Category: Issue 418
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Research Examines Soft Drink Consumption and Heart Health
A study recently presented at the American Heart Association’s (AHA’s) 2011 Scientific Sessions in Orlando, Florida, has suggested a link between sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption and incident cardiovascular (CV) risk factors in women regardless of weight gain. Christina Shay, et al., “Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption and Incident Cardiovascular Risks Factors: The MultiEthnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA),”…
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Researchers Analyze Media Coverage of Nanotechnology Risks
Lehigh University researchers studying U.S. and U.K. nanotechnology news coverage from 2000 to 2009 have found relatively few articles about “nanotechnology health, environmental, and societal risks.” Sharon Friedman & Brenda Egolf, “A Longitudinal Study of Newspaper and Wire Service Coverage of Nanotechnology Risks,” Risk Analysis, November 2011. Their article appeared in an issue devoted to…
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Farmers Struggle to Cope with Alabama Immigration Laws
NBC’s Rock Center recently reported on how Alabama’s new immigration law is affecting farmers in the region, where stricter enforcement measures for undocumented workers have apparently left agricultural communities struggling to find workers. As cucumber farmer Jerry Danford explained to correspondent Kate Snow, the new rules have drained the seasonal labor pool and made it…
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Court Dismisses Insurer’s Suit Against Four Loko® Company
A federal court in Illinois has granted the motion to dismiss filed by Phusion Projects, Inc., which sells Four Loko®, a caffeinated alcoholic beverage, in a case brought by one of the company’s insurers seeking a declaration that it owed no duty to defend or indemnify the beverage maker in third-party lawsuits claiming injury, death…
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Putative Class Disputes King Arthur’s “All Natural” Product Claims
Seeking to certify a nationwide class of consumers, a California resident has filed consumer fraud claims against a company that makes numerous breakfast-, dessert- and bread-mix products promoted as “All Natural,” while containing purported synthetic ingredients, such as ascorbic acid, disodium phosphate, potassium carbonate, and sodium acid pyrophosphate. Larsen v. King Arthur Flour Co., Inc.,…
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First Wave of Settlement Checks Distributed in Salmonella-Tainted Egg Outbreak
Attorneys involved in the settlement of injury claims linked to Salmonella-contaminated eggs traced to Wright County Egg in Iowa have reportedly told the Associated Press that the first checks, issued by the egg producer’s insurer, are on their way to the first of dozens of individuals sickened during the 2010 outbreak. Among the first wave…
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Nutella® False Ad Suits to Proceed as Statewide Class Action
A federal court in California has entered an order certifying a class in consolidated lawsuits alleging that the company which produces Nutella® falsely advertises its product as healthy and beneficial to children despite making the hazelnut spread with “dangerous levels of fat and sugar.” In re Ferrero Litig., No. 11-205 (S.D. Cal., decided November 15, 2011).…
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California Food Safety Officials Recall Raw Milk for E. Coli
The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) has issued a statewide recall and quarantine order for raw or unpasteurized milk products implicated in five cases of E. coli O157:H7. According to CDFA, the recall includes raw milk, raw butter, raw cream, raw colostrum, and a raw product called “Qephor” produced by Fresno-based Organic Pastures…