The Environmental Working Group (EWG) and Keep A Breast Foundation have released an October 2013 report detailing how to avoid exposure to certain endocrine disruptors allegedly found in food, food packaging and other consumer products. Titled “The Dirty Dozen: 12 Hormone-Altering Chemicals and How to Avoid Them,” the report singles out bisphenol A, dioxins, atrazine, phthalates, perchlorate, fire retardants, lead, arsenic, mercury, perfluorinated chemicals, organophosphate pesticides, and glycol ethers as among “the worst hormone disrupters.” In particular, EWG argues that the interference of these substances with hormone production and signaling has been linked to cancer, reproductive problems, obesity, early puberty, heart disease, and other health conditions. To this end, the report urges consumers to avoid canned foods, thermal receipts, plastic food containers, plastic wrap, and non-stick pans, among other products. It also recommends that readers increase their consumption of organic products as well as sustainable seafood, such as wild salmon…
Category Archives Other Developments
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recently issued a policy statement calling on doctors to review patient media use and work with parents to scale back their children’s “entertainment screen time.” The latest in an ongoing series of policy statements addressing media violence, infant media use, and obesity and the media, AAP’s recommendations include encouraging parents to (i) “limit the amount of total entertainment screen time to <1 to 2 hours per day,” (ii) “discourage screen media exposure for children <2 years of age,” (iii) “keep the TV set and Internet-connected electronic devices out of the child’s bedroom,” and (iv) “monitor what media their children are using and accessing, including any Web sites they are visiting and social media sites they may be using.” In addition, AAP has requested that physicians “ask two media questions and provide age-appropriate counseling for families at every well-child visit: How much recreational screen time…
Communications and health policy researchers report that while perceptions about government interventions to address childhood obesity are correlated with political ideology, certain approaches to—or framing of—the childhood obesity message can affect whether conservatives accept the seriousness of the problem and are willing to (i) endorse responsibility beyond the individual, and (ii) support policy action. Sarah Gollust, et al., “Framing the Consequences of Childhood Obesity to Increase Public Support for Obesity Prevention Policy,” Research & Practice, November 2013. Their findings were based on two Web-based public opinion surveys. The first involved testing perceptions as to a series of common messages about the consequences of childhood obesity. And from those viewed as the strongest, the researchers selected four to use in the second study to assess beliefs about responsibility for addressing childhood obesity and support for policies intended to curb its incidence, including a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages, physical activity requirements in schools,…
Mondelēz International reportedly intends to introduce “smart shelves” whose sensors first identify the age and gender of grocery shoppers and then deliver targeted ads via video display. “Knowing that a consumer is showing interest in the product gives us the opportunity to engage with them in real-time,” Mondelēz CIO Mark Dajani said in a recent Wall Street Journal article. Dajani noted that the smart shelves will respect consumers’ privacy because no photos, video or personal information will be captured. See Wall Street Journal, October 11, 2013.
Led by the Center for Digital Democracy (CDD), a coalition of public health, media, youth, and consumer advocacy groups has written a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), asking the agency to review Facebook’s recent decision to relax its privacy protections for teenage users. According to an October 20, 2013, press release, the letter raises concerns about the social networking site’s new terms of service agreement, which, among other things, apparently gives Facebook “permission to use, for commercial purposes, the name, profile picture, actions, and other information concerning its teen users.” It also objects to a new condition of service that asks 13-to-17-year-olds to “represent that at least one of your parents or legal guardians has also agreed to the terms of this section (and the use of your name, profile picture, content, and information) on your behalf.” In particular, the coalition argues that these proposed changes “would expose…
Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) recently conducted a study concluding that “the majority of the food and beverage brands endorsed by professional athletes are for unhealthy products like sports beverages, soft drinks, and fast food.” Marie Bragg, et al., “Athlete Endorsements in Food Marketing,” Pediatrics, November 2013. Noting that previous research by public health advocates has criticized the use of athletes’ endorsements in food marketing campaigns for often promoting unhealthy food and sending mixed messages to youth about health, Rudd Center researchers state that theirs is the first study to examine the extent and reach of such marketing. The researchers reportedly selected 100 professional athletes for study based on Businessweek’s 2010 Power 100 report, which ranked athletes according to their endorsement value and prominence in their sport. Information about each athlete’s endorsements was gathered from the Power 100 list and…
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic have co-authored a September 2013 report claiming that the date label used on food products “is a key factor” in unnecessary food waste. Titled The Dating Game: How Confusing Food Date Labels Lead to Food Waste in America, the report focuses on the lack of federal standards for date labels such as “use by,” “best before,” “sell by,” and “enjoy by,” arguing that the variability in state and local rules sows confusion among consumers, undermines the system’s goal of providing accurate indicators of freshness and harms both manufactures and retailers “by creating increased compliance burdens and food waste.” To combat these problems, the report recommends that stakeholders “standardize and clarify the food date labeling system across the United States” by establishing “a reliable, coherent, and uniform consumer-facing dating system” that clearly differentiates between “quality-based” and “safety-based” date…
Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) recently joined a coalition of nongovernmental organizations in criticizing the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) ahead of the agency’s October 3, 2013, stakeholder meeting on transparency in risk assessment. Led by CEO and backed by groups such as Cancer Prevention and Education Society, Friends of the Earth Europe and GMWatch, the coalition argues in an October 1 open letter that EFSA’s current system for approving food products for market is flawed insofar as the agency’s decision-making process relies on confidential dossiers submitted by industry. In particular, the signatories claim that under international and EU law, EFSA must disclose the contents of these dossiers and should also ensure that the studies used to support its market approvals adhere to the same high standards as those set by peer-reviewed journals. To this end, the coalition recommends that EFSA provide “complete, unrestricted and proactive online publication of applicants’ files,”…
Credit Suisse’s Research Institute has issued a September 2013 report titled Sugar Consumption at a Crossroads that examines the world sweetener market as well as the latest research on the health effects of sugar and high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Noting that soft drinks have drawn the most attention from legislators, regulators and consumer groups, the report summarizes the medical consensus on the role of increased sugar consumption in chronic disease and chronicles those issues still open for debate. The report also describes how the increased focus on the health effects of excess sugar consumption will affect food and beverage companies, the sugar industry as a whole, individual producers of artificial and natural sweeteners, and the health care industry. In particular, Credit Suisse expects companies in the beverage industry “to react to the growing public concern and the threat of taxes on sugary drinks by moving as fast as they can to…
William Dietz, the former director of the Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has authored a September 2013 commentary in the journal Health Affairs, urging the “mobilization of parents as a political force to improve standards for food marketed to children.” William Dietz, “New Strategies to Improve Food Marketing to Children,” Health Affairs, September 2013. Recounting the past efforts of the Federal Trade Commission and other government agencies to curb food marketing to children, Dietz argues that these initiatives “have had a modest but positive impact” on the media landscape but have ultimately foundered in the face of industry opposition. “Because groups that support the needs of children will never have the same resources in the political arena as those of the industries that market to children, it is time to consider alternative strategies,” Dietz writes. In particular, he suggests that…
