[News]

FDA Expands Outside U.S. With Opening of Mexico City Post

As part of its continuing effort to buttress food and medical product safety in the United States by working with its regulatory partners overseas, the FDA recently announced the opening of its Mexico City post. This is the agency’s third post in Latin America and its tenth international post in the past 13 months.

"The opening of this office represents an important step as we re-design our product safety strategy. We, like our partners in the Mexican government, realize that prevention is the key. For example, more than a third of the fresh fruits and vegetables we eat come from Mexico as do a large amount of our medical devices," said FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg.

Staff assigned to the FDA’s Mexico City post will work with their counterparts in the Mexican government to harmonize regulations and guidance standards and work on other collaborative initiatives, such as information-sharing on the respective regulatory systems and joint workshops on the safety of food and medical products. Agencies in both governments also will make efforts to find opportunities for joint training on food-borne illnesses and the oversight of food traded internationally.

FDA staff also will offer collaboration on the use of new laboratory techniques, foster initiatives for the safety of food and medical products marketed in the two countries, and be a "portal" to the FDA for counterpart Mexican agencies and the U.S.-export industry in Mexico.

To date, the FDA has opened 10 international posts, including China, India, Europe, and Latin America. Latin America office posts are located in Santiago, Chile, and San José, Costa Rica.

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Survey Shows Gains in Food-Label Use, Health/Diet Awareness

More than half of consumers in the United States often read the food label when buying a product for the first time, and they are increasingly aware of the link between diet and heart disease.

Those are among the key findings that the FDA released from its latest Health and Diet Survey, a snapshot of the nation’s dietary habits.

In March, FDA released findings from a 2008 telephone survey of more than 2,500 adults in every state and the District of Columbia. This is the tenth such survey since 1982, with the most recent previous surveys conducted in 2002 and 2004. Among the highlights of the survey are:

• More U.S. consumers know of the relationship between diet and heart disease: 91 percent knew of the link, compared to 8 percent over 2002, and 62 percent mentioned fats as a factor related to heart disease, compared to 53 percent in 2002.
• Eighty-one percent know that certain foods or drinks may help prevent heart disease or heart attacks. This showed no change from 2002. Fruits and vegetables were most frequently linked with reducing heart disease, but fewer people made this link in 2008 than in 2002.
• Consumers’ awareness that trans fats may raise the risk of heart disease nearly doubled in four years, from 32 percent in 2004 to 62 percent.
• Correct identification that omega 3 fatty acids may lower the risk of heart disease increased, from 31 percent in 2004 to 52 percent in 2008.
• Knowledge that saturated fat may raise the risk of heart disease was stable: at 74 percent in 2004 and 73 percent in 2008.

Regarding food labels, 54 percent of consumers said they read a product’s label the first time they buy a product; a 10 percent increase from 2002. Among these:

• two-thirds use the label "often" to check a food’s calories and substances such as salt, vitamins, and fat.
• 55 percent "often" use the label to get a general idea of the food’s nutritional content.
• 46 percent "often" use the calorie information on the label; 34 percent rarely or never use this information.
• 38 percent use nutrient content claims "often"; 34 percent said "sometimes."
• 31 percent "often" refer to the label claim of "0 grams of trans fat"; 36 percent "sometimes" do.

The survey found differing degrees of trust about claims found on food labels. For example, 41 percent believe that all or most of claims such as "low fat," "high fiber," or "cholesterol free" are accurate, while 56 percent believe that some or none of them are accurate.

Also, 64 percent notice nutrition labeling on restaurant menus, napkins, or place mats, about half of which use the information often or sometimes.

The survey also examined eating habits. Among findings were that 54 percent of consumers reported eating breakfast seven days a week, while 8 percent said they skip the meal every day. In contrast, 86 percent eat dinner seven days a week, while 1 percent said they always skip it.

FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition has posted findings from the survey, as well as a related fact sheet, on its Web site. AIB

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Calendar

AIB is holding a variety of educational seminars throughout North America. To learn more about any of the seminars listed below, visit www.aibonline.org. All dates are subject to change without notice.

April 20-21

Food Plant GMP/Sanitation Workshop, Reno, Nev.

April 22-23

HACCP Workshop, Reno, Nev.

April 27-29

Food Safety and Quality Update, Kansas City, Mo.

May 4

Implementing an IPM Program for Food Plants, Ontario, Calif.

May 4-6

Food Defense Coordinator, Harrisburg, Pa.

May 5

Developing a Foreign Material Control Program, Ontario, Calif.

May 6

Implementing Traceability and Recall Programs, Ontario, Calif.

May 11-12

Advanced HACCP Workshop, Cherry Hill, N.J.

May 17-21

Maintenance Management for Food Plants, Fort Worth, Texas.

May 18-19

Food Plant GMP/Sanitation Workshop, Worcester, Mass.

May 20-21

HACCP Workshop, Worcester, Mass.

June 8-10

Food Defense Coordinator, Memphis, Tenn.

June 8-9

Principles of Inspecting and Auditing Food Plants, Ontario, Calif.

June 15-16

Food Plant GMP/Sanitation Workshop, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

June 17-18

HACCP Workshop, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

June 22-24

Building Your HACCP Program, Minneapolis (Bloomington), Minn.