“Made in …” or “Product of …” these declarations are quite common on everyday products. This requirement is from the Tariff Act of 1930, which requires “every article of foreign origin (or its container …) … imported into the United States shall be marked in a conspicuous place as legibly, indelibly, and permanently as the…
Sharks with Lasers: Dr. Evil’s FDA Regulatory Concern
Dr. Evil had one simple request, “And that is to have sharks with frickin’ laser beams attached to their heads!” However, complying with endangered species laws prevented this and he had to settle for ill tempered mutated sea bass (until the third movie). Alas, I wonder if Number Two remember the FDA regulatory compliance issue….
Valentine’s Day is for Kisses
A kiss is a “caress with the lips,” but it is also “a bite-size piece of candy often wrapped in paper or foil.” Merriam-Webster, definition of “kiss.” While some may focus on lip caresses, there’s a story to be told about pieces of chocolate wrapped in foil that involve trade complaints and shortages in weight….
The Fussy, Fastidious, Finicky Fellow Standard
“Eww, that’s not food!” has exclaimed countless kids over the centuries, including my own recently. Like my kids and Calvin, the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act protects the American consumer from things that are simply unfit for food. Under this provision, a food can be unlawful if it is too rubbery, woody, hard, or the…
Regulatory Nonsense: Frozen Lemonade Concentrate
FDA recently announced that it may delete some outdated food standards — these are legally mandated recipes that FDA created to “promote honesty and fair dealing in the interest of consumers.” On FDA’s list is frozen cherry pie and I’d like to propose another one from the frozen food isle: frozen lemonade concentrate. That’s correct,…
No “Pumpkin” in my Pumpkin Pie? Understanding the “Common or Usual” Name for a Food
Everyone knows what a pumpkin is: a roundish gourd with grooves going up and down, and, of course, it’s orange. One then uses this produce to make a jack-o’-lantern or, more importantly, a pumpkin pie! The pumpkin pie purests insist that you must use fresh pumpkins to make a pie. These pumpkins have the botanical…
The Curious Cough Drop
“It’s candy and I’m allowed to eat it during class,” my fourth grade classmate bragged to me. His parents wrote a note to the teacher saying that he was allowed to have cough drops during school to help with his cold. Little did my fourth grade self know that I was witnessing FDA regulation at work:…
Toothpaste: No Supersize Packaging?
Buy in bulk and save: Sam’s Club and Costco are built on this concept. Even at non-warehouse retailors, you can buy a large quantity in a big container, usually at a decreased price for unit of measure. For example, for $2.40 you can buy about 1 pound of Peter Pan Peanut Butter, or spend about…
Name that Food: Macaroni Product?
Name that food: Dry dough made from flour and water that is made into various shapes, may contain some optional ingredients such as salt or eggs. According to Merriam Webster, Oxford English Dictionary, or wikipedia, we just described a food known as “pasta,” but then why do all of these labels call this food “macaroni…
Keeping America Safe for Chocolate Milk
For almost 50 years Mom had an understudy in the kitchen: the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. This government agency carefully studied her recipes and wrote them down; they even considered her chocolate milk recipe. FDA can establish legally enforceable recipes that food manufacturers must comply with: these are known as “food standards.” A food…
FDA Storytime 