Researchers from Jackson State University in Mississippi have reportedly developed a rapid test for detecting Salmonella on food that uses popcorn-shaped gold nanoparticles. Presented March 27, 2012, at the 243rd National Meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the application relies on antibodies attached to gold nanoparticles that then transfer to Salmonella bacteria if present, in the process changing color from pink to blue. “The test for lettuce requires just a tiny sample of lettuce leaf,” explained lead researcher Paresh Ray. “It doesn’t take a trained laboratory technician to perform the test or read the results. If the color changes from pinkish to bluish, that signals the presence of Salmonella. The test is suitable for use in farm fields and in remote areas of the developing world. We believe it may have enormous potential for rapid, on site pathogen detection to avoid the distribution of contaminated foods.” Although they…
Category Archives Issue 433
A March 27, 2012, “Great Speculations” column on Forbes.com draws parallels between carbonated soft drink (CSD) companies and the tobacco industry, claiming that a recent decline in CSD consumption in the United States has created a competitive market environment similar to that faced by cigarette manufacturers. Authored by contributors from Trefis.com, an investment and market research tool, the article notes that decreased CSD sales volume has prompted soft drink manufacturers to adopt strategies allegedly used by tobacco companies, such as raising product prices, promoting alternatives like energy drinks and juices, and arguing against taxation. “Part of the reason why these industries attract high taxation is because the fiscal deficit of the government is in a mess and imposing taxes n hese industries ensures higher revenue collection in the name of political mileage,” concludes the article. “Cola companies won’t hesitate to ncrease the prices periodically (although certainly not as aggressively as…
The U.K. Department of Health has announced a new “Public Health Responsibility Deal” signed by 17 major food and beverage companies that have agreed to cap calories in their products. According to a March 24, 2012, department press release, the pledge aims “to cut five billion calories from the nation’s diet” by asking signatories to actively promote lower-calorie options and to offer additional reduced-calorie items. The companies supporting the initiative include chain restaurants, retailers and manufacturers such as Coca-Cola Great Britain and Mars, Inc. “We all have a role to play – from individuals to public, private and nongovernmental organizations – if we are going to cut five billion calories from our national diet. It is an ambitious challenge but the Responsibility Deal has made a great start,” said Health Secretary Andrew Lansley. “This pledge is just the start of what must be a bigger, broader commitment from the food…
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has appealed a ruling made by a World Trade Organization (WTO) panel against the United States in a dispute with Mexico and Canada over country-of-origin labeling (COOL) laws for beef and pork products. Responding to complaints filed by Canada and Mexico, WTO’s Dispute Settlement Panel ruled in November 2011 that although the United States has the right to require COOL regulations, specific requirements enacted in 2008 such as those calling for segregation of imported livestock before processing provide less favorable treatment to Canadian and Mexican livestock. The ruling was covered in Issue 419 of this Update. According to the appeal, USTR found several errors in the panel’s ruling and contends, among other issues, that its COOL labeling does not impose unfavorable treatment of imported products because it “requires meat derived from both imported and domestic livestock to be labeled under the exact…
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed in part a district court dismissal of claims that being fed nutriloaf in a county jail subjected an inmate to cruel and unusual punishment in violation of his Eighth Amendment rights. Prude v. Clarke, No. 11-2811 (7th Cir., decided March 27, 2012). The plaintiff was apparently serving time in a state prison facility but was transferred to and stayed in a county jail on several occasions during court proceedings on his post-conviction petition. He was fed only “nutriloaf,” “a bad-tasting food given to prisoners as a form of punishment” and, during his third stay at the county facility began vomiting and experiencing stomach pains and constipation. He ultimately lost 8.3 percent of his weight. According to the court, “[t]he defendants’ response to his suit has been contumacious, and we are surprised that the district judge did not impose sanctions. The defendants ignored…
A federal court in Tennessee has dismissed the two remaining claims in antitrust litigation filed by certain retail processed milk sellers against Dean Foods Co. and the Dairy Farmers of America, Inc. In re: Se. Milk Antitrust Litig., No. 08-1000 (E.D. Tenn., decided March 27, 2012) (ruling applies to Food Lion, LLC v. Dean Foods Co., No. 07-188). At issue were claims for violation of sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act (agreement not to compete and conspiracy to monopolize). The court found that the plaintiffs’ expert failed to “create a material issue of fact on the question of whether the price increases were ‘by reason of’ an illegal conspiracy in violation of the antitrust laws and Plaintiffs do not allege an injury of the kind which the antitrust laws are designed to prevent.” Because the plaintiffs were unable to establish antitrust injury, the court determined that the defendants…
A federal court in California has granted in part and denied in part the motion to dismiss filed by Quaker Oats in consolidated cases alleging that the company falsely advertises products such as granola bars and instant oatmeal containing small amounts of trans fats as healthy. In re: Quaker Oats Labeling Litig., No. 10-502 (N.D. Cal., decided March 28, 2012). According to the court, the plaintiffs’ “primary contention” is that consuming “any amount of artificial ‘trans fat’ is unhealthy, and that therefore various aspects of the labeling on Quaker’s products” are false and misleading under California law. The court earlier determined that some of the claims were preempted by federal law. Additional information about the litigation appears in Issue 369 of this Update. Regarding the plaintiffs’ expanded pleadings, which complain of “various additional statements and images on Chewy Bars, Instant Oatmeal, and Oatmeal To Go Bars,” the court refused to…
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has released a report recommending best business practices “to protect the privacy of American consumers and give them greater control over the collection and use of their personal data.” Titled “Protecting Consumer Privacy in an Era of Rapid Change: Recommendations for Businesses and Policymakers,” the guidance reportedly expands on preliminary findings first issued in December 2010 and covered in Issue 374 of this Update. In particular, the March 2012 report urges companies to protect consumer privacy by (i) building protections into every stage of product design, including “reasonable security for consumer data, limited collection and retention of such data, and reasonable procedures to promote data accuracy”; (ii) giving consumers a “Do Not Track” mechanism to opt out of data collection; and (iii) providing greater transparency about the collection and use of consumer information. Unlike the preliminary version, which applied its framework to all businesses, the…
First synthesized by a Russian chemist in 1891 and deemed safe by the Environmental Protection Agency in 1976 when grandfathered in along with 62,000 other chemicals under the Toxic Substances Control Act, bisphenol A (BPA) was today confirmed for continued use in food packaging materials by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). According to news sources, the agency rejected the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) petition to ban the chemical, finding that the scientific evidence cited in the petition cannot be applied to humans, and the studies were too small or involved injecting BPA into animals rather than ingested over time, which is how human exposure occurs. See The New York Times, March 30, 2012. Produced at an annual rate of more than 8 billion pounds worldwide, BPA has been detected in the urine of nearly every adult and child tested in the United States, and, while it is quickly…
