Food Law Short Course & Seminar

Food Law Short Course & Seminar
	» Hurry, registration is limited Michigan State University - East Lansing, Michigan The program consists of two courses, a U.S. food law short course, and a food regulation current issues seminar. Participants may choose to take one or both. The courses are offered in a collegial, intimate learning environment. U.S. Food Law Short Course  July 16-17 (Monday-Tuesday) 2012 The U.S. Food Law Short Course is designed as an introduction to U.S. food laws and regulations for professionals in the field. It is well suited for those new to the field but also comprehensive enough on the essential elements of food law to provide a refresher course for the experienced professional. Food Regulation Current Issues Seminar   July 18-19 (Wednesday-Thursday) 2012 The Food Regulation Current Issues Seminar provides practical education on current food legal and regulatory issues. The topics cover cutting edge issues of food regulation, involving FDA, USDA, advertising, and global issues. Speakers from the legal, government, food industry, and academic professions will present practical food safety and food law information and case studies.   For more information, click here or  Register Online  Free Bonus U.S. Food Law Short Course participants will receive a copy of the book, Food Regulation: Law, Science, Policy, and Practice by Neal Fortin. The book provides an accessible discussion of the federal statutes, regulations, and agencies involved in food regulation in the United States. The Instructors David ACHESON, Partner at Leavitt Partners, former Assistant Commissioner for Food Protection, FDA Les BOURQUIN, Professor of Food Safety, Michigan State University Ricardo CARVAJAL, Attorney and Director, Hyman, Phelps & McNamara, P.C. Roger CLEMENS, Chief Scientific Officer, Horn; President, Institute of Food Technologists Nicole COUTRELIS, Lawyer and Partner, Coutrelis & Associes, Paris and Brussels Neal FORTIN, Attorney, Professor and Director, Institute for Food Laws and Regulations P. Vincent HEGARTY, Founding Director and Professor Emeritus, Institute for Food Laws and Regulation James E. HOADLEY, Senior Consultant, EAS Consultant Group Steve KLUTING, Attorney and Partner, Varnum, LLP Janine LEWIS, Principal Nutritionist, Food Standards Australia New Zealand Scott J. MACINTYRE (invited), District Director, U.S. Food and Drug Administration Kenneth ODZA, Corporate Counsel, Food Safety, Kellogg Company F. Edward SCARBROUGH, Principal, Scarbrough Consultants, former U.S. Manager for Codex and Director Jenny SCOTT (invited), Senior Advisor, Office of Food Safety, FDA CFSAN John SPINK, Director, Packaging for Food and Product Protection Initiative, MSU Steve STEINBORN, Attorney and Partner, Hogan Lovells, US, LLP Charles WOODHOUSE, Attorney and Partner, Woodhouse Shanahan PA Cathy WEIR, Global Regulatory Associate Director, Mead Johnson Nutrition Gerald WOJTALA, Executive Director, International Food Protection Training Institute  About IFLR  Learn more about IFLR at: www.IFLR.msu.edu or call (517) 355-8295       Email: IFLR@msu.edu                       Telephone: (517) 355-8295 Fax: (517) 432-1492                        web: www.IFLR.msu.edu   Institute for Food Laws and Regulation Michigan State University, 139 G.M. Trout Building, East Lansing, MI 48824

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Proposed Foodborne Illness Reduction Act of 2011 (S. 1529)

Senator Gillibrand introduced bill S.1529 in the U.S. Senate yesterday. The bill is titled as the "Foodborne Illness Reduction Act of 2011''.

A more sophisticated crisis response

Alberto Alemanno has a thought provoking article regarding the response to the recent E. coli outbreak. Would it have been better if the European Commission had taken on more powers?

The Commission and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) could supervise the risk assessments conducted across Europe and coordinate the task of communicating the outcome of those assessments. A central organization could have more sophisticated ability to collate, assess, and distribute information than individual national authorities.

Read more here.

Alberto Alemanno is a guest instructor at the Institute for Food Laws and Regulations at Michigan State University. He is associate professor of law at École des Hautes Études Commerciales (HEC), Paris, adjunct professor of global risk regulation at Georgetown University Law Centre, and editor of the European Journal of Risk Regulation.

It’s Organic, but Does That Mean It’s Safer?

By Kim Severson and Andrew Martin, New York Times (Mar. 3, 2009) http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/04/dining/04cert.html.

Shoppers who think organic food is safer are often surprised to hear that organic certification has nothing to do with food safety. The recent case of peanut plants in Texas and Georgia sending out contaminated peanut butter and ground peanut products hammers this home. The plants held federal organic certification, but also had rat infestations, mold problems, and bird droppings.

Cloned Food - Son of Frankenfood?

From an interesting article in The Economist, Son of Frankenfood?:

“IT IS beyond our imagination to even find a theory that would cause the food to be unsafe.” With that ringing endorsement, Stephen Sundlof, the chief food-safety expert at America's Food and Drug Administration (FDA), this week declared food derived from the offspring of cloned cows, pigs and goats to be safe for human consumption. The decision came just days after the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) publicly reached the same conclusion. . . . [Emphasis added.]

Nonetheless, there seem to be lingering innuendo that cloned food may be unsafe. For example, take the untrue statement from the (inappropriately named) Center for Food Safety, “In January 2008, the FDA essentially told the public that the meat and milk from cloned livestock are safe for human consumption. FDA's action flies in the face of widespread scientific concern about the risks of food from clones . . .” http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/cloned_animals.cfm.

Can anyone think of a remotely plausible theory or scenario that would cause the food to be unsafe?

Who's Minding the Store? - The Current State of Food Safety and How it Can be Improved

Who's Minding the Store? - The Current State of Food Safety and How it Can be Improved - Friday and Saturday, April 11 & 12, 2008
Food Safety conference at Seattle University, Organized and Co-Sponsored by: William D. Marler, Marler Clark LLP PS, and Kenneth M. Odza, Stoel Rives LLP
Marlerblog:
"Few subjects draw more immediate attention or concern than the safety of the food we eat. Recent years have included a plethora of food warnings and recalls, raising new questions about the quality and integrity of our existing system for assuring food safety. Seattle was the epicenter of the Jack in the Box E. coli outbreak that sickened 600 and killed four 15 years ago. In addition to explaining how our present system works, this program is intended to discuss how changing consumer preferences are affecting the development and distribution of food, examine whether Federal, state and industry oversight roles are changing, and discuss how the regulatory and judicial processes can be most efficiently balanced. Participants include international, national and local representatives of government, the food industry, consumer organizations and scientists."
For more information and registration:
Seattle University School of Law