York University researchers have published a qualitative study examining “how obese women with and without binge eating disorder (BED) experience overeating in relation to the DSM-5 [Diagnostic and Statistical Manual] symptoms of addiction.” Claire Curtis & Caroline Davis, “A Qualitative Study of Binge Eating and Obesity From an Addiction Perspective,” Eating Disorders, January 2014. According to the study, the recently-published DSM-5 includes a new category for “Addiction and Related Disorders” that addresses “both substance use disorders (SUDs) and non-substance addictions” in addition to providing new diagnostic guidelines. Using these expanded criteria, the authors interviewed 12 obese women with BED and 12 without BED, concluding that “both groups of women endorsed DSM-5 SUD criteria (in relation to food) in their narratives,” although there were “visible qualitative differences in how the women experienced these symptoms.” More specifically, Curtis and Davis reported that while both groups expressed a desire to reduce their food…
Category Archives Issue
A recent New York Times article highlights how groups such as the Center for Science in the Public Interest as well as individual consumers have harnessed the power of social media to bring their concerns directly to food companies. Titled “Social Media as a Megaphone to Pressure the Food Industry,” the article describes several instances in which consumer-backed petitions circulated on Facebook, Twitter or other platforms have purportedly influenced food company policies, resulting in product reformulations or labeling changes. Speaking with one spokesperson for Kraft Foods Group, Times writer Stephanie Strohm specifically notes that one of the challenges facing companies “when confronted by consumers demanding change is getting them to understand how complicated that change can be ... Food companies must work with suppliers to determine what’s possible, then supplies have to make the new ingredient in bulk.” These changes can also involve regulators if replacement ingredients require approval for…
As many as 1,700 people in Japan have reportedly become ill after eating frozen food allegedly contaminated with the pesticide malathion, a chemical used to kill aphids in corn and rice fields. The food, which included frozen pizza and chicken nuggets and apparently contained 2.6 million times the permitted level of the pesticide, has been traced to manufacturer Maruha Nichiro Holdings. The company has issued a public apology and recalled some 6.4 million packages of frozen food—1.2 million of which have reportedly been recovered. Authorities say it is unclear how the items became contaminated and will continue to investigate. See BBCNewsAsia.com and YahooNewsCanada.com, January 8, 2014. Issue 509
A group of international health experts has launched a new campaign intended to reduce the amount of sugar in processed foods and beverages sold in the United Kingdom (U.K.). Modeled after the Consensus Action on Salt and Health and chaired by Queen Mary University of London Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine Graham MacGregor, Action on Sugar includes a number of U.K. scientists and academics as well as National Obesity Forum Chair David Haslam and University of California, San Francisco, Professor of Clinical Pediatrics Robert Lustig. The campaigners aim to set gradual sugar reduction targets for the food industry similar to those established for salt content, warning that failure to meet such targets would prompt the group to pursue legislation or a sugar tax. They also seek to (i) educate the public about “the impact of sugar on their health,” (ii) identify children as “a particularly vulnerable group whose health is more…
Oregon Attorney General (AG) Ellen Rosenblum has reportedly filed an action in state court against the companies that make and promote 5-hour ENERGY®, a drink purportedly linked to adverse incidents including fatalities, seeking to enforce her demand for information about the product. The lawsuit against Innovation Ventures, Living Essentials and Microdose Sales, filed in Multnomah County Court, apparently seeks enforcement of the AG’s Civil Investigative Demand for information under the state’s Unlawful Trade Practices Act (UTPA). According to a news source, the AG says she has “reason to believe that respondents have made misleading statements regarding 5-hour Energy in three issue areas: (1) whether users experience ‘no crash’ when using the product; (2) a ‘Doctors Recommend’ advertising campaign; and (3) the product’s suitability for children, all potentially in violation of . . . the UTPA.” She seeks an order requiring the respondents to respond to her demand with unredacted documents,…
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a complaint against Diamond Foods, Inc. and two former executives alleging that the company “materially misstated its financial results in multiple SEC Forms 10-Q, 10-K, and 8-K from at least February 2010 and ending in September 2011. In this timeframe, Diamond reported artificially inflated earnings per share that beat Wall Street earnings estimates on a quarterly and yearly basis.” SEC v. Diamond Foods, Inc., No. 14-0123 (N.D. Cal., filed January 9, 2014). Information about shareholder litigation involving the alleged price manipulation and financial misstatements at the root of the SEC’s complaint appear in Issue 464 of this Update. According to the SEC, Diamond Foods has agreed to pay $5 million to settle the charges, and former CEO Michael Mendes has agreed to a settlement. The claims against former CFO Steven Neil continue. SEC claims that increasing walnut prices and pressure to meet…
In a January 6, 2014, letter, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) responded to three federal courts that stayed litigation involving whether food companies deceive consumers by labeling products with genetically modified (GM) ingredients as “natural,” stating that it would not make a determination on the issue to resolve a private litigation-related request. Cox v. Gruma Corp., No. 12-6502 (N.D. Cal.); Barnes v. Campbell Soup Co., No. 12-5185 (N.D. Cal.); In re General Mills, Inc. Kix Cereal Litig., No. 12-0249 (D.N.J.). Describing the complexities of determining what “natural” means in both a broad and narrow context and the variety of stakeholder interests involved, FDA stated that if it “were inclined to revoke, amend, or add to [current] policy, we would likely embark on a public process” and would have to involve other agencies such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Because the agency is devoting significant resources to Food Safety Modernization Act…
A federal court in California has granted in part the motion for summary judgment filed by Twinings North America in a putative class action alleging that the company misbrands its tea products by stating that they are a “Natural Source of Antioxidants” and “a natural source of protective antioxidants." Lanovaz v. Twinings N. Am., Inc., No. 12-2646 (N.D. Cal., order entered January 6, 2014). Regarding the plaintiff’s claims that the company’s labels imply protection from disease, the court found the product representations “too general to relate to a ‘health-related condition’” and thus dismissed these claims. As to causation, the issue was whether the plaintiff admitted in her deposition that she did not rely on the green tea and Earl Grey tea labels or the company’s website when making her purchasing decisions. The court refused to read her deposition transcript as narrowly as the company urged and found that the label…
A federal court in California has granted in part the motion for summary judgment filed by Bumble Bee Foods in a putative class action alleging that certain labeling claims either deceived consumers or violate state and federal law. Ogden v. Bumble Bee Foods, LLC, No. 12 1828 (N.D. Cal., order entered January 2, 2014). Information about the complaint is included in Issue 436 of this Update. The court agreed with Bumble Bee that the plaintiff failed to raise a genuine issue of material fact regarding her standing to pursue consumer-fraud claims based on the company’s purported statements about vitamin A and iron, because those statements were made on the nutrition information panel, which the plaintiff “does not claim to have read in connection with purchasing the product.” Other similar statements appeared on the company’s Website, and “Ogden concedes that she did not visit this website prior to purchasing the Sardines Mediterranean…
A federal court in California has dismissed with prejudice the second amended complaint in a putative class action alleging that Wrigley Sales Co.’s chewing gum and candy products are misbranded because the labels state that they are “sugar free.” Gustavson v. Wrigley Sales Co., No. 12-1861 (N.D. Cal., decided January 7, 2014). The court determined that the product labels do not violate federal regulations, the plaintiff failed to adequately plead her alleged regulatory violations, and the plaintiff “is attempting to impose a labeling requirement that is ‘not identical to’ federal requirements.” Thus the court ruled that the “sugar free” component of the complaint was preempted and any further amendment of the complaint would be futile. The court dismissed the remainder the complaint relating to the defendant’s alleged failure to disclose that the products “are sweetened with nutritive and non-nutritive sweeteners or to detail the percentage of the product that nonnutritive…
