Category: Other Developments
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IOM Report Sets Framework for Evaluating Obesity Prevention Efforts
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has published an August 2013 report that seeks to provide guidance to federal, state and local groups “for systematic and routine planning, implementation, and evaluation of the advancement of obesity prevention efforts.” Titled Evaluating Obesity Prevention Efforts: A Plan for Measuring Progress, the latest effort complements the specific goals and…
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Independent Investigation Claims GRAS Determinations Rife with Conflicts of Interest
A recent study published in JAMA Internal Medicine has faulted the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) process for declaring food additives “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS), citing alleged financial conflicts of interest among those chosen by companies to verify the safety of new additives. Thomas Neltner, et al., “Conflicts of Interest in Approvals of Additives…
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Rudd Center Names New Director
Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity has announced researcher Marlene Schwartz as its next director following the departure of Kelly Brownell for Duke University’s Sanford School. According to a July 19, 2013, press release, Schwartz previously served as co-director of the Yale Center for Eating and Weight Disorders, where she studied “how children’s diets…
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CSPI Urges Dannon to Remove Carmine from Yogurt
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has asked Dannon to stop using carmine—a dye reportedly derived from the dried, crushed bodies of cochineal insects—to fruit-flavored yogurt to give it a pink color. According to the advocacy watchdog, Dannon’s practice not only cheats consumers, “who might expect that the named fruits—and not the…
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CSPI Criticizes Retired Basketball Star’s Soft Drink Pitch
Former basketball star Shaquille O’Neal reportedly plans to endorse a new line of “low calorie sodas” that critics say promote obesity and other health problems. The Soda Shaq line is manufactured by AriZona beverages and will be distributed by convenience retailer 7-Eleven at stores nationwide. A press release announcing the product states that Soda Shaq…
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Advertising Standards Board Upholds Two Complaints over Cereal Bar Commercials
The Obesity Policy Coalition (OPC) has announced that the Australian Advertising Standards Board (ASB) has upheld its complaints alleging that TV commercials for Kellogg Co.’s LCM® cereal bars violated the Responsible Children’s Marketing Initiative (RCMI). According to OPC, the two advertisements in question were directed primarily toward children but failed to promote “a healthy dietary…
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Rudd Center Study Targets Food and Beverage Ads on Children’s Websites
Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity has published a paper criticizing the use of food and beverage advertising on websites directed at children. A.E. Ustjanauskas, et al., “Food and beverage advertising on children’s web sites,” Pediatric Obesity, July 2013. Using data provided by comScore, researchers evaluated a total of 3.4 billion food…
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FBI Seeks Responsible Party in GM Crop Destruction
According to a news source, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has become involved in the search for the person or persons responsible for the destruction of genetically modified (GM) sugar beet crops in southern Oregon. The purported “economic sabotage” occurred in different fields during two nights in June 2013 and resulted in the loss…