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Conagra Ordered to Pay $25 Million in Lawsuit Alleging Pam Cooking Spray Caused Lung Disease
A jury awarded a Los Angeles man $25 million in a lawsuit against Chicago-based Conagra, alleging its butter-flavored Pam cooking spray caused a rare chronic lung disease that will require a double lung transplant. The verdict last week in the Superior Court of Los Angeles found that Conagra did not adequately warn consumers about the potential dangers of inhaling fumes from Pam cooking spray containing diacetyl, a butter-flavored chemical linked to respiratory illness.
During the trial, Conagra said it removed the ingredient from its Pam formulation in 2009. Roland Esparza, 58, who had used butter-flavored Pam regularly since the 1990s, filed the lawsuit in 2022, alleging the since-discontinued ingredient is responsible for his condition, according to his Chicago-based attorney. “He was a big health nut, bodybuilder, martial artist,” his attorney, Jacob Plattenberger, said Tuesday. “He was eating a lot of protein, eating a lot of eggs, and he cooked everything on his stove top. And so he was using it multiple times a day.”
Esparza was diagnosed with bronchiolitis obliterans, a severe and progressive respiratory disease better known as “popcorn lung.” The disease was first identified in workers at a microwave popcorn plant who inhaled the butter-flavored chemical diacetyl during the manufacturing process.
Most U.S. Baby Food Is Ultra-Processed, Study Finds
U.S. News & World Report reported:
Americans are feeding their babies what amounts to junk food, a new study says. Nearly three-quarters of baby food sold in U.S. grocery stores can be considered ultra-processed foods (UPFs), researchers reported Feb. 9 in the journal Nutrients.
The products are chock full of sugar and salt, as well as industrial ingredients like additives, flavor enhancers, thickeners, emulsifiers and coloring agents, researchers said.
“Infancy is a critical time for shaping lifelong eating habits — introducing babies to foods that are overly sweet, salty and packed with additives can set the stage for unhealthy preferences that last beyond childhood,” lead researcher Elizabeth Dunford said. She’s a research fellow at the George Institute for Global Health at the University of New South Wales in Australia.
“We also know that high UPF consumption in children is linked to heart and metabolic conditions later in life, so it’s best to try and avoid introducing them in the first place,” Dunford added.
This Everyday Nonalcoholic Drink Could Be Linked to Serious Liver Risk, Researchers Say
Soda is a widely consumed beverage worldwide, but its popularity carries significant health risks. We know that regular consumption of this fizzy beverage is linked to a higher risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and tooth decay, but recent research in Annals of Hepatology also found that consuming less than one can a day may be linked to serious liver problems.
The study examined the association between soft drink consumption and liver dysfunction among 1,759 healthcare workers. Researchers identified participants with liver dysfunction and analyzed their dietary habits, ultimately hypothesizing that non-diet soft drink consumption was associated with an increased risk of metabolic dysfunction-associated with steatotic liver disease (MASLD), formerly called nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.
At a high level, MASLD is a liver condition that affects people with obesity or other metabolic conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, or high cholesterol, says Jacqueline Vernarelli, PhD, a nutritional epidemiologist, public health nutritionist, and associate professor at Sacred Heart University. It develops when excess fat accumulates in the liver due to metabolic health issues rather than alcohol, and over time can lead to liver inflammation, she explains.
What’s in Your Protein Powder? California Moves to Mandate Heavy Metal Testing
Environmental Working Group reported:
Protein powders and shakes consumed daily by millions of Californians could soon face mandatory testing for toxic heavy metals under a first-in-the-nation bill introduced today. If enacted, the bill would require manufacturers to publicly disclose levels of lead, cadmium, mercury and arsenic in their products.
Senate Bill 1033, authored by state Sen. Steve Padilla (D-San Diego) and co-sponsored by the Environmental Working Group and Consumer Reports, responds to mounting evidence that some protein products contain levels of heavy metals high enough to raise serious public health concerns, particularly for teens and frequent users.
“The rapidly expanding protein industry is putting untested and, in some cases, unsafe products onto store shelves,” said Senator Padilla. “We need to put common-sense guardrails in place to hold manufacturers accountable, require proper testing, and ensure families can trust that the products they buy won’t put their health at risk.”
Conservation Groups File Appeal Challenging Colorado CAFO Water Permits
Colorado officials are failing to require legally mandated water quality monitoring near concentrated animal feeding operations, allowing for widespread water contamination with animal waste, conservation groups allege in a new legal challenge to the state
The Center for Biological Diversity and Food & Water Watch say the state permits for the animal feeding operations, commonly called CAFOs, lack the type of water monitoring needed near lagoons where massive amounts of animal manure and waste are stored. The situation amounts to “an ongoing attack on public health and wildlife,” according to Center for Biological Diversity senior attorney Hannah Connor.
CAFO waste can contaminate water with bacteria like E. coli, antibiotics and hormones, heavy metals and excess nutrients, such as phosphorus and nitrogen, all of which can be harmful to human and environmental health. A report released last week found that industrial animal farming is responsible for about half of all of the country’s nutrient pollution.
