A recent study has purportedly linked processed red meat consumption to metabolic syndrome (MetS), which includes health factors such as abdominal obesity and elevated triglycerides, LDL cholesterol, blood pressure, or fasting glucose, or reduced HDL cholesterol. N. Babio, et al., “Association between red meat consumption and metabolic syndrome in a Mediterranean population at high cardiovascular risk: Cross sectional and 1-year follow-up assessment,” Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases, September 26, 2010. Researchers evidently conducted cross-sectional analyses on a Mediterranean population at a high risk for cardiovascular disease, evaluating “a 137-item validated semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire, anthropometric measurements, blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose and lipid profile” at baseline and after one year. The study authors reported that among these individuals, “higher [red meat] consumption is associated with a significantly higher prevalence and incidence of MetS and central obesity.” According to the researchers, the study is “the first that prospectively demonstrates a higher-incidence of…
Category Archives Issue 366
A new study reportedly claims that young people mistakenly view sugar-sweetened sports beverages as healthy alternatives to soft drinks. Nalini Ranjit, et al., “Dietary and Activity Correlates of Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption Among Adolescents,” Pediatrics, September 27, 2010. University of Texas School of Public Health researchers surveyed 15,283 middle- and high-school students to determine the correlation between consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and flavored and sports beverages (FSBs) to diet and physical activity. According to the study, researchers discovered that more than 60 percent of boys and more than 50 percent of girls drank at least one soda, sports drink or other sweetened beverage like fruit punch each day, which could lead to yearly weight gain. Students active in sports and other physical activities consumed more sports drinks while those who led more sedentary lifestyles drank more soda. “The most likely explanation for these findings is that FSBs have been successfully marketed as…
The New York Times reports that three-time Tour de France winner Alberto Contador is blaming a steak he ate on a rest day during the race for a drug test positive for clenbuterol. Experts have indicated that the small amount to which he could have been exposed would not have boosted his performance; the drug is apparently sometimes given to cattle illegally to speed up growth and increase muscle mass. The amount of clenbuterol found in Contador’s samples was apparently very small, and the contaminated meat theory has been given considerable credence. Meanwhile, the Spanish cyclist has been provisionally suspended until race authorities determine whether he was using the drug. See The New York Times, September 30, 2010.
A World Trade Organization (WTO) panel has determined that the United States has violated its trade obligations by refusing to allow Chinese chicken parts into the U.S. market, an action that was apparently taken in a 2009 federal spending bill that denied the use of any U.S. Department of Agriculture funding to establish or implement any measure that would allow the importation. The law extended a five-year U.S. ban on Chinese chicken that was imposed during a bird flu outbreak. While the WTO can sanction countries that violate trade rules, this could take several years because the United States has the option to appeal the verdict. According to a news source, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has indicated that the restrictions were temporary and are due to expire soon. See USA Today, September 29, 2010.
Two days after the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) announced that Ben & Jerry’s had agreed to phase out claims that its ice creams and frozen yogurts were “All Natural,” when some product ingredients are processed, a putative class action was filed in a California federal court against the company seeking money damages for false advertising and an injunction to stop the company from making such claims. Astiana v. Ben & Jerry’s Homemade, Inc., No. 10-4387 (N.D. Cal., filed September 29, 2010). In August 2010, CSPI claimed that 48 of the company’s products were mislabeled because they contained unnatural ingredients, and the watchdog threatened to bring its concerns to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). More details about CPSI’s action appear in Issue 360 of this Update. On September 27, CSPI praised the company for amicably resolving the dispute; the company’s response indicated that it would remove the…
A federal court in California has determined that an agency decision to allow planting of genetically modified (GM) sugar beet stecklings (seedlings) without conducting an environmental assessment likely violated federal law and has ordered the parties to file briefs as to the appropriate remedy now that most of the stecklings authorized have been planted. Ctr. for Food Safety v. Vilsack, No. 10-04038 (N.D. Cal., decided September 28, 2010). Additional information about the lawsuit’s challenge to action taken by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) appear in Issue 363 of this Update. The court first addressed whether seed companies could intervene in the matter and ruled that they could do so as to the remedies, but not as to the merits, that is, whether APHIS violated federal environmental laws including the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by issuing the permits without conducting an environmental review. The…
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has determined that parts of an Ohio law regulating the use of labeling on dairy products from cows not treated with growth hormones violate the First Amendment. Int’l Dairy Foods Ass’n v. Boggs, Nos. 09-3515/3526 (6th Cir., decided September 30, 2010). The court also upheld other provisions and remanded parts of the rule relating to antibiotics and pesticides for further proceedings. Thus, the court overturned, in part, a district court determination that upheld most of the rule’s provisions. The Ohio Director of Agriculture adopted a rule in May 2008 that (i) prohibited dairy producers from claiming their milk was hormone-free (a composition claim) and (ii) placed stringent restrictions on the use of the claim “this milk is from cows not supplemented with rbST [recombinant bovine somatotropin or recombinant bovine growth hormone (rbGH)]” (a production claim). Among other matters, the latter require verification, and contiguous…
North Carolina has reportedly become the most recent state to adopt a definition for “pure honey” that beekeepers hope will get fake honey off the market. Because Americans consume some 350 million pounds of honey annually, but domestic producers produce just 150 million pounds, there is apparently a financial incentive for importers and others to sell honey cut with additives such as corn syrup. Other states that currently regulate honey include California, Florida and Wisconsin. While the Food and Drug Administration has undertaken efforts to stop the sale of chemically contaminated honey, the agency is also reportedly considering a petition seeking to establish a national standard. See USA Today, September 25, 2010.
The Florida Board of Education is reportedly considering a ban on chocolate milk and sugary beverages in the state’s public schools. Board members evidently tabled the issue last spring in anticipation of federal government action, but recently decided to move forward to hear opinions from physicians and researchers on whether such a ban would improve children’s health. Hearings will be held over the next two months, with possible legislation coming in December. “When you think about it, we probably have a million overweight or obese children in our schools,” board member John Padget was quoted as saying. “I think the clock is ticking in terms of personal health.” Board member Susan Story reportedly wants the board to consider a possible ban on other foods sold in schools, including chips and ice cream. “To me, it’s a bigger issue that needs to be looked at and not a chocolate milk-versus-white milk…
California EPA’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) is seeking public comments on draft changes to those Proposition 65 (Prop. 65) regulatory provisions addressing no observable effect levels for listed chemicals. According to OEHHA, “[t]hese regulations set out the procedures and criteria for determining an exposure level where there would be no observable effect,” and the proposed changes would “clarify these procedures and criteria.” Comments are requested by October 31, 2010. Prop. 65 requires companies to provide warnings before exposing people to chemicals known to the state to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity. OEHHA is the lead agency implementing the law and maintains the Prop. 65 regulations. The agency has announced the availability of updated hazard identification materials for two chemicals widely used in industry and also formed in certain foods during processing. According to the updated materials, 1,3-Dichloro-2- propanol (1,3-DCP) and 3 Monochloropropane-1,2-diol (3-MCPD), were added to the Prop.…
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