Category: Other Developments
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NEJM Publishes Commentary on Court’s Invalidation of NYC Sugary Drink Limits
The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) has published two “Perspective” articles in its April 3, 2013, issue, commenting on the recent ruling by Judge Milton Tingling overturning the New York City Board of Health’s restrictions on the size of sugary drinks sold at certain city establishments—the “Portion Cap Rule.” Details about the ruling are…
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Dietary Supplement Trade Association Issues Caffeine Guidelines
The Council for Responsible Nutrition has issued recommended guidelines for dietary supplement products containing caffeine, including energy drink products marketed as supplements. According to the council, the guidelines expand “its self-regulatory initiatives that encourage best practices within the supplement industry and promote safe use of dietary supplements by consumers.” Council President and CEO Steve Mister…
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CSPI Says Most Restaurant Kids’ Meals Fail to Meet Nutritional Guidelines
“Nearly all of the meal possibilities offered to kids at America’s top chain restaurants are of poor nutritional quality,” according to a new report from the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). “One out of every three American children is overweight or obese, but it’s as if the chain restaurant industry didn’t get…
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Lancet Commentary Questions Food and Beverage Philanthropy
A Lancet commentary supportive of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s effort to curb the size of sugar-sweetened beverages sold in the city questions whether food and beverage industry partnerships with minority advocacy organizations are “merely a smokescreen to hide the continued targeting of the most susceptible consumers.” Comparing “Big Soda” to “Big Tobacco,” the…
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WTO Member Delegations Challenge Chile’s Proposed “STOP” Sign Food Labels
During a recent meeting of the World Trade Organization’s (WTO’s) Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee, several member delegations expressed concerns about Chile’s proposed food health regulation amendments that would, among other things, require certain foods high in fat, sugar or salt to bear “STOP” sign-shaped warnings on 20 percent of the “main surface of…
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Cornucopia Institute Asks FDA to Remove Carrageenan from Food Supply
The Cornucopia Institute (CI) has issued a report that questions the safety of food-grade or undegraded carrageenan, “a common food additive extracted from red seaweed.” Titled “Carrageenan: How a ‘Natural’ Food Additive is Making Us Sick,” the report claims that animal studies “have repeatedly shown that food-grade carrageenan causes gastrointestinal inflammation and higher rates of…
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CSPI Report Targets Soft Drink Makers’ Use of Philanthropy to Advance Interests
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has published a report titled “Selfish Giving: How the Soda Industry Uses Philanthropy to Sweeten its Profits.” Noting that the African-American and Hispanic organizations that brought a successful court challenge against New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s size restrictions on sugar-sweetened beverages were the recipients of…
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GWU Professor Requires Students to Lobby for Anti-Obesity Measures
George Washington University Professor John Banzhaf has reportedly issued an assignment to some 200 undergraduate students requiring them to lobby their local legislators in favor of measures, such as the limits on sugary beverages in New York City found invalid this week by a federal court, that will address obesity. Claiming that the assignment is…