Bipartisan House sponsors of a bill (H.R. 5209) that would establish a comprehensive national approach to addressing obesity in the United States held a press conference to unveil the measure on May 5, 2010. Appearing with Representatives Ron Kind (D-Wis.), Mary Bono Mack (R-Cal.), Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), and Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) to introduce the Healthy Communities through Helping to Offer Incentives and Choices to Everyone in Society Act of 2010 (Healthy CHOICES Act) were representatives from Del Monte Foods, the Grocery Manufacturers Association, American Heart Association, and the YMCA. Referred to several House committees, the bill would authorize an array of grants, take steps to improve child nutrition, improve access to physical activity for adults and children, improve access to nutritional information and healthy foods, change transportation policies to promote healthy lifestyles, and establish research and assessment tools. Meanwhile, Senators Mark Udall (D-Colo.) and Al Franken (D-Minn.) have introduced a bill…
The Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee held a hearing on May 6, 2010, to consider food safety reports prepared by the Government and Accountability Office (GAO) and the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Both the GAO report and testimony from an Inspector General administrator focused on Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other agency weaknesses in ensuring that imported foods are safe and domestic food facilities are subject to meaningful inspection in terms of frequency and breadth. According to Subcommittee Chair Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), the hearing marked the 12th conducted since January 2007 to consider food contamination issues. He concluded his remarks by stating, “We are fortunate that today’s hearing was prompted by the HHS and GAO reports rather than another widespread food contamination outbreak like we saw with spinach in 2007, peppers in 2008 and peanut butter…
Described by the media as “landmark” and “extraordinary,” the President’s Cancer Panel newly issued 2008-2009 Annual Report claims that the National Cancer Program has not adequately addressed the “true burden of environmentally induced cancer.” According to the panel’s transmittal letter, some 80,000 chemicals are on the market in the United States, and Americans are exposed daily to many of them, even before birth. Particularly noted were exposures to chemicals such as bisphenol A (BPA), formaldehyde and benzene. The report examines the impact of environmental exposures on cancer risk, identifies the barriers to understanding and reducing the exposures and makes recommendations to overcome these barriers. Noting that 41 percent of Americans will be diagnosed with cancer and 21 percent will die from the disease, the panel of Bush administration appointees maintains that inadequate attention and funding have been provided to the environmental causes of cancer. The panel also criticizes the scientific…
A recent study has reportedly linked “dietary and genetic evidence for phosphate toxicity” to premature aging in genetically engineered (GE) mice. Mutsuko Ohnishi and M. Shawkat Razzaque, “Dietary and genetic evidence for phosphate toxicity accelerating mammalian aging,” FASEB Journal, April 2010. Researchers first used “an in vivo genetic approach to determine the role of phosphate toxicity in mammalian aging,” engineering mice that lacked the gene responsible for regulating phosphate levels. These mice had a short life span and showed “numerous physical, biochemical and morphological features consistent with premature aging.” The study authors then genetically reduced serum phosphate levels, which ameliorated the aging-like features in a second group of mice and led to prolonged survival. But when fed “a high-phosphate diet,” these GE animals again exhibited signs of accelerated aging. According to the abstract, these findings “clearly suggest[s] that phosphate toxicity is the main cause of premature aging” in mice. The study further…
This article details a new program in Baltimore that allows residents to order groceries online in two branch public libraries and pick them up there the next day. The Baltimore City Health Department launched the Virtual Supermarket Project to help combat the city’s lack of healthy, fresh food in communities where major supermarkets within walking distance are scarce. The libraries are apparently located in “food deserts” that lack access to healthy fare and where “the mortality burden from diet-related causes like diabetes, stroke and heart disease are among the highest in the city,” according to one epidemiologist. Patrons pay for the groceries with cash, credit or food stamps. The orders are filled and delivered by Santoni’s supermarket, a longtime Baltimore grocer. NPR reports that approximately two dozen people have so far signed up for the program, which is funded by a $60,000 grant from the federal stimulus package, and that…
“Whether it’s the food industry, tobacco, or alcohol, they all use the same talking points and lobbying strategies,” opines the Marin Institute’s Michele Simon in this April 2010 article that likens “Big Soda” to the alcohol lobby. Simon draws on her experience as a research and policy director to claim that soft drinks are more analogous to alcohol than tobacco, noting that “the message is more about cutting down.” She thus offers six “lessons” for taking on industry in the fight over soft drink taxation. In particular, Simon advises consumer advocates to resist assertions that (i) “soda doesn’t cause obesity or that taxes won’t work”; (ii) “a penny per ounce tax will cause massive job loss”; and (iii) companies “care about poor people and working families.” She provides several strategies for refuting what she describes as industry misrepresentation and manipulation of data on these points. For example, she maintains that…
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has called on three national restaurant chains to follow the steps of other food establishments by no longer using artificial trans fat in their fare. “Bob Evans, White Castle, and Long John Silver’s are now the roguish outliers among the restaurant industry,” said CSPI Executive Director Michael Jacobson. “Many Americans might have thought that the era of artificial trans fat was over. At these chains, it lives tragically on.” Artificial trans fat has been dropped by chains, including McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, and Starbucks. The American Heart Association recommends limiting consumption of trans fat to no more than 2 grams per day that comes naturally from sources such as milk and beef, which “doesn’t leave much room for trans fat from artificial sources,” said CSPI. See CSPI News Release, April 26, 2010.
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has issued a report titled “Bridging the Evidence Gap in Obesity Prevention: A Framework to Inform Decision Making” to guide the use of relevant evidence about obesity prevention policies and programs. According to the report brief, IOM’s Food and Nutrition Board reviewed “what is considered to be the relevant information base for community, environmental, and policy-based obesity prevention initiatives” and found “a clear evidence gap.” In response, the board developed the L.E.A.D. framework process, short for “Locate evidence, Evaluate it, Assemble it, and Inform Decisions.” The framework involves “innovative approaches to generating, identifying, evaluating, and compiling evidence—taking a broad, transdisciplinary perspective.” These approaches include (i) incorporating systems thinking; (ii) building a resource base; (iii) establishing evidence for standards quality; (iv) supporting the generation of evidence; and (v) communicating, disseminating, evaluating, and refining the L.E.A.D. framework. See IOM Website, April 23, 2010.
A putative class action has reportedly been filed against California’s largest herb grower, shipper and marketer, alleging that the defendant “played California consumers for fools,” by selling as organic, and at higher prices, conventionally grown herbs. Quesada v. HerbThyme Farms, No. __ (Cal. Super. Ct., filed April 2010). According to the complaint, the company owns a large number of conventional farms and just one smaller organic farm, and, when its “profits grew at a slower rate than the company wanted, it turned to fraud.” Seeking restitution, damages and injunctive relief, the plaintiff alleges that the company labeled conventionally grown herbs as “Fresh Organic” in violation of California business and consumer fraud laws. See Courthouse News Service, April 28, 2010.
A federal court in Colorado has dismissed as premature a medical provider’s challenge to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations potentially applicable to its medical procedures because the agency had issued only a warning letter against it, and warning letters are not final. Regenerative Sciences, Inc. v. FDA, No. 09-411 (D. Colo., decided March 26, 2010). The court’s analysis of the non-final nature of FDA warning letters may have some relevance in those consumer fraud actions against food makers citing such letters to establish a fact or using them as definitive evidence of wrongdoing or a violation of the law. The agency itself acknowledged that its warning letters do not constitute a determination that a particular statute or regulation applies to the specific circumstances that led FDA to issue the letters, noting “this is a factual issue that cannot be resolved until FDA brings an action against” the letter recipient.
