The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (OIG) has issued a report criticizing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) food facility registry and traceability standards. According to the report, “FDA requires each domestic food facility to provide information for the registry,” including contact information for the facility, the owner or operator, and the parent company, and an emergency contact. After sampling 130 selected domestic food facilities, OIG concluded that (i) “Seven percent . . . either failed to register or failed to cancel their registration with FDA, as required”; (ii) “Almost half . . . failed to provide accurate information for the registry”; (iii) “FDA regulations do not ensure that the registry contains certain information that may be needed to locate a facility in an emergency”; and (iv) “Over half of the managers . . . were unaware of FDA’s registry requirement.” OIG has…
Representative Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) has introduced a bill (H.R. 4310) that would amend the tax code to deny “any deduction for advertising and marketing directed at children to promote the consumption of food at fast food restaurants or of food of poor nutritional quality.” The proposal defines “food of poor nutritional quality” as food “determined by the Secretary (in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Federal Trade Commission) to provide calories primarily through fats or added sugars and to have minimal amounts of vitamins and minerals.” Among those advertising-related expenses that could not be deducted would be travel (including meals and lodging), “goods or services of a type generally considered to constitute entertainment, amusement, or recreation or the use of a facility in connection with providing such goods and services,” gifts, and other promotion expenses. The bill, which has four co-sponsors, was referred to the…
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently hosted a forum titled “Sizing up Food Marketing and Obesity,” which heard proposals from federal agencies, consumer watchdogs and industry representatives for regulating food advertising to children. In addition to addressing new research, First Amendment issues and self-regulatory initiatives, the forum unveiled a set of proposed nutritional standards (SNAC PAC) developed by an interagency working group at the request of Congress. Co-authored by FTC, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Department of Agriculture, SNAC PAC sets out three standards designed to limit the marketing of foods to children ages 2 through 17. Standard I describes foods that “are part of a healthful diet and may be marketed to children without meeting Standards II and III,” including (i) “100 percent fruit and fruit juices in all forms”; (ii) “100 percent vegetables and vegetable juices in all…
Purdue University scientists have reportedly altered a nanoparticle found in sweet corn to prevent oxidation and spoilage, thus offering a way to extend the shelf life of foods, cosmetics and other products containing emulsified lipids. Siqi L Scheffler, et al., “Phytoglycogen Octenyl Succinate, an Amphiphilic Carbohydrate Nanoparticle, and ε-Polylysine To Improve Lipid Oxidative Stability of Emulsions,” Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry, December 2009. According to a December 8, 2009, press release, researchers with Purdue’s Whistler Center for Carbohydrate Research “successfully modified the phytoglycogen nanoparticle, a starch-like substance that makes up nearly 30 percent of the dry mass of some sweet corn. The modification allows the nanoparticle to attach to oils and emulsify them while also acting as a barrier to oxidation, which causes food to become rancid.” Known as phytoglycogen octenyl succinate (PG-OS), the nanoparticle when combined with food-grade e-polylysine “significantly increased the amount of time it took for oxidation to…
British researchers studying 300 Caucasian children with “severe early-onset obesity” (that is, 220 pounds by age 10) discovered that rare chromosome 16 DNA deletions, which remove a gene the brain needs to respond to leptin, an appetite-controlling hormone, gave the children a “very strong drive to eat.” Elena Bochukova, et al., “Large, rare chromosomal deletions associated with severe early-onset obesity,” Nature, December 6, 2009. According to one of the researchers, these children are “very, very hungry, they always want to eat.” Several children in the study had apparently been placed on the social services “at risk” register because authorities assumed their parents were deliberately overfeeding them. According to news sources, these children have now been removed from the register. While some medical experts cautioned that most overweight children do not have the gene deletion, they urged authorities to provide support to families with obese children. One was quoted as saying, “The…
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has issued a proposal to improve packaged food nutrition labels. Among other matters, the proposal calls for more emphasis to be placed on calories, added sugars, saturated and trans fats, and sodium. If any of the latter ingredients exceed 20 percent of the recommended daily amount, CSPI calls for it to be listed in red and flagged as “high.” CSPI’s proposed nutrition label would also list ingredients in regular type separated by bullets, instead of in all capital letters, which the organization contends is hard to read. According to CSPI, the proposal, which compares an existing label with its recommended label, “exposes some of the tricks that occur on the front of the label, and unveils makeovers of the Nutrition Facts panel and ingredient lists to last for the next 15 years.” CSPI Executive Director Michael Jacobson was quoted as saying, “Foot…
This symposium article, co-authored by public health officials and a lawmaker, an attorney and a physician, presents the legal perspective on obesity prevention and control and focuses, for the most part, on public health laws and initiatives that have begun to address issues that affect obesity. The examples cited include laws regulating the nutritional value of food available to students and children in child care programs, mandating physical activity for schoolchildren, imposing zoning or land-use restrictions to increase access to affordable healthy foods and limit access to high-calorie foods and beverages, and creating incentives to offer and enroll in wellness programs. The article outlines how partnering with diverse stakeholders is essential “to design and apply law-based strategies” and provides examples of how this was done in several communities and resulted in nutrition labeling of food on restaurant menus and incorporating physical activity projects in municipal development plans. The authors contend…
Francis Ford Coppola Presents, LLC has filed a complaint in a California court against a company that makes corks, screw caps, bottles, and other packaging, alleging that defects in the bottles and screw caps purchased for the winery’s Encyclopedia® collection of wines caused the degradation or destruction of 55,000 cases of wine. Francis Ford Coppola Presents, LLC v. Vinocor USA, Inc., No. 26-50585 (Cal. Super. Ct., Napa Cty., filed November 23, 2009). The winery alleges breach of contract, the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing and the implied warranty of fitness; fraud in the inducement; negligent misrepresentation; negligence; and “for money had and received.” According to the complaint, the affected wine collection “was crafted and designed to be a collection of wines aimed at educating consumers on understanding how geography, history, food and religion, to name a few, all contribute to the making and enjoyment of wine. In…
Welch Foods Inc. has filed suit against its insurers claiming that they have a duty to defend and indemnify the beverage maker in litigation alleging that the company deceptively marketed its “100% Juice White Grape Pomegranate Flavored 3 Juice Blend”®. Welch Foods Inc. v. Zurich Am. Ins. Co., No. 09-12087 (D. Mass., filed December 8, 2009). According to Welch, the insurers were timely notified about two lawsuits, one by a competitor, POM Wonderful LLC v. Welch Foods Inc., and one by a consumer on behalf of a class, Burcham v. Welch Foods Inc., and denied they had a duty to defend or indemnify the beverage maker. Additional information about those lawsuits appears in issues 290, 313 and 316 of this Update. Alleging that its defense costs have exceeded $75,000 to date in both cases, Welch seeks a declaration that the insurers have a duty to defend and indemnify it under…
Plaintiffs’ lawyer William Marler has reportedly filed suit against Cargill on behalf of the guardian of a woman allegedly paralyzed by consuming hamburger contaminated with E. coli. Stephanie Smith was profiled in a recent New York Times article; she is a former dance instructor who reportedly became ill in 2007, began having seizures and was comatose for three months. According to Marler, she has spent two years in rehabilitation at a cost of some $2 million and remains in a wheelchair. He contends that his client has attempted mediation with the company but has been unable to reach a fair agreement. A Cargill spokesperson was quoted as saying, “Cargill deeply regrets Ms. Smith’s continuing suffering due to her illness. Each time Ms. Smith’s family has asked for financial assistance to cover out-of-pocket and rehabilitation costs, Cargill has advanced funds to help her and her family. We will continue to provide…
