Category: Issue 340
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Antimony Allegedly Detected in EU Commercial Fruit Juices
According to researchers from Denmark and Greece, some juice drinks obtained from markets in the European Union (EU) contain levels of antimony, a suspected carcinogen related to arsenic, above EU drinking water limits. Claus Hansen, et al., “Elevated antimony concentrations in commercial juices,” Journal of Environmental Monitoring, February 17, 2010. According to the article, “Antimony concentrations…
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Snacking Reportedly on the Rise Among U.S. Children
A recent study has reportedly claimed that “nationally representative surveys of food intake in U.S. children show large increases in snacking between the 1989-91 to 1994-98 and 1994-98 to 2003-06 periods.” Carmen Piernas and Barry Popkin, “Trends in Snacking Among U.S. Children,” Health Affairs, March 2010. Researchers apparently examined the responses of 31,337 children ages…
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Study Compares Strategies to Decrease Dietary Sodium Intake
A recent study has apparently concluded that industry efforts to reduce mean sodium intake by 9.5 percent could avert “513,885 strokes and 480,358 MIs [myocardial infarctions] over the lifetime of adults aged 40 to 85 years who are alive today compared with the status quo, increasing QALYs [quality-adjusted life-years] by 2.1 million and saving $32.1…
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Report Estimates Foodborne Illness Costs $152 Billion Annually
The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Produce Safety Project (PSP) recently published a cost analysis claiming that health-related expenditures for foodborne illness far exceed the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s estimate of $6.9 billion annually. Authored by former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) economist Robert Scharff, the report concludes that the United States spends $152 billion per year…
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Rudd Center Publishes Study on Point-of-Sale Marketing
Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity has published a study alleging that the “number of products with youth-oriented cross-promotions increased by 78 percent” between 2006 and 2008. Jennifer Harris, et al., “Marketing foods to children and adolescents: licensed characters and other promotions on packaged foods in the supermarket,” Public Health Nutrition, March…
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Agency Action on Omega 3 Followed by Litigation Against Gummy Fish Maker
A putative class action has been filed in a Washington state court by plaintiffs claiming that L’il Critters Omega-3 Gummy Fish® are deceptively marketed as products that will “Promote Healthy Brain Function” in children. Aust v. NW Natural Prods., Inc., No. 10-07949 (Wash. Super. Ct., King Cty., filed February 23, 2010). In fall 2009, the Federal…
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Advocacy Groups Ask Court to Stop Planting of GE Crops in Wildlife Refuge
Three advocacy organizations have sued Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS), charging them with violations of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for failing to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) before entering into contracts that allow farmers to cultivate genetically engineered (GE) crops at the…
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Court Rules Packaging Co. Breached KFC Contract by Supplying Flaming Chicken Containers
A federal court in Kentucky has determined as a matter of law that a company which tested, developed and approved paper packaging for customers buying KFC Popcorn chicken breached its contract because the containers caught fire while being microwaved. KFC U.S. Props., Inc. v. Paris Packaging, Inc., No. 09-00249 (W.D. Ky., decided February 25, 2010).…