Category: Issue 495
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Study Examines BPA and Chronic Disease Risk Factors in Children
A recent study has reportedly claimed that higher levels of urinary bisphenol A (BPA) “were associated with a higher odds of obesity … and abnormal waist circumference-to-height ratio” in children. Donna Eng, et al., “Bisphenol A and Chronic Disease Risk Factors in US Children, Pediatrics, September 2013. Using data from 3,000 children ages 6 to…
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NYT Reports “Shipping Continued After Computer Inspection System Failed at Meat Plants”
A recent New York Times report has claimed that the failure of a new computer system used by meatpacking and processing plant inspectors did not stop untested shipments of beef, poultry, pork, and lamb from reaching consumers. According to an August 17, 2013, article by Ron Nixon, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) acknowledged the…
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Energy Drink Makers Target New Demographic
Although the typical energy drink user is reportedly young and male, a recent news source indicates that a new demographic is emerging as a top consumer of these beverages—busy, young mothers. Recent data from Nielsen reveal that busy mothers and their households—categorized as “Young Bustling Families”—are more likely to drink energy drinks than the average…
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Advocacy Groups Seek Global Ban on Animal Drugs
The Center for Science in the Public Interest, Consumers Union and Food Animal Concerns Trust have sent a letter urging U.S. delegates to an upcoming U.N. food standards agency meeting about residues of veterinary drugs in food to ask other countries to stop using drugs that have long been prohibited for use in the United…
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Rudd Center/RWJF Target Youth-Focused Food and Beverage Marketing Expenditures
Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s (RWJF’s) Bridging the Gap research program recently published a study in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine concluding that the food and beverage industry “still spends the bulk of its money to promote unhealthy products” to children and teens. Lisa…
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Brewery Worker Claims Free Beer Was Part of Regular Base Pay
A former non-exempt Anheuser-Busch brewery worker in California has filed a putative class action against the company alleging that it violated the state labor code by failing to include the value of free or discounted beer—termed “incentive pay”—in employees’ regular pay rates and thus undercompensated them by calculating overtime pay on the basis of pay…
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Court Dismisses Consumer Fraud Claims Against Hain Celestial Group
A federal court in California has dismissed putative nationwide class claims against The Hain Celestial Group alleging that the company’s food and beverage product labels and website mislead consumers because they (i) list the ingredient “Evaporated Cane Juice” or “Organic Evaporated Cane Sugar Juice,” (ii) are falsely labeled “All Natural” or “Only Natural,” and (iii)…
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Consumer Fraud Claims Against Tetley USA Dismissed
A federal court in California has dismissed a putative statewide class action alleging that Tetley USA misleads consumers by making “antioxidant, nutrient content, and health claims” for certain of its tea products; the statutory warranty claims were dismissed with prejudice, and the remaining claims were dismissed with leave to amend the complaint to comply with…