A coalition of advocacy organizations has filed five complaints with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) against companies including McDonald’s Corp., General Mills, Inc. and Doctor’s Associates, Inc., calling for an investigation into Websites they purportedly use to promote food and TV programs to children. According to the coalition, the food-related websites— HappyMeal.com, ReesesPuffs.com, TrixWorld.com, and SubwayKids. com—violate the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by encouraging children to provide their friends’ email addresses and create videos promoting branded products to send to their friends. According to the coalition, “tell-a friend,” or “viral marketing,” is profitable given the effectiveness of word-of-mouth advertising and the opportunity to create “lifetime customers.” The coalition is also requesting that FTC update existing COPPA regulations “to include data collection and storage of photographs online from children, as well as placement of cookies used for types of behavioral advertising.” Claiming that “several of the child-directed websites we…
U.K. researchers have allegedly identified raised urinary bisphenol A (uBPA) concentrations in 591 study participants “with intermediate or severe stenoses compared to those graded as having no coronary artery disease [CAD],” suggesting that “associations between uBPA and CAD may be specific to coronary artery stenosis.” David Melzer, et al., “Urinary Bisphenol A Concentration and Angiography-Defined Coronary Artery Stenosis,” PLoS One, August 2012. According to the authors, their results apparently supported the associations between uBPA and CAD reported in three previous studies but “effectively ruled out reverse causation, strengthening the evidence for causal inference.” “The mechanism by which BPA ingestion and metabolism influences vascular function and risk of cardiovascular disease has not been elaborated… We recently suggested plausible mechanisms by which BPA might increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, including reduced nitric oxide bioavailability, altered vascular reactivity to endothelin-1, oxidative stress and inflammation,” concluded the researchers, who recommended further work to…
A recent study has reportedly concluded that school children in states with strong restrictions on competitive food sales gained less weight than their counterparts in states with weaker restrictions. Daniel Taber, et al., “Weight Status Among Adolescents in States That Govern Competitive Food Nutrition Content,” Pediatrics, September 2012. After identifying states with strong, weak or no competitive food laws, researchers analyzed data from 6,300 students in 40 states in both fifth and eighth grade (2004 and 2007). The findings evidently showed that “students exposed to strong laws at baseline gained, on average, 0.25 fewer BMI [body mass index] units… and were less likely to remain overweight or obese over time than students in states with no laws.” “Laws that regulate competitive food nutrition content may reduce adolescent BMI change if they are comprehensive, contain strong language, and are enacted across grade levels,” concluded the study’s authors. “Our results suggest that…
A recent study has allegedly linked a second artificial butter flavoring— 2,3-pentanedione (PD)—to respiratory toxicity in animals, raising concerns about the diacetyl replacement’s potential effects on factory workers. Ann Hubbs, et al., “Respiratory and Olfactory Cytotoxicity of Inhaled 2,3-Pentanedione in Sprague-Dawley Rats,” The American Journal of Pathology, September 2012. After exposing rats to either PD, diacetyl or air for six hours, researchers reported that those inhaling PD “developed necrotizing rhinitis, tracheitis, and bronchitis comparable to diacetyl-induced injury.” The study’s authors then investigated PD’s delayed toxicity on the animals, concluding that the substance caused “respiratory epithelial injury in the upper nose . . . which progressed through 12 to 14 hours after exposure,” as well as the loss of olfactory neurons and altered gene expression in the brain. “Our study demonstrates that PD, like diacetyl, damages airway epithelium in laboratory studies. This finding is important because the damage is believed to be…
The Institute for Responsible Technology (IRT) has released a new documentary, Genetic Roulette: The Game of Our Lives, that accuses the U.S. government of permitting “untested genetically modified (GM) crops into our environment and food supply.” Based on IRT founder Jeffrey Smith’s book of the same title, the film alleges that “the same serious health problems found in lab animals, livestock, and pets that have been fed GM foods are now on the rise in the U.S. population.” “Gastrointestinal disorders, allergies, inflammatory disease, and infertility are just some of the problems implicated in humans, pets, livestock, and lab animals that eat [GM] soybeans and corn,” opines IRT, which ultimately urges consumers to refrain from eating GM ingredients in an effort to ward off “the deteriorating health of Americans, especially among children.”
In the wake of an Australian High Court ruling validating regulations requiring cigarettes to be sold in plain packages, some commentators are speculating whether other products, such as alcoholic beverages and fast food, will be subject to the same types of restrictions. The opinion, penned by Patrick Carlyton, suggests that because alcoholism and obesity also purportedly have deleterious effects, government may consider imposing taxing and packaging rules on the other industries. While he questions whether these types of restrictions actually affect consumption—“will plain packaging work in reducing smoking rates? No one knows. It hasn’t been tried before”—he concludes, “One thing is certain. Plain packaging for unhealthy foods in supermarket aisles would certainly constitute a relief for every parent, and this would have nothing to do with the health benefits.” See News Limited Network, August 16, 2012.
A peer-reviewed article appearing in Preventing Chronic Disease explores how five alcohol-control policies could hold promise in addressing the obesity epidemic if used to regulate access to low-nutrient foods. Deborah Cohen & Lila Rabinovich, “Addressing the Proximal Causes of Obesity: The Relevance of Alcohol Control Policies,” Preventing Chronic Disease, May 2012. The policy interventions discussed include (i) limitations through zoning and licensing on the density of food outlets; (ii) displays and sales restrictions that focus on controlling impulse buying; (iii) regulations on portion sizes; (iv) pricing strategies, i.e., higher taxes on foods high in calories and low in nutritional value; and (v) strategic use of warning labels and ads that discourage people from overeating or consuming too many foods lacking nutritive value. According to lead author and RAND researcher Deborah Cohen, “Just as regulating alcohol accessibility has been effective in reducing problem drinking, regulating food accessibility is promising for controlling…
Researchers with the University of Michigan and Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity have authored commentary in Biological Psychiatry about the policy implications of an addiction model for food. Ashley Gearhardt & Kelly Brownell, “Can Food and Addiction Change the Game?,” Biological Psychiatry, August 2012. Gearhardt and Brownell argue that scientific efforts to establish whether certain foods or ingredients “have addictive potential” “will be more important to policy and social change than emphasizing the individual difference variables or investigating how obese and nonobese individuals differ.” In particular, they claim that such research will need to emphasize the effects of potentially addictive foods “on the many rather than just the few” to maximize the impact on public policy. “Scientific enquiries into how addictive substances are capable of hijacking the brain has reduced stigmatization of addicted individuals and led to more substance-focused policy approaches (e.g., taxation of cigarettes, restrictions…
Welch Foods, Inc. is the most recent recipient of a letter from the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) warning the company that, if not otherwise resolved, the watchdog’s claims that Welch is making deceptive health-benefit representations about its fruit snacks, spreads and juices will be taken to court for injunctive relief. According to the August 14, 2012, letter, the types of matters about which CSPI is most concerned are (i) “Welch Foods claims that its 100% Fruit Juice product line is heart-healthy and may promote overall health”; (ii) “Welch Foods claims that its Fruit Snacks, Fruit Juice Cocktails, Spreads, and 100% Fruit drinks ‘Reward Your Heart’ and are heart-healthy products”; and (ii) “Welch Foods claims that its Fruit Snacks products are nutritious and healthful to consume.” CSPI contends that, to the contrary, the products contribute to “insulin resistance and obesity, and may thus promote heart disease and…
According to a news source, putative class actions have been filed against Strauss Group Ltd. and Tnuva Food Industries Ltd., alleging that their yogurt products, marketed as “yogurt with granola nuts” and “yogurt with granola fruit, “ respectively, mislead consumers because they contain so little nuts or fruit. Seeking NIS 72 million (US$17.8 million) from Strauss, which has a 42 percent market share, and NIS 142.5 million (US$35.3 million) from Tnuva, the petitioners reportedly claim that the products should be labeled as “flavored” with the ingredients. See Middle East North Africa Financial Network, August 12, 2012.
