Category: Other Developments
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Anti-Tobacco Law Professor Claims Credit for Food Litigation Explosion
George Washington University Law Professor John Banzhaf has issued a press release highlighting recent action the Food and Drug Administration took against a food company that purportedly misbrands one of its products by declaring it “All Natural” while making the product with a synthetic chemical preservative ingredient. According to Banzhaf, the agency’s warning letter is…
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New Report Urges Food Industry to Assess Nanomaterial Risks
The nonprofit group As You Sow has issued a report calling on the food industry to evaluate the safety of nanomaterials used in food packaging. Titled “Sourcing Framework for Food and Food Packaging Products Containing Nanomaterials,” the report claims that better communication is needed between food companies and their suppliers to “protect themselves from financial…
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McDonald’s Sidesteps San Francisco Toy Ban, Will Appeal $1.8 Million Brazilian Fine
McDonald’s Corp. has reportedly responded to a San Francisco ban on giving away toys with its Happy Meals® by allowing parents to purchase the toys with a 10-cent charitable contribution when they buy a Happy Meal®. While the toy purchase is purportedly a separate transaction that complies with the new ordinance, it will still require…
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CSPI Updates FDA on Mycoprotein Findings
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) recently issued a letter to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to update the agency on its findings about mycoprotein, a meat-substitute marketed under the brand name Quorn. Following up on a 2002 campaign, the latest initiative claims that the RNA-reduced mold Fusarium venenatum used to…
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EWG Report Criticizes Sugar Content of Children’s Cereals
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has issued a December 2011 report claiming that many popular cereal brands marketed to children contain “just as much sugar as a dessert—or more.” After reviewing 84 popular brands, the report’s authors alleged that three out of four cereals failed “to meet the federal government’s proposed voluntary guidelines for food…
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WTO Rebuffs U.S. COOL Regulations
A World Trade Organization (WTO) panel has issued a ruling against the United States in a dispute with Mexico and Canada over country-of-origin labeling (COOL) regulations for beef and pork products. According to the November 18, 2011, panel report, Canada and Mexico filed complaints arguing that U.S. COOL regulations enacted in 2008 afford “imported livestock…
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Food Safety News Questions Ultra-Filtered Honey
A November 7, 2011, Food Safety News report has questioned the practice of filtering honey to remove pollen, alleging that “more than three-fourths of the honey sold in U.S. grocery stores isn’t exactly what the bees produce.” According to investigative reporter Andrew Schneider, the ultrafiltering process “is a spin-off of a technique refined by the…
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Willett & Ludwig Say 2010 U.S. Dietary Guidelines Still Don’t Hit the Mark
Walter Willett, Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, and David Ludwig, Department of Medicine, Children’s Hospital (Boston), have co-authored a perspective piece in The New England Journal of Medicine titled “The 2010 Dietary Guidelines—The Best Recipe for Health?” While noting that some of the dietary guideline changes represent positive progress, they express concerns…