Three elected San Francisco officials recently introduced legislation to amend the city’s health code by restricting restaurant toy giveaways to only those meals that meet stringent nutritional guidelines. The Healthy Food Incentives Ordinance (10196) would apply to all San Francisco restaurants, but mostly affect fast food establishments that offer toys linked to the purchase of meals targeted to children and high in calories, salt or fat. In April 2010, Santa Clara County, California, became the first local government to enact a similar measure, highlighted in Issue 347 of this Update. The proposed San Francisco measure would prohibit restaurants from offering an “incentive item” such as toys, trading cards or admission tickets with a single menu item containing more than 200 calories or 480 milligrams of sodium or an entire meal containing more than 600 calories or 640 milligrams of sodium. Another stipulation calls for toy giveaway meals to provide no…
Category Archives Issue 360
The Chinese Ministry of Health has apparently announced an investigation into claims linking infant formula manufactured by Synutra International, Inc., to early onset puberty. According to state-run media, the ministry has assembled a panel of nine experts to examine whether the formula caused three infants ages 4 to 15 months to develop prematurely. The group will work with local authorities in Hubei Province to test milk powder samples taken from the homes of the infants in question. See Xinhau News Agency, August 12, 2010. The decision came after China Daily reported that doctors identified excessive levels of two hormones, estradiol and prolactin, in the children, thus sparking public speculation about tainted formula. Synutra, however, has since joined its milk powder supplier, New Zealand based Fonterra Cooperative Group Ltd., in denying the rumors, which have noted that both companies were caught up in a 2008 scandal over melamine-tainted dairy products. As Synutra…
In advance of the August 30-September 3, 2010, session of the Codex Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods, draft U.S. positions will be considered during a public meeting scheduled for August 16. Written comments may be presented during the meeting or forwarded to the U.S. delegate to the Codex session, Dr. Kevin Greenlees, who works in the Office of New Animal Drug Evaluation at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Among other issues on the upcoming Codex agenda are (i) draft maximum residue limits for veterinary drugs (at step seven of an eight-step Codex process), (ii) a discussion paper on methods of analysis for these residues in foods, (iii) a draft priority list of veterinary drugs requiring evaluation by a joint Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)/World Health Organization (WHO) expert committee on food additives, (iv) a discussion paper on veterinary drugs in honey production, and (v) a discussion…
Senators Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) have issued a report, “Summertime Blues,” in which they provide information about “100 stimulus projects that give taxpayers the blues.” Among the projects is a $521,000 grant to the University of Illinois to study whether taxes on soft drinks and other sugar-sweetened beverages can affect the incidence of obesity. According to the senators, “While it is hard to disagree that soda and other sugary drinks are contributing factors to the national obesity epidemic, it is easy to disagree whether federal dollars should be used to study the relationship between taxes and obesity.” In a related development, the CEO of a nonprofit foundation writing in The Hill’s “Pundits Blog,” called the District of Columbia’s decision to take a “soda tax” off the table “an unfortunate mistake.” Kathy Kemper opines that the proposal “would take our capital city far in reducing sugar consumption among…
A U.S. magistrate judge in New Jersey has issued an order staying a case that alleges “natural” labeling for Snapple beverages is misleading because the product contains high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), which plaintiffs contend is not an all-natural ingredient. Holk v. Snapple Beverage Corp., No. 07-3018 (D.N.J., order entered August 10, 2010). The parties drew the court’s attention to a stay issued in similar litigation involving Arizona Iced Tea® beverages. Additional information about that case appears in Issue 356 of this Update. The stay will remain in effect for six months, pending a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) review of the matter. “That time period may be extended for good cause shown, in the event the FDA shows a willingness to consider this issue but needs more time to do so. If, on the other hand, the FDA declines to consider the issue, counsel are directed to notify the Court promptly…
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