Category: Other Developments
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Rome Framework for Action and Declaration on Nutrition Adopted
According to a joint World Health Organization (WHO)/Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) news release, the ministers and senior officials of 170 countries convening in Rome have adopted a Framework for Action and a Declaration on Nutrition. Opening the Second International Conference on Nutrition, WHO Secretary General Margaret Chan reportedly criticized the production of what she characterized…
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EWG Advises Consumers to Avoid Certain Food Additives in Updated Guide
Consumer advocacy watchdog Environmental Working Group (EWG) has issued a new iteration of its “Dirty Dozen Guide to Food Additives.” Reportedly based on hundreds of studies and information culled from EWG’s Food Scores database, the resource purports to cover “food additives associated with serious health concerns, ingredients banned or restricted in other countries, and other…
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S&P 500 Likely to Face Pressure to Report Nanotech Use and Investments
According to a Sustainable Investments Institute report, corporations globally invest some $9 billion annually in nanotechnology, yet less than one-tenth of S&P 500 companies make this information public to shareholders and other stakeholders and none has discussed purported health, environmental or safety risks in their Securities and Exchange Commission Form 10-Ks. Shareholders are apparently beginning…
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UCSF, CSPI Tackle Science of Sweeteners
Researchers with the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), and two other universities have launched a campaign targeting added sugar consumption. Led by UCSF Health Policy Professor Laura Schmidt, the Sugar-Science Initiative bills itself as “the authoritative source for the science about added sugar and its impact on our health.” The resulting Website features public health…
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Australian Public Health Coalition Advocates National Tax on SSBs
Calling Berkeley, California, voters’ recent passage of a 1-cent-per-ounce tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) a “victory for the health of Americans,” Australia’s Rethink Sugary Drink Campaign is urging state and local governments to enact comparable measures. The initiative is a partnership among the groups Cancer Council Australia, Diabetes Australia and Heart Foundation (Victoria). “Australia is among…
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CSPI Seeks Data from FDA About Raw Milk Drug Residue Survey
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has submitted a request to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the Freedom of Information Act for “the data collected by the Center for Veterinary Medicine under its Raw Milk Drug Residue Survey.” According to CSPI, FDA conducted the survey in 2012 “because excess and…
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EWG Unveils “Food Scores” Database
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has released a database and mobile app that score some 80,000 food products using three criteria—nutrition, ingredient concerns and processing—to inform consumers that “popular brands in many categories are not so much food as they are conveyances for excessive amounts of sugar, salt and preservatives.” According to an October 27,…
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United States and Mexico Reach Deal on Sugar Imports
Hours before U.S. regulators were poised to penalize Mexican sugar imports, the United States and Mexico reached an agreement to set a price floor on imported sugar and to suspend anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties. The dispute began in April 2014 when the U.S. Department of Commerce initiated an investigation following petitions from the U.S. sugar…