Tag: sugar

  • Ocean Spray Disputes Assertions That New Cranberry Product Is Falsely Labeled

    Ocean Spray, which introduced its Choice® dried cranberries in March 2009, has called “inaccurate” National Consumer League (NCL) allegations that the product is falsely labeled because it contains more sugar than cranberry. The NCL also reportedly contended that Choice® sweetened dried cranberries, which are sold to food manufacturers for use in baked products, trail mix,…

  • Marion Nestle Discusses Sugar Policy with SFGate Readers

    “Sugar is the most absurdly protected agricultural commodity in America,” according to health nutrition author and New York University Professor Marion Nestle, who answered reader questions about sugar policy during a September 20, 2009, online forum hosted by the San Francisco Chronicle’s website, SFGate.com. In explaining the so-called “sugar crisis,” Nestle stated that “Quotas allow…

  • Federal Court Finds APHIS Error in Deregulating GE Sugar Beets

    A federal court in California has determined that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) erred when it deregulated a genetically engineered (GE) sugar beet without preparing an environmental impact statement. Ctr. for Food Safety v. Vilsack, No. 08-00484 (N.D. Cal., decided September 21, 2009). Thus, the court granted the motion…

  • FDA Offers No Objection to GRAS Status for SweetLeaf® Stevia

    The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has reportedly declined to send an objection letter to Arizona-based Wisdom Natural Brands™ concerning its request for generally recognized as safe (GRAS) status for its stevia sweetener, SweetLeaf®. Considered the gold standard in GRAS rulings, the lack of an FDA objection has confirmed earlier determinations by two independent scientific panels…

  • AHA Sets Guidelines on Limiting Consumption of Added Sugars

    The American Heart Association (AHA) has issued guidelines on limiting the consumption of added sugars, claiming that most American women should consume no more than 100 calories (six teaspoons) of added sugars per day and men no more than 150 calories (nine teaspoons). Citing a report from the 2001-04 National Health and Nutrition Examination survey,…

  • Boulder County Commissioners Delay Decision on GM Sugar Beets

    The Boulder County Board of Commissioners has reportedly delayed a decision about whether genetically modified (GM) sugar beets can be grown on open-space land. At a August 25, 2009, public hearing, six farmers who in December requested permission to grow the beets on county land apparently asked the commissioners to delay the decision. “I don’t…

  • EU Ramps Up Regulation of Functional Food Health Claims

    The European Commission (EC) has reportedly entered the second phase of a crackdown on functional food health claims advertising a product’s purported health benefits. EC regulations currently require the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to draw up a “positive list” of permitted health claims by 2010, but the commission is now discussing further restrictions on…

  • UK Scientists Discover Salmonella’s Sweet Tooth Could Lead to Vaccination Against It

    UK scientists have shown in new research that the food-poisoning bug Salmonella relies on glucose for its survival, a discovery that could apparently provide a new way to vaccinate against it. Steven D. Bowden, et al, “Glucose and glycolysis are required for the successful infection of macrophages and mice by Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium,” Infection and Immunity…