A recent study has reportedly associated non-diet soft drink consumption among teenagers with an increased risk for violent tendencies, raising questions about the legitimacy of the so-called “Twinkie Defense” used in the 1979 trial of Dan White for the assassination of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk. Sara Solnick and David Hemenway, “The ‘Twinkie Defense’: the relationship between carbonated non-diet soft drinks and violence perpetration among Boston high school students,” Injury Prevention, October 2011. A collaboration between Harvard School of Public Health Professor David Hemenway and University of Vermont Economics Professor Sara Solnick, the study relied on questionnaires completed by more than 1,800 Boston public high school students ages 14 to 18 years. According to an October 28, 2011, Harvard Crimson article, the results evidently showed that “teens who drank more soft drinks were between nine and fifteen percent more likely to be violent” even after researchers accounted for…
Category Archives Issue 415
A recent study has reportedly claimed that prenatal exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) could affect “behavioral and emotional regulation” in girls ages 3 and younger. Joe Braun, et al., “Impact of Early-Life Bisphenol A Exposure on Behavior and Executive Function in Children,” Pediatrics, October 2011. The results appear to confirm earlier research led by Harvard School of Public Health researcher Joe Braun that was covered in Issue 322 of this Update. Using a prospective birth cohort of 244 mothers and their 3-year-old children, the study authors measured gestational BPA exposure at 16 and 26 weeks and birth, as well as childhood exposure at 1, 2 and 3 years of age. Although they detected BPA in more than 97 percent of gestational and childhood urine samples, researchers also found that, especially among girls, “each 10-fold increase in gestational BPA concentrations was associated with more anxious and depressed behavior . . .…
Kelly Brownell, director of Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity, recently authored commentary for Time magazine’s online opinion section, advocating “a penny-per-ounce tax on any beverage with added sugar.” According to Brownell’s October 24, 2011, article, “Nearly 20 states or cities in the U.S. have considered or are considering the possibility of a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs),” but their efforts have allegedly been thwarted by the beverage industry “in ways reminiscent of the tobacco industry when it came under attack in the 1950s.” Drawing parallels between the two products, Brownell dismisses claims that SSB taxes would be “discriminatory” and ineffective by pointing to successful government efforts to reduce smoking. He also calls out groups such as Americans Against Food Taxes for seeking to emulate grassroots movements and contribute to obesity-related research. In particular, Brownell criticizes the Foundation for a Healthy America for purportedly donating $10 million…
The nonprofit organization Common Sense Media (CSM) has issued a report titled Zero to Eight: Children’s Media Use in America that documents how infants, toddlers and young children are exposed to media “on everything from television to mobile devices to apps.” Billed as the first national research study to examine young children’s use of iPads and other new devices “along with older media platforms such as television, computers and books,” the report concludes that digital media “has become a regular part of the media diet of children ages 0 to 8, with four in 10 2- to 4-year olds and half (52%) of 5- to 8-year-olds using smartphones, video iPods, iPads or similar devices.” Working on CSM’s behalf, the research consultant Knowledge Networks “used a probability-based online panel designed to be representative of the United States” to survey 1,384 parents from May 27-June 15, 2011. Building on previous studies conducted…
A recent study analyzing federal oversight of substances added to food has reportedly concluded that the current program, while expediting the review process, both inhibits transparency and delegates critical food safety decisions to manufacturers. Thomas Neltner, et al., “Navigating the U.S. Food Additive Regulatory Program,” Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, October 2011. Based on research conducted by the Pew Health Group, the study was designed “to assist food science and technology professionals and others to navigate the food additive regulatory program to more fully understand the program’s structure and operation.” In particular, the authors examined how FDA has used the Food Additives Amendment Act of 1958 to categorize and regulate (i) food additives, (ii) substances generally recognized as safe (GRAS), (iii) pesticide chemicals or residues, (iv) substances sanctioned before the Act came into effect, (v) color additives, (vi) drugs in animal feed, and (vii) dietary supplements. The researchers reported…
The Canadian Wheat Board, which apparently serves as the marketing organization for western Canadian wheat, durum wheat and barley farmers, has filed a lawsuit against the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, in his capacity as Minister Responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board, alleging that he failed to consult with the board as required by law before “causing to be introduced in Parliament on October 18, 2011,” a bill that would create an open market and essentially eliminate the board’s “exclusive statutory marketing authority in respect of wheat and barley.” The board claims to have “a legal mandate to extract the highest overall returns for farmers by effectively leveraging the powers of the single desk.” According to a news source, the board narrowly approved the legal action; directors elected by farmers, for the most part, supported it, while those appointed by the government voted against it. Opposition farmer Henry Vos, calling…
The European General Court (ECG) has determined that the European Commission (EC) erred in removing the antibacterial chemical 2,4,4’-tricihloro2’-hydroxydiphenyl ether (triclosan) from the list of additives that may be used to make plastic materials and other articles that come into contact with foods. Microban Int’l Ltd. v. EC, No. T-262 (ECG, decided October 25, 2011). The court first determined that the EC’s action constituted a regulatory act of direct concern to the applicants, companies that make the additive. The court then ruled both that the EC based its decision on the wrong law and failed to follow the correct procedures in removing triclosan from the list. The court noted that the chemical was previously included on the provisional list of additives which can continue to be used subject to national law on the basis of a European Food Safety Authority determination in 2004 that “although triclosan was a substance for which an…
A California resident has filed a putative nationwide class action against Austrian and British companies that sell Oxygizer®, a “designer water” product promoted as an athletic performance aid, alleging that increased oxygen content cannot deliver the benefits claimed. Ghazarian v. Oxy Beverages Handelsgelsellschaft mbH, No. 11-8860 (C.D. Cal., filed October 26, 2011). The companies purportedly promote the product with claims that (i) it aids rapid muscle recovery by increasing the level of oxygen in the body, (ii) the glass bottle eliminates or reduces oxygen loss, (iii) it is the only water with a proven positive effect on the body, (iv) the product is patented, (v) it transports oxygen in body cells to regenerate them, (vi) the water strengthens the immune system and improves cardiovascular and respiratory function, and (vii) it helps office workers who are deprived of oxygen in large cities. According to the plaintiff, each of these claims is…
California residents have filed a putative class action in a federal court against grocery chain Trader Joe’s Co., alleging that a number of its “All Natural” products contain synthetic or artificial ingredients and thus are mislabeled and falsely advertised. Larsen v. Trader Joe’s Co., No. 11-5188 (N.D. Cal., filed October 24, 2011). According to the complaint, “The labeling of products as ‘All Natural’ carries implicit health benefits important to consumers—benefits that consumers are often willing to pay a premium for over comparable products that are not ‘All Natural.’ Trader Joe’s has cultivated and reinforced a corporate image that has catered to this ‘All Natural’ theme and has boldly emblazed this claim on each and every one of its foods identified above, despite the fact Trader Joe’s uses synthetic ingredients in the products identified above.” The listed products include cookies, biscuits, cheese, fruit jellies, and apple juice sold under the Trader…
Seeking to represent a nationwide class of consumers, a New York resident has filed a lawsuit in a New Jersey federal court, alleging that Smart Balance, Inc. falsely labels its fat-free milks enhanced with omega-3 as “Fat Free” when they actually contain 1 gram of fat per serving. Stewart v. Smart Balance, Inc., No. 11-06174 (D.N.J., filed October 19, 2011). Acknowledging that the nutrition facts label indicates that the products contain 1 gram of fat, the plaintiff nonetheless contends that the front-of-package representations are “intentionally confusing and misleading.” She alleges that she paid more for the company’s products than she would have otherwise paid for alternative milk options because she relied on the “Fat Free” labels, which she contends violate federal labeling rules. Alleging violation of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, unjust enrichment, breach of warranty, and injunctive relief, the plaintiff seeks class certification; compensatory, treble and punitive damages; disgorgement;…
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