A consumer supported by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has reportedly filed a putative class action in New Jersey Superior Court, alleging that meals he purchased at Denny’s® restaurants contained “alarmingly large and undisclosed amounts of sodium.” DeBenedetto v. Denny’s Corp., No. ___ (N.J. Super. Ct., filed July 23, 2009). At issue are menu items such as Moons Over My Hammy, Spicy Buffalo Chicken Melt and Meat Lover’s Scramble, which purportedly contain sodium levels that exceed the daily recommended limit of 1,500 mg. According to the complaint, “Denny’s menu deceptively presents various items as single meals to be consumed by one individual without disclosing that they contain substantially more sodium (in some case two or three times more) than the maximum recommended amount for all meals consumed by an individual during the day.” The class action “seeks to compel Denny’s restaurants to disclose on menus the…
A trade group representing bottled water producers, distributors and suppliers has filed a lawsuit in federal court against Eco Canteen Inc., a stainless steel bottle manufacturer, “for engaging in a deliberate scare campaign to mislead and deceive the public” about the purported health and environmental risks associated with plastic bottle use. Int'l Bottled Water Ass'n v. Eco Canteen Inc., 09-299 (W.D.N.C., filed July 22, 2009). According to the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA), Eco Canteen has made several false and misleading claims about both single-serve and reusable plastic bottles that included likening these products to poison and linking them to breast and prostate cancer. This “viral” marketing campaign was allegedly designed “to be picked up and disseminated by third parties” despite IBWA’s repeated requests for corrective action. The complaint also notes that the defendant “purposefully matches images of single-serve recyclable plastic bottles with its claims relating to an organic compound…
The Developmental and Reproductive Toxicant Identification Committee of the California Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental and Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has reportedly asked OEHHA to further investigate the potential developmental and reproductive health effects of the chemical bisphenol A (BPA). The committee voted against placing BPA on the state’s Proposition 65 list of chemicals known to the state to cause reproductive toxicity in a meeting held July 15, 2009. According to a July 23 notice, the committee now seeks information regarding (i) “possible increased susceptibility for developmental toxicity from bisphenol A in subpopulations, for example in those with poor nutritional status for certain nutrients such as folic acid”; (ii) “evidence that bisphenol A exposures in utero or pre-conception may lead to precancerous lesions and eventually cancers (e.g., breast and prostate)”; (iii) “evidence for bisphenol A-induced developmental- or reproductive-related neurobehavioral effects, as these endpoints are further studied”; (iv) “evidence for…
A new report from the independent research organization Fraser Institute claims that Canada’s rigid advertising standards leave consumers in the dark about the potential health benefits of certain food products. “Canadian consumers are being denied,” Brett Skinner, the Fraser Institute’s director of bio-pharma and health policy, was quoted as saying. “They don’t know about the potential health benefits of many food products because information can’t be printed on labels.” The Consumers’ Association of Canada responded to the report by asserting that Canadians are well-served by the current system. “There’s no reason we should follow American standards,” an association representative said. “Some American consumer groups aren’t even happy with the amount of claims made on labels for foods.” See Fraser Institute Press Release; Canwest News Service, July 20, 2009.
A new report by an independent investigator is harshly critical of Canada’s food safety system with respect to the 2008 Listeria outbreak linked to the deaths of 22 people. Sheila Weatherill, a nurse and health executive who led the federally appointed investigation, said the system was caught unprepared and acted without urgency, citing a void in leadership, a raft of systematic flaws, a shortage of inspectors, and evidence of contamination on meat-production lines months before last summer’s outbreak that was not effectively monitored. While Listeria is difficult to detect, “more could have been done to prevent it happening in the first place . . . and more must be done to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” Weatherill asserts. Her 57 recommendations include (i) providing better training for food inspectors, (ii) assigning Canada’s public health agency the lead role in responding to national foodborne emergencies and (iii) performing an external…
Shook Agribusiness and Food Safety Practice Co-Chair Madeleine McDonough will serve on a panel during the American Conference Institute’s “3rd National Forum on FoodBorne Illness Litigation, Advanced Strategies for Assessing, Managing & Defending Food Contamination Claims,” to be held October 26-27, 2009, in Chicago. McDonough joins a faculty that includes federal regulators and in-house counsel for industry trade associations and food companies. She will discuss issues relating to “Global Food Safety: Factoring in New Threats Associated with Foreign Food Product Imports.” Among the specific topics she will address are risks and threats to the food supply and managing those risks.
Just last month, the Endocrine Society – composed of thousands of doctors in this field – issued a powerful warning that endocrine disruptors including phthalates are ‘a significant concern to public health,’” writes New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof in this op-ed article examining the chemicals’ purported role in a range of health problems such as sexual deformities, early onset puberty in girls and the “feminization” of male anatomy. According to Kristof, endocrinologists have increasingly found this “mounting evidence” persuasive enough to raise alarms despite the reassurances of the American Chemistry Council, which has pointed to research like a recent study in the Journal of Urology that casts doubt on the link between phthalates and hypospadias, a birth defect. “One of the conundrums for scientists and journalists alike is how to call prudent attention to murky and uncertain risks, without sensationalizing dangers that may not exist,” opines Kristof, who nevertheless notes…
Whole Foods Market Inc. has reportedly announced a partnership with the Non-GMO Project to independently certify that its private label products do not contain genetically modified (GM) ingredients. A non-profit collaboration of manufacturers, retailers, processors, distributors, and consumers, the Non-GMO Project maintains a product verification program (PVP) “to scientifically test whether a product has met a set of defined standards for the presence of genetically engineered organisms,” according to a July 7, 2009, Whole Foods press release, which claims that “75 percent of processed foods in the United States may contain components from genetically modified crops.” Whole Foods products bearing the non-GMO seal must undergo a verification process involving “on-site facility audits, document-based review and DNA testing” for “any ingredient at high risk for genetic contamination,” such as corn or soy. “Since there is no regulation regarding disclosure on products manufactured with GMO ingredients, we are committed to helping our…
Pepperdine University School of Law Professor Richard Cupp argues in this article that the better way to protect animal welfare is to focus on the human moral obligation to treat animals without cruelty. He contends that the current, rapidly expanding movement to endow animals with legal rights would be counterproductive if successful. Cupp reports that 94 law schools either now teach animal law or are planning to do so; three scholarly journals focus exclusively on animal law; and national, state and local bar associations have inaugurated sections dedicated to the subject. Among other matters, Cupp suggests that allowing some animals to ‘earn’ dignity rights if sufficiently intelligent “implies that perhaps some humans should lose their dignity rights if they are sufficiently unintelligent.” He envisions what would happen to our view of infants and mentally incapacitated adults if intelligent animals were accorded rights because of their intelligence. He also claims that…
The Iowa Supreme Court has awarded disability benefits to a former slaughterhouse worker who allegedly contracted brucellosis from butchering hogs. IBP, Inc. v. Burress, No. 07-1887 (Iowa, decided July 10, 2009). The court determined that the disease was caused by a traumatic event and thus was a compensable injury under state law. So ruling, the court affirmed an intermediate appellate court decision rejecting a district court’s determination that the claimant had an occupational disease and failed to timely file his workers’ compensation petition. The court discusses in some detail how the claimant came into contact with Brucella organisms through open cuts while exposed to hog blood during his 10-year tenure at IBP, Inc.’s meat-packing plant. He allegedly developed a chronic infection of the hips and bone as a result of his contact with blood products and tissue from slaughtered hogs, but was not apparently diagnosed with the disease until some six years…
