Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
FDA Food Label Warning Sparks Pushback From Top US Bakery
A top U.S. commercial bakery is pushing back on a Food and Drug Administration warning to stop using labels that say its products contain sesame 鈥 a potentially dangerous allergen 鈥 when they don鈥檛. Bimbo Bakeries USA, which includes brands such as Sara Lee, Entenmann鈥檚 and Ball Park buns and rolls, appears to be defying an FDA warning sent in June that said the several of the company鈥檚 products are 鈥渕isbranded鈥 because the labels list sesame or tree nuts even though those ingredients aren鈥檛 in the foods. (Aleccia, 10/9)
U.S. officials have issued a public health alert after a batch of Hans Kissle Co. LLC chicken salads were found to contain the wrong product and undeclared allergens. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), the product鈥攍abelled "Cranberry Chicken Salad"鈥攎ay actually contain the "Classic Chicken Salad," which contains wheat. (Dewan, 10/9)
California-based cheese and dairy company Rizo-Lopez Foods has been ordered to cease production after a years-long listeria outbreak killed two people and made dozens of others sick, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Wednesday. The company has now stopped all of its operations related to the preparing and processing of food according to a press release from the Department of Justice. An injunction approved by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District also said the company must notify the FDA before advancing any future operations of the same kind. (Cervantes Jr., 10/9)
In news relating to weight-loss 鈥
Most American adults said they would rather not take injectable weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic or Wegovy, preferring dietary change instead, according to a survey by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. "These data show that, if doctors imagine that people are unwilling to make major diet changes, such as trying out a plant-based diet, the fact is that many people are quite eager to give it a try, given a practical pathway to follow," Dr. Neal D. Barnard, president of the Physicians Committee, told Newsweek. (Willmoth, 10/9)
If there鈥檚 a diet, Janet McCaskill says, she鈥檚 done it. 鈥淚鈥檝e tried WeightWatchers. I鈥檝e tried keto. I鈥檝e gone to a nutritionist,鈥 said the 58-year-old grandmother, who lives in Knightdale, North Carolina, outside Raleigh. Some of the eating plans worked, she said 鈥 until they didn鈥檛. (Tirrell, 10/9)