Food Processing - July 2008 - (Page 11) newS BITeS R E G U L AT O R Y CSPI Petitions FDA for Ban on Food Dyes he Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) on June 2 petitioned the FDA to ban several food dyes, alleging a link between them and hyperactivity and behavior problems in children. The dyes are Yellow 5, Red 40, Blue 1, Blue 2, Green 3, Orange B, Red 3, and Yellow 6. CSPI said several of them already are being phased out in the U.K. “Synthetic food dyes have been suspected of disrupting children’s behavior since the 1970s, when Dr. Ben Feingold, a San Francisco allergist, reported that his patients improved when their diets were changed,” CSPI reported. “Numerous controlled studies conducted over the next three decades in the United States, Europe, and Australia proved that some children’s behavior is worsened by artificial dyes, but the government did nothing to discourage their use and food manufacturers greatly increased their reliance on them.” CSPI cited a number of studies that make the link between the dyes and children’s behavior. The group also quoted FDA figures that say “the amount of food dye certified for use was 12mg per capita per day in 1955. In 2007, 59mg per capita per day, or nearly five times as much, was certified for use.” T The Grocery Manufacturers Assn. immediately responded. “The safety of food dyes has been affirmed through extensive review by the U.S. FDA (via the food additive review process) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and neither agency recommends a change to current policy,” said Robert Brackett, chief science officer. “In addition, U.S. and international scientific reviews have determined that there is no demonstrable link between food dyes and hyperactivity among children. “To date, the overwhelming majority of scientific evidence confirms the safety of certified food dyes and their lack of effect on behavior in children. As for the study cited in the petition filed by the Center for Science in Public Interest, EFSA reviewed the findings, noted considerable uncertainties, absence of clinical significance of behavior changes, and lack of discrete evaluation of individual colors or additives. EFSA concluded that the study did not support a change in current policy on the studied food colors and additives,” Brackett said. “Based on these findings, there is no need for consumers to alter their purchasing and eating habits and they and their children can safely enjoy food products containing these food colors,” Brackett concluded. C O M PA N I E S Trust Chairman Says Hershey not for Sale B etween the ongoing acquisition of Wm Wrigley Jr. Co. by Mars Inc. and its own late-2007 management housecleaning, speculation has been rampant that Hershey Co. is ripe for sale. But the chairman of the Hershey Trust, in a personal column in the Harrisburg (Pa.) Patriot-News, said the company is not for sale although changes are coming. “Rarely a day goes by that I don’t read someone, somewhere speculating exactly what the Hershey Trust will or won’t do in exercising its controlling interest in The Hershey Co.,” wrote Leroy Zimmerman, chairman of the boards of the Hershey Trust and Milton Hershey School. The Hershey Trust controls 78 percent of the voting stock in the company. “It is a time of change, and this is not a game. The historic collaboration between the Hershey Trust and The Hershey Co. is one of the great American stories of business and philanthropy. Its future is a matter of seminal importance to so many: the good people who work for the company; the numerous investors who own its shares; the community of Hershey; the entire central Pennsylvania region; and -- most importantly, in my view -- the 1,700 children in need that the Hershey Trust serves today through its sole beneficiary, the Milton Hershey School, and the thousands more children it will serve tomorrow.” Zimmerman acknowledged the board hired merger-and-acquisition advisers more than a year ago. “Transformational merger-and-acquisition transactions are but one of multiple strategic growth options the trust has been continually assessing, in coordination with the company board, as part of the trust’s ongoing process and due diligence. “The last year has been a transitional one for the trust and The Hershey Co. And I am pleased to report that our partnership is healthier than it has been in some time. Much of that is thanks to the new Hershey Co. board, which assumed authority for the company late last year, and of which I am privileged to be a member. The trust and the new company board now operate from a shared understanding of the trust’s core principles as controlling shareholder. These core principles were articulated in a public statement I made last October. They bear repeating, because they remain just as true today: • The trust is committed to retaining its controlling interest in the company. This is first and foremost a principle grounded in Milton Hershey’s philanthropic legacy. It also is rooted in constraints of Pennsylvania law and practical business imperatives. Simply put: We will not sell The Hershey Co. • But The Hershey Co. must improve its performance and enhance its strategic position for long-term growth -- domestically, where the company always has been a leader, and internationally as well. This will require change, and change is always unsettling.” For the full statement, see www.FoodProcessing.com/HersheyBoard. FOOd FOR ThOUGhT Soft drinks Bottled water Beer milk Coffee 2007 Per CAPITA BeverAge ConSumPTIon % change 49.3 gallons 22.5 gallons 22.2 gallons 20.1 gallons 16.0 gallons -3.3% +7.1 +1.4 -1 -1.2 Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution foodprocessing.com July 2008 food processing • 11 http://www.FoodProcessing.com/HersheyBoard http://www.FoodProcessing.com/HersheyBoard http://foodprocessing.com
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