Ahead of the effective date for those new, long-awaited menu labeling regulations, which is May 7, 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is out with some non-binding “guidance” to help with implementation. FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb rolled out the guidance this week, using the occasion to underscore his commitment to improving nutritional information.
“As…
Sweetened beverage advertisers in San Francisco won’t be forced to add an obesity warning to their labels and advertisements. A federal appellate court has ruled the warning mandate violates the U.S. Constitution.
The City and County of San Francisco enacted the local law two years ago, requiring advertisers of certain sugar-sweetened beverages to include this…
California is having another run at adding warning labels to sugar-sweetened beverages, and New York is joining in. Last year, state Sen. Bill Monning (D-Carmel) introduced a bill requiring that any sweetened non-alcoholic beverage (carbonated or non-carbonated) that contains 75 calories or more per 12 fluid ounces be labeled with the words, “Drinking beverages with…
On Wednesday, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) introduced the Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Tax (SWEET) Act — a tax on drinks such as sodas, energy drinks, sweet teas and sports drinks that she first announced at the National Soda Summit in Washington, D.C., on June 5. The SWEET Act would institute an excise tax of 1 cent per…
New York City’s Board of Health “exceeded the scope of its regulatory authority” when it sought to ban the sale of super-sized sodas, the state’s highest appeals court ruled Thursday. In a 20-page decision, Judge Eugene F. Pigott, Jr., of the New York State Court of Appeals passed on an opportunity to reinstate a ban…
California’s bill to add warning labels to sugar-sweetened beverages has stalled in the state’s Assembly Health Committee. The state Senate passed the bill last month but fell three votes short of the 10 needed to pass the committee on Tuesday. After hearing from the bill’s author, Sen. Bill Monning (D-Carmel), co-sponsors and beverage industry opponents,…
The “Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Safety Warning Act” is now in the hands of the California State Assembly. Last week, the state Senate passed the bill, which would require that any sweetened non-alcoholic beverage (carbonated or non-carbonated) that contains 75 calories or more per 12 fluid ounces be labeled with the words, “Drinking beverages with added…
“Fed Up,” a new documentary exploring the prevalence of added sugar in the American diet and how it causes childhood obesity to persist, opens today in select theaters across the country. The film traces the history of dietary guidelines and other food policies in the U.S., alongside the increasing rates of obesity, diabetes, and other…
The Navajo Nation is going to use sales tax policies to try changing food habits on the largest Indian reservation in the United States. The Navajo Nation Council on Jan. 30 approved an additional 2-percent sales tax on so-called “junk foods,” including all sugary beverages. The addition will increase the total sales tax on those…
Want to hear something delicious? Recently the Food and Drug Administration reported that 12 percent of all U.S. spice imports were contaminated with non-spice-like objects, including whole insects and rodent hairs. As Americans, we are lucky to have FDA, which has been (for years) comprehensively studying the issue of spice safety and is moving toward…
Eating school lunches and watching too much television are contributing to the obesity of Michigan 6th graders, according to cardiovascular researchers. The University of Michigan Frankel Cardiovascular Center came to those conclusions after studying data on 1,714 6th graders from 20 schools in four communities in the southeast area of the state. The findings will…
