A recent Nature study has reportedly concluded that non-caloric artificial sweeteners (NAS) elevate blood glucose levels and induce glucose intolerance by modifying gut bacteria. Jotham Suez, et al., “Artificial sweeteners induce glucose intolerance by altering the gut microbiota,” Nature, September 2014. Noting that mice given drinking water prepared with either saccharin, sucralose or aspartame showed signs of metabolic problems not evident in mice that received only sucrose water, Israeli researchers evidently hypothesized that gut bacteria mediates the effect of NAS on glucose response. To test this theory, they first showed that eradicating the gut microbiota in these mice also leveled the metabolic differences between the two groups. In addition, germ-free mice that received fecal transplants from those on the NAS diet likewise developed a reduced tolerance to glucose. The study’s authors then obtained gut-bacteria samples from seven human volunteers who consumed the maximum recommended amount of saccharin for one week. When given…
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Animal rights organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is currently engaged in a campaign to ban foie gras production throughout the European Union (EU). Writing in the September 17, 2014, issue of The Parliament Magazine, PETA UK Director Mimi Bekhechi urges readers to sign a letter to EU officials calling on them to stop the production of foie gras, produced by force-feeding ducks and geese to enlarge their livers, in Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Hungary, and Spain. Bekhechi cites scientific evidence as clear proof “that the production of foie gras is not only cruel but also incompatible with the European Commission’s regulations on food production.” According to PETA, more than 200,000 individuals have already signed the letter. PETA also claims that “many animals on foie gras farms are kept in cramped cages that do not comply with Council of Europe recommendations.” Issue 538
Yale University has announced that the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity will move to the University of Connecticut’s (UConn’s) Center for Health, Intervention and Prevention in January 2015 to help launch a major initiative prioritizing “health, wellness, and obesity prevention as an integral part of the University’s mission.” According to a September 12, 2014, press release, “[t]he move will allow Rudd Center researchers to expand their work and build new collaborations with UConn experts on nutrition, public policy, psychology, agriculture, economics, and obesity.” Among other things, the partnership aims to encourage new research on a wide variety of obesity-related topics, including: (i) “economic incentives and the role of marketing in food choices”; (ii) “genetic and neurophysiological moderators of risk for obesity”; (iii) “chemosensory perception in humans and how it influences food preference and intake”; (iv) “weight management interventions for adults and children”; (v) “[the] effects of cholesterol-lowering medications…
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors and Berkeley City Council last week each passed resolutions urging federal lawmakers to pass the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act of 2013 (H.R. 1150) and the Preventing Antibiotic Resistance Act of 2013 (S. 1256). “Twenty-three thousand people die each year in the United States from antibiotic-resistant infections,” a Food & Watch representative was quoted as saying. “The public and elected leaders must take action to keep antibiotics working for people.” The San Francisco resolution also asks the city’s Department of the Environment to consider reducing purchases of agricultural products derived from animals using non-therapeutic antibiotics and residents of the city and county of San Francisco to reduce or eliminate their consumption of such products. See Food & Water Watch News Release, September 15, 2014.
Georgetown public health law professors opine in the September 15, 2014, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) that New York’s high court, in striking down the New York City Board of Health’s sugary drink portion size rule, could have effectively chilled “local innovation, given local agencies’ unique position to devise innovative solutions to urgent health concerns.” More information about the court’s ruling appears in Issue 528 of this Update. The authors contend that the court narrowly construed the board’s authority which “ignored its rich historical legacy” and failed to consider that “[w]ith the epidemiologic transition from infectious to noncommunicable diseases, today’s salient threats include poor diet, physical inactivity, and smoking,” matters that they believe should be within the board’s purview. Noting how tobacco control has involved a series of interventions, including tax increases, marketing restrictions and public smoking bans, they suggest that while “[the] portion cap,…
Costa Rica’s Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court has reportedly struck down the country’s approval process for projects using genetically modified organisms (GMOs), finding it violates the constitutional rights to a healthy environment and—because of the confidentiality of the process— freedom of information. Environmental groups challenged the process in late 2012, and the Ombudsman’s Office represented their views in court, arguing that the GMO approval process prevented Costa Ricans from accessing information that could potentially affect their health and well-being. The ruling affects the Fitosanitary Law, but it does not ban GMOs or affect GMO projects that have already been approved. See Tico Times, September 11 and 16, 2014. Issue 538
A California federal court has approved a settlement in a case accusing Guayaki Sustainable Rainforest Products Inc. of misleading its customers by listing “organic evaporated cane juice” (ECJ) as an ingredient of its yerba mate products. Cowan v. Guayaki Sustainable Rainforest Prods. Inc., No. 14-1248 (U.S. Dist. Ct., N.D. Cal., order entered September 16, 2014). The terms of the settlement agreement are confidential. The plaintiff’s suit was part of a deluge of putative class actions alleging product mislabeling because the companies included ECJ on their ingredient lists rather than, plaintiffs have argued, the more common and accepted term for the substance, sugar. Many of these cases have been dismissed without prejudice or stayed while courts and parties await promised guidance on the issue from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Additional information on recent cases appears in Issues 534, 532 and 530 of this Update. Issue 538
Back Yard Burgers of Nebraska, Inc. has agreed to settle claims that it violated the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) by allegedly using the last five digits of customer credit-card numbers on its older receipts, instead of the last four digits. Keith v. Back Yard Burgers of Neb., Inc., No. 11-0135 (D. Neb., order preliminarily approving class settlement entered September 15, 2014). The company will pay $2,792,400 into a settlement fund, will provide coupons for a free soft drink with the purchase of an entrée to class members who submit valid claims, will not contest class counsel fees of up to 40 percent of the consent judgment—or $1,116,960—will quitclaim assign to the plaintiff any claim it may have against Data Cash Register (DCR) related to the class action and cooperate in pursuing collection of a consent judgment against DCR, and will comply with FACTA going forward. The class…
Nonprofit consumer advocacy organization Food & Water Watch, Inc. and two of its members have filed an action against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and its Food Safety and Inspection Service seeking to enjoin their new National Poultry Inspection System (NPIS) rules. Food & Water Watch, Inc. v. Vilsack, No. 14-1547 (D.D.C., filed September 11, 2014). Details about the rules, which take effect October 20, 2014, appear in Issue 532 of this Update. The plaintiffs allege that the rules violate the Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA) and Administrative Procedure Act (APA). They interpret the PPIA as requiring “that federal inspectors critically appraise all chicken and turkey carcasses and viscera,” and set forth how increased line speeds and rules giving poultry employees, without training or certification, the authority to inspect and remove adulterated birds or parts from processing lines before inspectors see them violate this requirement. Without actual inspection of every bird,…
Following a seven-week trial in Albany, Georgia, a jury has reportedly convicted former Peanut Corp. of America owner Stewart Parnell, his brother Michael Parnell and quality assurance manager Mary Wilkerson on charges stemming from a 2008-2009 Salmonella outbreak that sickened hundreds of people nationwide and was linked to nine deaths. United States v. Parnell, No. 13-cr-12 (U.S. Dist. Ct., M.D. Ga., Albany Div., verdict entered September 19, 2014). Details about the mail and wire fraud, obstruction and conspiracy charges appear in Issue 472 of this Update. The conspiracy and obstruction charges each carry a potential sentence of 20 years in prison; sentencing will occur at a later date. Two former plant managers who were also charged entered guilty pleas that required them to cooperate with the prosecution. According to a news source, this could be the first time that corporate executives and facility workers have gone to trial in the…
