Posts Tagged ‘Center for Food Safety’
Posted on Thursday, March 20th, 2014 by Michele Simon
The food and beverage giant’s new sweetener causes confusion with claims of FDA approval
For years, the processed-food industry has searched in vain for a low-calorie sweetener that actually tastes good, let alone one that retains the flavor profile of the underlying product. In 2010, the food and beverage giant PepsiCo formed an agreement with the flavor company Senomyx to “focus on the discovery, development and commercialization of sweet enhancers and natural high-potency sweeteners.” That partnership appears to be paying off; there is tremendous profit potential for both companies, given the recent dips in soda sales. Which makes the deceptive nature of a recent press release that much more troubling. Read rest at Al Jazeera America …
Posted in Big Food, Food Law, Food Policy, Food Safety, Industry Tactics | Tagged: Big Food, Big Soda, Center for Food Safety, FDA, food safety, junk food, soda, soft drinks | Michele on Google+ | View/Add Comments (0) |
Posted on Wednesday, December 4th, 2013 by Michele Simon
When President Obama signed the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) into law in January 2011, it was considered a long-fought, but significant and bipartisan victory to update the Food and Drug Administration’s authority and oversight of the food supply. While much of the wrangling over the language of the law was made public, through media coverage of Congressional hearings for example, the ensuing industry influence over implementation of the law has been subject to far less public scrutiny (with the exception of FDA’s unlawful delay of FSMA’s critical implementing regulations, which Center for Food Safety has successfully sued over.
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Posted in Big Food, Food Policy, Food Safety, Industry Tactics | Tagged: Big Food, Center for Food Safety, FDA, food safety, lobbying, Obama, trade groups | Michele on Google+ | View/Add Comments (1) |
Posted on Wednesday, July 10th, 2013 by Michele Simon
By Michele Simon and Andrew Kimbrell
You may have noticed the impressive grassroots movement gathering steam lately over the labeling of genetically engineered (GE) foods. Recently, Connecticut became the first state in the nation to enact a law to require such labels, and 26 other states have introduced similar bills this year. Millions of Americans are demanding more transparency in the food supply and our elected officials are finally responding, after decades of work by groups like Center for Food Safety. But one advocacy group, Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), often seen as a leader in nutrition policy, stands virtually alone in its continued opposition to labeling GE foods. This stance is troubling and confusing given how outspoken CSPI has been for decades on food labeling and consumer information.
Read rest at Center for Food Safety.
Posted in Big Food, Food Law, Food Policy, Food Safety | Tagged: California Prop 37, Center for Food Safety, CSPI, FDA, GMO labeling, GMOs, I-522, junk food, Monsanto | Michele on Google+ | View/Add Comments (2) |
Posted on Tuesday, June 25th, 2013 by Michele Simon
Last year, I wrote about this topic out of frustration that lists like this one tend to neglect an entire profession. It seems one year later, this serious omission continues to persist. And just to prove my point, my 2013 list does not repeat any of the lawyers I listed in 2012, but be sure to check them out too as they are still deserving of the recognition.
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Posted in Big Food, Food Law, Food Policy | Tagged: Center for Food Safety, deceptive health claims, litigation, PepsiCo | Michele on Google+ | View/Add Comments (5) |
Posted on Monday, April 8th, 2013 by Michele Simon
With the passage of the Healthy, Hungry-Free Kids Act of 2010, in addition to improving school meals, Congress required the U.S. Department of Agriculture to update nearly non-existent nutrition standards on so-called competitive foods. These are foods sold outside the school meal program, including fast food items sold alongside the reimbursable lunches, and soft drinks and junk food sold in vending machines, school stores, fundraisers, and the like.
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Posted in Big Food, Child Nutrition, Food Policy, Marketing to Children | Tagged: Center for Food Safety, school food policy, targeted marketing | Michele on Google+ | View/Add Comments (8) |
Posted on Thursday, October 25th, 2012 by Michele Simon
Over the decades, the right wing has done a pretty good job brainwashing the American public into thinking that “trial lawyers” are evil and greedy. That meme has come in handy in the No on Prop 37 campaign’s scaremongering about imaginary “shakedown lawsuits.” (Read more on Prop 37.) So that got me thinking, it’s high-time to refurbish the image of lawyers, especially those fighting against Big Food. (See my post from July, Top 10 Lawyers Working to Improve the Food System for a good start.)
The following three stories have all been in the news in just the past week. Each illustrates the important role of lawyers in helping to curb various harms of our industrialized food system. Watch this space for more stories like these. And if you know any lawyers, please give them a hug; they could probably use it.
Environmental groups win challenge to gene-altered crops on National Wildlife Refuges in South
Monsanto Roundup-Ready Alfalfa Should Be Blocked, Court Told
Dairy farmers threatened with lawsuit for ground contamination
Full disclosure: Each of these stories involves lawyers from the Center for Food Safety, where I am a consultant. However, I did not write this on their behalf.
Posted in Big Food | Tagged: Center for Food Safety | Michele on Google+ | View/Add Comments (1) |
Posted on Wednesday, October 17th, 2012 by Michele Simon
Each election season, proponents and opponents of the various initiatives on the California ballot hope for the state’s major newspaper endorsements. While you can’t expect every paper to endorse your side, Proposition 37, which would require labeling of foods produced using genetic engineering, seems to have had a string of incredibly bad luck. So incredible, in fact, that the reasoning behind several California newspaper endorsements of a No vote has me scratching my head.
Read rest at Center for Food Safety…
Posted in Big Food, Food Policy, Industry Tactics | Tagged: California Prop 37, Center for Food Safety, co-opting science, Coca-Cola, GMO labeling, GMOs, Monsanto, No on 37, PepsiCo | Michele on Google+ | View/Add Comments (0) |
Posted on Thursday, August 30th, 2012 by Michele Simon
In my role as policy consultant for the Center for Food Safety (CFS), I recently wrote about how the Obama Administration is playing politics and putting public health at risk by stalling on critical food safety regulations needed to implement the Food Safety Modernization Act. I am happy to report that the lawyers at Center for Food Safety aren’t waiting any longer. Along with the Center for Environmental Health, CFS has filed a lawsuit in federal court against both the Food and Drug Administration and the White House Office of Management and Budget for failing to comply with mandated statutory deadlines.
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Posted in Public Health | Tagged: Center for Food Safety, FDA, Food Safety Modernization Act, listeria | Michele on Google+ | View/Add Comments (1) |
Posted on Wednesday, August 1st, 2012 by Michele Simon
Last week I had the pleasure of lending my support, on behalf of the Center for Food Safety, to New York City’s proposal to limit the size of sugary beverages sold at food service outlets. (I wrote previously about why this policy makes sense.) The hearing room at New York’s health department was packed with media outlets and hundreds of folks eager to witness the showdown with Big Soda.
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Posted in Big Food, Food Policy, Public Health | Tagged: Big Soda, Center for Food Safety, Grocery Manufacturers Association, New York City, New Yorkers for Beverage Choices, sugary beverages | Michele on Google+ | View/Add Comments (1) |
