The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has published research examining self-reported efforts to reduce sodium intake among U.S. adults in 26 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Jing Fang, et al., “Sodium Intake Among U.S. Adults — 26 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, 2013,” Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, July 3, 2015. Based on data from 180,067 participants, the results evidently show that across all locations, “the median prevalence of taking action to reduce sodium intake was 51%,” while “the median prevalence of receiving health professional advice to reduce sodium intake was 22%.” The study authors also report that the Southern U.S. Census Region had the highest proportion of respondents that took action or received a professional recommendation to reduce sodium intake. “The data in this report highlight the opportunity to increase the proportion of health care professionals who advise their patients to reduce sodium…
Category Archives Issue 571
Tufts University researchers have purportedly implicated sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) in 184,000 deaths worldwide each year after estimating the role of SSB consumption in adiposity-related cardiovascular diseases (CVD), cancers and diabetes. Gitanjali Singh, et al., “Estimated Global, Regional, and National Disease Burdens Related to Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption in 2010,” Circulation, July 2015. Relying on data from 611,971 individuals surveyed between 1980 and 2010, “along with data on national availability of sugar in 187 countries and other information,” the study estimates that SSB consumption allegedly contributed to 133,000 deaths from diabetes, 45,000 deaths from CVD, and 6,450 deaths from cancer. It also notes that among the most populous countries, Mexico had the largest absolute and proportional deaths from SSBs, with proportional mortality reaching 30 percent in Mexican adults younger than age 45. “The health impact of sugar-sweetened beverage intake on the young is important because younger adults form a large sector of…
With help from an Allstate Insurance research team, the City of Chicago has reportedly developed a model to predict which food establishments might fail inspections among the more than 15,000 restaurants within the city’s jurisdiction. The research teams analyzed nearly 100,000 sanitation inspection reports to create the prediction model, which assesses the likelihood that a food establishment will commit a critical violation. According to a city report, key factors include (i) whether the establishment has a previous critical or serious violation, (ii) the three-day average high temperature, (iii) nearby garbage and sanitation complaints, (iv) nearby burglaries, and (v) the length of time the establishment has been operating. The city tested the model in a double-blind retrodiction of September and October 2014, finding that following its algorithm would have resulted in 69 percent of violations being found in the first month compared to the 55 percent that the existing inspection order…
California-based law and policy advocacy organization ChangeLab Solutions has issued a voluminous white paper reviewing legal issues surrounding potential strategies to address the marketing of “unhealthy” foods and beverages purportedly directed to children younger than age 5. The report details various policy considerations with respect to outdoor advertising, broadcast media, digital and print media, childcare settings and schools, government procurement and vending, government property and government sponsorship, land use planning/zoning, retail environments, taxation, and hospital infant-formula giveaways. Issue 571
A Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (JHSPH) report on Mexico’s sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) tax has concluded that “strong advocacy work, scientific evidence, and knowledge of the political context can be important facilitators to policy change that promotes obesity prevention and control.” The case study highlights the strategies used by civil society organizations, public interest lobbyists, health and government officials, and other SSB-tax proponents to (i) build coalitions, (ii) persuade legislators to support the initiative, (iii) generate media attention, and (iv) leverage the perspectives of national and international experts. In particular, it notes that successful advocacy campaigns must “understand the political context to capitalize on windows of opportunity.” “Overall, it is essential that policy proponents know the political context—the system’s structure and the needs of political actors—to act on opportunities that could promote public health goals within broader government pursuits and reforms,” notes the report. “Regardless of the underlying…
Friends of the Earth (FOE) has released a report claiming that so-called food and agriculture industry front groups use covert tactics to influence the public discourse around agriculture, organic production and sustainability, and genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Titled Spinning Food: How Food Industry Front Groups and Covert Communications Are Shaping the Story of Food, the report alleges that these front groups not only co-opt blogs, social media and other seemingly independent platforms to spread PR messages on behalf of industry, but ally with third-party outlets—such as National Geographic and The New York Times—to create “an echo chamber of industry talking points on anti-GMO labeling, attacks on organic agriculture and a defense of agrochemicals.” “Rather than responding to changing market demands by shifting the way they do business, these companies are trying to preserve market share and win key policy battles by using ‘tobacco-style’ PR tactics,” opines the report. “While the…
A consumer has filed a proposed class action against Whole Foods Market Group Inc. alleging that the company’s Gluten Free All-Natural Nutmeal Raisin Cookies list evaporated cane juice (ECJ) as an ingredient to mislead consumers about the amount of sugar contained in the product. Bryant v. Whole Foods Mkt. Grp. Inc., No. 15-1001 (E.D. Mo., removed to federal court June 25, 2015). The complaint, originally filed in Missouri state court in April, asserts that ECJ should be listed as sugar under the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) rule that food labels use the most common or usual name of an ingredient. According to the April complaint, the plaintiff seeks class certification and damages. The lawsuit joins a wave of litigation against food manufacturers presenting the same argument. Several courts have dismissed the cases without prejudice or granted stays after FDA indicated that it would publish updated guidance about ECJ.…
Six consumers have filed a lawsuit against Foster Poultry Farms alleging that the company knowingly sold chicken tainted with Salmonella that sickened the plaintiffs with salmonellosis syndrome. Melendez v. Foster Poultry Farms, No. BC586891 (Cal. Super. Ct., Los Angeles Cty., filed July 2, 2015). The complaint asserts that Foster Farms refused to issue a recall after it knew of a link between its products and incidents of Salmonella infections. Foster Farms “begrudgingly initiated a very limited recall of its tainted chicken on July 12, 2014,” the plaintiffs argue, only after the investigators tested a Foster Farms product from a sickened consumer’s home and it tested positive for the outbreak strain of Salmonella. The complaint further alleges that Foster Farms promoted the growth of the bacteria by failing to meet operational and food safety standards in the months before the outbreak. The plaintiffs allege strict product liability, negligence and breach of…
A consumer has filed a putative class action against Unilever U.S., PepsiCo and the Pepsi Lipton Tea Partnership alleging that their line of Pure Leaf® Iced Teas are misleadingly labeled as “All Natural” and preservative-free because they contain citric acid, a synthetic ingredient. Ren v. Unilever U.S., Inc., No. 156463/2015 (N.Y. Sup. Ct., filed June 26, 2015). The complaint asserts that Pure Leaf® labels indicate that the products are natural and contain no preservatives despite containing citric acid, which is “industrially manufactured by fermenting certain genetically mutant strains of the black mold fungus, Aspergillus niger.” The companies use citric acid as a preservative, the complaint argues, and it disputes the accuracy of a note in the ingredient list explaining that citric acid provides tartness. The plaintiff seeks class certification, declaratory judgments, damages, restitution, an injunction, and attorney’s fees for allegations of unjust enrichment, breach of warranties, negligent misrepresentation and violations…
Finding a lack of standing, a California federal court has dismissed the named plaintiffs of a putative class action against Safeway alleging that the company should have notified customers who purchased dangerous products through information gathered from its loyalty-card program. Hensley-Maclean v. Safeway, Inc., No. 11-1230 (N.D. Cal., order entered June 29, 2015). Details about the court’s refusal to dismiss the case before discovery appear in Issue 398 of this Update. After proceeding through discovery, Safeway apparently learned that none of the plaintiffs had purchased any products subject to Class I recalls, which occur “when there is a reasonable probability that use of the product will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death.” The two named plaintiffs had argued that Safeway should have notified them about recalls of Nutter Butter® Sandwich Cookies and Lucerne® eggs, but later examination revealed that their purchases were not part of any Class I recalls.…
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