Food Roundup: Obama Takes On FDA, Coke Drops 'Classic,' Italy Bans Foreign Food, and More

Obama says he'll review FDA -- The president called for a thorough review of the Food and Drug Administration, which has faced a lot of criticism over its ability to prevent or respond quickly to crises like the current salmonella contamination of peanut butter. "I think that the FDA has not been able to catch some of these things as quickly as I expect them to," he said on NBC's Today show. [Source: Food Business News, AP ]

Coke to drop "classic" label -- As the wildly unsuccessful "New Coke" has been off the market for quite some time, Coca-Cola is removing the term "classic" from the name of its flagship drink. The original formula was reintroduced as "classic" months after the new formula came out and bombed with consumers. Cans and still bottles will still say "Coke Classic Original Formula," but less prominently and in much smaller print. [Source: Bloomberg]

New ethnic restaurants banned in parts of Italy -- A town in Italy and the entire Lombardy region, which includes Milan, passed laws against the opening of new foreign restaurants. The Northern League party, which introduced the laws, said the purpose was "to protect local specialities from the growing popularity of ethnic cuisines." [Source: Times Online]

CSPI urges Pennsylvania governor to ban trans fat -- Although the Pennsylvania Trans Fat Task Force recommended educational efforts in lieu of legislation, the Center for Science in the Public Interest today told the governor to ignore these recommendations. The state should pass legislation that phases out trans fats in all restaurants, as other cities and states have done, CSPI said. [Source: CSPI]

Utah eliminates state organic program -- The state of Utah is discontinuing its organic certification program, which was much less costly for producers than most private certifiers. The decision came because of pending budget cuts. [Source: Salt Lake Tribune]