Full court press.Since 1971, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (publisher of Nutrition Action) has urged the food industry to sell safer, healthier foods and to market them honestly. We've called on Congress and regulatory agencies to protect consumers. Unfortunately, they've largely failed to do so. As a second approach, we've tried to generate publicity about misleading food labels and about ads sponsored by the beef, egg, and pork industries, as well as by Campbell, Procter & Gamble, and other companies. Sometimes companies changed their labels and ads; more often they didn't. For the past year, CSPI CSPI Center for Science in the Public Interest CSPI Corporate Service Price Index CSPI Cumulative Schedule Performance Index has increasingly employed lawsuits, or the threat of lawsuits, to persuade companies to stick to the facts. I'm pleased to report that a number of food manufacturers have decided to avoid litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. by changing their practices. For example, Quaker has stopped pretending that its Peaches & Cream Instant Oatmeal contains peaches and cream Peaches and Cream is a dessert made of peaches and cream. It is often served at ice cream stands and float shops. Many types of hard candy, such as Creme Savers, also come in a peaches and cream flavor. . And the makers of Aunt Jemima Aunt Jemima is a trademark for pancake flour, syrup, and other breakfast foods. The trademark dates to 1893, although Aunt Jemima pancake mix debuted in 1889. The phrase "Aunt Jemima" is sometimes used as a female version of "Uncle Tom" to refer to a black woman who is perceived as frozen blueberry blueberry, plant of the large genus Vaccinium, widely distributed shrubs (occasionally small trees) of the family Ericaceae (heath family), usually found on acid soil. They are often confused with the related huckleberry. waffles no longer pretend that their waffles are made with blueberries. Other companies have refused to change, so we've sued. One suit is against the maker of a meat substitute (Quorn) and its biggest retailer (Whole Foods), both of which refused to let consumers know that Quorn can trigger severe allergic reactions. And we've told Frito-Lay that we intend to sue over deceptive marketing of Light chips, which are a repackaged version of its olestra-containing WOW chips. CSPI's director of litigation, Steve Gardner, has been focusing on two larger potential lawsuits. The first supports parents and health officials who are outraged that Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and other companies are tempting children to guzzle guz·zle v. guz·zled, guz·zling, guz·zles v.tr. 1. To drink greedily or habitually: guzzle beer. 2. soft drinks at schools. It's too early to know whether we will reach a reasonable agreement without suing. And in January, we announced our intention to sue Kellogg and Nickelodeon for marketing junk foods to kids. Nearly every food Kellogg peddles to youngsters--cereals, toaster See intranet toaster and Video Toaster. (jargon) toaster - 1. The archetypal really stupid application for an embedded microprocessor controller; often used in comments that imply that a scheme is inappropriate technology (but see elevator controller). tarts, etc.--is made largely of sugar, refined flour, salt, and additives like artificial colors and flavors. Nickelodeon, the most popular channel for young children, runs countless ads for junk foods. Nick also licenses characters like SpongeBob SquarePants This article is about the series. For the title character, see SpongeBob SquarePants (character). For other uses, see SpongeBob SquarePants (disambiguation). SpongeBob SquarePants is an Emmy-nominated American animated television series and media franchise. to Kellogg and other food companies. Our litigation isn't aimed at stopping all advertising to children. (The Federal Trade Commission tried unsuccessfully to do that in the late 1970s.) Instead, it would stop Nickelodeon and Kellogg from marketing unhealthy foods aimed largely at children under 8 years of age. Litigation isn't the answer to every problem. But it's certainly proving to be a valuable tool to reach major corporations that brush off the threat of (unlikely) government action or a day or two of bad publicity. BAN TRANS Trans fat still lurks in foods like pie crusts, microwave popcorn, and doughnuts, which often contain partially hydrogenated oils (see p. 10). Restaurant foods have even higher levels. Help rid the food supply of unnecessary trans fat by sending the coupon below or, even better, writing your own note. Michael F. Jacobson Michael F. Jacobson, who holds a Ph.D. in microbiology, co-founded the Center for Science in the Public Interest in 1971, along with two fellow scientists he met while working at the Center for the Study of Responsive Law. , Ph.D. Executive Director Center for Science in the Public Interest |
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