Northeast dairy farmers have reportedly settled their price-fixing claims against Dean Foods Co. for $30 million and injunctive relief requiring the company to buy a portion of its raw milk from multiple sources. Allen v. Dairy Farmers of America, No. __ (D. Vt., settlement reached December 24, 2010). While the agreement requires court approval, it would reportedly allow some 5,000 to 10,000 farmers to file claims for monetary damages over allegations that Dean Foods would buy milk only through Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) and its affiliates in the region. According to counsel for the plaintiffs, the case will continue against DFA, to resolve claims that “the nation’s largest cooperative monopolized a level of distribution of fluid milk in the Northeast and forced dairy farmers to join DFA or its marketing affiliate [Dairy Marketing Services] to survive.” See DairyLine.com, December 24, 2010; Worcester Business Journal, December 27, 2010; and Burlington…
Category Archives Issue 376
A recent study has reportedly suggested that women who consume more than 3.6 ounces of red meat daily had a 42-percent risk of cerebral infarction compared to those who ate less than 1 ounce. Susanna C. Larsso, et al., “Red Meat Consumption and Risk of Stroke in Swedish Women,” Stroke, December 2010. Swedish researchers evidently examined data from 34,670 women ages 39 to 73, finding that over 10 years, participants in the top quintile for red meat consumption were at a 22-percent increased risk of cerebral infarction over the bottom quintile. In addition, women who reported eating at least 1.5 ounces of processed meat per day had 24-percent greater risk than those who ate less than half an ounce. The study’s authors, however, did not draw any conclusions about other types of stroke, nor did they find increased risks related to fresh meat and poultry consumption. Red and processed meat…
A recent study has reportedly confirmed a massive die-off in four North American bumble bee species, raising concerns about the effects on agricultural crops and native plants. Sydney Cameron, et al., “Patterns of Widespread Decline in North American Bumble Bees,” PNAS, January 3, 2011. Led by University of Illinois Entomology Professor Sydney Cameron, researchers examined eight species, comparing approximately 73,000 historical records with data from “intensive nationwide surveys” involving more than 16,000 specimens. Their findings apparently indicated that “the relative abundances of four species have declined by up to 96% and that their surveyed geographic ranges have contracted by 23–87%, some within the last 20 [years].” According to a January 3, 2011, University of Illinois press release, the study authors suspect that pathogens, habitat loss and low genetic diversity could all be contributing to the decline. They also noted that bumble bees, which are adapted to colder climates, help pollinate…
According to University of Kentucky researchers, manufactured nanoparticles discharged into waste streams could wind up in agricultural biosolids and thus enter the food chain. Jonathan D. Judy, et al., “Evidence for Biomagnification of Gold Nanoparticles within a Terrestrial Food Chain,” Environmental Science & Technology, December 2010. The study’s authors reportedly used gold nanoparticles to examine the uptake mechanism of tobacco plants and tobacco hookworms, finding that while both organisms absorbed nanoparticles, the hookworm exhibited concentrations 6 to 12 times higher than the plant. “We expected [nanoparticles] to accumulate, but not biomagnify like that,” said University of Kentucky environmental toxicologist Paul Bertsch in describing the process by which substances increase in concentration higher up the food chain. Meanwhile, a second study has raised questions about how predatory microbes retain nanoparticles. R. Werlin, et al., “Biomagnification of cadmium selenide quantum dots in a simple experimental microbial food chain,” Nature Technology, December 2010.…
A Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine researcher has called for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to change its trans fat labeling guidelines to reflect more accurate levels of the fat in foods. Eric Brandt, “Deception of Trans Fats on Food and Drug Administration Food Labels: A Proposed Revision to the Presentation of Trans Fats on Food Labels,” American Journal of Health Promotion, January/February 2011. Current FDA regulations allow trans fat content of less than .5 grams to be listed as 0 grams of fat on food labels. Brandt claims that the policy is misleading and “may result in people thinking they are consuming foods with no trans fats, when in fact they may be consuming food that cumulatively include trans fats in excess of 1 percent of total dietary consumption.” He recommends that trans fat content be labeled in .1-gram increments.
Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation have issued their eighth annual report, Ready or Not? Protecting the Public from Diseases, Disasters, and Bioterrorism, which warns that financial woes threaten recent gains made in public health protection. According to a December 14, 2010, TFAH press release, no state scored lower than five on 10 key indicators of public health preparedness, with three states scoring a perfect 10. But the report also cautioned that these developments are now “in real jeopardy due to severe budget cuts by federal, state, and local governments.” In particular, TFAH noted that “10 states do not have an electronic syndromic surveillance system that can report and exchange information to rapidly detect disease outbreaks,” while “21 states were not able to rapidly identify disease-causing E.coli O157:H7 and submit the lab results in 90 percent of cases within four days.” The report also identified “ongoing major…
WikiLeaks, which has made its reputation by placing otherwise unavailable documents on the Internet, has released a December 2010 cable from the U.S. Embassy in Paris in which the ambassador expresses concerns about European action on genetically modified (GM) crops. The cable calls for the preparation of a retaliation list of those countries opposing GM crops to “make clear that the current path has real costs to EU interests and could help strengthen European pro-biotech voices.” According to the cable, “the pro-biotech side in France— including within the farm union—have told us that retaliation is the only way to begin to turn this issue in France.” The cable notes that legislation currently pending before the French National Assembly and Senate “could make any biotech planting impossible in practical terms. The law would make farmers and seed companies legally liable for pollen drift and sets the stage for inordinately large cropping…
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has published a January 3, 2011, letter to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Margaret Hamburg that calls for health warnings on sugar-sweetened beverages. Signed by the American Public Health Association, California Center for Public Health Advocacy, Trust for America’s Health, and other groups, the letter asks FDA to require the use of warning labels on “all beverages with more than 1.1 grams of sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, or other added caloric sweeteners per ounce.” Building on a 2005 CSPI petition, the signatories specifically cite “overwhelming evidence linking consumption of soft drinks to serious diseases.” They recommend that the agency use its “ample legal authority” under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require warning labels such as (i) “The U.S. Government recommends that you drink fewer sugary drinks to prevent weight gain, tooth decay, heart disease and diabetes”; (ii)…
Having considered the matter for some six years, the General Court of the European Union (EU) has determined that chocolate makers Lindt & Sprüngli AG and August Storck AG cannot register certain three-dimensional shapes, their colored wrappings and ribbons as European Community trademarks. According to the court, chocolate rabbits, reindeer, bells, and mice “cannot be considered to be capable of identifying the commercial origin of the goods they designate.” The court opined that the Lindt & Sprüngli application involved shapes typical of those “presented at certain times of the year, in particular at Easter and Christmas.” The August Storck application was “made up of a combination of standard presentation elements, typical of the goods concerned,” said the court. See General Court of the European Union Press Release No. 124/10, December 17, 2010.
According to a news source, a small claims court in California has exonerated two seafood restaurant supervisors for alleged negligence in the case of the exploding escargot. More details about the case appear in Issue 373 of this Update. In a two-page ruling, the court apparently determined, “There was absolutely no evidence whatsoever on what caused the escargot to spontaneously splatter grease upon being touched by the plaintiffs. There was no evidence that Seafood Peddler did not exercise reasonable care in the preparation or service of the escargot.” The court also opined that diners should have a “reasonable expectation” of injury “due to hot grease in orders of escargot which are prepared and served with ‘hot garlic butter.’” Pleased with the ruling, the restaurant’s owner reportedly noted that orders for escargot have surged since news about the lawsuit became public. See Marin Independent Journal, December 15, 2010. The Third Circuit Court…
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