On CNN and in Nature, the case for regulating sugar like alcohol and tobacco. What’s next, caffeine? How would law professors get anything done? (Oh snap.)
Archive | Food and Drink
The FDA’s Unhealthy Salt Obsession
Is too much salt bad for you? That used to be the conventional wisdom, but more recent scientific research has suggested the emphasis on salt is misplaced. No matter. As Walter Olson notes, the Food and Drug Administration appears to be moving ahead with plans to force gradual reductions in the salt content of processed […]
Making Fake Maple Syrup a Felony
It is currently a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in federal prison to falsely identify cane sugar or corn-based syrups as”maple syrup.” Apparently this is not enough for Vermont’s congressional delegation. As the Los Angeles Times reports, Vermont’s senators have proposed legislation to make it a felony to represent a product as “maple […]
No Ketchup Pour Vous
The LA Times reports on new limitations on school lunches in France: In an effort to promote healthful eating and, it has been suggested, to protect traditional Gallic cuisine, the French government has banned school and college cafeterias nationwide from offering the American tomato-based condiment with any food but — of all things — French […]
When Zero Calories Isn’t
Number of calories in an 8 oz serving of Diet Mountain Dew: 0 Number of calories in a 20 oz bottle of Diet Mountain Dew: 10 How can this be? A manufacturer may list something as zero calories so long as it has fewer than five calories per serving.
Unnatural Corn Class Action
Grist reports on a class-action suit that is being filed against ConAgra for allegedly deceptive marketing of its various vegetable oils. The core of the complaint seems to be that some ConAgra products, such as Wesson corn oil, are labeled as “100% natural” even though they contain oil from genetically modified corn. If something comes […]
Crop Diversity Revisited
Does a decline in crop diversity threaten future food production? A report in the August 2011 National Geographic suggests so. The article, “Food Ark,” reports that the “extinction” of food varieties could be a real problem. Food varieties extinction is happening all over the world—and it’s happening fast. In the United States an estimated 90 […]
Has the FDA Declared War on Supplements?
Just before the holiday weekend, the Food & Drug Administration issued a new draft guidance on when dietary supplement makers must file “New Dietary Ingredient” notifications and what such notifications must require. This has the supplement industry up in arms, as they fear the guidance could effectively eliminate most dietary supplements that have come on […]
Cleveland Enacts Trans-Fat Ban
Yesterday the Cleveland City Council enacted the first part of the so-called “Healthy Cleveland” plan — a ban on “industrially produced trans fats.” The law takes effect at the beginning of 2013, save for doughnut makers, who have an extra six months to make the switch. The legislation also prohibits smoking in many public places, […]
Senate Slip Up Could Doom Food Safety Bill
The Hill reports that the Senate’s failure to follow constitutionally prescribed procedures could doom the food safety bill. The bill includes fee provisions that constitute taxes and the Constitution requires that all tax bills originate in the House of Representatives, and it looks unlikely that House Dems will let the slip pass. Based on […]
Should Genetically Modified Salmon Be Labeled?
The Food and Drug Administration is considering whether to approve genetically modified salmon for human consumption. Aquabounty Technologies has submitted its “AquAdvantage” salmon, an Atlantic salmon genetically engineered to mature faster than wild salmon, for FDA approval. Thus far, things look good for Aquabounty, as the FDA’s staff review concluded that AquAdvantage salmon are as […]
The FDA to Target Salt
From today’s Washington Post: The Food and Drug Administration is planning an unprecedented effort to gradually reduce the salt consumed each day by Americans, saying that less sodium in everything from soup to nuts would prevent thousands of deaths from hypertension and heart disease. The initiative, to be launched this year, would eventually lead to […]
Coffee
I am a late-comer to coffee – I grew up without it, and only began drinking it in the last five or six years. I started in earnest on sabbatical in Spain, with espresso, but soon realized that I preferred mightily the medium roast, slightly sweet, high altitude volcanic coffees of Guatemala, prepared either in […]