Nickelodeon and its parent company Viacom have purportedly declined to change their advertising policies after four senators penned a June 10, 2013, letter asking the network to further limit the food and beverage commercials shown during children’s TV programming. “As an entertainment company, Nickelodeon’s primary mission is to make the highest quality entertainment content in the world for kids,” the company reportedly said in its response to recent criticism. “That is our expertise. We believe strongly that we must leave the science of nutrition to the experts.” According to a recent article in The New York Times, which reported that food advertising accounts for approximately 18 percent of Nickelodeon’s annual sales, the network has also highlighted its voluntary efforts to reduce advertisements for foods and beverages with high sugar or fat content, its promotion of health and wellness messaging, and its licensing restrictions designed to prevent the use of popular…
Category Archives Other Developments
Chipotle Mexican Grill has reportedly become the first fast-food chain to disclose the ingredients it uses that contain genetically modified (GM) organisms. The list of items containing GM ingredients is currently available only on the company’s website and includes barbacoa beef, chicken, fajita vegetables, brown and white rice, steak, and tortillas. According to its website, the company’s “goal is to eliminate [genetically modified organisms] GMOs from Chipotle’s ingredients, and we’re working hard to meet this challenge. For example, we recently switched our fryers from soybean oil to sunflower oil. Soybean oil is almost always made from genetically modified soybeans, while there is no commercially available GMO sunflower oil. Where our food contains currently unavoidable GM ingredients, it is only in the form of corn or soy.” See BloombergBusinessWeek.com, June 18, 2013; Chipotle.com.
The American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates has formally adopted three new resolutions at its 2013 Annual Meeting in Chicago, Illinois, that aim to define obesity as a disease, prohibit the marketing of energy drinks to adolescents younger than age 18, and end the eligibility of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). According to news sources, delegates reached the decision to recognize obesity “as a disease state with multiple aspects requiring a range of interventions to advance obesity treatment and prevention” after hours of debate raised questions about how physicians and policymakers will use the declaration to counter rising obesity rates in the United States. “Recognizing obesity as a disease will help change the way the medical community tackles this complex issue that affects approximately one in three Americans,” said AMA board member Patrice Harris in a statement announcing the resolution. “The AMA is committed…
An international group of nutrition scientists has recommended that the quality of carbohydrates in foods as measured by their glycemic index (GI) should be included in national dietary guidelines and on food labels. Drafted during the International Scientific Consensus Summit on Glycemic Index, Glycemic Load and Glycemic Response held June 6-7, 2013, in Stresa, Italy, the group’s scientific consensus statement concludes that carbohydrate quality is significant and that carbohydrates present in different foods affect post-meal blood sugar differently, with important health implications. The scientists also cited “convincing” evidence that low GI/glycemic load (GL) diets reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease, help control blood glucose in people with diabetes and may help with weight management. “Given essentially conclusive evidence that high GI/GL diets contribute to risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, reduction in GI and GL should be a public health priority,” said participating scientist…
The California Cantaloupe Advisory Board (CCAB) has launched a new food-safety program that requires government audits of all cantaloupe production activities. Described by CCAB as “the only mandatory food-safety program that requires government audits of all cantaloupe production activities,” the program invites government auditors to inspect all aspects of operations including growing, harvesting, packing, and cooling to ensure that a set of “science-based standards is being followed.” Under the program, handlers must be 100 percent compliant with food-safety audits that cover 156 checkpoints. According to California melon producer and CCAB Chair Steve Patricio, CCAB will use inspectors from the California Department of Food and Agriculture instead of private inspection companies to ensure accountability, uniformity and consistency of audits throughout the California cantaloupe industry. Patricio also noted that the new audit program will allow producers to meet or exceed requirements of the Food Safety Modernization Act when it is implemented and that…
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has released a summary of survey results pertaining to the regulatory framework in 12 countries that provide oversight of nanotechnology in food and medical products. Conducted in 2011-2012, the survey addressed (i) “the regulatory frameworks being used to provide oversight for the use of nanotechnology in the relevant field,” (ii) “the legislative frameworks relevant to these regulatory frameworks,” and (iii) “relevant government supported research programmes and institutions.” OECD has concluded that food ingredients, additives, colorings, and contact substances “that may contain nanomaterials or otherwise involve the application of nanotechnology are covered under existing national and/or regional legislative and regulatory frameworks that are relevant and applicable to foods.” See OECD News Release, May 28, 2013.
The American Public Health Association’s 141st annual meeting and exposition is slated for November 2-6, 2013, in Boston, Massachusetts. Expected to attract more than 13,000 physicians, researchers, epidemiologists, and related health specialists, and featuring a myriad of presentations, the meeting will include a session on “Regulating for the Public’s Health: Food and Beverages, Drugs, and Emerging Technologies.” Among the presentations during this session are the legal considerations of antibiotics in food animals, focusing on a court order requiring that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) complete proceedings to withdraw approval of certain antibiotics (presented by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention senior attorney Heather Horton), and “Legal strategies to increase funding and improve the FDA’s authority over food labeling violations and questionable claims” (presented by Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity attorney Jennifer Pomeranz). Pomeranz contends that FDA lacks sufficient authority and funding to address misbranded food products and “[t]he…
A new mobile application that allows consumers to learn more about the company and manufacturing process behind a specific product has attracted nationwide media attention, with ABC News “Technology Review” recently naming it “App of the Week.” Created by Los Angeles based developer Ivan Pardo, the “Buycott” app encourages consumers to scan product barcodes to determine whether the purchase conflicts with any causes identified by the user, who can decide to join preexisting Buycott campaigns or create new ones based on individual concerns. For example, as a May 14 Forbes article explains, the “Demand GMO Labeling” campaign will tell consumers if a box of cereal “was made by one of the 36 corporations that donated more than $150,000 to oppose the mandatory labeling of genetically modified food.” In addition to helping consumers source products, Buycott reportedly supplies company information ranging from “phone numbers, emails, social media accounts, and headquarters location……
The seventh biennial Childhood Obesity Conference is slated for June 18-20, 2013, in Long Beach, California. Described as “the nation’s largest, most influential collaboration of professionals dedicated to combating pediatric obesity,” the event expects to draw nearly 2,000 attendees from across the nation. Agenda highlights include presentations by New York Times investigative journalist Michael Moss, New York University Professor Marion Nestle, food activist and attorney Michele Simon, and Center for Science in the Public Interest Director of Nutrition Policy Margo Wootan.
Public interest advocacy organization the Center for Food Safety has issued a report titled “Best Public Relations Money Can Buy: A Guide to Food Industry Front Groups,” authored by food activist and attorney Michele Simon. The report describes what front groups are and how they purportedly function, drawing parallels with a cigarette industry trade group, which, according to Simon, by distorting science “effectively delayed public policy on tobacco for decades. The food industry’s current effort to distort science is similar, but somewhat more subtle, operating through less obvious front groups.” Among the groups mentioned are (i) the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance— “[t]he group calls itself ‘farmers and ranchers’ because that sounds better than Monsanto and the Pork Board”; (ii) No on 37—a group fighting a ballot initiative in California that would have required labels on foods with genetically modified ingredients; it allegedly “claimed to be a ‘coalition of family…
