Natural Products Association (NPA) West has announced that its seventh annual ‘Health Matters!’ Advocacy Day will take place on May 20, 2009. It is designed to broaden the natural products industry's base of political support by educating members of the California Legislature about the important role natural products play in keeping Californians healthy, as well as the industry’s positive impact on the state’s bottom line.

“Due in large part to term limits, nearly one quarter of the 120-member legislature is new this session, so it’s imperative that our members be the face and voice of the industry here in Sacramento,” said Dot Boyd, executive director of NPA West.

The event is free to all attendees and includes a morning lobbying workshop, afternoon appointments with legislators and their staff members, and an evening reception featuring natural products. Last year, nearly 80 advocates from all segments of the natural products industry rallied in Sacramento, NPA said.

For more information, visit www.npawest.org, e-mail dboyd@npawest.org or call (866) 343-6632.

With the recent news of a peanut butter salmonella outbreak, Jay Robb Enterprises Inc. (San Diego, CA) reported that it is confident in the safety and quality of its No-Junk Peanut Butter JAYBAR, after a thorough investigation into the matter.

According to recent reports, the peanut butter tainted with salmonella was manufactured solely by Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) in Georgia. “We are happy to report that none of the peanut ingredients that Jay Robb Enterprises Inc. uses are affiliated with PCA and that we are not affected by this issue,” said CEO Jay Robb in a company statement.

“Jay Robb Enterprises Inc. and our various manufacturers have verified the quality of the ingredients used in our products,” Robb continued. “We maintain records of our ingredients and their microbiological data, frequently testing our products and ingredients for microbes (including salmonella) through a third party laboratory. We take the safety of our products very seriously and will continue to work diligently to ensure their quality in the future.”

For more information, call (877) JAY-ROBB or visit www.jayrobb.com.

BI Nutraceuticals (Long Beach, CA) has launched a comprehensive education program designed to inform the dietary supplement industry about the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) ban on the use of both irradiation and ethylene oxide (ETO) as a means of sterilizing raw materials. As part of this initiative, BI has compiled a four-page consultative guide to help industry members better understand US regulations surrounding the banned use of ETO and irradiation as a means for dietary supplement ingredient sterilization, as well as familiarize them with legal alternatives including steam sterilization.  

BI utilized the FDA, American Herbal Products Association and Loren Israelsen, director of the United Natural Products Alliance, to gather the most current information surrounding sterilization regulations. As additional educational components to this program, BI will speak on allowable sterilization methods at industry tradeshows including SupplyExpo in March, and provide a copy of the guide to its current and potential customer base.
  
“What a majority of manufacturers in the industry may not realize is that the use of ETO and irradiation for the purpose of reducing or eliminating microbial loads is not permitted right now,” said George Pontaikos, president and CEO of BI Nutraceuticals. “These restrictions are not part of the new cGMPs that are being phased in over a three-year period, they are being enforced currently and companies using ETO or irradiated materials are subject to FDA penalties now.”  

ETO is considered a pesticide, and according to the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, any food that bears or contains a pesticide chemical residue that is unsafe is considered adulterated, BI reported.  

For more information, call (310) 669-2100 or visit www.botanicals.com.

The New York State Assembly is to amend its agriculture and markets law to require dietary and nutritional supplement manufacturers to label products as tested or untested by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), according to nutraingredients-usa.com.

The New York State website maintains that some manufacturers choose to have their products tested by the FDA and others do not. It claims that the bill is intended to allow the consumer to know which products have been tested so that a more informed choice can be made when purchasing these various products. This bill deals only with the analysis of the product for purity; it does not deal with any medicinal attributes of the product.

But David Seckman, executive director/CEO of the Natural Products Association (NPA), told nutraingredients-usa.com that opposition to the bill would be mounted and that the association would lobby against it coming into law.

“It doesn’t make any sense,” said Seckman. “FDA doesn’t test products.”

Ultimately, bill number A2957, introduced on January 22, “provides that no person shall manufacture, sell or expose for sale any product which shall be termed as a dietary supplement or nutritional supplement without branding or labeling such product with a statement that the product has or has not been tested by the United States Food and Drug Administration,” the website continued.

To read the bill, a new subdivision 2 to S 214-m of the Agriculture and Markets Law, visit http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?bn=A02957&sh=t.

The United States Department of Agriculture announced details of the final regulation for the mandatory country of origin labeling (COOL) program required by the 2002 and 2008 farm bills. The rule will become effective on March 16, 2009.

The rule covers muscle cuts and ground beef, lamb, chicken, goat and pork; wild and farm-raised fish and shellfish; perishable agricultural commodities (specifically fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables); macadamia nuts; pecans; ginseng and peanuts.

Commodities covered under COOL must be labeled at retail to indicate its country of origin. For fish and shellfish, the method of production (wild or farm-raised) must also be specified. Commodities are excluded from mandatory COOL if the commodity is an ingredient in a processed food item.

The definition of a processed food item remains unchanged from the August 1, 2008, interim final rule. Excluded from COOL labeling are items derived from a covered commodity that has undergone a physical or chemical change—such as cooking, curing or smoking—or that has been combined with other covered commodities or other substantive food components such as chocolate, breading and tomato sauce.

Also exempt are food service establishments, such as restaurants, lunchrooms, cafeterias, food stands, bars and similar enterprises.

The final rule outlines the requirements for labeling covered commodities and the recordkeeping requirements for retailers and suppliers. The law provides for penalties of up to $1,000 per violation for both retailers and suppliers not complying with the law.

The rule prescribes specific criteria that must be met for a covered commodity to bear a “United States country of origin” declaration. In addition, the rule also contains provisions for labeling covered commodities of foreign origin, meat products from multiple origins, ground meat products, as well as commingled covered commodities.

The USDA said that it intends to make funding available to accelerate and expand training of state cooperator employees, initiate the development of an automated review tracking system, conduct a retailer survey, conduct audits of the retail supply chain and continue conducting education and outreach activities.

Copies of the final rule and additional information can be found at www.ams.usda.gov/COOL.

Stonyfield Farms (Londonderry, NH) and alpine ski racer Bode Miller, reigning World Cup overall champion and two-time Olympic medalist, are partnering in a new sweepstakes. The grand prize is a pair of Head skis signed by Miller.

Stonyfield and Bode fans can enter online or by mail until April 30, 2009 when a winner will be randomly chosen from the entries received.

“We’ve admired Bode for a long time, not only for his spirit of competition, but also for his Turtle Ridge Foundation, which promotes organic living,” said Stoneyfield CE-Yo Gary Hirshberg. “We were proud this past summer to be the presenting sponsor of the annual ‘BodeBash,’ held in the White Mountains to benefit the foundation.”

Turtle Ridge Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting programs that tackle difficult environmental issues along with advocating for youth sports opportunities like adaptive ski programs, enabling Americans with disabilities to experience the thrill of snow sports.

For more information, including official contest rules, call (800) PRO-COWS or visit www.stonyfieldfarms.com.