All Knowledge & Insights By Date

On June 2, 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued an ambitious and likely contentious rule to diminish significantly the United States’ contribution to greenhouse gases (GHG). The rule is proposed under the authority of the Clean Air Act (CAA) and takes direct aim at the coal industry by requiring a 30 percent reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from existing fossil fuel-fired power plants by 2030, using 2005 as the baseline year. This...

On June 26, 2014, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) held a public meeting to discuss the proposed changes to the nutrition label and serving sizes. The meeting was attended by interested parties both in Washington, D.C. and via webcast. The Acting U.S. Surgeon General, Rear Admiral Boris D. Lushniak, M.D., M.P.H., gave the opening remarks stating the importance of these changes in relation to the Surgeon General’s national prevention strategy started in June...

Bloomberg BNA Daily Environment Report reported on Lynn L. Bergeson’s comments regarding final nanotechnology guidances released by the Food and Drug Administration. “The guidances reaffirm the FDA’s position that it has sufficient statutory authorities and policies to oversee the safety of products it regulates, Bergeson said. She expanded on that perspective in a memo her law firm issued. The FDA also restated its view that nanotechnology isn’t inherently safe or harmful, but that...

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has stepped-up its enforcement initiatives and recently settled two cases with companies that market plastic lumber and related products. FTC alleged that these companies misled consumers in violation of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTC Act) in their marketing materials regarding the environmental attributes of their products. Specifically, these cases hinge on claims related to the recycled content and post-consumer content of their products....

On June 24, 2014, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued three final guidances and one draft guidance that it intends to provide “greater regulatory clarity for industry on the use of nanotechnology in FDA-regulated products.” One final guidance addresses FDA’s overall approach for all products that it regulates, while the two additional final guidances and the new draft guidance provide specific guidance for the areas of foods, cosmetics, and food for animals,...

Under Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) Section 3(e), a registrant may distribute or sell its registered product under another person’s name and address instead of (or in addition to) its own without a separate FIFRA Section 3 registration. Such distribution and sale is termed “supplemental distribution” (sometimes referred to as a sub-registration) and the product is referred to as a “distributor product.” FIFRA § 3(e), 7 U.S.C. §...

On June 24, 2014, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued three final guidances and one draft guidance that it intends to provide “greater regulatory clarity for industry on the use of nanotechnology in FDA-regulated products.” See http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm402499.htm. One final guidance addresses FDA’s overall approach for all products that it regulates, while the two additional final guidances and the new draft guidance...

Reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) may be a little closer to reality since Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL), Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy, released on February 27, 2014, a much anticipated discussion draft that would update TSCA. The Chemicals in Commerce Act (CICA) keys off of Senate Bill (S.) 1009, the Chemical Safety Improvement Act (CSIA), which was introduced on May 22, 2013, by late...

On March 19, 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued an administrative order to Pathway Investment Corp. (Pathway) of Englewood, New Jersey, to stop the sale of plastic food storage containers that are not registered with EPA, in violation of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). According to a press release issued on March 31, 2014, by EPA concerning the stop sale order, the Company’s Kinetic Go Green Premium Food Storage Containers...

Far from slowing down as the dog days of summer approach, BRAG and its growing membership have been highly visible and actively working to smooth the regulatory path for, and advance the commercialization of, biobased chemicals. And the pace is only going to pick-up as the temperature rises. BRAG is: To join BRAG in bringing biobased industry stakeholders and regulators together to collaborate on and put into practice new policy paradigms to repurpose the Toxic...