Category: Issue
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FDA’s Food Code 2017 Released
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released the 2017 edition of the FDA Food Code, a set of model regulations and advice for the reduction of foodborne illnesses, including suggested uniform standards for retail food safety, inspections and audits. The Code includes (i) a requirement for a person in charge of the establishment…
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Study Purports to Link SSBs with Lower Fertility
A study from the Department of Epidemiology at Boston University’s School of Public Health has concluded that consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) may reduce fertility in both males and females. Elizabeth E. Hatch, et al., “Intake of Sugar-sweetened Beverages and Fecundability in a North American Preconception Cohort,” Epidemiology. Researchers studied 3,828 women and 1,045 of…
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JAMA Op-Ed Calls for Activism Transparency in Food Research
In a JAMA Viewpoint article, researchers from Stanford University have argued that nutrition studies should be transparent about their authors’ financial and non-financial conflicts of interest, including their dietary preferences and activism work. Noting that “the puritanical view that accepting funding from the food industry ipso facto automatically biases the results is outdated,” the authors briefly…
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Court Denies Class Certification in Gerber Baby Food Labeling Suit
A federal court in California has again denied class certification in a lawsuit alleging that Gerber Products Inc. misbranded baby food, finding that the plaintiff is not entitled to injunctive relief and that the proposed damages models will not provide the correct measure of restitution. Bruton v. Gerber Prods. Co., No. 12-2412 (N.D. Cal., entered…
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Dairy Test May Support Grass-Fed Milk Mislabeling Claims
Iowa State University researchers have reportedly developed an inexpensive method to test whether milk was produced by grass-fed cows. Fluorescence spectroscopy, which measures light to identify the amount of chlorophyll metabolized by cows, may help regulators enforce organic milk standards requiring cows to eat a minimum of 30 percent foraged grass. The researchers reportedly found…
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Wisconsin Federal Court Dismisses Butter-Grading Lawsuit
A federal court has granted summary judgment to Wisconsin in an Ohio dairy’s lawsuit alleging a Wisconsin law requiring butter to be graded by the U. S. Department of Agriculture or a state-licensed grader violated the commerce, due process and equal protection clauses of the U.S. Constitution. Minerva Dairy, Inc. v. Brancel, No. 17-0299 (W.D. Wis.,…
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Industry Groups Criticize JAMA Study Questioning Benefits of Omega-3
After JAMA Cardiology published a meta-analysis purporting to find “no significant association” between consumption of omega-3 fatty acids and “fatal or nonfatal coronary heart disease or any major vascular events,” industry groups reportedly criticized the conclusion, arguing that other meta-analyses find statistically significant reductions in cardiac death risks. The JAMA meta-analysis examined 10 randomized trials that…
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Italian Court Cancels Fine for Mislabeled Olive Oil
An Italian appeals court has reportedly voided a fine of €550,000 previously levied on Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG for selling bottles of mislabeled olive oil. The court ruled that Italy’s Antitrust Authority (AGCM) failed to explain why the company’s actions were negligent when the agency imposed the fine, which resulted from tests determining that bottles…