Advocacy organization As You Sow has issued a report titled “Slipping Through the Cracks: An Issue Brief on Nanomaterials in Food” to “inform companies, investors, and consumers about the emerging use of engineered nanomaterials in food and food related products, and to highlight the potential unknown risks of this technology.” The organization describes how it sought information from major food and food packaging companies about nanomaterials in their products, and of those few responding, most either do not know whether nanomaterials are in their supply chain or were not apparently concerned about the issue. Comprehensive survey results are included in the report. As You Sow also tested a few products and purportedly found nano-sized titanium dioxide in the powered sugar used on a Dunkin’ Donut product. The organization is soliciting contributions to allow it to test other products, such as Trident gum and Pop-Tarts. The report suggests that while initial…
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Burger King has reportedly dropped one of its suppliers after finding traces of horse DNA in beef provided for sale in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The restaurant chain apparently tested its own products in the wake of a Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) investigation that allegedly found horse DNA in beef patties and meals linked to three processing plants, one of which apparently received its product from a Polish distributor. “Our independent DNA tests results on product taken from Burger King® restaurants were negative for any equine DNA. However, four samples recently taken from the Silvercrest plant have shown the presence of very small trace levels of equine DNA,” said a company statement on PR Newswire. “This product was never sold to our restaurants. Within the last 36 hours, we have established that Silvercrest used a small percentage of beef imported from a non-approved supplier in Poland. They…
Duke University has announced the selection of Kelly Brownell, who currently directs Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, as dean of its Sanford School of Public Policy. According to a January 30, 2013, news release, Brownell will replace the Sanford School’s founding dean, Bruce Kuniholm, as head of undergraduate and graduate studies, which focus on “child and family policy, national security, international development and many other issues facing society.” The Sanford School’s announcement highlights Brownell’s work on nutrition policy, as well as his highly publicized stance against “big sodas” and his contributions to both the public and academic discourse on the topic of obesity. “In Kelly Brownell we have a new dean ready to take the Sanford School to the next level after the superb leadership of Bruce Kuniholm,” said Duke Provost Peter Lange. “Kelly has an extraordinary record as a researcher while also being deeply committed…
Apparently motivated in part by an online petition started by a 15-year-old from Mississippi, PepsiCo has reportedly decided to remove brominated vegetable oil (BVO), a flame retardant, from Gatorade®. Sarah Kavanagh posted the petition on Change.org after she read about studies linking BVO to possible health effects, and it was signed by more than 200,000 who agreed with her call for its removal. Additional information about the petition appears in Issue 463 of this Update. The company will not remove BVO from Mountain Dew® products. A company spokesperson reportedly said that PepsiCo has been testing alternatives for about a year, but because it continues to believe that the ingredient is safe, was not going to change the formulation until the petition met with such a response. Kavanagh taped a segment for “The Dr. Oz Show” and visited The New York Times while she was in New York. When she learned about…
In an effort to combat marketing to children, a Washington, D.C.-based organic grocer has stopped stocking products whose packaging features cartoon characters from books, movies and TV programs. According to a MOM’s Organic Market news release, products such as Dora the Explorer frozen soybeans will be replaced with alternatives in cartoon-free packaging. “Marketing to children is wrong and should be illegal,” said MOM’s founder and CEO Scott Nash. “Advertising is a shady game. It focuses on creating a shallow emotional attachment instead of pointing out the merits of a product. Unfortunately, it works—and young children are particularly susceptible.” “Using beloved media characters to sell kids on a particular brand of food is wrong, even if it’s healthy food,” said Susan Linn, Director of the Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood. “Children should not be trained to pick foods based on the cartoon on the box. We congratulate MOM’s for taking…
The International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) has issued a position statement on energy drinks (ED) and energy shots (ES), claiming that “given the number of servings of these products that are consumed daily, the rate of adverse events appears low in the population of consumers.” Bill Campell, et al., “International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: energy drinks,” Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, January 2013. After analyzing the scientific literature on this topic, ISSN found that “[a]lthough ED and ES contain a number of nutrients that are purported to affect mental and/ or physical performance, the primarily ergogenic nutrients in most ED and ES appear to be carbohydrate and/or caffeine.” The society thus concluded that consuming low-calorie ED “10-60 minutes before exercise can improve mental focus, alertness, anaerobic performance, and/or endurance performance,” but cautioned that drinking higher-calorie ED during exercise may promote weight gain. At the…
Cancer Council, Diabetes Australia and the National Heart Foundation of Australia have issued recommendations about the sale and availability of sugar-sweetened beverages as well as launched a new public service announcement titled “Rethink Sugary Drinks.” According to a January 17, 2013, press release, the three organizations “have called for immediate action by governments, schools and non-government organizations such as sport centers to tackle one of the key contributors to obesity in Australia—sugary drinks.” In particular, the groups advocate (i) a government-sponsored social marketing campaign “to highlight the health impacts of sugar sweetened beverages consumption and encourage people to reduce their consumption levels”; (ii) a Federal Department of Treasury and Finance investigation “into tax options to increase the price of sugar-sweetened beverages or sugar-sweetened soft drinks, with the aim of changing purchasing habits and achieving healthier diets”; (iii) government restrictions on the marketing of sugar-sweetened beverages to children, “including through schools…
In a paper titled “Obesity: Chasing an Elusive Epidemic,” Hastings Center Scholar and President Emeritus Daniel Callahan calls for a combination of measures to stop what he calls “the most difficult and elusive public health problem this country has ever encountered.” Contending that current initiatives have failed to stem the tide, Callahan includes “social pressure on the overweight” as a promising tactic. He apparently attributes his success in quitting smoking to “being shamed and beat upon socially” and thus believes that stigmatization will help people “strongly want to avoid being overweight.” The paper also recommends taxes on sugared drinks and unhealthy processed foods, youth marketing bans, calorie postings in restaurants, and government subsidies for healthy foods to “make a significant difference” on the “supply side.” Callahan’s recommendation to the business community is to create wellness programs for employees while the second prong of his approach targets preventative strategies aimed at…
Food activist and attorney Michele Simon has issued a report that explores the relationship between the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) and corporations such as Kellogg, General Mills, PepsiCo, and Nestlé that make what Simon characterizes as unhealthy food and beverages. Titled “And Now a Word From Our Sponsors: Are America’s Nutrition Professionals in the Pocket of Big Food?,” the January 2013 report examines the level of financial support provided to AND by the largest U.S. food manufacturers since 2001. According to Simon, the companies provide numerous speakers for courses needed by dietitians to maintain their professional credentials as well as sponsorships for AND’s meetings, while taking up the most prominent and significant amount of floor space during AND’s annual meeting expo. The report includes a first-person account of Simon’s attendance at one of these meetings, including her dismay that other conference attendees (i) willingly accepted food samples from…
A recent survey conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research (AP-NORC) indicates that even though Americans apparently understand many of the reasons behind increasing rates of obesity and the alleged link between obesity and chronic health conditions, people are split on their support for government policies that would affect consumers’ food and beverage choices. “The American public has clearly gotten the message about obesity as a major public health issue, including its connection to other major health problems,” said Trevor Tompson, director of the AP-NORC Center. “What is less clear is consensus about how to address the issue and a surprising number of overweight people who are not told by their physicians that it is an issue that needs attention.” For example, one-third of those surveyed said the government should be deeply involved in finding ways to curb obesity, while a similar proportion wanted little or no…
