Category: Issue 335
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Sweetener Spat Provokes Recommendation to Discontinue “Natural” Ad Claims
The Council of Better Business Bureaus’ National Advertising Division (NAD), which serves as the investigative arm of the advertising industry’s voluntary self-regulation program, has recommended that Heartland Sweeteners cease making some claims about its Ideal® sweetener product. The recommendation apparently followed a complaint by Merisant Co., a Heartland competitor, that Ideal® is not “natural” or “more…
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Animal Protein Consumption Allegedly Linked to Increased Diabetes Risk
A recent study has reportedly linked the consumption of animal protein to an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Ivonne Sluij, et al., “ Dietary Intake of Total, Animal, and Vegetable Protein and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-NL Study,” Diabetes Care, January 2010. Using…
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Study Claims Link to Dry Fat-Rich Foods and Increased Acrylamide Levels
A recent study has reportedly linked dry food containing low amounts of carbohydrates to increased acrylamide levels. Edoardo Capuano, et al., “Lipid oxidation promotes acrylamide formation in fat-rich model systems,” Food Research International, (January 2010). Sponsored by the European Science Foundation, researchers formulated a range of fat-rich model systems and then measured acrylamide levels after…
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James McWilliams, “Beware the Myth of Grass-Feed Beef,” Slate, January 22, 2010
In this article, Slate contributor James McWilliams questions “the conventional wisdom among culinary tastemakers” that pasture-raised cattle does not harbor E. coli O157:H7 at the same levels as conventional livestock. “In fact,” he writes, “exploring the connection between grass-fed beef and these dangerous bacteria offers a disturbing lesson in how culinary wisdom becomes foodie dogma…
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Whole Foods Offers Better Discounts for Slimmer, Healthier Employees
Whole Foods Market CEO John Mackey has announced to company employees that those meeting specific health-related criteria, including blood pressure, cholesterol, body mass index, and smoking status, will be eligible for an increased store discount. According to the announcement, the company spent more than $150 million in 2009 on employee health care, and the company…
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IOM Meeting Targets Front-of-Package Labeling
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has announced a February 2, 2010, public meeting in Washington, D.C., to solicit government perspectives on front-of-package nutrition labeling systems. The IOM Committee on Examination of Front-of-Package Nutrition Rating Systems and Symbols has invited input from various government agencies and study sponsors, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention…
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DOJ Challenges Dairy Processors’ 2009 Merger
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a civil antitrust lawsuit against Dean Foods Co., claiming that the company’s 2009 acquisition of Foremost Farms USA’s Consumer Products Division “eliminates substantial competition between the two companies in the sale of milk to schools, grocery stores, convenience stores and other retailers in Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin.” The…
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New York Bill Proposes Warning Labels for Energy Drinks
New York Assemblyman Nelson Castro (D-86) has proposed an amendment (A09754) to the state’s agriculture and markets law that would require a warning label on all energy drinks. Citing “serious health risks including heart attack, stroke and even heart disease,” the provision calls for product warnings to appear in a black box and in letters…