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Supreme Court to Hear Dispute Over Whole Foods Carrying Baby Food Accused of Causing Autism
The Washington Times reported:
The Supreme Court announced Monday it would take up a legal battle over whether Whole Foods must be part of a case against one of its products, which claimants say caused autism in their son. A Texas couple sued Hain Celestial Group, which produced Earth’s Best organic baby food, and Whole Foods, which sells the product, after a congressional report found the baby food contained a percentage of metals.
The litigation, which went on for two years, ended up going from state court in Texas to federal court, where Whole Foods was eventually dismissed from the case.
The trial court ruled against the couple, reasoning they could not establish that the metals in the food caused the autism symptoms.
The couple appealed to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which reversed the dispute and sent it back to the lower court over the initial dismissal of Whole Foods.
Hain Celestial Group petitioned the Supreme Court to undo the 5th Circuit ruling.
The case is Hain Celestial Group, Whole Foods Market v. Sarah Palmquist, individual and as next friend of E.P., a minor.
There’s a Shocking Amount of Sugar Hidden in Baby Food Pouches — and Parents Have No Idea
Tonight, BBC Panorama exposes a reality many parents will find difficult to stomach: the baby food pouches and snacks lining our supermarket shelves are failing our youngest children. The Truth About Baby Food Pouches reveals some of these products are dangerously high in sugar and low in vital nutrients — in some cases exceeding the daily sugar recommendation for an infant in just one pouch.
I used these pouches, too. Ten years ago, as a tired, time-pressed mum, I trusted these products. The packaging was friendly; the labels promised “organic” and “no nasties.” It sounded like a healthy shortcut. Now, after years working in food policy, I can see how misplaced that trust was. These weren’t simply convenient options — they were sugar-laden products shaping my children’s diets at a crucial stage, sold as if they were the healthy choice.
Part of the evidence behind the BBC Panorama investigation comes from a major new study by researchers at the University of Leeds, which analysed over 600 baby and toddler foods sold across the U.K.’s biggest supermarkets.
How Bugs and Beet Juice Could Play Role in Race to Replace Artificial Food Dyes
As pressure grows to get artificial colors out of the U.S. food supply, the shift may well start at Abby Tampow’s laboratory desk. On an April afternoon, the scientist hovered over tiny dishes of red dye, each a slightly different ruby hue. Her task? To match the synthetic shade used for years in a commercial bottled raspberry vinaigrette — but by using only natural ingredients.
“With this red, it needs a little more orange,” Tampow said, mixing a slurry of purplish black carrot juice with a bit of beta-carotene, an orange-red color made from algae.
Tampow is part of the team at Sensient Technologies Corp., one of the world’s largest dyemakers, that is rushing to help the salad dressing manufacturer — along with thousands of other American businesses — meet demands to overhaul colors used to brighten products from cereals to sports drinks.
“Most of our customers have decided that this is finally the time when they’re going to make that switch to a natural color,” said Dave Gebhardt, Sensient’s senior technical director. He joined a recent tour of the Sensient Colors factory in a north St. Louis neighborhood.
Brazilian Study Links Ultraprocessed Foods to Early Death
An investigation by one of Brazil’s leading health research institutes has linked high intakes of ultra processed foods to greater rates of premature death. For some countries like the U.S. and U.K., as many as 1 in 7 deaths could be attributed to ultraprocessed food consumption.
The study led by researchers from the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, based in Rio de Janeiro, analyzed data from eight countries, including nationally representative dietary surveys and mortality data. They discovered what they call a “linear dose-response association,” which means that as the amount of dietary energy derived from ultraprocessed foods increases, so too does the risk of mortality from any cause.
While many studies have found ultraprocessed foods may be bad for health due to deficiencies in key nutrients, this study investigated the impact of dietary patterns, or how having a diet higher in these food products, on mortality risk. Eduardo Nilson, a nutritional epidemiologist at the Oswald Cruz Foundation, who led the study, said the focus on single nutrients is “reductionist,” and that a whole-of-diet assessment was necessary to understand the impact of ultraprocessed food.
“We should look at the pattern of the diet,” Nilson told DW. He points to Brazil’s adoption of “food system” dietary guidelines and other interventions to promote healthier food systems as a way forward to reducing mortality.
Sales of Red Dye 3 Products Decline as FDA Bans More Synthetic Ingredients
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) decision to phase out Red Dye 3, a synthetic ingredient that gives food and beverages a vibrant red color, already appears to be altering consumer behavior: They’re buying less of the stuff.
The FDA now plans to eliminate eight more dyes: Blue Dye 1, Blue Dye 2, Green Dye 3, Yellow Dye 5, Yellow Dye 6, Red Dye 40, Citrus Red 2, and Orange B. The move is bound to put even more pressure on major manufacturers, such as PepsiCo and General Mills, to come up with innovative formulations.
Figures from NielsenIQ (NIQ), a consumer intelligence firm, show sales of products containing Red Dye 3 have declined in past years, but took a sharp tumble in January following the FDA’s declaration to remove the additive from the nation’s food supply.
“Whether or not this is directly correlated with the ban announcement, it appears consumers are increasingly paying attention to these ingredients — especially since we have seen sales of products with Red Dye 3 trending downward since 2023,” Sherry Frey, vice president of total wellness at NIQ, told ADWEEK.
More Than 170,000 Bottles of Martinelli’s Apple Juice Recalled Over Toxic Substance Worry
More than 7,000 cases (over 170,000 bottles) of apple juice were voluntarily recalled by S Martinelli & Company over concerns of patulin contamination, a toxic substance produced by certain molds.
The Watsonville, California-headquartered company announced the recall on March 18, citing “potential contamination with patulin,” according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The recall impacts 7,234 cases of apple juice, which contained four of its signature 10-ounce glass bottles per pack, with six packs per case, bringing the recall to 173,616 bottles.
The recall is listed as Class II, meaning the use of or exposure to the product “may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences.”
USA TODAY contacted S Martinelli & Company on April 26 but has not received a response.
