Researchers with the University of Michigan and Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity have authored commentary in Biological Psychiatry about the policy implications of an addiction model for food. Ashley Gearhardt & Kelly Brownell, “Can Food and Addiction Change the Game?,” Biological Psychiatry, August 2012. Gearhardt and Brownell argue that scientific efforts to establish whether certain foods or ingredients “have addictive potential” “will be more important to policy and social change than emphasizing the individual difference variables or investigating how obese and nonobese individuals differ.” In particular, they claim that such research will need to emphasize the effects of potentially addictive foods “on the many rather than just the few” to maximize the impact on public policy. “Scientific enquiries into how addictive substances are capable of hijacking the brain has reduced stigmatization of addicted individuals and led to more substance-focused policy approaches (e.g., taxation of cigarettes, restrictions…
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Welch Foods, Inc. is the most recent recipient of a letter from the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) warning the company that, if not otherwise resolved, the watchdog’s claims that Welch is making deceptive health-benefit representations about its fruit snacks, spreads and juices will be taken to court for injunctive relief. According to the August 14, 2012, letter, the types of matters about which CSPI is most concerned are (i) “Welch Foods claims that its 100% Fruit Juice product line is heart-healthy and may promote overall health”; (ii) “Welch Foods claims that its Fruit Snacks, Fruit Juice Cocktails, Spreads, and 100% Fruit drinks ‘Reward Your Heart’ and are heart-healthy products”; and (ii) “Welch Foods claims that its Fruit Snacks products are nutritious and healthful to consume.” CSPI contends that, to the contrary, the products contribute to “insulin resistance and obesity, and may thus promote heart disease and…
According to a news source, putative class actions have been filed against Strauss Group Ltd. and Tnuva Food Industries Ltd., alleging that their yogurt products, marketed as “yogurt with granola nuts” and “yogurt with granola fruit, “ respectively, mislead consumers because they contain so little nuts or fruit. Seeking NIS 72 million (US$17.8 million) from Strauss, which has a 42 percent market share, and NIS 142.5 million (US$35.3 million) from Tnuva, the petitioners reportedly claim that the products should be labeled as “flavored” with the ingredients. See Middle East North Africa Financial Network, August 12, 2012.
Claiming that lead levels in candies imported from China, Taiwan and Hong Kong exceed Proposition 65 (Prop. 65) limits, the Center for Environmental Health has reportedly initiated legal proceedings against eight retailers and distributors in San Francisco’s Bay Area. The organization has apparently urged the companies to remove the products from store shelves after testing showed that typical serving sizes would expose consumers to 10 times or more lead than state and federal standards. One candy allegedly contained nearly 100 times more lead than the Prop. 65 limit. According to Center Executive Director Michael Green, “It is especially worrisome when we find lead in candy, since consumers are ingesting the lead with every bite. This candy may be very dangerous, particularly for children or pregnant women.” See Center for Environmental Health News Release, August 7, 2012.
A California court has reportedly dismissed claims filed by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) against fast-food chains, finding that the group failed to investigate its allegations before suing under Proposition 65 (Prop. 65). PCRM v. McDonald’s Corp., No. BC383722; PCRM v. KFC Corp., No. BC457193 (Cal. Super. Ct., Los Angeles Cty., decided August 15, 2012). Filed in 2008 and 2011, the suits alleged that the restaurants failed to warn consumers that their grilled chicken menu items contain PhIP, a chemical known to the state to cause cancer. Yet, PCRM did not apparently visit the restaurants until February 2012 to take pictures of the posted warnings. The restaurants reportedly post notices that some of their products contain cancer-causing chemicals and refer customers to nutritional brochures for additional details. They contend that their warnings comply with Prop. 65. Information about similar litigation filed in San Francisco County appears in Issue…
According to the quarterly Securities and Exchange filing of Monster Beverage Corp., an unnamed state attorney general (AG) subpoenaed company records in July 2012 regarding its energy beverages. The subpoena apparently concerns “the Company’s advertising, marketing, promotion, ingredients, usage and sale of its Monster Energy® brand of energy drinks.” The company further notes, “As the investigation is in an early stage, it is unknown what, if any, action the state attorney general may take against the Company, the relief which may be sought in the event of any such proceeding or whether such proceeding could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition or results of operations.” News sources indicate that Monster had a 35 percent share of the energy drink market in 2011, and at least one financial analyst understands that others in the industry may also be targeted in the probe. While the caffeine in…
A nonprofit family farming organization, the Center for Food Safety and several seed companies have sued the Oregon Department of Agriculture seeking court review and a stay of a temporary rule that would open 1.7 million acres to genetically modified (GM) canola plants. Friends of Family Farmers v. Or. Dep’t of Agric., No. ___ (Or. Ct. App., filed August 15, 2012). The plaintiffs claim that opening formerly protected acreage to GM crops in the Willamette Valley without imposing appropriate buffers would harm them through cross pollination, seed crop contamination, increased pests and disease, and escaped canola weeds. They claim that the rule was adopted under the agency’s temporary rulemaking authority which does not include opportunity for public notice, review and comment. “The critical prerequisite for adopting a temporary rule is the requirement to demonstrate that an agency’s failure to act promptly will result in ‘serious prejudice’ to the public interest or the…
Dole Food Co. has filed a motion to dismiss or strike claims in a putative class action alleging that its food product labels mislead consumers. Brazil v. Dole Food Co., Inc., No. 12-1831 (N.D. Cal., motion filed August 13, 2012). Identifying the plaintiff as a “repeat class representative” who recently received an incentive award in another lawsuit, Dole argues that his claims are preempted under federal law, he lacks standing because he has not been injured, the claims are not plausible, and he has failed to state a claim under California law. The company also notes that the case is “one of 24 (and counting) nearly identical ‘misbranding’ class action cases filed during a 15-week blitz by nine law firms from six different states,” thus making it an “assembly-line” complaint that follows “a common recipe.” In summary, Dole contends, “By this lawsuit, Plaintiff seeks colossal damages, punitive damages, and a nationwide injunction…
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has issued a draft food inspection model as part of its Inspection Modernization: Optimizing Confidence in Food Safety plan. According to CFIA, the modernized approach to food inspection will apply to both imported and domestic commodities and, in addition to the inspection model, rely on modern science, improved data collection and better training and tools for CFIA inspectors. The new draft model apparently favors a risk-based approach to regulatory oversight and covers the following components: (i) licensing and registration, (ii) CFIA oversight, (iii) inspection, (iv) compliance and enforcement, and (v) system performance. In particular, food and beverage manufacturers would need to develop “preventative control plans scalable to the size and complexity of their operation” that “mitigate all sources of food safety risk and demonstrate that the measures effectively meet regulatory requirements.” CFIA would in turn determine the level of required oversight—enhanced, normal or reduced—based…
A recent study funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) has reportedly registered a significant decrease in the availability of soft drinks in secondary schools but “widespread access to other sugary beverages, such as fruit drinks and sport drinks.” Yvonne Terry McElrath, et al., “Trends in Competitive Venue Beverage Availability: Findings From US Secondary School,” Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, August 2012. After surveying the availability of competitive beverages in 1,900 public middle and high schools from 2006-07 to 2010-11, researchers with the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research reported that the percentage of high school students with access to regular soda fell to 25 percent in 2010-11 from 54 percent in 2006-07, while the percentage of middle schoolers with access to regular soda declined to 13 percent in 2010-11, down from 27 percent in 2006-07. At the same time, however, the survey purportedly revealed that 63 percent of…
