Category: Other Developments
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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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Chipotle to Consider Antibiotic-Treated Beef
Citing a shortage of naturally raised beef due to last year’s drought, Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. has apparently told media sources that it may allow its restaurants to begin using beef treated with antibiotics. Although Chipotle only reached its goal to use antibiotic- and hormone-free meat a few years ago, the company reportedly said that…
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Pew Report Points to Gaps in FDA Toxicity Data for Food Additives
The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Food Additive Project has published a paper in Reproductive Toxicology claiming that gaps in the toxicity data for food additives raise questions about the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) safety assessments for these substances. Thomas Neltner, et al., “Data Gaps in Toxicity Testing of Chemicals Allowed in Food in the United States,”…
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UK Dairy Industry Seeks COOL
A coalition of U.K. dairy groups, including Dairy UK, the National Farmers Union and British Cheese Board, has published an August 1, 2013, letter in The Daily Telegraph, urging the European Commission (EC) to tighten regulations governing country-of-origin labeling (COOL). Stating that current regulations permit imported dairy products to be stamped with “UK marks,” the…
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Health Organizations Urge USDA to Permit SNAP Experimentation
National and local health groups have sent an August 1, 2013, letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack, urging the agency to allow demonstration projects “designed to promote healthier food and beverage purchases” under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Organizations such as the American Heart Association, American Medical Association and Center…