The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) has published two “Perspective” articles in its April 3, 2013, issue, commenting on the recent ruling by Judge Milton Tingling overturning the New York City Board of Health’s restrictions on the size of sugary drinks sold at certain city establishments—the “Portion Cap Rule.” Details about the ruling are included in Issue 475 of this Update. Attorneys Wendy Mariner and George Annas with the Boston University School of Health opine in “Limiting ‘Sugary Drinks’ to Reduce Obesity— Who Decides?” that the court was likely correct in ruling that the Board of Health lacked the authority to adopt the rule given a court of appeals ruling overturning indoor smoking rules after examining “the difficult-to-define line between administrative rulemaking and legislative policymaking.” They contend that higher taxes on all soda sales would be a reasonable alternative to the Portion Cap Rule, noting that “[h]igher prices often…
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The Council for Responsible Nutrition has issued recommended guidelines for dietary supplement products containing caffeine, including energy drink products marketed as supplements. According to the council, the guidelines expand “its self-regulatory initiatives that encourage best practices within the supplement industry and promote safe use of dietary supplements by consumers.” Council President and CEO Steve Mister said, “This is one example of how responsible companies in our industry are taking proactive steps to educate consumers so they can make informed decisions about caffeine-containing supplements, and we trust consumers will be mindful of the amounts of caffeine they are getting from all sources.” The guidelines recommend (i) the disclosure of total caffeine content for products with added caffeine in amounts more than 25 mg per serving, “declared in milligrams per serving either in the Supplement Facts Box or in a separate statement elsewhere on the label”; (ii) advisories for conditions of use,…
“Nearly all of the meal possibilities offered to kids at America’s top chain restaurants are of poor nutritional quality,” according to a new report from the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). “One out of every three American children is overweight or obese, but it’s as if the chain restaurant industry didn’t get the memo,” said CSPI Nutrition Policy Director Margo Wootan. “Most chains seem stuck in a time warp, serving up the same old meals based on chicken nuggets, burgers, macaroni and cheese, fries, and soda.” The report, “Kids’ Meals: Obesity on the Menu,” claims that 97 percent of the nearly 3,500 meal possibilities analyzed failed to meet CSPI nutritional criteria for 4- to 8-year-olds, while 91 percent failed to meet National Restaurant Association (NRA) guidelines for its Kids LiveWell program. CSPI recommends that kids’ meals “must not exceed 430 calories, more than 35 percent of calories…
A Lancet commentary supportive of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s effort to curb the size of sugar-sweetened beverages sold in the city questions whether food and beverage industry partnerships with minority advocacy organizations are “merely a smokescreen to hide the continued targeting of the most susceptible consumers.” Comparing “Big Soda” to “Big Tobacco,” the article refers to a recent article, summarized in Issue 472 of this Update, to suggest that the answer to the question is yes. The article also cites the Access to Nutrition Index, which ranked companies, in part, on their “nutrition-related commitments, performance and disclosure practices,” to call for continued industry monitoring with the aim of reinforcing “the best business practices.” The Index is discussed in Issue 475 of this Update. In a related development, Center for Science in the Public Interest Executive Director Michael Jacobson has authored an article for Huffington Post arguing that soft drink…
During a recent meeting of the World Trade Organization’s (WTO’s) Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee, several member delegations expressed concerns about Chile’s proposed food health regulation amendments that would, among other things, require certain foods high in fat, sugar or salt to bear “STOP” sign-shaped warnings on 20 percent of the “main surface of the package.” The delegations, including Argentina, Canada, Colombia, the European Union, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, and the United States, apparently contended that such requirements were not based on relevant Codex nutrition labeling guidelines, would create unnecessary barriers to international trade and had not been properly brought before the TBT Committee. Chile apparently responded that the proposal was intended to stem the tide of the obesity epidemic and that it was needed to provide readily understandable warnings on food products. In addition to stop sign warnings such as “high in salt,” “high in calories” or their equivalent,…
The Cornucopia Institute (CI) has issued a report that questions the safety of food-grade or undegraded carrageenan, “a common food additive extracted from red seaweed.” Titled “Carrageenan: How a ‘Natural’ Food Additive is Making Us Sick,” the report claims that animal studies “have repeatedly shown that food-grade carrageenan causes gastrointestinal inflammation and higher rates of intestinal lesions, ulcerations, and even malignant tumors.” Distinguishing between undegraded and degraded carrageenan—which the report describes as “a potent inflammatory” processed with acid instead of alkali—CI emphasizes that even the food-grade version poses a health risk to consumers who ingest the additive in a wide variety of products, including dairy and dairy alternatives, deli meats, and prepared soups and broths. In particular, the report points to a 2001 literature review published by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences that purportedly warned against “‘the widespread use of carrageenan in the Western diet’ due to evidence…
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has published a report titled “Selfish Giving: How the Soda Industry Uses Philanthropy to Sweeten its Profits.” Noting that the African-American and Hispanic organizations that brought a successful court challenge against New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s size restrictions on sugar-sweetened beverages were the recipients of grants from the soft drink industry, the report suggests that industry sponsorships are used to leverage their reputations. While the money allows organizations serving minorities and underserved populations to achieve their goals, CSPI contends, “The [beverage] companies sometimes exploit those partnerships to support their political objectives.” CSPI calls for recipient organizations to think twice about accepting money from the industry. According to the report, advocacy organizations, government officials and health-care providers have increased their efforts to reduce sugar-sweetened beverage consumption, which CSPI indicates has dramatically increased and accuses of “increasing the risk for diabetes, heart…
George Washington University Professor John Banzhaf has reportedly issued an assignment to some 200 undergraduate students requiring them to lobby their local legislators in favor of measures, such as the limits on sugary beverages in New York City found invalid this week by a federal court, that will address obesity. Claiming that the assignment is fully consistent with the university’s advertised claims—“Your Four Years at GWU Can Change the Course of History” and “Faculty and Students Don’t Just Study the World, They Work to Change It—Banzhaf, known for crusading with his law students against cigarette manufacturers, says he will show, through the students in his Food & Politics class, how “even undergraduates can have a significant impact on public health problems.” See PRLog, March 4, 2013.
Advocacy organization As You Sow, which recently issued a report on nanomaterials in food, is continuing to test products for nano-scale ingredients and has conducted a crowdfunding campaign to finance the initiative. Further details about the report appear in Issue 470 of this Update. The organization apparently succeeded in raising the $6,000 needed to test Betty Crocker Whipped Frosting®, which purportedly contains the same coloring additive found in Dunkin’ Donuts, a product highlighted in the report.
The first edition of a global “Access to Nutrition Index,” evaluates the “nutrition-related commitments, performance and disclosure practices of 25 of the world’s largest food and beverage manufacturers.” Contending that food and beverage companies “must do more to increase access to nutritious products and positively exercise their influence on consumer choice and behavior,” the report ranked Danone and Nestlé among its top performers, but stated that even these companies “have significant room for improvement.” Housed at the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), the three-year initiative was funded by GAIN, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Wellcome Trust. According to Access to Nutrition Index (ATNI) Executive Director Inge Kauer, the report “is not intended to name and shame companies, but instead to highlight strong practices and to provide a means for companies to benchmark their approach to nutrition against their peers and identify areas for improvement. The Index also…
