Recent developments in the ongoing food safety debate over the production and sale of raw milk have recently focused the media spotlight in several states. According to a Denver Post article, Colorado is one of 29 states allowing “cow-share programs” to side-step laws that forbid the retail sale of raw milk, consumption of which has allegedly been linked to a resurgence of milk-related sickness in the United States. Under a cow-share program, consumers hold shares in dairy herds and receive raw milk products as a return on their investment. Some 60 Colorado dairies apparently now offer the service. Meanwhile, similar “buying clubs” are reportedly under fire in Massachusetts, where the mainstream dairy industry has, according to reports, lobbied Commissioner of the Department of Agricultural Resources Scott Soares to begin cracking down on the clubs. The department reportedly sent cease-and-desist letters to four buying clubs early in 2010. Mobilizing support for…
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A recent report examining trends in energy drink consumption claims that the U.S. market’s “exponential growth” has outpaced regulatory mechanisms designed for other beverages. M.A. Heckman, K. Sherry and E. Gonzalez de Mejia, “Energy Drinks: An Assessment of Their Market Size, Consumer Demographics, Ingredient Profile, Functionality, and Regulation in the United States,” Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, May 2010. University of Illinois researchers apparently found that, despite a lack of scientific consensus as to their physiological and cognitive effects, energy drinks represent “more than 200 brands in the United States alone, all purporting to increase energy, longevity, and vitality in some form or another.” The report provides an overview of these marketing strategies as well as common energy drink ingredients, including caffeine, taurine, guarana, ginseng, yerba mate, B vitamins and “health-promoting constituents” like antioxidant polyphenols. It claims that the majority of such products are pitched to teenagers and…
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has called on three national restaurant chains to follow the steps of other food establishments by no longer using artificial trans fat in their fare. “Bob Evans, White Castle, and Long John Silver’s are now the roguish outliers among the restaurant industry,” said CSPI Executive Director Michael Jacobson. “Many Americans might have thought that the era of artificial trans fat was over. At these chains, it lives tragically on.” Artificial trans fat has been dropped by chains, including McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, and Starbucks. The American Heart Association recommends limiting consumption of trans fat to no more than 2 grams per day that comes naturally from sources such as milk and beef, which “doesn’t leave much room for trans fat from artificial sources,” said CSPI. See CSPI News Release, April 26, 2010.
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has issued a report titled “Bridging the Evidence Gap in Obesity Prevention: A Framework to Inform Decision Making” to guide the use of relevant evidence about obesity prevention policies and programs. According to the report brief, IOM’s Food and Nutrition Board reviewed “what is considered to be the relevant information base for community, environmental, and policy-based obesity prevention initiatives” and found “a clear evidence gap.” In response, the board developed the L.E.A.D. framework process, short for “Locate evidence, Evaluate it, Assemble it, and Inform Decisions.” The framework involves “innovative approaches to generating, identifying, evaluating, and compiling evidence—taking a broad, transdisciplinary perspective.” These approaches include (i) incorporating systems thinking; (ii) building a resource base; (iii) establishing evidence for standards quality; (iv) supporting the generation of evidence; and (v) communicating, disseminating, evaluating, and refining the L.E.A.D. framework. See IOM Website, April 23, 2010.
Mission: Readiness, a non-profit organization of senior retired military leaders, has issued a report claiming that “at least nine million 17- to 24-year-olds in the United States are too fat to serve in the military.” According to an April 20, 2010, press release, weight problems “have become the leading medical reason why recruits are rejected for service.” The group describes the situation as a threat to national security, noting that similar concerns prompted the military to initiate the National School Lunch Act in 1946. “Back then young people were undernourished, and now they are poorly nourished,” stated Mission: Readiness National Director Amy Taggart. “Too many kids are carrying too many pounds, and improving school nutrition is an important place to start.” The retired military leaders have urged Congress to reauthorize the Child Nutrition Act with changes that would (i) “allow the U.S. Department of Agriculture [USDA] to adopt new nutrition…
A Nebraska-based manufacturer has voluntarily recalled a canine joint formula due to possible Salmonella contamination linked to hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP). According to the April 13, 2010, notice, Response Products has recalled a meat-flavored supplement for dogs because it contained components supplied by Basic Food Flavors, Inc., the company at the center of a nationwide HVP recall. Cetyl M™ for Dogs was “distributed in either a 120-count bottle (shipped between January 8, 2010 and April 2, 2010) or a 360-count bottle (shipped between February 11, 2010 and April 2, 2010).” While no lots have tested positive for Salmonella and no human or animal illnesses associated with use of the supplement, Response Products has warned that “People who handle dry pet food and/or treats can become infected with Salmonella, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with the chews or any surfaces exposed to these products.”
The National Research Council (NRC) has published a report finding that U.S. farmers who grow genetically engineered (GE) crops “are realizing substantial economic and environmental benefits – such as lower production costs, fewer pest problems, reduced use of pesticides, and better yields – compared with conventional crops.” The report cautions, however, that farmers “need to adopt better management practices to ensure that beneficial environmental effects of GE crops continue,” according to an April 13, 2010, NRC press release. Billed as the “first comprehensive assessment of the effects of the GE crop revolution on farm-level sustainability in terms of environmental, economic and social impacts,” the report notes that GE crops constitute more than 80 percent of soybeans, corn and cotton grown in the United States. It ranks “improvements in water quality” as the top environmental benefit of GE crops, claiming that a reduction in insecticide and pesticide use has led to…
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has awarded a grant to the Public Health Law Center, located on the campus of William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota, “to develop a network of experts and to provide legal technical assistance, analysis, coordination, and training to public health professionals, lawyers, and health advocacy organizations across the country.” The center, which has expanded its tobacco-control focus to include “other health priorities, including healthy eating, obesity prevention, worker wellness, and legal training for nonattorney health professionals,” has launched a new web site. The site includes links to scholarly articles, information about current events and upcoming symposiums, and a public health blog. Among the publications recently released are “Applying Tobacco Control Lessons to Obesity: Taxes and Other Pricing Strategies to Reduce Consumption,” and “Stumped at the Supermarket: Making Sense of Nutrition Rating Systems.” The first article, which acknowledges the guidance and assistance of anti-tobacco…
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has announced an April 21, 2010, briefing to release the findings of its Strategies to Reduce Sodium Intake Committee, which investigated various means “that could be employed to reduce dietary sodium intake to levels recommended by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.” To be held at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., the 10 a.m. briefing will also include a live audio webcast. The IOM committee includes experts associated with the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone; Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; Georgetown University School of Medicine; Kraft Foods; Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; Mathematic Policy Research, Inc.; Monell Chemical Senses Center; National Institutes of Health; New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene; Oklahoma State University; University of California, Hastings College of Law; University of Cincinnati; and RTI International. Its forthcoming report “may address a range of focal points including but not limited…
British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver recently debuted his first American network TV show titled Food Revolution, a reality series that brings his penchant for school lunch reform and theatrical interventions to cafeterias and homes in Huntington, West Virginia. A health food evangelist, Oliver has drawn both praise and criticism in the United Kingdom for his efforts to harness government power and money for anti-obesity programs. But his latest incursion into American media has apparently attracted the ire of outlets as diverse as AlterNet and Reason, the latter of which has equated the show with several of the entrepreneur’s more “dubious endeavors.” According to Reason, Oliver received the 2010 TED Prize for his work as “a standard bearer in the fight against obesity” and hopes that Food Revolution will secure him an invitation from the White House to contribute to the nation’s childhood obesity initiative. “[It] would be a serious mistake to…
