“Nearly all of the meal possibilities offered to kids at America’s top chain restaurants are of poor nutritional quality,” according to a new report from the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). “One out of every three American children is overweight or obese, but it’s as if the chain restaurant industry didn’t get the memo,” said CSPI Nutrition Policy Director Margo Wootan. “Most chains seem stuck in a time warp, serving up the same old meals based on chicken nuggets, burgers, macaroni and cheese, fries, and soda.” The report, “Kids’ Meals: Obesity on the Menu,” claims that 97 percent of the nearly 3,500 meal possibilities analyzed failed to meet CSPI nutritional criteria for 4- to 8-year-olds, while 91 percent failed to meet National Restaurant Association (NRA) guidelines for its Kids LiveWell program. CSPI recommends that kids’ meals “must not exceed 430 calories, more than 35 percent of calories…
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The first edition of a global “Access to Nutrition Index,” evaluates the “nutrition-related commitments, performance and disclosure practices of 25 of the world’s largest food and beverage manufacturers.” Contending that food and beverage companies “must do more to increase access to nutritious products and positively exercise their influence on consumer choice and behavior,” the report ranked Danone and Nestlé among its top performers, but stated that even these companies “have significant room for improvement.” Housed at the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), the three-year initiative was funded by GAIN, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Wellcome Trust. According to Access to Nutrition Index (ATNI) Executive Director Inge Kauer, the report “is not intended to name and shame companies, but instead to highlight strong practices and to provide a means for companies to benchmark their approach to nutrition against their peers and identify areas for improvement. The Index also…
A research letter published February 25, 2013, in JAMA Internal Medicine claims that less than 10 percent of surveyed packaged food products provided information about potassium content on their nutrition facts panels (NFPs). Noting that under current Food and Drug Administration (FDA) policy the disclosure of potassium levels is optional, researchers with New York City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene apparently examined the labels of 6,560 products culled from a database created in 2009 for the National Salt Reduction Initiative. Their findings evidently revealed that “most packaged food products do not include potassium content on the NFP” despite concerns that some consumers may need to monitor their intake of the electrolyte. In particular, the study found that in almost one-half of the 61 food categories identified in the database, “potassium content was available for less than 1% of products.” It also identified the five categories—“vegetable juice; seasoned processed potatoes; instant…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has proposed new rules that would regulate the nutritional content of snacks, soft drinks and meals sold in school cafeterias, vending machines and snack bars. According to a USDA news release, the “Smart Snacks in School” proposal draws upon “recommendations from the Institute of Medicine, existing voluntary standards already implemented by thousands of schools around the country, and healthy food and beverage offerings already available in the marketplace.” Required under the Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010, the new rules are part of the government’s efforts to combat childhood obesity by establishing nutrition standards for all food sold in schools—not just federally subsidized school breakfasts and lunches. “Parents and teachers work hard to instill healthy eating habits in our kids, and these efforts should be supported when kids walk through the schoolhouse door,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “Good nutrition lays the groundwork…
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) researchers recently published a study claiming that consumers found it easier to compare food items with singleserving or dual-column nutrition facts (NF) labels as opposed to the NF labels currently in use. Lando and Lo, “Single-LargerPortion-Size and Dual-Column Nutrition Labeling May Help Consumers Make More Healthful Food Choices,” Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, February 2013. Scientists with FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition apparently asked 9,482 adults to determine the healthfulness of a single product or compare the nutrition information on two products using one of the following NF configurations: (i) a single-column format listing two servings per container; (ii) a dual-column format listing two servings per container, with one column showing NFs per serving and one column showing NFs per container; and (iii) a single-column format listing a larger single serving per container. Within each of these formats, “there were…
Food activist and attorney Michele Simon has issued a report that explores the relationship between the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) and corporations such as Kellogg, General Mills, PepsiCo, and Nestlé that make what Simon characterizes as unhealthy food and beverages. Titled “And Now a Word From Our Sponsors: Are America’s Nutrition Professionals in the Pocket of Big Food?,” the January 2013 report examines the level of financial support provided to AND by the largest U.S. food manufacturers since 2001. According to Simon, the companies provide numerous speakers for courses needed by dietitians to maintain their professional credentials as well as sponsorships for AND’s meetings, while taking up the most prominent and significant amount of floor space during AND’s annual meeting expo. The report includes a first-person account of Simon’s attendance at one of these meetings, including her dismay that other conference attendees (i) willingly accepted food samples from…
The National Consumers League (NCL) has filed a formal complaint with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), alleging that NuVal LLC’s point of purchase nutrition rating system is “inconsistent with FDA guidance statements and enforcement correspondence, federal nutrition programs, and recommendations from the Institute of Medicine (IOM).” Used by more than 1,600 grocery stores in 31 states, the NuVal system apparently scores products out of 100 total points, with more nutritious options garnering a higher rating. NCL has argued, however, that NuVal relies on “a proprietary, non-public algorithm that can lead to inconsistent scores that may confuse and mislead consumers,” and has asked FDA to issue a warning letter to the retail industry about its continued use. Citing an IOM report on nutrition rating systems that criticized NuVal’s formula, the NCL complaint contends that NuVal “runs afoul” of FDA Guidance on Point of Purchase Labeling, which stipulates that all such…
A number of law professors, including anti-tobacco activist and Public Health Advocacy Institute President Richard Daynard, have written to the heads of four federal agencies, in their role as the Interagency Working Group on Food Marketed to Children, to support the group’s proposed nutrition principles for food marketed directly to children ages 2-17. Details about the proposed principles appear in Issue 392 of this Update. According to the September 6, 2011, letter, the principles “embody a constitutionally permissible set of government recommendations.” Written to counter a trade association letter that urged the group to withdraw the principles on constitutional grounds, the professors’ letter notes that the “recommended nutrition principles contain no mandates” and thus “do not violate the First Amendment.” Observing that the group “is better characterized as a routine governmental advisory body than an oppressive censorship panel,” the professors note, “no federal agency can impose legal repercussions on a…
A federal court in New Jersey has determined that Pennsylvania and California residents may pursue claims against New Jersey-based Nestlé Healthcare Nutrition, Inc. in consolidated putative class actions alleging that the company’s BOOST Kid Essentials® beverage did not provide its advertised health benefits for children. Scheuerman v. Nestlé Healthcare Nutrition, Inc., No. 10-3684; Johnson v. Nestlé Healthcare Nutrition, Inc., No. 10-5628 (D.N.J., decided August 1, 2011) (unpublished). So ruling, the court granted in part and denied in part Nestlé’s motion to dismiss. While the court ruled that the California plaintiff may not bring a cause of action under the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act (NJCFA), because the defendant’s presence in the jurisdiction alone is insufficient under conflict-of-law rules to apply the state’s law, the court did give the California plaintiff the opportunity to amend her complaint to allege consumer fraud under California law. Because the Pennsylvania plaintiff alleged that he…
The European Parliament has reportedly approved new food labeling rules aimed at helping consumers make “better informed, healthier choices.” As outlined in a July 6, 2011, press release, the new regulations will require labels “to spell out a food’s energy content as well as fat, saturated fat, carbohydrate, sugar, protein and salt levels, in a way that makes them easy for consumers to read.” To this end, such nutritional information must be presented “in a legible tabular form on the packaging, together and in the same field of vision,” and “expressed per 100g or per 100ml,” with the option of expressing values per portion. Slated to take effect three to five years after publication in the EU Official Journal, the new rules also (i) tighten allergen labeling requirements for both pre-packaged products and non-packaged foods sold in restaurants or canteens; (ii) extend existing country-of-origin labeling laws to fresh meat from…
