Category: Issue 349
-
Federal Appeals Court Sends Obesity Disability Litigation Back to Trial Court
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals has returned to a federal district court litigation alleging that a karate instructor was fired because he was obese in violation of a New York City law that forbids disability-based workplace discrimination. Spiegel v. Schulmann, No. 06-5914 (2d Cir., decided May 6, 2010). According to the appeals court, no cases…
-
European Union Allows Madeira to Remain Free of GMOs
The European Union has reportedly allowed Madeira, an autonomous region of Portugal located 500 kilometers from the African coast, to prohibit the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) on the archipelago. According to The New York Times, the European Commission “quietly” let the deadline pass for opposing the GMO ban, which Portuguese officials claimed was…
-
FDA Issues Industry Guidance on Boil-Water Advisories
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued industry guidance to advise food manufacturers on appropriate protocol for dealing with a boil-water advisory. The guidance is also “intended to assist food manufacturers in evaluating food that already was produced with water subject to the advisory.” According to FDA, once a boil-water advisory has been issued,…
-
FSIS Sets New Performance Standards for Salmonella and Campylobacter
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has issued a new set of performance standards to reduce the incidence of Salmonella and Campylobacter bacteria in young chickens and turkeys. The new standards hold poultry slaughterhouses more accountable by decreasing the number of samples allowed to test positive for the pathogens. After…
-
White House Child Obesity Task Force Issues Action Plan
While the president’s Task Force on Childhood Obesity released its action plan with 70 specific recommendations to significant praise and fanfare this week, nutrition professor and author Marion Nestle questioned whether the ideas will actually work given their reliance on voluntary collaboration and participation. She said in her blog, “Voluntary, as evidence demonstrates, does not…