Category: Issue 355
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CDC Report Claims Most Sodium Comes from Common Foods
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has issued a report that claims less than 10 percent of American adults limit their daily sodium intake to recommended levels. Titled “Sodium Intake Among Adults—United States, 2005-2006,” the report also suggests that processed grains and meats, including poultry and luncheon meats, provide two-thirds of sodium in the U.S.…
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David Lazarus, “Junk Food and Obesity: Taking a Cue from Tobacco Control,” The Los Angeles Times, June 29, 2010
This article calls for government authorities to treat “junk food” and the obesity epidemic exactly as they addressed smoking. Noting that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s latest dietary guidelines have recycled the same advice given 30 years ago, while the rate of obese Americans has roughly doubled in that time, columnist Davis Lazarus calls for…
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Andrew Pollack, “Genetically Altered Salmon Get Closer to the Table,” The New York Times, June 25, 2010
“The Food and Drug Administration [FDA] is seriously considering whether to approve the first genetically engineered [GE] animal that people would eat—salmon that can grow at twice the normal rate,” reports New York Times biotechnology correspondent Andrew Pollack in this article about the decade-long regulatory process. Pollack identifies the petitioner as a Waltham, Massachusetts, company…
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Report Claims Adult Obesity in U.S. Has Increased in 28 States
A new report has claimed that adult obesity in the United States has increased in 28 states in the past year and that 38 states have adult obesity rates above 25 percent. Titled “F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America’s Future 2010,” the report from Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood…
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Massive Cereal Recall Puts Spotlight on Chemicals in Food Packaging
Following Kellogg Co.’s voluntary recall of some 28 million boxes of breakfast cereals for a “waxy” smell and flavor emitted from package liners, some have pointed to growing public concern over chemicals, such as bisphenol A, that are allegedly leaching into foods from packaging materials. The Kellogg recall involved an unknown substance added to the…
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CSPI Report Calls for Ban on Food Dyes
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has issued a report urging the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ban several food dyes that allegedly pose “risks of cancer, hyperactivity in children, and allergies.” According to a June 29, 2010, CSPI press release, “Dyed foods should be considered adulterated under the law, because…
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NRC Report Tackles Sustainability in the 21st Century
The National Research Council (NRC) recently issued a report titled Toward Sustainable Agricultural Systems in the 21st Century, which reviews farming practices, technologies and management systems that seek to promote environmental, social and economic sustainability. According to NRC, “the scale, organization, enterprise diversity, and forms of market integration associated with individual farms provide unique opportunities…
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Consumer Claims Fruit Snack Marketing is False and Misleading
According to news sources, a New York woman is seeking $5 million in damages in a putative class action against General Mills, alleging that the company falsely promotes its Fruit Roll-Ups® and other fruit snacks as nutritious and healthy while failing to properly disclose to consumers that partially hydrogenated oil is a product ingredient. McClure…