In 2007, a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine generated widespread media coverage for its claims that obesity can be transmitted via social networks, such as friendship, familial relationship or marriage. Details about the study appear in Issue 225 of this Update. The authors wrote additional papers on other personal characteristics, including smoking cessation, happiness and loneliness, concluding in each that a process of contagion or infection within the social network transmits the characteristics and that the transmission occurs up to three steps in the network, thus providing evidence of a “’three degrees of influence’ rule of social network contagion.” A new study published in a lesser-known journal, contends that the authors’ statistical analyses do not support their conclusions. Russell Lyons, “The Spread of Evidence-Poor Medicine via Flawed Social-Network Analysis,” Statistics, Politics, & Policy, Vol. 2, Issue 1 (2011). According to Russell Lyons, an Indiana University mathematician, the 2007…
“[T]he movement to preserve heirloom varieties goes way beyond America’s renewed romance with tasty, locally grown food and countless varieties of tomatoes. It’s also a campaign to protect the world’s future food supply,” writes National Geographic’s Charles Siebert in this July 2011 article discussing the dangers of homogeneity when it comes to commercial agriculture and highlighting the work of modern seed banks. Estimating that “we have lost more than half of the world’s food varieties over the past century,” Siebert claims that lack of biodiversity has left the current crop of high-yield vegetables and grains increasingly susceptible to diseases such as Ug99, “a virulent and fast-mutating strain” of Puccinia graminis, or wheat stem rust. “Roughly 90 percent of the world’s wheat is defenseless against Ug99,” writes Siebert, who warns that a significant humanitarian crisis is now inevitable, especially in countries introduced to industrialized agriculture during the green revolution. “Given the…
Corporations and Health Watch (CHW) has published a June 22, 2011, article claiming that food and beverage companies frequently deploy a public relations strategy known as “astroturfing” to disguise “corporatedriven” propaganda as “bottom-up, grassroots community activism.” Titled “Corporations, the Public’s Health and Astroturf,” the article specifically warns consumers against “cloaked websites” that “intentionally disguise authorship in order to put forward a political agenda,” as well as against front groups funded and organized by industry interests. In particular, CHW singles out Americans Against Food Taxes as a group that advertises itself as “a coalition of concerned citizens” who oppose the soda tax, but which is purportedly funded by the American Beverage Association and includes as members “the world’s largest food and soft drink manufacturers.” “In some ways, these sorts of propaganda efforts are not new,” opines the article, which likens astroturfing to legislative efforts led by the National Smokers Alliance in the…
The Corporate European Observatory (CEO) has published a report accusing European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) food additive experts of concealing conflicts of interest and industry ties. CEO claims that 11 out of 20 experts on EFSA’s Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources in Food (ANS) “have a conflict of interest, as defined by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development,” which states that such conflicts arise when an individual or corporation “is in position to exploit his or their own professional or official capacity in some way for personal or corporate benefit,” whether or not an unethical or improper act results. The report also alleges that four ANS members have “failed to declare active collaborations with the food-industry funded think-tank and lobby group, the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI).” In particular, CEO faults EFSA for failing to adopt a “red list” similar to the one used by the European Medicines…
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has released its “2011 Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce” updating “pesticide loads” on 53 conventional fruits and vegetables. EWG analysts reportedly reviewed U.S. Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration data from 2000 to 2009 that detailed the amounts and types of pesticides found on sampled produce, most of which was washed and peeled before testing. Providing “Dirty Dozen” and “Clean 15” lists, the guide replaces celery with apples as the worst offender, with pesticides found on 98 percent of more than 700 apples tested. Cilantro was tested for the first time since EWG started tracking data in 1995, with 33 unapproved pesticides showing up on 44 percent of samples—“the highest percentage of unapproved pesticides recorded on any item” since tracking began, according to EWG. EWG claims that consumers who eat five fruits and vegetables daily from its clean list can lower their…
Calling for the food industry to put voluntary nutrition labeling initiatives on hold, Kelly Brownell, director of Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Childhood Obesity, has co-authored an opinion piece about front-of-package nutrition labeling in The New England Journal of Medicine. Among other matters, the article recommends that industry leaders await an Institute of Medicine report with nutrition labeling recommendations due for release this fall. Brownell suggests that the nutrition keys system under development by the industry may confuse consumers by “including so many symbols” and allowing companies the discretion to change the nutrients listed. According to the article, “The most notable deficiency of the industry system is its lack of a science-based, easily understood way to show consumers whether foods have a high, medium, or low amount of a particular nutrient.” Brownell contends that the traffic-light system used in Great Britain is much clearer. See NEJM, June 23,…
Insurance companies with policies covering Phusion Projects, Inc., which makes the caffeinated alcohol beverage Four Loko®, have filed a summary judgment motion in their declaratory judgment action against the company, claiming that a policy exclusion unambiguously frees them from defending or indemnifying the beverage maker. The Netherlands Ins. Co. v. Phusion Projects, Inc., No. 11-1253 (N.D. Ill., filed June 22, 2011). The companies contend that their commercial general liability and commercial umbrella policies have liquor liability exclusions that apply to actions pending in Florida, Illinois and New Jersey alleging that “Four Loko caused a particularly dangerous kind of intoxication” and seeking monetary damages for deaths and injuries. Details about a similar insurance coverage lawsuit involving other insurers appear in Issue 396 of this Update.
A federal court in California has approved a non-monetary settlement of a class action alleging that Unilever U.S., Inc.’s health-related claims for margarine products containing trans fats were false and misleading. Rosen/ Red v. Unilever U.S., Inc., Nos. 09-02563, 10-00387 (N.D. Cal, decided June 21, 2011). Additional information about the settlement appears in Issue 398 of this Update. Unilever denied any wrongdoing but agreed to reformulate its stick and spread products to remove partially hydrogenated vegetable oils. A number of excluded, individual claims against the company will not be affected by the settlement.
A federal court in Florida has dismissed without prejudice two putative class actions against Kraft Foods alleging that the packaging for its Oscar Mayer® deli meat products misleads consumers about their actual fat content. McDougal v. Kraft Foods, Inc., No. 11-61202; Rogel v. Kraft Foods, Inc., No. 11-61281 (S.D. Fla., decided June 23, 2011). The plaintiffs filed voluntary dismissal notices in the cases, one of which is discussed in Issue 396 of this Update. A company spokesperson reportedly indicated when the McDougal complaint was filed that the allegations were unfounded. See Law360, June 23, 2011.
Plaintiffs alleging that they were misled by the purportedly unsubstantiated claims Nestlé USA Inc. made about its Juicy Juice® Brain Development and Immunity products have filed an appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals from a district court order dismissing their consolidated class action. Chavez/ Bonsignore v. Nestlé USA, Inc., No. 09-9192 (C.D. Cal., notice of appeal filed June 22, 2011). The lower court apparently gave the plaintiffs two opportunities to state a cognizable claim under California’s unfair competition and false advertising laws before dismissing the action in May 2011. According to the court, the plaintiffs’ second amended complaint “as with previous versions of the plaintiffs’ pleading in this action, is that it lumps together distinct products and multiple factual allegations without giving the reader a clear sense of which allegations support which specific claims.” See Law360, June 23, 2011.
