Category: Issue 416
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WSJ Explores Child Obesity in Parental Custody Context
Wall Street Journal reporters Ashby Jones and Shirley Wang consider in “Obesity Fuels Custody Fights” how family courts have increasingly been asked to determine whether nutrition or obesity should be controlling factors in child-custody lawsuits. According to the article, the issue arises in several guises: sometimes the child is obese; other times a junk food…
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Denver Post Investigates Private Food Safety Auditors
The Denver Post has published an October 30, 2011, investigative report that examines the record of private auditors hired by manufacturers to ensure food safety. According to the article, “Many of the most notorious food-illness outbreaks in the recent years were preceded by glowing private safety audits of the producers, prompting calls for oversight of…
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Article on Nanofoods Draws Lessons from GMO Debate
A recent article published in Nature Nanotechnology examines how governments, scientists and food companies can better anticipate the public reaction to nanofoods based on lessons learned from the commercialization of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Timothy V. Duncan, “The communication challenges presented by nanofoods,” Nature Nanotechnology, October 2011. Authored by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) research…
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Rudd Center Publishes Report on Food Marketing to Children
Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity has issued an October 2011 report claiming that “young people are exposed to a massive amount of marketing for sugar drinks.” Titled Sugary Drink F.A.C.T.S.: Food Advertising to Children and Teens Score, the report apparently analyzes “600 products from 14 companies that contain added sugar,” including full-calorie…
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SPAM® Trademark Infringement Suit Settles
Without disclosing any settlement details, Hormel Foods Corp. and a Netherlands-based company have secured a court order dismissing trademark infringement claims involving the labels for canned meat products SPAM® and Prem®. Hormel Foods, LLC v. Zwanenberg Food Group (USA), Inc., No. 11-00774 (D. Minn., order entered November 1, 2011). Additional information about the case appears…
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Lawsuit Claims Kix Cereal Isn’t “All Natural”
Contending that the genetically modified (GM) corn in General Mills’ Kix Crispy Corn Puffs® and Honey Kix Crispy Corn Puffs® cereals renders their “All Natural Corn” representations false and misleading, a California resident has filed a putative class action against the company in state court. Lewis v. General Mills, Inc., No. BC472451 (Cal. Super. Ct.,…
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Environmental Groups Continue Challenge to GE Crops on Wildlife Refuge Lands
The Center for Food Safety (CFS) and other public interest organizations have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), seeking a declaration that the agency’s decision to allow the cultivation of genetically engineered (GE) corn and soybean crops on wildlife refuge lands in the Midwest violated federal environmental laws. Ctr. for…
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Ohio Will Not Pursue Dairy Labeling Restrictions
According to the Organic Trade Association (OTA), Ohio has decided not to pursue regulations that would prohibit dairy producers from including on their labels statements that organic dairy products are made without antibiotics, pesticides or synthetic hormones. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals determined in September 2010 that those parts of the rule involving hormone-free…