Category: Issue 368
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Scientists Develop Food-Grade Nanoemulsion
Researchers with the University of Massachusetts Food Science Department have reportedly developed a technique to create transparent, food-grade nanoemulsions using high-pressure homogenization methods. Cheng Qiana and David Julian McClements, “Formation of Nanoemulsions Stabilized by Model Food-Grade Emulsifiers using High Pressure Homogenization: Factors Affecting Particle Size,” Food Hydrocolloids, October 2010. According to the study, “Nanoemulsions are finding increasing…
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Gene Sites Linked to Obesity, Fat Distribution
An international research consortium has released a study that identifies 18 new gene sites linked to overall obesity and a related report that pinpoints 13 new gene sites connected to fat distribution. Published in the October 2010 online edition of Nature Genetics, the studies relied on data from approximately 250,000 participants to gain an understanding of why…
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FAO Announces Eradication of Cattle Plague Virus
The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has announced the pending eradication of a fatal cattle virus known as rinderpest, hailing the achievement as “the first time in history that humankind has succeeded in wiping out an animal disease in the wild, and only the second time, after smallpox in 1980, that a disease has…
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Batali and Bastianich Targeted in New Restaurant Worker Lawsuit
Twenty-seven waiters, busboys and others at New York City’s Del Posto restaurant have reportedly filed a lawsuit against owner Mario Batali and partners Joseph and Lidia Bastianich, claiming that they were not paid a legal wage. The plaintiffs allege that the restaurant’s managers pooled workers’ tips in violation of state labor laws and wrongfully withheld…
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Federal Court Grants Preliminary Approval to Settlement in Frosted Mini-Wheats® Case
A federal court in California has approved a motion for preliminary approval of a class action settlement in litigation involving allegedly fraudulent claims that Kellogg Co.’s Frosted Mini-Wheats® cereal “was clinically shown to improve children’s attentiveness by nearly 20%.” Dennis v. Kellogg Co., No. 09-1786 (S.D. Cal., decided October 14, 2010). The settlement class consists…
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Data Underlying Atrazine Research Sought Under FOIA Lawsuit
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) have been sued in federal court under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) for their alleged failure to produce data and research relating to the herbicide atrazine. Beveridge & Diamond, P.C. v. HHS, No. 10-1713 (D.D.C., filed…
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POM Wonderful Sued in Florida for Making Health Claims
A putative class action has been filed in a federal court in Florida against POM Wonderful, LLC and its holding company, alleging that the defendants deceived consumers in the state by making health-benefit claims for POM’s pomegranate juices, pills, extracts, and concentrated liquids. Cortez v. POM Wonderful, LLC, No. 10-23680 (S.D. Fla., filed October 13,…
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Supply Chain Litigation Follows Soy Grit Salmonella Contamination and Recall
A company that makes name- and store-brand food products, including cereals, granola products, pastas, and bakery goods, has sued the supplier of soybean food ingredients allegedly contaminated with Salmonella, seeking in excess of $7 million in damages. Ralcorp Holdings, Inc. v. Thumb Oilseed Producers’ Coop., No. 10-1898 (E.D. Mo., filed October 8, 2010). According to…