Category: Issue 599
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Guardian Author Takes on Nutritional Establishment in “The Sugar Conspiracy”
In this April 7, 2016, article about changing dietary recommendations and rising obesity rates, Ian Leslie resurrects the forgotten work of John Yudkin, a U.K. nutritionist who in 1972 authored a book titled Pure, White, and Deadly about the purported dangers of excess sugar consumption. Drawing parallels between this earlier research and that of contemporary…
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CSPI Charts Decline in Sodium Content of Packaged Foods
The fourth edition of a Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) survey has reported a 4-percent reduction in sodium across 451 packaged and restaurant foods over a 10-year period. Titled “Salt Assault: Brand-name Comparisons of Processed Foods,” the report claims that, on average, surveyed items reduced their sodium content by 41 milligrams per…
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Chocolate Makers Under Fire for Alleged Lead and Cadmium Content
Consumer group As You Sow has notified the state of California that a number of chocolate manufacturers are allegedly selling chocolate with levels of lead and cadmium that exceed limits set by the state’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act (Prop. 65). Testing by the organization allegedly indicated that 35 of the 50 chocolate…
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Bread Crumbs Suit Against Kroger Dismissed
A California federal court has granted The Kroger Co.’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit alleging the company’s breadcrumbs product includes partially hydrogenated oil, which contains trans fat, despite labeling the product as “0g Trans Fat.” Hawkins v. Kroger Co., No. 15-2320 (S.D. Cal., order entered March 17, 2016). The court found that the mislabeling claims…
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Florida Creamery Loses First Amendment Challenge to “Skim Milk” Standard of Identity and Labeling Requirements
A Florida federal court has rejected a Florida dairy farmer’s challenge to the state’s standard of identity for skim milk, which dictates that its nutrient content must be the same as that of unfortified whole milk, requiring the addition of vitamin A after processing. Ocheesee Creamery v. Putnam, No. 14-0621 (N.D. Fla., Tallahassee Div., order…
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Class Certification Denied in Bigelow Tea Antioxidants Suit
A California federal court has refused to certify a class of consumers alleging that R.C. Bigelow Inc. misled them by over-representing the amount of antioxidants contained in its green tea. Khasin v. R.C. Bigelow, Inc., No. 12-2204 (N.D. Cal., order entered March 29, 2016). The court previously refused to allow the plaintiff to seek financial records…
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No Restitution from Peanut Corp. Executives for Salmonella Outbreak
A Georgia federal court has reportedly ruled that four former executives of Peanut Corp. will not be forced to pay restitution to the victims of a Salmonella outbreak linked to nine deaths and 714 illnesses. The executives—Stewart Parnell, Michael Parnell, Samuel Lightsey and Daniel Kilgore—are each serving federal prison terms for knowingly shipping Salmonella-tainted peanut butter…
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Sixth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Anheuser-Busch Alcohol Content MDL
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has affirmed an Ohio court’s dismissal of multidistrict litigation alleging Anheuser-Busch intentionally overstates the alcohol content on its malt beverages. In re Anheuser-Busch Beer Labeling Mktg. & Sales Prac. Litig., No. 14-3653 (6th Cir., order entered March 22, 2016). The lower court had dismissed the case…