A Reuters special report has claimed that the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), a regional office of the World Health Organization (WHO), has accepted “hundreds of thousands of dollars” from food and beverage companies to combat obesity. According to journalists Duff Wilson and Adam Kerlin, WHO and five of its regional offices already prohibit industry funding, but PAHO—“founded 46 years before it was affiliated with WHO in 1948—had different standards allowing the business donations.” In particular, the report cites contributions from Nestlé and Unilever as evidence that PAHO and other WHO entities are partnering with industry out of necessity since the international agency “cut its own funding for chronic disease by 20 percent since 2010—an even bigger decline than for the agency as a whole.” “The recent infusion of corporate cash is the most pointed example to date of how WHO is approaching its battle against chronic disease. Increasingly, it…
Based on hundreds of internal industry documents, this article outlines the alleged decades-long effort by sugar-producing interests to influence the scientific debate about the purported health effects of sugar. According to the authors, the memos, letters and company board reports “show how Big Sugar used Big Tobacco-style tactics to ensure that government agencies would dismiss troubling health claims against their products.” The article claims that the industries’ goals were the same: “safeguard sales by creating a body of evidence companies could deploy to counter any unfavorable research.” As early as 1943, grower and refiners reportedly formed the Sugar Research Foundation to counter calls for sugar-rationing during World War II. Among other matters, the article claims that the industry purportedly spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on research suggesting that low-calorie sweeteners caused disease in animals and redirected any research funds it was providing through its International Sugar Research Foundation (ISRF)…
McDonald’s Corp. has reportedly announced plans to scrap “forward-to-a-friend” features on some of its online games after drawing complaints from a consumer group concerned about children’s privacy. According to media sources, the global restaurant chain said it will disable a sharing option on HappyMeal.com that allowed users “to e-mail ecards, links and photos to family and friends.” “Rest assured, the online security of our guests—especially our youngest guests—remains a top priority for us,” a company spokesperson told reporters. “We continuously review and enhance our sites as appropriate and we recently made some updates to HappyMeal.com, including removing the forward-to-a-friend option.” Earlier this year, the Center for Digital Democracy (CDD) filed five complaints with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) against companies such as McDonald’s and General Mills, Inc. over the use of interactive media to allegedly promote foods and TV programs to children. CDD claimed that these so-called “viral marketing” techniques…
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has published its first report on organic foods, concluding that it’s more important for children to eat a wide variety of healthy produce than to emphasize an organic diet. Joel Forman, et al., “Organic Foods: Health and Environmental Advantages and Disadvantages,” Pediatrics, October 2012. According to AAP, research has “convincingly demonstrated” that organic diets can reduce consumer exposure to pesticides and drug-resistant diseases. “However, no well-powered human studies have directly demonstrated health benefits or disease protection as a result of consuming an organic diet,” states the report, which urges pediatricians to discuss the weight of scientific evidence when approached by families interested in consuming organic foods. “What’s most important is that children eat a healthy diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat or fat-free dairy products, whether those are conventional or organic foods. This type of diet has proven health benefits,” one of…
The owners of a Yuma, Arizona-based dairy have filed a petition for review before the U.S. Supreme Court, seeking a hearing on their challenge to the Milk Regulatory Equity Act of 2005, which apparently requires independent producer-handlers to join a dairy cooperative or pay federal marketing fees. Hettinga v. United States, No. 12-506 (U.S., petition for writ of certiorari filed October 19, 2012). According to the Hettingas, one of the few remaining independents in the United States, lawmakers singled out their dairy when enacting a law that has forced them to sell milk at a higher price than they want to charge. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with the district court that the law did not constitute a bill of attainder nor did it violate the Equal Protection and Due Process clauses. Hettinga v. United States, No. 11-5065 (D.C. Cir., decided April 13, 2012).
Golden Eagle Insurance Corp. has filed a complaint for declaratory relief against its insured Moon Marine (U.S.A.) Corp., requesting that the umbrella policy it issued to the insured be rescinded because Moon Marine allegedly concealed material facts when it obtained the policy. Golden Eagle Ins. Corp. v. Moon Marine (U.S.A.) Corp., No. 12-5438 (N.D. Cal., filed October 22, 2012). According to the complaint, Moon Marine knew that its imported yellowfin tuna (scrape) was linked to a nationwide Salmonella outbreak that sickened more than 400 individuals and had, in fact, recalled the product, when the $2-million excess insurance policy was obtained. The plaintiffs allege that Moon Marine failed to inform the insurance carrier’s underwriter that the fish importer faced “obvious liability exposure for bodily injury claims from the nationwide salmonella outbreak that had been linked to Moon Marines’ importation of Scrape.” The first lawsuit was actually filed two days before the plaintiffs quoted and bound…
The parents of a 14-year-old girl who allegedly died after consuming two 24-ounce Monster Energy® drinks in a 24-hour period have filed a wrongful death and strict product liability lawsuit against Monster Beverage Corp. in a California state court. Crossland v. Monster Beverage Corp., No. RIC 1215551 (Cal. Super. Ct., Riverside Cty., filed October 17, 2012). They claim that the teen went into cardiac arrest and was placed in an induced coma at Johns Hopkins Hospital to reduce brain swelling. After six days, life support was terminated, and the girl died. The plaintiffs allege that the autopsy report attributed her death to “cardiac arrhythmia due to caffeine toxicity complicating mitral valve regurgitation in the setting of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.” The complaint contends that two of the company’s energy drinks contain 480 milligrams of caffeine, the equivalent of 14 12-ounce cans of caffeinated soda. Among other matters, the plaintiffs allege that the…
A federal jury in California has reportedly determined that Benihana properly classified three restaurant managers as exempt thus concluding wage-related litigation against the chain. Originally filed as a putative class action in state court, the case initially included claims about overtime wages, accrued vacation pay, rest and meal breaks, and itemized wage statements. By the time the case was tried after removal to federal court, it involved just three named plaintiffs and the overtime dispute. According to a news source, the company nearly derailed the case by alleging that one of the employees had copied and destroyed thousands of files from a computer at the company’s Cupertino, California, location. The court levied sanctions against the employee and dismissed him from the case, but then determined that the conduct, alleged to be “wrongful self-help discovery” and the deletion of stolen copies, may not have been “beyond the pale” because some evidence…
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals has certified to the New York Court of Appeals questions arising under state employment law in a dispute over the distribution of tips in Starbucks stores. Barenboim v. Starbucks Corp., No. 10-4912; Winans v. Starbucks Corp., No. 11-3199 (2d Cir., questions certified October 23, 2012). A federal district court determined that Starbucks properly distributed pooled tips to shift supervisors and that Starbucks was not required to include assistant store managers in its tip pools. The appellants in the consolidated appeals are a putative class of baristas who allege that shift supervisors are “agents” under New York Labor Law § 196-d and ineligible to share tips, and a putative class of assistant store managers who claim they are entitled to share in the tip pools because they perform the same tasks as baristas and have only limited management authority. The plaintiffs in both cases sought review…
According to University of Oklahoma College of Law Professor Drew Kershen, writing for the Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics publication Agricultural and Resource Economics, if California voters approve Proposition 37 (Prop. 37) in November 2012, it could be vulnerable to challenge under World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements. As Kershen notes, the ballot proposition would “impose mandatory labeling on a broad range of raw and processed foods.” Those produced “entirely or partially” through genetic engineering would be required to state that fact on product labels, and no processed food could be marketed as “natural,” “naturally made,” “naturally grown,” or “all natural.” Kershen focuses on the WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures and the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT). While the United States, but not California, is a member state under the agreements, Kershen argues that they nevertheless apply to California’s Prop. 37. He contends that…
