Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWM) has reportedly walked back a recent study claiming to link aspartame with an increased risk of leukemia, non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and other blood-related cancers. Published ahead of print in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the study analyzed diet data from more than 77,000 women and 47,000 men enrolled in the Nurses’ Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. The results apparently suggested “a positive association between diet soda and total aspartame intake and risks of NHL and multiple myeloma in men and leukemia in both men and women,” although “[a] higher consumption of regular sugar-sweetened soda was associated with higher risk of NHL and multiple myeloma in men but not in women.” Eva Schernhammer, et al., “Consumption of artificial sweetener—and sugar-containing soda and risk of lymphoma and leukemia in men and women,” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, October 2012. But BWH has since cast…
Category Archives Issue 459
A recent study has reportedly claimed that “soft drink intake is associated with higher risk of ischemic stroke for women.” Ehab Eshak, et al., “Soft drink intake in relation to incident ischemic heart disease, stroke and stroke subtypes in Japanese men and women: the Japan Public Health Centre-based study cohort,” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, October 2012. After analyzing food-frequency questionnaires and data from approximately 40,000 Japanese men and women aged 40-49 years, researchers evidently concluded during an 18-year follow-up that “soft drink intake was positively associated with risk of total stroke and more specifically ischemic stroke for women.” At the same time, however, the results suggested “a nonsignificant inverse trend for risks of total and ischemic strokes…for men” that “was weakened after the exclusion of early incident cases or after the exclusion of participants with baseline comorbidities.” “There was no consensus about why an adverse effect of soft drink…
A Reuters special report has claimed that the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), a regional office of the World Health Organization (WHO), has accepted “hundreds of thousands of dollars” from food and beverage companies to combat obesity. According to journalists Duff Wilson and Adam Kerlin, WHO and five of its regional offices already prohibit industry funding, but PAHO—“founded 46 years before it was affiliated with WHO in 1948—had different standards allowing the business donations.” In particular, the report cites contributions from Nestlé and Unilever as evidence that PAHO and other WHO entities are partnering with industry out of necessity since the international agency “cut its own funding for chronic disease by 20 percent since 2010—an even bigger decline than for the agency as a whole.” “The recent infusion of corporate cash is the most pointed example to date of how WHO is approaching its battle against chronic disease. Increasingly, it…
Based on hundreds of internal industry documents, this article outlines the alleged decades-long effort by sugar-producing interests to influence the scientific debate about the purported health effects of sugar. According to the authors, the memos, letters and company board reports “show how Big Sugar used Big Tobacco-style tactics to ensure that government agencies would dismiss troubling health claims against their products.” The article claims that the industries’ goals were the same: “safeguard sales by creating a body of evidence companies could deploy to counter any unfavorable research.” As early as 1943, grower and refiners reportedly formed the Sugar Research Foundation to counter calls for sugar-rationing during World War II. Among other matters, the article claims that the industry purportedly spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on research suggesting that low-calorie sweeteners caused disease in animals and redirected any research funds it was providing through its International Sugar Research Foundation (ISRF)…
McDonald’s Corp. has reportedly announced plans to scrap “forward-to-a-friend” features on some of its online games after drawing complaints from a consumer group concerned about children’s privacy. According to media sources, the global restaurant chain said it will disable a sharing option on HappyMeal.com that allowed users “to e-mail ecards, links and photos to family and friends.” “Rest assured, the online security of our guests—especially our youngest guests—remains a top priority for us,” a company spokesperson told reporters. “We continuously review and enhance our sites as appropriate and we recently made some updates to HappyMeal.com, including removing the forward-to-a-friend option.” Earlier this year, the Center for Digital Democracy (CDD) filed five complaints with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) against companies such as McDonald’s and General Mills, Inc. over the use of interactive media to allegedly promote foods and TV programs to children. CDD claimed that these so-called “viral marketing” techniques…
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has published its first report on organic foods, concluding that it’s more important for children to eat a wide variety of healthy produce than to emphasize an organic diet. Joel Forman, et al., “Organic Foods: Health and Environmental Advantages and Disadvantages,” Pediatrics, October 2012. According to AAP, research has “convincingly demonstrated” that organic diets can reduce consumer exposure to pesticides and drug-resistant diseases. “However, no well-powered human studies have directly demonstrated health benefits or disease protection as a result of consuming an organic diet,” states the report, which urges pediatricians to discuss the weight of scientific evidence when approached by families interested in consuming organic foods. “What’s most important is that children eat a healthy diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat or fat-free dairy products, whether those are conventional or organic foods. This type of diet has proven health benefits,” one of…
The owners of a Yuma, Arizona-based dairy have filed a petition for review before the U.S. Supreme Court, seeking a hearing on their challenge to the Milk Regulatory Equity Act of 2005, which apparently requires independent producer-handlers to join a dairy cooperative or pay federal marketing fees. Hettinga v. United States, No. 12-506 (U.S., petition for writ of certiorari filed October 19, 2012). According to the Hettingas, one of the few remaining independents in the United States, lawmakers singled out their dairy when enacting a law that has forced them to sell milk at a higher price than they want to charge. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with the district court that the law did not constitute a bill of attainder nor did it violate the Equal Protection and Due Process clauses. Hettinga v. United States, No. 11-5065 (D.C. Cir., decided April 13, 2012).
Golden Eagle Insurance Corp. has filed a complaint for declaratory relief against its insured Moon Marine (U.S.A.) Corp., requesting that the umbrella policy it issued to the insured be rescinded because Moon Marine allegedly concealed material facts when it obtained the policy. Golden Eagle Ins. Corp. v. Moon Marine (U.S.A.) Corp., No. 12-5438 (N.D. Cal., filed October 22, 2012). According to the complaint, Moon Marine knew that its imported yellowfin tuna (scrape) was linked to a nationwide Salmonella outbreak that sickened more than 400 individuals and had, in fact, recalled the product, when the $2-million excess insurance policy was obtained. The plaintiffs allege that Moon Marine failed to inform the insurance carrier’s underwriter that the fish importer faced “obvious liability exposure for bodily injury claims from the nationwide salmonella outbreak that had been linked to Moon Marines’ importation of Scrape.” The first lawsuit was actually filed two days before the plaintiffs quoted and bound…
The parents of a 14-year-old girl who allegedly died after consuming two 24-ounce Monster Energy® drinks in a 24-hour period have filed a wrongful death and strict product liability lawsuit against Monster Beverage Corp. in a California state court. Crossland v. Monster Beverage Corp., No. RIC 1215551 (Cal. Super. Ct., Riverside Cty., filed October 17, 2012). They claim that the teen went into cardiac arrest and was placed in an induced coma at Johns Hopkins Hospital to reduce brain swelling. After six days, life support was terminated, and the girl died. The plaintiffs allege that the autopsy report attributed her death to “cardiac arrhythmia due to caffeine toxicity complicating mitral valve regurgitation in the setting of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.” The complaint contends that two of the company’s energy drinks contain 480 milligrams of caffeine, the equivalent of 14 12-ounce cans of caffeinated soda. Among other matters, the plaintiffs allege that the…
A federal jury in California has reportedly determined that Benihana properly classified three restaurant managers as exempt thus concluding wage-related litigation against the chain. Originally filed as a putative class action in state court, the case initially included claims about overtime wages, accrued vacation pay, rest and meal breaks, and itemized wage statements. By the time the case was tried after removal to federal court, it involved just three named plaintiffs and the overtime dispute. According to a news source, the company nearly derailed the case by alleging that one of the employees had copied and destroyed thousands of files from a computer at the company’s Cupertino, California, location. The court levied sanctions against the employee and dismissed him from the case, but then determined that the conduct, alleged to be “wrongful self-help discovery” and the deletion of stolen copies, may not have been “beyond the pale” because some evidence…
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