In a blow to consumer in the UK, and possibly in the US, The Food Standards Agency (same as our FDA) has decided to back off their proposed traffic light nutrition labeling on the front of food packages. According to the Daily Mail: The FSA board yesterday supported a plan that will allow food companies to decide for themselves whether they want to use the colour-based system or a number of alternatives. The net…  Read More →

Inadequate Public Funding and the Sale of Competitive Foods as a Revenue Source This is a guest blog-post by Professor Timothy D. Lytton First Lady Michelle Obama’s recently launched Let’s Move campaign to reduce childhood obesity has put a spotlight on reforming school food. The primary reason for the abundance of unhealthy foods in schools is inadequate public funding of school meals and schools in general. Unfortunately, the sale of unhealthy... 

A recent survey by Foodminds , a PR firm working with food companies, provides some interesting  stats on the triangular relationship consumer-brand-regulator. Americans clearly welcome increased government involvement in food and nutrition issues, particularly when it comes to labeling. Among the interesting findings: 93% of shoppers ranked the Nutrition Facts panel as a very or somewhat useful tool, followed by front-of-pack information (low... 

Yoplait has a new Greek style yogurt out. There’s a massive marketing campaign tie in to the new Clash of the Titans movie and Athena portraying actress Izabella Miko . Strong woman eats good yogurt. Greek gods, Greek Yogurt, Yadda yadda… The yogurt pack prominently displays “2X Protein..of the leading yogurt”. Wonder what that means. We decided to take a look inside the nutrition label and ingredient list to see if this... 

European researchers are worried about antimony, a toxic chemical element, appearing at possibly unsafe levels in various juice brands: Writing in the Journal of Environmental Monitoring, scientists at the University of Copenhagen studied antimony levels in 42 juice drinks and found antimony concentrations above EU limits for drinking water in eight of them. This discovery is of concern to the soft drinks industry because antimony is a suspected... 

Last year it was peanut butter. Before that – tomatoes. It seems like every year there’s one major food recall that really shakes the system. Last week the FDA notified the public about another recall hurricane, this time for various products containing Hydrolized Vegetable Protein, an ingredient used in many processed foods: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is taking steps to protect the public following the early identification... 

Will New Yorkers agree to a tax on sugary soft drinks? That is yet to be determined, but both proponents and opponents are not taking any chances. The Alliance for a Healthier New York is airing the above commercial til mid March. Will this counterpunch to the well oiled marketing and PR machine of the American Beverage Association succeed? We’re highly doubtful that the campaign will succeed, despite the fact that soft drinks are a major... 

Image via Wikipedia This is a guest blog post by Beth Casey Gold, R.D., M.S., and Heather Leonard, R.D., of the University of Vermont Vtrim Online Behavioral Weight Management Program We don’t like the word “diet.” Diets are about restriction, sacrifice, and typically they aren’t too much fun. Instead, we’re all about lifestyle change through behavior modification. Guess what? It works. We’ve researched this technique for the past... 

Big news in nutrition labeling! The FDA has sent  a WARNING LETTER to 17 food manufacturers notifying them that 22 of their food products violate the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. From yesterday’s FDA press release : The violations cited in the warning letters include unauthorized health claims, unauthorized nutrient content claims, and the unauthorized use of terms such as “healthy,” …  Read More →

This is an important week for the future of US school lunch nutrition. The Child Nutrition Act is up for re-authorization, and many groups are hoping the program will increase spending to improve the nutritional value of school lunches. The School Nutrition Association (SNA), which represents more than 75% of the food service workers in American schools, is convening in Washington DC for their annual Legislative Action Conference. Michelle Obama... 

Here’s an interesting piece from Supermarket Guru Phil Lempert: Adolescents and young adults are not consuming enough whole grains, say researchers at the University of Minnesota. Their study, which looked at survey data from Project EAT (Eating Among Teens), found that daily intake of whole grains fell below the recommended levels to prevent chronic diseases and maintain a healthy weight. The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend... 

March is National Nutrition Month . It was created in the 1970’s by the American Dietetic Association as a means of raising awareness of nutritious eating and promoting the role of registered dietitians in helping us stay lean and healthy. The ADA website has a special section dedicated to “NNM”. In it, some  interesting features, including an interactive history of fad diets and a rather lame interactive quiz . Plus a ton... 

Dannon, the yogurt maker, has reached a settlement in a class action suit brought against it for falsely representing the health benefits of its products. The company will pay up to $100 to individual consumers who have been misled by its “health claims”. Check if you are eligible here . According to a report on ABC news: Dannon must remove the words “clinically” and “scientifically proven” from product labels... 

image from the Gothamist It’s Saturday morning, you’re locked in after a blizzard dumped 16 inches of snow at your doorsteps. Your three little ones are demanding their morning cup of hot milk / cocoa. Groggy eyed and still half asleep, you open the fridge and pull out the last carton of milk. As you’re about to open it, you discover that its “use by” date expired 2 days ago. What do you do? A. Take a sniff of the... 

Two of the most respected and independent experts on nutrition have published an editorial article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) calling for the ban of front of package nutrition labels and health claims. The paper, entitled Front-of-Package Food Labels Public Health or Propaganda? [ download PDF ] is coauthored by Marion Nestle , a professor at NYU, and professor David Ludwig of Harvard University’s School...