A recent review of literature on the impact of the economic environment on obesity has purportedly concluded that “effective economic measures policies to curb obesity remain elusive.” Roland Sturm and Ruopeng An, “Obesity and Economic Environments,” CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, May 2014. Funded by the National Institutes of Health and RAND Corp., the study finds that U.S. obesity rates have continued to rise across all sociodemographic groups and geographic areas despite “increases in leisure time (rather than increased work hours), increased fruit and vegetable availability (rather than a decline in healthier foods), and increased exercise uptake.” Calling into question “some widely held, but incorrect, beliefs,” the study’s authors suggest that decreasing prices have played a primary role in food consumption patterns. Noting that consumers today spend only one-tenth of their disposable income on food, the researchers report that taxes on low-nutritional foods and other large price interventions “could…
Category Archives Issue 525
The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) has reportedly partnered with the restaurant review website Yelp to help health officials discover foodborne illness outbreaks and the restaurants allegedly responsible for them. While investigating an outbreak of gastrointestinal disease associated with a particular restaurant, DOHMH officials had apparently noted that patrons had reported illnesses on Yelp that had not been reported to DOHMH. To explore the potential of using Yelp to identify unreported outbreaks, DOHMH then collaborated with Columbia University and Yelp on a pilot project to identify restaurant reviews on Yelp that referred to foodborne illness. Researchers analyzed approximately 294,000 Yelp restaurant reviews from July 2012 to March 2013, using a software program developed specifically for the project. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which published a report detailing the project, the program identified 893 reviews that required further evaluation by a foodborne…
The Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity has issued new guidelines that aim to “educate media representatives on how to appropriately discuss the disease of obesity in the media.” Titled “Guidelines for Media Portrayals of Individuals Affected by Obesity,” the report notes that the media is an “important and influential source of information about obesity,” and the manner in which obesity, weight loss and weight maintenance are portrayed, described and framed by the media “profoundly shapes the public’s understanding and attitudes toward these important health issues and the individuals affected by them.” Describing the media as “an especially pervasive source of stigmatization against people with obesity,” Rudd Center researchers note that photographs and videos tend to portray people with obesity as headless (i.e., only from the shoulders down), from unflattering angles (e.g., with only their abdomens or lower bodies shown), and engaging in stereotypical behaviors (e.g., eating unhealthy foods…
Friends of the Earth has released a May 2014 report titled “Tiny Ingredients Big Risks,” claiming that some popular food products contain unlabeled manufactured nanomaterials. Based on information obtained from the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN), the report identifies 94 food and beverage products—including almond milk, cereal, soy and dairy products, oils, and sports beverages—that purportedly contain nano-ingredients such as titanium dioxide, silver and “nano-sized self assembled structured liquids” known as micelles. According to the report, the number of products on this list has allegedly increased tenfold since the consumer group published its last report in 2008. “Friends of the Earth calls upon food companies and government regulators to stop this influx of nanofoods into the market, given the absence of regulations to ensure these novel products are safe for human health and the environment and labels to ensure consumer right to know,” opines…
According to a news source, the Irwindale City Council has decided to drop its public-nuisance declaration and lawsuit against Huy Fong Foods, the California-based company that makes the popular Sriracha hot sauce. Information about the dispute appears in Issue 520 of this Update. The company had asked for more time to address the odors emitted from its facility; residents had complained about burning throats and eyes since the hot sauce maker moved its main operation to Irwindale in 2013. Council’s vote was reportedly taken behind closed doors after a meeting with company CEO David Tran and representatives from the governor’s Business and Economic Development Office. Tran has indicated that better filters have been installed and should block fumes during the chili-grinding season that begins in August. See AP, May 29, 2014. Issue 525
A wheelchair-bound plaintiff has reportedly filed a putative class action in California state court against the largest franchisee of TGI Friday’s, Briad Restaurant Group LLC, for alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Hicks v. Briad Restaurants Grp. LLC, No. BC546927 (Cal. Super. Ct., Los Angeles Cty., filed May 28, 2014). Plaintiff, Chris Hicks, alleges that Briad Restaurant violated the ADA by having deficient bathroom facilities and insufficient signage for disabled parking spaces in at least 20 of its locations, and he further asserts that the company had received notice of the issues, was given an opportunity to fix them and failed to do so. As a result, Hicks argues that Briad Restaurant has violated the Unruh Civil Rights Act and the California Disabled Persons Act and seeks statutory relief and injunctive damages. See Law360, May 29, 2014 Issue 525
A California court has approved the settlement of claims that alcohol beverage makers allegedly sold their products without providing warnings required under the state’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (Prop. 65). Bonilla v. Anheuser-Busch, LLC, No. BC537188 (Cal. Super. Ct., Los Angeles Cty., judgment entered May 30, 2014). Additional details about the claims appear in issue 515 of this Update. Under the agreement, the companies, denying that the signage they already provided to retailers failed to comply with Prop. 65, will (i) obtain a list of all current licensees from the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control; (ii) mail or email to every licensee “Proposition 65 Signage”; (iii) mail or email a letter providing contact information for ordering additional signage free of charge, informing licensees of their posting obligations and describing regulatory requirements pertaining to placement; and (iv) repeat these actions every five years. They also…
A California state trial court has approved the settlement agreement in a class action against Innovative Dining Group LLC (IDG), owner of the Boa Steakhouse and Sushi Roku chains, alleging that the restaurants falsely advertised their menu as containing Kobe beef. Hall v. Innovative Dining Grp. LLC, No. BC493144 (Cal. Super. Ct., Los Angeles Cty., motion granted May 30, 2014). Plaintiffs claimed that using the term “Kobe beef” implies that the beef came from Wagyu cattle raised and slaughtered in the Kobe region of Japan, but IDG’s restaurants advertised Kobe beef on their menus even while the U.S. Department of Agriculture banned beef imports from that region from May 2010 to August 2012. While admitting no wrongdoing, IDG has agreed to issue $20 gift certificates to customers who can prove that they purchased a Kobe beef menu item, $10 gift certificates to any class member who submits a claim, and…
As anticipated, Quality Egg LLC and its former owners, Austin “Jack” DeCoster and his son Peter, have entered guilty pleas to charges of introducing adulterated food into interstate commerce. Additional information about the plea agreement appears in Issue 524 of this Update. They admitted that the company’s shell eggs, shipped to buyers in states throughout the country, contained Salmonella in 2010. As part of the plea agreement, the company reportedly agreed to pay a $6.8 million fine. The DeCosters, who will remain free on bail pending sentencing, face a maximum sentence of up to one year in prison or five years’ probation. Sentencing has not yet been scheduled. See USA Today, June 3, 2014. Issue 525
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has filed a complaint against the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Food Safety and Inspection Service, seeking a declaration that the agencies have unreasonably delayed taking action on its May 2011 petition requesting that certain strains of antibiotic-resistant (ABR) Salmonella in ground meat and poultry be declared adulterants. CSPI v. Vilsack, No. 14-895 (D.D.C., filed May 28, 2014). Details about CSPI’s petition appear in Issue 396 of this Update. According to the nutrition and health advocacy organization, if these pathogens are declared adulterants, affected meat and poultry products would be barred from entering commerce, and the action “would also confirm the agency’s authority to request without evidence of illness that a company recall products containing ABR Salmonella, or—in the absence of a company’s voluntary compliance—to detain and seize those products.” The complaint refers to a number of Salmonella outbreaks, some involving…
