Tag: children
-
Massachusetts Health Regulators Move to Limit Junk Food in Public Schools
Massachusetts public health regulators have reportedly approved proposed rules that would prohibit public schools from selling sweetened soft drinks, salty and calorie-laden packaged snacks, and white bread sandwiches as a way to combat childhood obesity. Effective in the 2012-13 school year, the proposed regulations need the approval of the state’s Public Health Council, which is…
-
WHO to Consider Restrictions on Marketing Food to Youth in 2011
According to a press report, the World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that heads of state convening at the United Nations (U.N.), September 19-20, 2011, will use the U.N. General Assembly meeting to discuss restrictions on advertising foods of poor nutritional quality to children. WHO estimates that 43 million preschool children worldwide are overweight or…
-
Prevention Institute Criticizes Children’s Food Labeling
The Oakland-based Prevention Institute has issued a report claiming that front-of-package (FOP) labeling for children’s food is “misleading.” Authors of the study used the Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative’s product list to identify 58 prepared foods, snacks, cereals, and beverages with FOP labeling. The researchers then defined a product as “unhealthful” if it met…
-
FTC Finalizes First Case Alleging Deceptive Ads for Probiotics
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced that final approval was given to a settlement reached with a Nestlé S.A. subsidiary over claims that its children’s drink, BOOST Kid Essentials®, conferred specific health benefits, such as reducing the risk of colds and flu and reducing the duration of acute diarrhea. More information about the settlement…
-
Amended Complaint Says Gerber Failed to Warn About Lead in Apple Juice
According to a press report, an amended putative class complaint has been filed in a Florida federal court against two companies that make and sell apple juice for children’s consumption, alleging that by failing to warn about the presence of lead in the juice the companies have violated state deceptive and unfair trade practices law.…
-
USDA Proposes Major Overhaul for School Meals
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has issued a 78-page proposed rule revising school breakfast and lunch nutrition requirements as a way to combat childhood obesity. Noting that implementation would improve dietary habits and protect children’s health, the rule is part of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 recently signed into law. Based on…
-
“Happy Meals” Lawsuit Filed in California
Seeking to represent a class of California children younger than age 8 and their parents, the mother of a 6-year-old girl has reportedly filed a putative class action against McDonald’s Corp., alleging that it baits children by advertising its “unhealthy Happy Meals” with toys and thus “has helped create, and continues to exacerbate, a super-sized…
-
Obama Signs Child Nutrition Bill to Help Combat Obesity
President Barack Obama (D) has signed the Healthy, Hungry-Free Kids Act of 2010 into law, calling the bipartisan legislation “vitally important to the health and welfare of our kids and to our country.” Details about the bill appear in Issue 374 of this Update. “We’re seeing this problem in every part of our country in…