The recipients of the 14th Socially Responsible Business Awards (SRBA) were announced during the annual breakfast held in conjunction with Natural Products Expo East at the Boston Convention Center on October 16.

The awards, presented by representatives of this year’s sponsors including Ellen Feeney, vice president of Responsible Livelihood with WhiteWave Foods; Tom Dziki, vice president of sustainability with United Natural Foods; and Gillian Christie, CEO and founder of Christie Communications, were presented to:

Ahmed Rahim, CEO & co-founder of Numi LLC 
Heather Lieder, marketing director of Pangea Organics
Joar Opheim, CEO of Nordic Naturals

The Socially Responsible Business Awards are given to individuals that have demonstrated excellence in integrating social responsibility in multiple aspects of their businesses. The nominees are judged by an independent panel in six categories: community involvement, education, health, employee empowerment, environment and sourcing.

Following the presentation of the awards, SRBA Steering Committee Chairman Gurudhan Singh Khalsa with internationally known social entrepreneur and Clif Bar Founder and CEO Gary Erickson and his wife and Co-CEO Kit Crawford conducted an interview-style discussion.

Visit www.sociallyresponsibleawards.org for more information.

The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) has announced adding the following four members to its roster: Amerilab Technologies, Inc. (New Hope, MN), Banner Pharmacaps Inc. (High Point, NC), Natural Factors Nutritional Products, Inc. (Everett, WA) and Nutraceutix, Inc. (Redmond, WA).

Amerilab Technologies is a leader in effervescent product and contract development, ad manufacturing and packing of effervescent tablets and powders, according to the company. It is also heavily involved in developing products both internationally and domestically, including anti-aging, herbal, multivitamin, energy and electrolyte replacements, joint relief and many other products in tablet and powder dosage forms.

Banner Pharmacaps is a global drug delivery and specialty pharmaceutical company that delivers products in the global nutrition retail market, reported CRN. In addition, Banner Pharmacaps researches and develops its own branded nutritional products.

Natural Factors produces and distributes a range of vitamins, minerals, herbals, specialty supplements and medical food powders. It researches and manufactures evidence-based supplements, herbals and nutraceuticals from its manufacturing, research and laboratory facilities.

Nutraceutix supplies brands, retailers and contract manufacturers with probiotic organisms (powders) as well as finished probiotic supplements. Nutraceutix also specializes in custom crafting dietary supplements with advanced delivery technologies for a variety of active ingredients that benefit from gastric acid bypass, stomach buffering, controlled release and simplified once-daily dosing, CRN reported.

With the addition of these companies, CRN has welcomed 17 companies as new members in the past year.

For a complete list of CRN member companies, visit http://www.crnusa.org/who_omc.html.

Effective January 1, 2010, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) amended its label regulation authorizing a health claim on the relationship between calcium and a reduced risk of osteoporosis to include vitamin D.

Additionally, the FDA eliminated the following claims:
• listing sex, race and age as specific risk factors for the development of osteoporosis;
• stating or implying that the risk of osteoporosis is equally applicable to the general US population;
• identifying the mechanism by which calcium reduces the risk of osteoporosis;
• including a statement reflecting the limit of the benefits derived from dietary calcium intake; and
• requiring that the claim include a statement that a total dietary intake greater than 20 percent of the recommended daily intake (2,000mg) has no further effect to bone health when the food contains 400mg or more of calcium.

This final rule is, in part, in response to the health claim petition submitted by the Beverage Institute for Health and Wellness, LLC. Because current regulations do not permit food producers to claim health benefits for products by linking the intake of vitamin D and calcium together with a decreased risk of osteoporosis, this regulation will open doors for manufacturers who look to promote D vitamins’ ability, when combined with calcium, to assist in decreasing osteoporosis risk.

Manufacturers will be able, under these new rules, to recreate product labels to add health claims to their products that qualify or reformulate products (by fortifying with calcium or vitamin D) to qualify for the health claims.

The FDA solicited comments on the calcium and vitamin D proposed rule, with the comment period closing on March 21, 2007. The agency received 27 responses from trade associations, health organizations, academia and consumers. Most of these comments supported the proposed amendments.

As of November 12, 2008, products that contain over 250mg of elemental iron are required to be in childproof closures, according to regulations ruled under the “Poison Prevention Packaging Act,” a statute administered by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Additionally, the “Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008” requires that products subject to a consumer product safety rule include a Certificate of Compliance when shipped in commerce on and after November 12, 2008.

Each shipment of products covered by this provision must include a certificate:
• Certifying, based on a reasonable testing program, that the product complies with all rules, bans, standards or regulations applicable to the product under any Act enforced by the CPSC; and
• Specifying:
o The applicable regulation;
o The manufacturer issuing the certificate and any third-party on whose testing the certification is based;
o Date and place of manufacture of the product packaged into containers for retail sale;
o Date and place where the closure was tested;
o Each listed party’s name, address and telephone number; and
o Contact information for the individual responsible for maintaining records of test results.

The certificate must accompany the regulated product, and copies must be distributed to each distributor and retailer. Upon request, copies of certificates must be furnished to CSPC. In the guidance provided on its website, CPSC has advised that the testing and certification requirements also apply when a product bears a private label, and that the manufacturer and the private labeler must both certify the product. According to CPSC, knowing violations of the certification requirements may lead to civil penalties, and knowing and willfully violating the certification requirements may lead to imprisonment.

CSPC has issued a “Request for Comments and Information,” seeking, in particular, comments on the use of electronic certificates to facilitate the “accompanying” and “furnishing” of requirements as well as comments on the issue of multiple certifications for the same product. Accordingly, CPSC will likely refine requirements as it gathers information on the most effective ways to manage these certification requirements.

“The American Herbal Products Association is reviewing CPSC’s request for comments to determine what comments if any to submit,” said AHPA President Michael McGuffin. “The association is committed to keeping members abreast of any developments and will provide guidance as needed.”

For more information, visit the CPSC website at http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/conformity.pdf

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has published a proposed amendment to the federal organic regulations that sets new grazing requirements for organic livestock and bans confined feedlots from the industry.

The USDA’s proposed rule clarifies requirements for organic livestock producers, principally dairy farmers, requiring their animals to graze on pasture and consume a significant percentage of their feed intake during the growing season. The rule also proposes expanding the definition of livestock to include bees and aquatic animals.

According to the Organic Trade Association (OTA), this regulation will continue to reinforce for shoppers that organic dairy products and beef, for example, are from animals that are receiving proper feed, access to fresh air and sunshine, and well-managed living conditions.

"Organic production is about continuous improvement of farms and the environment, and this proposed regulation is the next step in improvements for organic dairy, beef, lamb and goat production in the United States,” said Christine Bushway, OTA's executive director.

The Cornucopia Institute, however, has brought to light some concerns about the new proposal from past chair and member of the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB), Jim Riddle.

“While I appreciate the fact that the USDA has issued proposed rules to clarify pasture requirements, based on NOSB recommendations, I am very concerned about the proposed language on dairy replacement animals,” said Riddle.
 
Added Riddle, “The proposed change, contrary to language recommended by the NOSB, would institutionalize the current two-track system, which allows certain operations to continually bring in conventional heifers, while other operations are required to use only replacement heifers that have been raised organically from the last third of gestation. There should be one standard for all organic dairy farms, once they have converted to organic production.”

USDA is accepting public comments on the proposed regulations until December 23.

Lundberg Family Farms (Richvale, CA) announced that it has received a 2008 Green Power Leadership award from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA co-sponsors the Green Power Leadership Awards in conjunction with the US Department of Energy (DOE) and the Center for Resource Solutions (CRS). The awards recognize the leading actions of organizations, programs and individuals that significantly advance the development of green power sources.

With the recent installation of a solar array covering a full acre, Lundberg Family Farms now generates up to 15 percent of their power from solar energy, helping to power its headquarters office, rice storage and processing facilities. With its purchase of Renewable Energy Credits, the company offsets some 130 percent of its total electricity use, making them a net positive contributor to California's energy supply. In the coming year, Lundberg Family Farms expects to offset 4.8 million kWh, which is equivalent to avoiding the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of nearly 600 passenger vehicles per year, or is the equivalent amount of electricity needed to power more than 500 average American homes annually.
 
"Being an environmentally sensitive business doesn't end with growing organic rice; for us, it begins there," said Grant Lundberg, CEO of the family-owned company that bears his name. "Renewable energy is central to the concept of sustainable agriculture, and it's one of the ways we live our core value of operating responsibly."