Concluding that alcohol ads are viewed more than 18,000 times by public school student transit passengers during an average weekday, a new study recommends that Boston’s public transit system be prohibited from displaying alcohol advertisements. Justin Nyborn, et. al, “Alcohol Advertising on Boston’s Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Transit System: An Assessment of Youths’ and Adults’ Exposure,” American Journal of Public Health (November 2009). Some 9,600 students aged 11-18 use the transit system daily. Michael Siegel, a professor at Boston University School of Public Health who co-authored the study, said, “By allowing alcohol advertising on the T, the state is not only allowing alcohol companies to bombard our kids with enticing advertisements, it is also allowing these companies to successfully recruit new drinkers among underage youths in the Commonwealth.” Siegel’s primary research interest is in tobacco control. See BU School of Public Health: The Insider, November 4, 2009. In a…
Category Archives Issue 328
“Flavor chemicals often make up less than one percent of the ingredients in processed foods, and many flavorists regard the terms ‘natural’ and ‘artificial’ as largely meaningless—an indulgence for consumers who happen to believe that one is more likely to be toxic than another, even if the perception is not necessarily true,” writes The New Yorker’s Raffi Khatchadourian in this article examining the history of the food flavoring industry. Shadowing a flavorist who works for the Swiss company Givaudan, Khatchadourian reports that this $20 billion per year sector has evolved from “simple and direct” applications of natural additives or essential oils to a precise molecular science. “Once you begin to consider the natural world at a molecular level, the boundaries that separate one fruit from another begin to seem like artifice,” he notes, adding that both the technology and the secretive business culture present unique regulatory challenges. “The flavor industry…
This New York Times special report chronicles a growing movement among organic dairy farmers to overturn state bans on the sale of unpasteurized milk. According to the report, 28 states currently allow sales of raw milk “in some form,” but the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has deemed the product “inherently dangerous” and banned its interstate sale. Yet one advocacy group has reportedly claimed that farmers could receive $5 to $7 per gallon for raw milk sold directly to consumers. “Now, the weak market for pasteurized milk and its effect on dairy farmers is motivating some states to reconsider their ban,” maintains the article, which cites raw milk proponents who “say that pasteurization kills enzymes and bacteria that are nutritionally beneficial and aid in digestion and diminishes vitamin content.” FDA officials, however, have apparently refuted these touted health benefits. The Times observes that the agency is currently reviewing its 60-day…
According to ConsumerLab.com, many of the probiotic supplements it tested contained far less of the amount of viable organisms advertised, due, primarily, to the death of the purportedly beneficial organisms after manufacture. Some companies apparently qualify their claims of cell amounts by stating “at the time of manufacture” on product labels. ConsumerLab’s president was quoted as saying, “It’s shocking how many products really don’t have what they claim on their labels. The buyer has to be careful.” Those promoting probiotics reportedly claim that 1 billion organisms will provide some benefit for digestion and some infections, so those products starting with tens of billions of live cells likely have the minimum amount deemed necessary by the time of consumption. At least one company responded to the study by claiming that its marketing, which includes the qualifier, is not deceptive. According to the company that makes Nature’s Secret Ultimate Probiotics®, which was…
The Organic Center, Union for Concerned Scientists and Center for Food Safety have issued a report claiming that U.S. Department of Agriculture data show that the use of weed-killing herbicides on genetically engineered (GE) corn, soybeans and cotton has increased by 383 pounds over a 13-year period ending in 2008. According to the preface to the report, titled “Impacts of Genetically Engineered Crops on Pesticide Use: The First Thirteen Years,” this finding will be “news to the public at large, which still harbors the illusion, fed by misleading industry claims and advertising, that biotechnology crops are reducing pesticide use. Such a claim was valid for the first few years of commercial use of GE corn, soybeans, and cotton. But, as this report shows, it is no longer.” The report contends that widespread adoption of glyphosate-resistant crops “has vastly increased the use of glyphosate herbicide,” which “has spawned a growing epidemic…
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has published a report criticizing movie chain concessions for their nutritional content, comparing some medium popcorn and soda combos to “three McDonald’s Quarter Pounders with 12 pats of butter.” CSPI purportedly analyzed concessions from the three largest theater chains—AMC Entertainment Inc., Cinemark USA, Inc., and Regal Entertainment Group. Faulting both AMC and Regal for popping popcorn in coconut oil, the consumer watchdog alleged that a large Regal popcorn contains 1,200 calories and 60 grams of fat, and a large AMC popcorn contains 1,030 calories and 57 grams of fat. CSPI also reported that although Cinemark uses “heart-healthy” canola oil, its large popcorn is “almost as high in calories and has the most sodium—about twice as much as Regal or AMC.” In addition, the group purportedly found that other movie snacks, including candies sold in 4 to 5 ounce servings, can have “between…
Plaintiffs’ lawyer William Marler has apparently filed a second lawsuit against New York-based Fairbank Farms for injury allegedly caused by consumption of E. coli-tainted ground beef. According to Marler, the suit has been filed in a Maine state court on behalf of a woman who was hospitalized for six days after consuming meat produced by Fairbank Farms. Her cultures allegedly tested positive for the same E. coli strain found in the company’s recalled meat. See Food Poison Journal, November 17, 2009. Meanwhile, Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) has called on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Inspector General to investigate the method that meat processors and the agency use to verify that ground beef is free of the bacterium. In her November 12 letter, DeLauro discusses the Fairbank Farms outbreak and notes that the company’s facility sampled its products every 10 to 20 minutes. She states, “However, despite these precautions, it…
Federal courts in Ohio and Kentucky have remanded putative class claims alleging that Applebee’s International, Inc., DineEquity, Inc. and Weight Watchers International, Inc. misrepresented the calorie and nutritional information on the Weight Watchers menu items available in Applebee’s restaurants. Curry v. Applebee’s Int’l, Inc., No. 09-505 (S.D. Ohio, filed November 17, 2009); Kramer v. Applebee’s Int’l, Inc., No. 09-131 (E.D. Ky., filed November 17, 2009). Each plaintiff filed her complaint in state court and sought to certify a class of statewide residents. In July 2009, more than ten months after the complaints had been filed and after some discovery and an unsuccessful mediation had occurred, the defendants removed the cases to their respective federal courts. Writing for both courts, the Ohio district court determined that the defendants had filed for removal too late under the Class Action Fairness Act, which requires that a notice of removal be filed within 30 days…
California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) is requesting written comments on two proposals. One would establish a “no significant risk level” for fumonisin B1, a chemical present in many corn-based food products, at a value that is apparently significantly lower than safe levels set by other regulators and could expose many companies to the risk of litigation under Proposition 65 (Prop. 65). Comments are due by November 23, 2009. According to an industry spokesperson, the proposed level of 1.5 micrograms per day is “very, very low,” particularly when compared with Food and Drug Administration standards and the standards of international regulatory bodies. A snack food company requested in 2008 that OEHHA establish a “safe use determination” for fumonisin B1, which would mean that products containing this naturally occurring chemical do not pose a health risk. The request is still pending. See Inside Cal/EPA, November 13, 2009. Meanwhile, OEHHA…
The Canadian House of Commons’ Standing Committee on Health (HESA) recently heard testimony from Nestlé S.A. and Kellogg Co. representatives about dietary salt reduction. The representatives reportedly backed recent efforts to reduce salt levels in popular products, noting that breakfast cereals account for only 3 percent of the salt in the Canadian diets. Nestlé Director of Corporate Affairs Catherine O’Brien also stated that the company currently complies with the Heart and Stroke Foundation’s Health Check™ program, which has worked to remove 500,000 kilograms of salt from the food supply in the past 4 years. “We must balance the push of science with the pull of the market—consumers will simply not compromise on taste, therefore it must be a priority alongside improved health,” O’Brien was quoted as saying. According to media sources, some HESA members have expressed frustration with forthcoming federal salt reduction targets because they are not mandatory. “I frankly don’t…
12
