Category: Issue 413
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IOM Obesity Prevention Workshop Slated for October 20
The Institute of Medicine’s (IOM’s) Food and Nutrition Board has announced an October 20, 2011, public workshop in Washington, D.C., titled “Alliances for Obesity Prevention: Finding Common Ground.” Funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and hosted by IOM’s Standing Committee on Childhood Obesity, the event will include discussion of ways to engender dialogue and…
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Cornucopia Institute Claims “Natural” Is Often Meaningless Marketing Hype
The Cornucopia Institute has published a report titled “Cereal Crimes: How ‘Natural’ Claims Deceive Consumers and Undermine the Organic Label—A Look Down the Cereal and Granola Aisle.” Noting that, with one exception, no government agency has defined what the term “natural” means on food packages, the organization explains how companies that make cereal products exploit…
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Failure-to-Warn Claims Against Tuna Co. Not Preempted, Says Federal Court
Granting the defendants’ motion to dismiss in part, a federal court in New York has allowed further proceedings on most of the claims filed by a man who alleged that consuming one to two cans of tuna daily for more than two years caused his mercury poisoning. Porrazzo v. Bumble Bee Foods, LLC, No. 10-4367…
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Purely Economic Injury Sufficient for Trans Fat Suit Against Quaker Oats to Continue
A federal court in Illinois has determined that a plaintiff claiming that he would not have paid a premium for a product advertised as “heart healthy,” “0 grams trans fat” and “wholesome” had he known it actually contained trans fats, has standing to pursue his false advertising claims under state law. Askin v. The Quaker Oats Co.,…
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JPML Consolidates Wesson Oil Actions Before Multidistrict Litigation Court
The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) has consolidated six actions questioning the “100% Natural” claims for Wesson oil products before a multidistrict litigation (MDL) court in California. In re: Wesson Oil Mktg. & Sales Practices Litig., MDL No. 2291 (JPML, transfer order filed October 13, 2011). The defendant requested the transfer, and while…
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French Health Minister, National Assembly Support BPA Ban
French Health Minister Xavier Bertrand has become the second cabinet member to publicly declare his support for legislation recently adopted by the National Assembly that would prohibit bisphenol A (BPA) in all food packaging as of January 1, 2014. According to an October 7, 2011, press statement issued by Bertrand, the bill—if passed by the…
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Health Canada Outlines New Energy Drink Rules
Health Canada recently announced new measures that would reclassify energy drinks as food instead of a natural health product (NHP), thus requiring each can to bear a nutritional facts table. According to an October 6, 2011, press release, the new rules would also direct energy drink manufacturers to (i) limit caffeine content to 180 milligrams…
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EFSA Issues Opinion on Labeling Lysozyme in Wine
The European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA’s) Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA) has issued a scientific opinion on the use of egg-derived lysozyme in wine manufacturing after the Oenological Products and Practices International Association (OENOPPIA) applied to permanently exempt the anti-microbial stabilizer from labeling requirements. According to NDA, which was tasked with assessing…