A new study has purportedly found that “urinary phthalate metabolites were associated with increased oxidative stress biomarkers” in a population of 482 pregnant women. Kelly Ferguson, et al., “Urinary Phthalate Metabolites and Biomarkers of Oxidative Stress in Pregnant Women: A Repeated Measures Analysis,” Environmental Health Perspectives, November 2014. In addition to measuring nine phthalate metabolites at 10, 18, 26, and 35 weeks gestation as well as delivery, researchers with the University of Michigan and Harvard Medical School analyzed urinary levels of 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8- OHdG) and 8-isoprostane as biomarkers of oxidative stress. According to the results, “all phthalate metabolites were associated with higher concentrations of both biomarkers,” with mono-benzyl phthalate (MBzP), mono-n-butyl phthalate (MBP), and mono-isobutyl phthalate (MiBP) showing the strongest association with both outcome measures. “Increases in oxidative stress biomarkers in pregnant women have been associated with pregnancy loss, preeclampsia, preterm birth, and fetal growth restriction,” note the study’s authors. “These…
Category Archives Issue 546
University of California, San Diego, researchers have presented a study at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2014, claiming that working-age men who consumed higher amounts of trans fat “had significantly reduced ability to recall words.” According to a November 18, 2014, press release, the study analyzed dietary data from 1,000 healthy men younger than age 45 and asked them to complete a word memory test. The results evidently showed that “each additional gram a day of trans fats consumed was associated with an estimated 0.76 fewer words correctly recalled.” Participants who consumed the most trans fat remembered 11 fewer words than adults who ate the least trans fat, a 10 percent reduction in words remembered. “Trans fats were most strongly linked to worse memory, in young and middle-aged men, during their working and career-building years,” the lead author was quoted as saying. “From a health standpoint, trans fat consumption…
A study of national poison control center data has reported that public and health care providers filed 5,156 incidents of energy drink exposure between October 2010 and September 2013, with 40 percent of cases involving children younger than age 6. Presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2014, the new research warned that among cases with major outcomes, “cardiovascular effects (including an abnormal heart rhythm and conduction abnormalities) were reported in 57 percent of cases, and neurologic effects (seizures, including status epilepticus) in 55 percent.” The study also identified moderate or major health outcomes in 42 percent of cases involving energy drinks mixed with alcohol and 19 percent of cases involving alcohol-free energy drinks. Based on these findings, the researchers have evidently called for additional labeling to educate consumers about “energy drinks’ high caffeine content and subsequent health consequences.” “The reported data probably represent the tip of the iceberg,” said…
The U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) has proposed “Guidance on Food Fraud Mitigation,” a new appendix to the Food Chemicals Codex (FCC), to “offer a framework for the food industry and regulators to develop and implement preventative management systems to deal specifically with economically motivated fraudulent adulteration of food ingredients.” The guidance will be published for public comment in the FCC Forum from December 31, 2014, to March 31, 2015, but USP has released it early to provide additional time for review and comment. The document was designed for broad application and to provide a structured approach to characterizing and mitigating food fraud, including guidelines to (i) assess contributory factors, (ii) assess potential impacts and (iii) develop a mitigation strategy. The briefing also promises that “similar guidance sections that tailor this general approach to specific ingredient categories such as milk-based food ingredients” will appear in the future. Issue 546
The Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity has published Sugary Drink FACTS 2014, a report funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation that targets trends in beverage advertising to children. Claiming that companies spent $866 million on advertising for sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs) in 2013, the report argues that even though youth-oriented TV programs and websites showed fewer SSB ads in 2013 than in 2010, the advertising available “is still overwhelmingly for unhealthy drinks.” The authors point out that as SSB advertising on children’s websites declined by 72 percent, “the popularity of energy drinks and regular soda brands on social media increased exponentially from 2011 to 2014.” According to the report, energy drink and regular soda brands now represent 84 percent of the 300 million Facebook likes for the brands included in the analysis, 89 percent of 11 million Twitter followers, and 95 percent of 1.8 billion YouTube views. In…
According to a joint World Health Organization (WHO)/Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) news release, the ministers and senior officials of 170 countries convening in Rome have adopted a Framework for Action and a Declaration on Nutrition. Opening the Second International Conference on Nutrition, WHO Secretary General Margaret Chan reportedly criticized the production of what she characterized as less healthy industrialized food and called attention to the consequences of its contribution to obesity and overweight along with the emergence of diabetes, cancers and heart disease. The commitments and recommendations set forth in the framework and declaration are intended to ensure “that all people have access to healthier and more sustainable diets.” They also commit the governments to prevent malnutrition “in all its forms, including hunger, micronutrient deficiencies and obesity.” Among other matters, governments are urged to “educate and inform their citizens about healthier eating practices” and reinforce obesity initiatives “by the creation…
The European Union’s (EU’s) Court of Justice has determined that the law requires fresh poultry meat to satisfy the microbiological criteria for foodstuffs and that national law may impose a penalty on “a food business operator which is active only at the distribution stage” for placing a contaminated food product on the market. Reindl v. Bezirkshauptmannschaft Innsbruck, No. C-443/13 (E.C.J., decided November 13, 2014). The issue arose from an Austrian proceeding involving a fine imposed on a food retail manager after a sample from her store of vacuum-packed fresh turkey breast produced and packed by another company was found to be contaminated with Salmonella Typhimurium. The Unabhāngiger Verwaltungssenat in Tirol stayed the proceeding and referred to the EU court the questions whether (i) food business operators “active at the food distribution stage” are subject to the full regime under Regulation (EC) No 2073/2005, and (ii) the microbiological criterion in the…
A consumer has filed a putative class action in California state court alleging that Anheuser-Busch’s “Lime-A-Rita” malt beverages have too many calories and carbohydrates to be sold under the Bud Light Lime® label. Cruz v. Anheuser-Busch, LLC, No. BC563150 (Cal. Super. Ct., Los Angeles Cty., filed November 12, 2014). The plaintiff alleges that she purchased Bud Light Lime Lime-A-Rita® believing it to be low in calories and carbohydrates, but later learned that a serving of 8 fluid ounces contains between 192 and 220 calories and 22.8 to 23.6 g of carbohydrates compared to Bud Light’s 110 calories and 6.6 g of carbohydrates. “In general, ‘light’ may generally describe a zero calorie or a reduced calorie food, and consumers such as Plaintiff and the Class understand the ‘light’ label on a product that has a reduced or low number of calories,” the complaint asserts. The plaintiff attributes the level of calories…
A New York federal court has rejected Wolfgang’s Steakhouse and ZMF Restaurants LLC’s motion to dismiss a case alleging that the restaurant violated the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACTA) by printing credit card expiration dates on receipts. Fullwood v. Wolfgang’s Steakhouse, Inc., No. 13-7174 (S.D.N.Y., order entered November 14, 2014). The court found that the plaintiff’s amended complaint insufficiently supported its allegation that Wolfgang’s knew of the ramifications of violating FACTA yet wilfully disregarded the law, but granted her leave to amend. The plaintiff brought her putative class action after receiving a receipt from Wolfgang’s that displayed her credit card’s expiration date. She did not, however, allege any actual damages from the disclosure. Under FACTA, actual damages can be awarded for both negligent and willful violations; only willful violations, however, can result in the statutory and punitive damages that the plaintiff seeks. Accordingly, the court devoted much of…
In a dispute over commercial liability insurance coverage, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that a trial court erred in deciding, as a matter of law, that a recall of sausage breakfast sandwiches prompted by contamination with monosodium glutamate (MSG) was a covered incident. Hot Stuff Foods, LLC v. Houston Cas. Co., Nos. 14-1192, -1194 (8th Cir., decided November 17, 2014). When MSG is added to foods, it must be disclosed on the product label. Hot Stuff Foods makes sausage breakfast sandwiches with sausage that does not contain MSG and does not include it on package labels. The company also distributes sausage that contains MSG and learned in January 2011 that some of the MSG sausage was inadvertently used in the breakfast sandwiches. Because the product contained MSG not disclosed on the labels, it was misbranded under federal law. The company promptly reported the situation to Food and Drug…
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