Center for Science in the Public Interest
Credit
In letters to the Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Trade Commission, Center for Science in the Public Interest reported that its tests of eight products marketed online as addressing the symptoms of opioid withdrawal showed the as were “riddled with pseudo-scientific jargon and frighteningly ill-informed.” CSPI urged the FDA to issue immediate warning letters and bring enforcement action that required “cessation of these sales and other such products and allow inspectors to seize products.” It also asked the two agencies to work together to ensure that these companies will not be able to mislead consumers and profit from bogus claims.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest and the National Consumers League, both represented by the nonprofit law firm Earthjustice, filed a lawsuit last week in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia challenging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s decision to delay a rule requiring chain restaurants, supermarkets, convenience stores, and other food retail establishments to post calorie counts for prepared food and beverages. FDA issued the rule requiring disclosure of calorie counts and other nutrition information in 2014 but, one day before industry was due to comply in May 2017, the FDA delayed the compliance deadline for an additional year until May 2018. Without menu labeling, it’s hard for consumers to estimate the calorie content of popular restaurant items.
A new report from the Center for Science in the Public Interest shows how two major global soft-drink producers, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, have sought to maintain their profits in the face of declining sales in wealthier countries by, like the tobacco industry, investing heavily in low- and middle-income countries. Thus, both companies, as well as other multinational and local beverage producers, are spending several billion dollars a year in such countries as Brazil, China, India, and Mexico to build bottling plants, create distribution networks, and advertise their products to maximize sales.
The Washington Post writes that General Mills has a clever new trick, according to a lawsuit brought against the company this week by Center for Science in the Public Interest. The suit alleges that the cereal maker has been selling a new product called Cheerios Protein, which the company introduced last year, under false pretenses.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest posted a video showing its new Happiness Stand that offered pedestrians an appealing brew of 10 spoons of sugar, water and flavoring.
The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee report is hot off the presses—and the meat industry, corn refiners, soda makers, and just about every other special-interest agribusiness concern in Washington are already attacking it.
The report is Continue reading CSPI Petition Tells USDA and HHS: Don’t Let the Food Industry Threaten Progress on Nutrition!
Corporations and Health Watch 