Category: Issue
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EFSA Seeks Comments on Added Sugar
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has launched a consultation on its draft protocol for its scientific opinion on free sugars. The protocol responds to five member states’ request seeking “a science-based cut-off value for a daily exposure to added sugars from all sources (i.e. sucrose, fructose, glucose, starch hydrolysates such as glucose syrup, high-fructose…
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ECJ Allows Belgian Co.’s Use of “Champagner Sorbet”
The European Court of Justice has ruled that “Champagner Sorbet,” a frozen drink product made in Belgium and sold in Aldi stores, does not infringe the protected designation of wines made in the Champagne region of France. Comité Interprofessionel du Vin du Champagne v. Aldi Süd Dienstleistungs-GmbH & Co. OHG, No. C-393/16 (E.C.J., entered December…
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Anti-GMO Campaign Called “Anti-Science” and “Immoral”
Mitch Daniels, president of Purdue University and former Indiana governor, argues in a Washington Post op-ed that the anti-GMO campaign is “cruel,” “heartless,” “inhumane” and “immoral.” With no credible scientific evidence and no record of adverse effects on human health or the environment to support it, Daniels asserts, the anti-GMO lobby is blocking “lifesaving” advances made by…
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Ninth Circuit Finds Idaho “Ag-Gag” Law Overbroad But Upholds Some Restrictions
After secretly filmed footage of an Idaho dairy farm drew national attention and threats against the owners, the Idaho legislature passed a law criminalizing entry, records access and the creation of recordings of agricultural production operations. The Animal Legal Defense Fund, the American Civil Liberties Union and 15 other plaintiffs challenged the law, and a…
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Winery Opposes BuzzFeed Trademark for Wine
A winery has filed a notice of opposition against BuzzFeed Inc.’s trademark application for Wordy Wine, a wine brand allowing purchases to customize the label. Kalaris v. BuzzFeed Inc., No. 91238653 (T.T.A.B., filed December 29, 2017). Although the words “Wordy Wine” do not appear on the purchaser’s custom label, Axios Napa Valley Wines alleges the…
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President Commutes Meatpacking Plant Executive’s 27-Year Sentence
President Donald Trump has commuted the 27-year sentence of Sholom Rubashkin, a former kosher meatpacking plant executive convicted of 86 counts of federal bank fraud and money laundering. After Rubashkin was sentenced in 2009, politicians, law enforcement officials and legal experts argued that his case was tainted by prosecutorial misconduct, but the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals…
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The Future of Food
In a December 2017 series of articles, Financial Times explored issues projected to affect the global food and beverage industry in the future. The Update‘s previous coverage of the issues examined can provide additional context to these evolving subjects. Genetically Modified (GM) Crops. Experts reportedly anticipate an increase in GM crop cultivation, which currently covers 185 million…
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Obesity and Food Addiction
As the number of obese and overweight Americans has climbed, many people have searched for causes and prevention strategies, with some noting that fat may be “the next tobacco” as researchers continue to find links between obesity and a variety of health issues. Questions have arisen about whether some ingredients, such as cheese, cause behaviors…