IKEA Group has reportedly withdrawn its trademark meatballs and sausages from its European locations after testing revealed trace amounts of horsemeat in the products. According to a February 28, 2013, press release, the company identified horsemeat “in a few samples of our meatballs from a supplier in Sweden” and has thus suspended sales of “all products containing minced meat from pork and beef from that supplier.” IKEA Group has since reiterated, however, that the recall does not implicate products sold at its U.S. stores. “All meatballs sold in our IKEA US stores are sourced from a U.S. supplier,” the company stated in a February 26 press release. “Based on the results of our mapping, we can confirm that the contents of the meatballs follow the IKEA recipe and contain only beef and pork from animals raised in the U.S. and Canada.” Meanwhile, the U.K. Food Standards Agency (FSA) has released…
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According to a recent study conducted by the nonprofit ocean conservation group Oceana, as much as one-third of seafood sold in restaurants and grocery store is mislabeled. From 2010 to 2012, Oceana evidently collected more than 1,200 seafood samples from 674 retail outlets in 21 states to determine if they were correctly labeled. After conducting DNA tests, researchers allegedly found that one-third (33 percent) of the 1,215 samples analyzed nationwide were mislabeled under U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines. Oceana reports that, of the most commonly collected fish types, samples sold as snapper and tuna had the highest mislabeling rates (87 and 59 percent, respectively), with the majority of the samples identified by DNA analysis as something other than what was found on the label. Halibut, grouper, cod, and Chilean seabass were mislabeled between 19 and 38 percent of the time, while lower levels of mislabeling were noted among salmon (7…
Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity and the Berkeley Media Studies Group have published a report criticizing top cereal manufacturers for allegedly targeting children with “sophisticated online marketing techniques.” Andrew Cheyne, et al., “Marketing Sugary Cereals to Children in the Digital Age: A Content Analysis of 17 Child-Targeted Websites,” Journal of Health Communication, February 2013. Focusing on 17 branded cereal websites between October 2008 and March 2009, the study’s authors reported that these sites employed a mix of techniques such as “advergames, videos, site registration, and viral marketing” to engage children in “lengthier and more sophisticated” interactions “than are possible with traditional, passive media such as television advertisements or product packaging.” In particular, the study relied on Internet traffic data to allegedly suggest that children spent more time on sites with higher levels of immersion, that is, “the most and most sophisticated techniques.” These high-immersion sites reportedly brought…
According to media sources, Monster Energy Corp. has announced plans to re-label its energy drinks as beverages regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as opposed to dietary supplements. The company reportedly told industry publication Beverage Digest that it will update product labels to include “Nutritional Facts” rather than “Supplement Facts,” as well as information about the caffeine content. The change will purportedly take effect with the introduction of new products and packaging. “The Company saw no reason to continue being subjected to erroneous and misguided criticism that its Monster Energy drinks are being marketed as dietary substances to avoid FDA regulation,” read a statement that the corporation sent to ABC News. Monster Energy and other energy drink manufacturers have faced increased scrutiny and litigation over claims allegedly linking the products to fatalities in susceptible individuals. Additional details about ongoing investigations by FDA and members of Congress appear in…
An article recently published in The Lancet has apparently concluded that industries promoting so-called “unhealthy commodities” “should have no role in the formation of national or international NCD [non-communicable disease] policy.” Rob Moodie, et al., “Profits and pandemics: prevention of harmful effects of tobacco, alcohol, and ultra-processed food and drink industries,” The Lancet, February 2013. Writing on behalf of The Lancet’s NCD Action Group, researchers examined the purported influence of transnational tobacco, alcohol and food and beverage companies in low- and middle-income countries, as well as “the effectiveness of self-regulation, public-private partnerships, and public regulation models of interaction with these industries.” Focusing on the alleged financial ties between transnational corporations and public-health policymakers, the article ultimately argues that the food and beverage industries “use similar strategies to the tobacco industry to undermine effective public health policies and programs.” In particular, the authors find “no evidence to support the effectiveness or…
The Boston University School of Public Health and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) have published a study identifying alcohol brands allegedly consumed by underage youth. Michael Siegel, et al., “Brand-Specific Consumption of Alcohol Among Underage Youth in the United States,” Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, February 2013. According to a February 11, 2013, CAMY press release, the top 25 brands that study participants reported consuming during a 30-day period “account for nearly half of youth alcohol consumption,” with 27.9 percent of study participants reporting that they consumed Bud Light, 17 percent reporting that they consumed Smirnoff malt beverages, and 14.6 percent reporting that they consumed Budweiser. The study’s authors reportedly based their findings on Internet surveys completed by 1,032 participants aged 13 to 20 years who responded to questions about “their past 30-day consumption of 898 brands of alcohol among 16…
Girl Scouts of America is facing sharp criticism from the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) for marketing new mango-flavored crème cookies as a “delicious” and “nutritious” snack, with “all of the nutrient benefits of eating cranberries, pomegranates, oranges, grapes, and strawberries.” In a letter to Girl Scouts of America CEO Anna Maria Chávez, CSPI asserts that by marketing these new cookies as a “delicious new way to get your vitamins,” the youth organization is “misleading its members and undermining their health.” CSPI further alleges that the cookies not only lack the “nutrient benefits” claimed on the Girl Scouts’ website, but contain “4 grams of heart disease promoting saturated fat and 11 grams of tooth-decaying sugars per three-cookie serving.” The health advocacy watchdog encourages the organization to stop marketing the cookies as “healthful” and seek other ways of fundraising.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has submitted a petition to the Food and Drug Administration, asking the agency to set limits on the amount of sucrose and high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) allowed in beverages. CSPI also implores FDA to make the Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) status of HFCS and sucrose contingent on such limits, which would gradually be phased-in, while calling on the agency to (i) “revise the ‘Sugars’ line on Nutrition Facts labels to address ‘added sugars’”; (ii) “set targets for lower levels of added sugars in foods (apart from soft drinks and other beverages) that provide significant amounts of sugar to the general populations or population sub-groups”; (iii) “conduct a public education campaign to encourage consumers to consume less added sugars”; and (iv) “work with the food industry and interested federal, state, and local agencies to encourage reduced use and consumption of added…
According to a news source, the Council of Better Business Bureau’s National Advertising Division (NAD) has determined that Anheuser Busch promotions for Michelob ULTRA Light Cider® comply with Food and Drug Administration definitions and guidelines. The company apparently claims that the product has one-third fewer calories than its competitors, and the ad industry’s self-regulatory investigative unit “determined that the advertiser had provided a reasonable basis for the claim.” NAD considered the product’s calorie content, the calorie content of other leading hard ciders and their market share, as well as whether the brewer’s claim provided “meaningful and accurate information to consumers.” The company was reportedly “pleased with NAD’s decision.” See Law360, February 5, 2013.
A Yale University event for women graduates will feature an address by U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, and some alumnae have reportedly questioned whether she should be participating in a PepsiCo-sponsored event. An architecture graduate apparently called the association “shocking,” despite assurances from the Supreme Court’s public information officer that “[h]er appearance does not suggest any form of endorsement by PepsiCo.” Public health activist and author Michele Simon, who graduated from Yale with a master’s degree in public health, reportedly said, “PepsiCo has its tentacles deep into Yale. It’s disgusting. What is this nation’s leading educational institution doing participating with this threat to public health?” Details about her report on the relationship between the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and the food and beverage industry appear in Issue 468 of this Update. A legal ethics expert opined that Sotomayor’s participation did not implicate any judicial ethics concerns, and…
