The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended that adults and children reduce their daily intake of added sugars to less than 10 percent of their total daily energy intake. In addition, WHO calls for consumers to limit their consumption of added sugars to less than 25 grams (6 teaspoons) for further health benefits. The new advice follows the release of the U.S. Department of Health and Department of Agriculture’s proposed Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which would set similar limits for glucose, fructose and sucrose added to food and drink by manufacturers, retailers or consumers. “We have solid evidence that keeping intake of free sugars to less than 10% of total energy intake reduces the risk of overweight, obesity and tooth decay,” said Francesco Branca, director of WHO’s Department of Nutrition for Health and Development, in a March 4, 2015, press release. “Making policy changes to support this will be key…
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Refusing to certify the class, a California federal court has granted a partial motion to dismiss in a putative class action alleging that Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc. mislabels its “100% Juice” products as “No Sugar Added” despite adding fruit juice from concentrate. Major v. Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc., No. 12-3067 (N.D. Cal., order entered February 26, 2015). The plaintiff argued that adding the concentrate and labeling the products “No Sugar Added” violates California law, which prohibits use of that phrase on food “containing added sugars such as jam, jelly, or concentrated fruit juice.” Instead, she asserted, Ocean Spray must include the disclaimer that their products are not low-calorie foods. Ocean Spray argued that the plaintiff did not rely on the “No Sugar Added” label when purchasing the products, and the court agreed, pointing to a deposition in which the plaintiff admitted that calorie content was not a motivating factor in…
The 14-member committee charged with developing the federal government’s "2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans” has issued its report containing recommendations for promoting consumption of foods and beverages that assist in maintaining a healthy weight and preventing disease. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Department of Agriculture (USDA) are soliciting written comments about the committee’s report as well as offering the opportunity to provide oral comments at a March 24, 2015, public meeting in Bethesda, Maryland. Recommendations include following a diet low in saturated fat, added sugars and sodium, i.e., “less than 2,300 mg dietary sodium per day (or age-appropriate Dietary Reference Intake amount), less than 10 percent of total calories from saturated fat per day, and a maximum of 10 percent of total calories from added sugars per day.” The committee discourages consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages. Issue 556
Researchers with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have published a study claiming that many infant and toddler foods sold in the United States contain too much sodium or sugar. Mary Cogswell, et al., “Sodium and Sugar in Complementary Infant and Toddler Foods Sold in the United States,” Pediatrics, March 2015. Relying on a database of 1,074 infant and toddler foods and drinks that sourced nutrient information from a commercial database, manufacturer websites and major grocery stores, the study reported that “the majority of toddler cereal bars/breakfast pastries, fruit, and infant/toddler snacks, desserts, and juices contained ≥1 added sugar,” that is, at least one added sugar on the ingredient list. In addition, the study’s authors noted that 41 of 79 infant mixed grains and fruits contained ≥1 added sugar, while 35 of these products derived more than 35 percent of their calories from sugar. They also concluded that…
Researchers with the University of California, San Diego, have reportedly linked a sugar molecule found in red meat to the development of spontaneous cancers. Annie N. Samraj, et al., “A red meat-derived glycan promotes inflammation and cancer progression,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, January 2015. According to a December 29, 2014, press release, N-glycolylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc) is present in most mammals but not humans, who consume bio-available forms of the molecule from beef, pork and lamb. Building on previous work hypothesizing that Neu5Gc can cause chronic inflammation when absorbed by the human body, the study authors fed the sugar molecule to mice genetically engineered to suppress Neu5Gc. The results not only showed that these mice developed antibodies to Neu5Gc that contributed to systemic inflammation, but that the incidence of spontaneous tumor formation increased fivefold, with Neu5Gc accumulating in the tumors. “Until now, all of our evidence linking Neu5Gc to…
A University of Utah study has reportedly claimed that female mice fed fructose and glucose monosaccharides in proportions similar to the amount of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in human diets “had death rates 1.87 times higher than females on [a] sucrose diet” and “produced 26.4% fewer offspring.” James Ruff, et al., “Compared to Sucrose, Previous Consumption of Fructose and Glucose Monosaccharides Reduces Survival and Fitness of Female Mice,” The Journal of Nutrition, March 2015. Funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, the study apparently builds on 2013 research concluding that “when mice were fed either a diet with 25 percent calories in the form of added fructose and glucose monosaccharides or 25 percent calories from starch, females died at twice the normal rate and males were a quarter less likely to hold territory and reproduce.” Although the new study did not find any differences in male mice…
A University of California, San Diego, study has reportedly claimed that the brains of obese children “literally light up differently when tasting sugar,” according to a December 11, 2014, press release. Kerri Boutelle, et al., “Increased brain response to appetitive tastes in the insula and amygdala in obese compared to healthy weight children when sated,” International Journal of Obesity, December 2014. Researchers apparently scanned the brains of 10 obese and 13 healthy weight children “while they tasted one-fifth of a teaspoon of water mixed with sucrose (table sugar).” The results evidently showed that the obese children “had heightened activity in the insular cortex and amygdala, regions of the brain involved in perception, emotion, awareness, taste, motivation and reward.” As the lead author explained, “The take-home message is that obese children, compared to healthy weight children, have enhanced responses in their brain to sugar. That we can detect these differences in…
A California federal court has denied certification to a putative class action alleging that Mott’s misleadingly labeled its apple juice as having “No Sugar Added” because the plaintiff failed to provide a feasible model for calculating damages. Rahman v. Mott’s LLP, No. 13-3482 (N.D. Cal., order entered December 3, 2014). The court further refused to certify a liability class, finding it would not materially advance resolution of the case. The court first assessed the proposed class definition. It found that the plaintiff and the proposed class met the requirements of numerosity, ascertainability, commonality, and adequacy; in addition, the court rejected the juice company’s argument that the plaintiff was atypical because he is a Type 2 diabetic who closely reads nutrition labels. The court then discussed whether the plaintiff established that “the questions of law or fact common to class members predominate over any questions affecting only individual members, and that…
Researchers with the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), and two other universities have launched a campaign targeting added sugar consumption. Led by UCSF Health Policy Professor Laura Schmidt, the Sugar-Science Initiative bills itself as “the authoritative source for the science about added sugar and its impact on our health.” The resulting Website features public health messages gleaned from 8,000 scientific papers that the group reportedly vetted for accuracy and conflicts of interest. Among other things, the initiative focuses on the alleged toxicity of fructose and high-fructose corn syrup, arguing that added sugar consumption contributes to liver and cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity. As contributor Robert Lustig explained, “It used to be a condiment, now it’s a diet staple. As pediatricians, we had evidence of the connection between sugar and diabetes, heart disease and liver disease for years, but we haven’t had this level of definitive scientific evidence to back up…
Whole Foods Market Inc. is the target of two new putative nationwide class actions, one filed in a Texas federal court regarding the amount of sugar in the company’s plain Greek yogurt and the other filed in a California state court over alleged false advertising and sales of Blue Diamond almond milk products with a “Non-GMO Project Verified” label. Kubick v. Whole Foods Mkt., Inc., No. 14-1013 (W.D. Tex., filed November 10, 2014); Richard v. Whole Foods Mkt. Cal., Inc., No. BC563304 (Cal. Super. Ct., Los Angeles Cty., filed November 7, 2014). The Texas complaint alleges that Whole Foods 365 Everyday Plain Greek Yogurt represents that it contains 2 grams of sugar per serving, when testing shows that it actually contains more than 11 grams of sugar per serving, or “more than five and a half times the labeled amount.” According to the plaintiff, a California resident, this is particularly significant because…
