“Maybe we’re too inclined to believe the worst about supermarket food,” writes NPR’s Dan Charles in a November 25, 2011, column about a recent Food Safety News report suggesting that most honey sold in the United States does not deserve the name. According to NPR, the article in question implied that producers use a process known as “ultrapurification” to remove pollen from honey, thus preventing “anyone from detecting illicit honey from China.” “Food that doesn’t deserve its name, processed beyond recognition, probably adulterated, maybe unsafe, of unknown origin. It sounded so right, plenty of people decided that it just had to be true,” opines Charles, who upon further investigation found the entire story “misleading” at best. His research showed that most packers use diatomaceous earth before filtration to eliminate the microscopic particles of pollen, dust and bee parts which otherwise promote crystallization. Moreover, audits of the raw or pretreated honey…
A World Trade Organization (WTO) panel has issued a ruling against the United States in a dispute with Mexico and Canada over country-of-origin labeling (COOL) regulations for beef and pork products. According to the November 18, 2011, panel report, Canada and Mexico filed complaints arguing that U.S. COOL regulations enacted in 2008 afford “imported livestock treatment less favorable than that accorded to like domestic livestock.” In addition to labeling requirements, the regulations evidently required the segregation of imported livestock before processing, as well as ear tags certifying that the cattle are free of bovine spongiform encephalopathy. Although the WTO panel reportedly affirmed the right of the United States to enact COOL regulations, it found that the specific requirements provided less favorable treatment to Canadian and Mexican livestock. “Additionally, the panel determined that the U.S. COOL requirements fail to fulfill their consumer information objective because the information included on the labels…
A federal judge in California has reportedly dismissed a putative class action against the manufacturer of melatonin-laced brownies marketed as a relaxation and sleep aid. According to media sources, the plaintiff alleged that HBB LLC failed to disclose the potential effects of its Lazy Larry® or Lazy Cakes® baked goods, including “extreme fatigue, exhaustion and slurred speech.” The products have also come under fire from lawmakers and the Food and Drug Administration, which in August 2011 warned the company that the brownies were adulterated under federal law. Despite the ongoing debate over whether the brownies are conventional food or a dietary supplement, U.S. District Judge Manuel Real concluded that the product packaging adequately displayed its contents. “It is undisputed that the packaging on the product accurately disclosed the quantity of melatonin in each serving as well as the relevant serving size [and] that the product contained a disclaimer of the…
A federal court in California has dismissed without prejudice a proposed class action alleging that ConAgra Foods misrepresented its Wesson cooking oils as “100% Natural” when they contain genetically modified (GM) ingredients. Briseño v. ConAgra Foods, Inc., No. 11 05379 (C.D. Cal., order entered June 28, 2011). Seeking to certify a nationwide class of consumers, the plaintiff sought declaratory and injunctive relief, compensatory damages, restitution, disgorgement, attorney’s fees, and costs, as well as an order requiring ConAgra to disclose the presence of GM ingredients and/or remove the “100% Natural” marketing claims from its products. Additional details about the complaint appear in Issue 400 of this Update. Ruling that the complaint failed to satisfy procedural rule requirements, the court found that the plaintiff’s general allegations “about when he purchased the product, where he purchased it, and how he was made aware of ConAgra’s representations about [sic] do not afford ConAgra adequate opportunity…
The Consumer Federation of America (CFA) has written a letter to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) supporting a legal petition that demands required labeling of all genetically engineered (GE) food. Information about the October 4, 2011, petition filed by the Center for Food Safety appear in Issue 412 of this Update. Representing nearly 300 nonprofit consumer organizations concerned with food safety, agricultural biotechnology, food and agricultural policy, and nutrition, CFA claims that current FDA regulations fail to provide consumers with information about GE food despite growing public interest in food content. “Genetically engineered foods are required to be labeled in the 15 European Union nations, Russia, Japan, China, Australia, New Zealand, and many other countries around the world,” the November 23 letter states. “U.S. consumers should be provided the same basic information about GE foods as consumers in these other countries.”
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is evaluating current allowable levels of inorganic arsenic in apple juice in response to consumer groups’ demand for tighter restrictions. In a November 21, 2011, letter to Food & Water Watch and the Empire State Consumer Project, FDA said, “we are seriously considering setting guidance or other level for inorganic arsenic in apple juice and are collecting all relevant information to evaluate and determine an appropriate level.” Earlier this year, Mehmet Oz, M.D., highlighted concerns about arsenic in apple juice during his nationally syndicated TV show, details of which were highlighted in Issue 410 of this Update. According to FDA guidelines, apple juice cannot contain more than 23 parts per billion (ppb) of inorganic arsenic, which is found in pesticides and can be harmful if consumed at high levels over a long period of time. FDA Deputy Commissioner Michael Taylor told a news source…
A study recently presented at the American Heart Association’s (AHA’s) 2011 Scientific Sessions in Orlando, Florida, has suggested a link between sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption and incident cardiovascular (CV) risk factors in women regardless of weight gain. Christina Shay, et al., “Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption and Incident Cardiovascular Risks Factors: The MultiEthnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA),” AHA 2011 Scientific Sessions, November 2011. Researchers apparently used data from approximately 4,000 adult participants enrolled in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis between 2000 and 2007, identifying during follow-up several incident CV risk factors that included (i) weight gain; (ii) increase waist circumference; (iii) low HDL, LDL and triglycerides; (iv) impaired fasting glucose; and (v) type 2 diabetes. The results evidently indicated that, compared with consuming less than one SSB per day, intake of more than two servings per day “was significantly associated with greater risk for incident increased [waist circumference], hypertriglyceridemia and [impaired fasting glucose]…
Lehigh University researchers studying U.S. and U.K. nanotechnology news coverage from 2000 to 2009 have found relatively few articles about “nanotechnology health, environmental, and societal risks.” Sharon Friedman & Brenda Egolf, “A Longitudinal Study of Newspaper and Wire Service Coverage of Nanotechnology Risks,” Risk Analysis, November 2011. Their article appeared in an issue devoted to nanotechnology risks, communications and labeling. According to Friedman and Egolf, most of the coverage from 29 newspapers and two wire services “focused on news events” and any discussion of risks or scientific uncertainties “was counterbalanced by many more articles extolling nanotechnology’s benefits.” The authors conclude that with the general public’s minimal knowledge about nanotechnology, “this type of coverage could create public distrust of nanotechnology applications should a dangerous event occur.”
NBC’s Rock Center recently reported on how Alabama’s new immigration law is affecting farmers in the region, where stricter enforcement measures for undocumented workers have apparently left agricultural communities struggling to find workers. As cucumber farmer Jerry Danford explained to correspondent Kate Snow, the new rules have drained the seasonal labor pool and made it difficult for Alabama producers to compete with neighboring states. “Since the bill was signed into law, Danford has watched many of the immigrant workers he relied on leave. He worries that none of them will return for the spring harvest, when a provision requiring that employers check the immigration status of workers will be in effect,” reports Snow. Although Alabama Governor Robert Bentley (R) defended the law as necessary to uphold federal standards and secure jobs for Americans, the domestic workers interviewed by Snow preferred other kinds of work over field jobs, which typically pay $10…
A federal court in Illinois has granted the motion to dismiss filed by Phusion Projects, Inc., which sells Four Loko®, a caffeinated alcoholic beverage, in a case brought by one of the company’s insurers seeking a declaration that it owed no duty to defend or indemnify the beverage maker in third-party lawsuits claiming injury, death or economic harm. Selective Ins. Co. of S.C. v. Phusion Projects, Inc., No. 11-3378 (N.D. Ill., decided November 15, 2011). According to the court, the case presented no case or controversy because Phusion has withdrawn its tender of defense and request for indemnification from this insurer. Because Phusion refused to withdraw its request “with prejudice and for all purposes” and continued to provide the insurer with notice of new claims “in compliance with the policy notice provision,” the insurer argued that the beverage company was reserving its right to reassert a demand for coverage in…
