Category: Issue 285
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New Global Study Seeks Origin of Food Allergies
A new international study seeking to pinpoint the origin of food allergies has reportedly started to gather environmental, genetic and health information from hundreds of families in Boston, Chicago and Anhui Province in China. Led by Xiaobin Wang and Jacqueline Pongracic from Children’s Memorial Hospital, the study uses a multicenter design to compare diverse populations…
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Study Claims Childhood Obesity Alters Thyroid Function and Structure
A recent study has apparently claimed that pediatric obesity may alter thyroid function and structure. Giorgio Radetti, et al, “Thyroid Function and Structure Are Affected in Childhood Obesity,” Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, December 2008. Italian researchers performed thyroid ultrasounds on 186 overweight and obese children over three years, as well as measuring their thyroid…
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Nicholas D. Kristof, “Obama’s ‘Secretary of Food’?,” The New York Times, December 11, 2008
This op-ed piece advises President-Elect Barack Obama to select a reformer for the top position in the Department of Agriculture and to recast the agency as the Department of Food, thereby “giving primacy to America’s 300 million eaters.” Appointing a “secretary of food” would signal Obama’s intention to “move away from the bankrupt structure of…
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BBB Ad Division Asks General Mills to Change Yogurt Advertising
According to a news source, the Better Business Bureau’s National Advertising Division, at the request of Dannon, has asked General Mills Inc. to change the way it advertises the purported digestive health benefits of its Yoplait Yo-Plus® yogurt. Dannon apparently contended that General Mills’ claims about its ingredients helping to “regulate digestive health naturally” were…
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American Soybean Association Urges USDA to Investigate Alleged Misuse of Checkoff Program
The American Soybean Association (ASA) has asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of the Inspector General to investigate the administration of the federally mandated soy checkoff program that is responsible for industry-wide marketing and promotion efforts. “Serious ethical, legal and financial allegations have been raised about how farmer checkoff funds and program activities are…
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Chinese Court Refuses to Accept Group Lawsuit in Tainted Milk Scandal
A Chinese court has reportedly refused to accept a lawsuit filed by dozens of families whose children were sickened or died from consuming infant formula contaminated with melamine. Apparently the first-known group lawsuit to arise in the wake of the scandal, the complaint sought nearly US$2 million from the state-owned Sanlu Group Co., the dairy…
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MDL Court Finds Bottled Water Claims Preempted Under Federal Law
A multidistrict litigation court (MDL) in New York has dismissed putative class claims filed against PepsiCo., Inc. for allegedly misrepresenting the source of its Aquafina® bottled water, “by using a label designed to create the impression that the water came from a mountain source and failing to inform consumers that the true source . .…
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Whole Foods Seeks to Stop Administrative Proceedings Before FTC
Whole Foods Market, Inc., concluding that it cannot get a fair hearing before the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in proceedings over the competitive effect of its merger with Wild Oats Markets, Inc., has filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking to terminate the proceedings as fundamentally flawed under the Due Process Clause. Whole Foods Market, Inc.…