Category: Issue 303
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Study Finds Dietary Acrylamide Not Linked to Brain Cancer
A recent study has reportedly found no positive association between dietary acrylamide intake and brain cancer. Janneke G.F. Hogervorst, et al., “Dietary Acrylamide Intake and Brain Cancer Risk,” Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, Vol. 18 (2009). Dutch researchers surveyed the dietary habits of 58,279 men and 62,573 women ages 55 through 69 who were enrolled…
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Study Identifies Commercial Perfluorochemicals in Human Blood
University of Toronto scientists have reportedly identified food-wrapper chemicals known as polyfluoroalkyl phosphoric acid diesters (diPAPs) at “low part-per-billion concentrations” in human blood. Jessica C. D’eon, et al., “Observation of a Commercial Fluorinated Material, the Polyfluoroalkyl Phosphoric Acid Diesters, in Human Sera, Wastewater Treatment Plant Sludge, and Paper Fibers,” Environmental Science & Technology, April 29, 2009. Researchers…
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Lester R. Brown, “Could Food Shortages Bring Down Civilization?,” Scientific American, April 22, 2009
“Our continuing failure to deal with the environmental declines that are undermining the world food economy—most important, falling water tables, eroding soils and rising temperatures—forces me to conclude that such a collapse is possible,” writes Earth Policy Institute President Lester Brown in this article about how global food shortages have the potential to disrupt civilization…
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General Mills Taps into Power of “Mommy” Blogs to Promote Products
General Mills, Inc. has reportedly enlisted hundreds of bloggers to receive and review products as part of its MyBlogSpark™ campaign, which sends free samples, coupons and other promotional materials to members in exchange for their feedback. The blog network has apparently registered approximately 900 writers–of whom more than 80 percent are mothers–to expand marketing distribution…
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Comment, “Product Liability and Food in Washington State: What Constitutes Manufacturing?,” Seattle University Law Review, Spring 2009
This student-authored article, prepared with the assistance of an attorney from the office of food litigator William Marler, discusses the inconsistent interpretations Washington courts have given to the definition of “manufacturer” in the state’s product liability statute. The issue is critical in foodborne illness cases because those food sellers not deemed to be manufacturers can…