Category: Issue 476
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AHA Meeting Presentation Purportedly Links Sugary Drinks to “180,000 Deaths Worldwide”
Research presented at the American Heart Association’s (AHA’s) latest scientific meeting has reportedly concluded that “sugar-sweetened sodas, sports drinks and fruit juice may be associated with about 180,000 deaths around the world each year,” according to March 19, 2013, press release. Featured at AHA’s Epidemiology and Prevention and Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism 2013 Scientific…
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SSB Consumption Allegedly Tied to Higher Caloric Intakes Among Children
A recent study funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and National Institutes of Health has allegedly concluded that sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs) “are primarily responsible for the higher caloric intakes” of children who consume them. Kevin Mathias, et al., “Foods and Beverages Associated with Higher Intake of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages,” American Journal of Preventative Medicine, April…
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Cornucopia Institute Asks FDA to Remove Carrageenan from Food Supply
The Cornucopia Institute (CI) has issued a report that questions the safety of food-grade or undegraded carrageenan, “a common food additive extracted from red seaweed.” Titled “Carrageenan: How a ‘Natural’ Food Additive is Making Us Sick,” the report claims that animal studies “have repeatedly shown that food-grade carrageenan causes gastrointestinal inflammation and higher rates of…
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CSPI Report Targets Soft Drink Makers’ Use of Philanthropy to Advance Interests
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has published a report titled “Selfish Giving: How the Soda Industry Uses Philanthropy to Sweeten its Profits.” Noting that the African-American and Hispanic organizations that brought a successful court challenge against New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s size restrictions on sugar-sweetened beverages were the recipients of…
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Peanut Company Execs Enter Pleas; Government Seeks Disqualification of Defense Counsel
Since the federal government filed a 76-count indictment against the owner and managers of Peanut Corp. of America, the source of a nationwide Salmonella outbreak in 2009, the defendants have entered not guilty pleas and been released on bonds ranging from $25,000 to $100,000. United States v. Parnell, No. 13-12 (M.D. Ga., Albany Div., filed…
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POM Wonderful Seeks Review of FTC Order
POM Wonderful LLC has filed a petition seeking review in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals of a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) order requiring two randomized, controlled clinical trials before the company can make a claim that its pomegranate juice products treat, prevent or reduce the risk of heart disease, prostate cancer or erectile dysfunction.…
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Environmentalists Sue EPA to Stop Use of Pesticides Allegedly Harmful to Honey Bees
Beekeepers, environmentalists and advocacy organizations have filed an action for declaratory and injunctive relief against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), claiming that the agency has failed to take any regulatory action on pesticide products containing the active ingredients clothianidin and thiamethoxam in violation of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), Endangered Species…
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California Court Dismisses Honey False Ad Suit with Prejudice
A federal court in California has dismissed as preempted putative class claims filed against Target Corp. and Honeytree, Inc., alleging that they retail and manufacture honey products falsely advertised as “honey” or “pure honey” despite the absence of all pollen, an allegedly “defining characteristic of honey under applicable law.” Cardona v. Target Corp., No. 12-1148…