Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Representative Edward Markey (D-Mass.) have introduced bills (S. 136; H.R. 432) that would ban the use of the chemical bisphenol A (BPA) in food containers such as baby and water bottles, sippy cups and those used for canned foods and infant formula. Markey notes in a statement that he “led the fight to ban BPA from food and beverage containers” in the past two Congresses. Feinstein, whose bill is co-sponsored by Senators Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), John Kerry (D-Mass.), Bernard Sanders (I-Vt.), and Al Franken (D-Minn.), said, “Scientific evidence increasingly shows that BPA poses serious health risks, especially to children, and manufacturers and retailers have already started to offer BPA-free products in their shelves…. The time has come to take action.” The Senate bill was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and the House bill is pending before the House Committee on…
This article focuses on the Los Angeles City Council’s unanimous decision last month to permanently extend a moratorium on new stand alone fast-food restaurants in South Los Angeles, where the city Department of Health estimates that 30 percent of the residents are obese. Although the ban allows exceptions for “mom-and-pop” businesses and shopping center eateries, it ultimately seeks to prevent additions to the 1,000 preexisting fast-food joints “in the 30 or square miles of South Los Angeles covered by the regulations.” According to Times writer Jennifer Medina, these rules “are meant to encourage healthier neighborhood dining options,” such as “sit-down restaurants, produce-filled grocery stores and takeout meals that center on salad rather than fries.” But the move also represents the first time a city has prohibited new fast-food restaurants “as part of a public health effort,” raising questions about whether the approach will actually lower obesity, heart disease and diabetes…
Walmart has unveiled a plan to provide healthier food choices at reduced prices, setting specific targets for lowering sodium, trans fats and added sugars in thousands of packaged foods by 2015. Joined by first lady Michelle Obama at an event in Washington, D.C., the major grocer outlined key elements of the initiative that built on her “Let’s Move” campaign to make healthy choices more convenient and affordable. The initiative includes (i) reducing sodium by 25 percent in grain products, luncheon meats, salad dressings, and frozen entrees; (ii) reducing added sugars by 10 percent in dairy items, sauces and fruit drinks; (iii) removing “all remaining industrially produced trans fats” in packaged foods; (iv) making healthier choices more affordable through a “variety of sourcing, pricing and transportation and logistics initiatives”; (v) developing “strong criteria for a simple front-of-package seal” to identify “truly healthier food options”; (vi) “providing solutions to address food deserts…
Food & Water Watch recently submitted a citizen petition to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) to remove China from the list of eligible processed-poultry exporters to the United States. Using a Freedom of Information Act request, the consumer watchdog claims to have found “serious mistakes” in the USDA approval process that allows the imported chicken. The watchdog asserts that (i) “[i]n its haste to get a final rule announced in time for a visit to the United States by the Chinese President in 2006, USDA missed required steps in the approval process and failed to send the rule to the USDA Office of Civil Rights for review”; (ii) “USDA staff made incorrect public statements that consumers would be able to avoid Chinese poultry imports, despite the fact that country of origin labeling requirements would not apply to processed poultry products”; (iii) “[p]ressure on…
GotMercury.org recently released a report claiming that “nearly one-third of the fish purchased at [California] grocery stores contains levels of mercury the United States has deemed unsafe for consumption and more than half of theretailers did not post mercury advisory signs.” The authors based their findings on 98 samples of swordfish, halibut, salmon, and tuna from 41 grocery stores and sushi restaurants across the state, alleging that all samples “contained measurable levels of mercury, most above 0.5 parts per million (ppm) methylmercury – the upper threshold set by the state of California as acceptable for human consumption in non-commercial fish caught in inland waters.” GotMercury.org also reported that mercury levels (i) averaged 1.47 ppm in swordfish, “well above the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) mercury action level of 1 ppm”; (ii) averaged 0.407 ppm in yellowfin tuna; and (iii) averaged 0.721 ppm in sushi tuna, “a level that could…
The Oakland-based Prevention Institute has issued a report claiming that front-of-package (FOP) labeling for children’s food is “misleading.” Authors of the study used the Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative’s product list to identify 58 prepared foods, snacks, cereals, and beverages with FOP labeling. The researchers then defined a product as “unhealthful” if it met one or more of the following criteria: (i) greater than 35 percent calories from fat; (ii) greater than 10 percent calories from saturated fat; (iii) greater than 25 percent calories from total sugars; (iv) greater than 480 mg sodium per serving for non-meal items or greater than 600 mg per serving for meal items; and (v) less than 1.25g fiber per serving. Of the products sampled, 84 percent were allegedly “unhealthful and did not meet one or more nutrient criteria” derived from the U.S. Dietary Guidelines and the National Academies of Science. The report also…
Jennifer Pomeranz and Kelly Brownell, who are with the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity, have authored an article titled “Advancing Public Health Obesity Policy Through State Attorneys General.” Referring to the role played by state attorneys general (AGs) in public health policy on tobacco, the authors contend that they “can be leaders in formulating and effectuating obesity and food policy solutions.” The article also takes note of recent actions state AGs have taken regarding purported misleading labeling of food and beverage products. Among other matters, the authors suggest that, using their parens patriae authority, state AGs “may seek declaratory relief or recover costs or damages incurred by behavior that threatens the health, safety, or welfare of the state’s citizenry [and] can redress wrongs when other remedies are lacking and can act to protect public interests in areas where other parties cannot.” They also suggest that the authority to…
According to a news source, a co-defendant in litigation alleging a price-fixing conspiracy in the northeastern U.S. milk market has filed objections to the tentative deal reached by Dean Foods Co. and the dairy farmers who filed the lawsuit. Allen v. Dairy Farmers of Am., No. __ (D. Vt., settlement reached December 24, 2010). More information about the settlement, which must be approved by a court, appears in Issue 376 of this Update. Dairy Marketing Services, LLC and a number of individual dairy farmers have also apparently opposed the settlement. The objectors contend that the settlement will result in price erosion for all dairy farmers and creates “both winners and losers in the class of dairy farmers represented by a single law firm by taking market access from one group of dairy farmers at the expense of another within the same class.” They also claim that the small settlement of…
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) have reportedly filed amicus briefs with the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, supporting the efforts of counsel for Sholom Rubashkin to overturn his conviction and sentence for financial fraud at his Iowa meat processing facility. The kosher plant was raided in 2008, 389 undocumented workers were arrested, and Rubashkin was initially charged with violating immigration laws. These charges were ultimately dropped, and a jury acquitted him of hiring underage workers. Prosecutors then aggressively pursued charges that he falsified bank records to inflate sales and diverted customer payments for personal use, and he was found guilty on 86 counts in November 2009. The court sentenced Rubashkin to 27 years in prison, a term longer than recommended by prosecutors. While the ACLU and NACDL reportedly focus their briefs on accusations that the sentencing court improperly cooperated with prosecutors…
Seeking additional input before ruling on a certiorari petition, the U.S. Supreme Court has asked the acting solicitor general to provide the U.S. government’s view of a challenge to a California law that prohibits slaughterhouses from receiving, processing or selling nonambulatory animals and prohibits dragging or pushing downer animals. Nat’l Meat Ass’n v. Harris, No. 10-224 (U.S., request filed January 18, 2011). The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals allowed the state to enforce the law, finding that it is not preempted by the Federal Meat Inspection Act. Additional details about the Ninth Circuit’s ruling appear in Issue 344 of this Update. California adopted the law after The Humane Society’s video of the mistreatment of downer cattle at a slaughterhouse became public and led to a massive beef recall in 2008.
