The third in a five-part series about genetically modified (GM) crops, this article focuses on the frustrations of importers and exporters over stringent European rules about even trace amounts of GM material in conventional crops. Apparently, European regulators have stopped more than 10 soybean or soy meal shipments from the United States this year because they contained GM corn dust, which had not been cleared for import in Europe. The cross-contamination apparently occurs when silos, trains and ships are not cleaned after GM crops are stored or transported in them. With pressure from European farmers who need the soy products to feed their cattle and pigs, the EU reportedly approved the GM corn on November 2, 2009. Agricultural trade will apparently face new strains as GM traits used worldwide quadruple in the next five years. According to European Agriculture Minister Mariann Fischer Boel, “The result is that a growing number…
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According to a news source, employers may have more reason to avoid hiring overweight employees after a workers’ compensation board in Indiana and the Oregon Supreme Court ruled that employers must pay for weight-loss surgery if their obese employees suffer weight-related injuries on the job. With no laws banning employment discrimination against the obese, beyond limited areas to which the Americans with Disabilities Act applies, human resource consultants are apparently speculating that fears about the costs of providing weight-loss treatment could increase an existing bias against hiring overweight job applicants. At the very least, some employers have begun requiring that their overweight employees either pay more for health-insurance premiums or enroll in weight-loss programs. While the obese “might call it a gross invasion of privacy and personal choice to have employers so involved in their weight . . . it’s come down to a case where this personal ‘freedom’ is…
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) recently published a report titled “Complacency on the Farm: Significant Noncompliance With EPA’s Refuge Requirements Threatens the Future Effectiveness of Genetically Engineered Pest-Protected Corn,” which maintains that “one out of every four farmers who plants genetically engineered (GE) corn is failing to comply with at least one important insect-resistance management requirement.” The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) apparently requires farmers to plant a conventional corn refuge in or adjacent to corn crops engineered with Bacillus thuringeiensis (Bt), a toxin fatal to rootworms and corn borers. The refuge reduces the risk that pests which survive the Bt corn will breed only with their own kind, thus producing Bt-resistant pest variants. “Resistant offspring would not only reduce crop yields of the Bt crops, but could also threaten organic or conventional farmers who use natural Bt-based pesticides on non-GE crops,” stated a November 5, 2009, CSPI…
Consumers Union (CU) has issued the results of bisphenol A (BPA) testing on 19 name-brand canned foods such as soups, juice, tuna, green beans, and infant formula. According to a December 2009 Consumer Reports article titled “Concern Over Canned Foods,” the tests revealed that both organic and conventional foods contained detectable BPA levels, including “some products in cans that were labeled ‘BPA-free.’” The average amount of BPA purportedly “varied widely,” ranging from trace amounts to 32 parts per billion (ppb), for both epoxy-lined metal cans and alternative packaging. “Nevertheless, our findings are notable because they indicate the extent of potential exposure,” concludes the article. “Consumers eating just one serving of the canned vegetable soup we tested would get about double what the FDA now considers typical average dietary daily exposure.” While noting that these results “convey a snapshot of the marketplace and do not provide a general conclusion about the…
U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald has brought conspiracy charges against the president of a honey manufacturer from China in an alleged scheme to illegally dump adulterated honey on the U.S. market, and recently announced that the defendant pleaded guilty. The product was apparently shipped through the Philippines and Thailand between 2005 and 2008 to avoid steep anti-dumping duties. While defendant Yong Xiang Yan entered a plea to one count of conspiracy involving the avoidance of more than $625,000 in anti-dumping duties, he acknowledged during the plea hearing that he authorized many other shipments that avoided an additional $3.3 million in duties. Some of the honey imported into the United States was allegedly adulterated with antibiotics, but “[n]either the charges [n]or the plea agreement indicate any instances of illness or other public health consequences attributed to consumption of the honey, nor does it identify any store brands or domestic supply chain of…
Plaintiffs’ lawyer William Marler has reportedly begun filing lawsuits on behalf of families allegedly sickened in an E. coli outbreak linked to fresh ground beef processed by Fairbank Farms, which has recalled nearly 546,000 pounds of the product, mostly from retail outlets on the Atlantic coast and in the Northeast. According to news sources, two deaths and 28 illnesses may be linked to the outbreak. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service identified the recalled products on its Web site; they were sold under the labels of Trader Joe’s, Price Chopper, Lancaster and Wild Harvest, Shaw’s, and Giant food stores. The Ashville, New York-based company has previously recalled ground beef products on two occasions, once for possible E. coli contamination and most recently for contamination with pieces of plastic. The November 2009 recall reportedly involves ground beef produced between September 14 and 16 and was directed to…
California residents have filed a putative class action in federal court against the company that makes a number of margarine products, alleging that the products are falsely marketed “as healthful despite the fact its margarines have dangerous levels of artificial trans fat, a toxic food additive banned in many parts of the world.” Red v. Unilever U.S., Inc., No. 09-07855 (C.D. Cal., filed October 28, 2009). According to the complaint, the defendant (i) “specifically markets its margarines as good for cardiovascular health,” (ii) uses “non-standard and deceptive charts” when comparing the nutritional value of margarine to butter, (iii) “misleads consumers by marketing its margarines as ‘cholesterol free,’ implying its products are desirable for those with high blood cholesterol levels,” and (iv) uses “words such as ‘natural’ and ‘nutritious’ to describe products with artificial trans fat and adding images of hearts.” Among the products subject to the litigation are I Can’t Believe…
A California resident has filed putative class claims against the Kellogg Co., alleging that it falsely advertises its Cocoa Krispies® cereal as a boost to children’s immunity. Kammula v. Kellogg Co., No. 09-08102 (C.D. Cal., filed November 5, 2009). According to the complaint, without the support of any “known clinical study,” Kellogg claims that the cereal “has been improved to include antioxidants and nutrients that your family needs to help them stay healthy.” The plaintiff alleges that this practice was intended “to profit from a growing trend in the manufacturing, advertising, and sales of ‘functional’ foods.” The complaint also alleges that “Defendants fail to adequately disclose that other ingredients, including but not limited to sugar, chocolate, high-fructose corn syrup and/or partially-hydrogenated oils, may not ‘help support’ a child’s immunity.” The named plaintiff seeks to certify a class of California residents who purchased Cocoa Krispies® since November 4, 2005, alleging false…
A provision in the U.S. House of Representatives’ proposed 1,990-page health care legislation (H.R. 3962) requires fast-food chains with 20 or more locations and vending machine owners to conspicuously post calorie counts. Section 2572 apparently goes a step further than menu-labeling initiatives in New York City and elsewhere by also requiring information about how those calorie counts fit into recommended daily guidelines. The provision requires that chain restaurants list the information “on the menu board including a drive-through board” and mandates that vending machine operators provide the data on “a sign in close proximity to each article of food or the selection button.” A spokesperson for the National Restaurant Association told a news source: “We’re very pleased that the nutrition information provision continues to garner bipartisan support, and we’re pleased that the agreement is now moving forward in the House of Representatives.” See Politico, October 30, 2009; Advertising Age, November…
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety Inspection Service, (FSIS) will convene a joint meeting to address ways of enhancing current product tracing systems for food intended for humans and animals. FDA and FSIS reportedly intend for the December 9-10, 2009, event to stimulate ideas on improving their ability to “increase the speed and accuracy of traceback investigations and traceforward operations.” More specifically, the agencies want to “identify the source of contamination during outbreaks of foodborne illness and to improve the ability of all persons in the supply chain to more quickly identify food that is (or potentially is) contaminated and remove it from market during traceforward operations.” Public comments will be accepted until March 3, 2010. See Federal Register, November 3, 2009.
