasons. The ban on large sugary drinks – more than 16 ounce- at food service establishments proposed by The New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg sparked a heated debate over this question. Proponents of the ban justified it by citing studies which showed excessive amount of sugar causes obesity and has many other serious negative effects on health. They argued that such consequences have negative effect for the whole society, in form of additional health care and social welfare cost. Opponents of the ban argued that it imposes an unjustified and unnecessary limit on personal freedom, does not reach the intended goal of limiting obesity, and sets precedent for excessive government overreach. Both sides have strong arguments, I am inclined to side with the opponents of the ban mainly because I am wary of unnecessary government overreach but I am on the border and ready to change my opinion in future.

The labeling of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is an extremely delicate issue. The way the law deals with this heated argument is extremely important for future research and public acceptance. I will argue that the benefits of the biotechnology that deals with GMOs outweigh the risks, and that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should continue to regulate GMOs under the current system which does not require special labeling if the food is “substantially equivalent.”(FDA)

One may agree with the regulating our food. Facts being giving to you is that being more engaged in school. More children being more athletic (Fell). Kids will be healthier and having more energy during the day.

The way governments have regulated GM foods varies. In some countries GM foods are not yet regulated. Countries which have legislation in place focus primarily on assessment of risks for consumer health. Countries which have provisions for GM foods usually also regulate GMOs in general, taking into account health and environmental risks, as well as control- and trade-related issues (such as potential testing and labelling regimes). In view of the dynamics of the debate on GM foods, legislation is likely to continue to

In contrast, even though many recent surveys reveal that more than 70% of packaged foods contain GMO in the US market, there are no regulations to mandate the labeling of GM foods by the US government. Currently, the US federal government does not require any mandatory labeling of GM foods, unless the nutrition of GM foods has been changed or some toxins and allergens have been added to the GM foods (McLure). According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”), there are also no mandatory programs to regulate foods from genetically engineered (“GE”) plants. The only voluntary regulating program is the Plant Biotechnology Consultation Program, which was created in the 1990s to ensure foods made from the new GE plants are safe and

Genetically Modified Organisms-or GMOs for short- have been under the scope by many consumer advocate groups mainly due to the overgrowing concern regarding the safety of consuming such products. The issues regarding GMOs has brought up the debate of whether it should be mandatory to label GMOs for the consumer to see or not. According to consumer advocate groups GMOs should be labeled in order to support a free market, the local agriculture and to gain the customer's trust. On the other hand, large companies believe that GMOs should not be labeled for the following reasons: they might scare consumers, GM foods have the same nutritional value as non-GM products and the use of biotechnology may be shunned.