Food & Beverage Litigation & Regulatory Update

Category: Other Developments

  • Petitioners Question Brominated Vegetable Oil in Gatorade

    A Change.org petition started by a high school student urges PepsiCo Americas Beverages and Gatorade Canada to remove brominated vegetable oil (BVO) from their products, citing a December 12, 2012, Scientific American article allegedly linking the stabilizer to “impaired neurological development, reduced fertility, early onset of puberty and altered thyroid hormones.” Garnering more than 180,000…

  • Consumer Reports Identifies Bacteria, Drug Residue in Pork

    Consumer Reports magazine has allegedly identified bacterial contamination as well as antibiotic-resistant bacteria and veterinary drug residues in pork chop and ground-pork samples purchased from U.S. grocery stores. According to an analysis in the January 2013 edition of the magazine, 69 percent of the 198 pork samples in question purportedly contained Yersinia enterocolitica; 11 percent…

  • “Fat-Blocking” Soda Launches in Japan

    PepsiCo, Inc. has reportedly launched a “fat-blocking” soda in Japan, sparking media interest in the latest product to take advantage of a Japanese government study finding that the water-soluble fiber supplement dextrin blocks fat absorption in the digestive system. According to various sources, “Pepsi Special” containing “indigestible dextrin” has received a “Food for Specified Heath…

  • OPC Releases Report on Self-Regulatory Marketing in Australia

    The Obesity Policy Coalition (OPC) has sent a report to Australian officials on the country’s current self-regulatory system for food marketing, which OPC has described as “seriously flawed.” According to the coalition, the codes developed by the food industry to govern marketing to children “are extremely complex,” resulting in “a litany of loopholes” that companies…

  • 7Up Sodas with Antioxidants to Disappear from Store Shelves

    Dr. Pepper Snapple Group has reportedly announced that it will remove its 7UP products with antioxidants from the market by early 2013. The company evidently denied that its decision was related to a lawsuit filed against it by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), which had alleged that the products were falsely…

  • CSPI Targets Caffeinated Snack Food

    The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has written a letter to the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Compliance, claiming that caffeinated snack foods violate the agency’s determination “that caffeine is generally recognized as safe only in cola-type beverages and only at concentrations at 0.02 percent or less (about 72 mg per…

  • CSPI Wants Tougher Oversight of GE Foods in Farm Bill

    The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has asked members of the U.S. House of Representatives to exclude certain provisions in the Farm Bill that would limit the government’s authority to conduct environmental analyses of genetically engineered (GE) crops. According to CSPI, “the bill language at issue would specifically limit the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s regulatory…

  • Australian Health Experts Urge “Junk Food” Regulations

    Two health experts who recently appeared on Australia’s ABC Lateline have reportedly called for additional government regulation to help combat rising obesity levels. University of Melbourne Professor Rob Moodie, who previously chaired Australia’s Preventative Health Taskforce, reportedly suggested that because voluntary programs have failed to curb obesity and diabetes rates, the government should step in…