Shrek, the plump
green animated character, may lose a lucrative endorsement deal by the end of
2008. Facing a lawsuit from the Center for Science
in the Public Interest and the Campaign for
Commercial-Free Childhood, the Kellogg Company has agreed to strict
nutrition standards for foods advertised to children: no more than 200
calories, 230 milligrams of sodium, 12 grams of sugar, and zero grams of trans
fat per serving. It will also not use licensed characters as pitchmen for such
products that exceed the limits. Alas, sugar—
a whopping 15 grams of it per
one-cup serving—
is the very first ingredient listed in Shrek's namesake Kellogg's
cereal (it appears a little before marshmallow bits), which could explain the
friendly ogre's well-rounded physique.
Tainted Tomatoes
It's
been years since I purchased a fresh tomato from a grocery store. My reason was
taste, or rather, utter lack thereof. I wait until the real thing becomes
available in local markets or, better yet, my garden. Now I have another reason
to avoid mass-produced tomatoes: They can be hazardous to my health. In
response to more than 1,800 confirmed cases of Salmonella traced back to fresh
tomatoes over the last decade, the USDA has just launched a
Tomato
Safety Initiative that will start with commercial growers in Virginia in July and expand into Florida during next winter's growing season. (The two
states produced most of the tainted tomatoes.) The agency will examine
irrigation techniques, possible effects of livestock operations near fields,
and handing methods, among other possible disease vectors. While they're at it,
they might want to look into what happened to that little thing called flavor.
We Warned You
As
I pointed out, June 9 was the court-ordered deadline for the
National Organics Standards Board to agree on 38 non-organic agricultural
products (everything from intestines used as sausage casings to hops used in
beer) that could legally be added to supposedly "organic" goods. The
deadline has come and gone, and the agency responded in the best bureaucratic
tradition—
it did absolutely nothing. Under the terms of the judge's ruling,
that means organic producers should not use any of the 38 substances. Among the
loudest yowls of complaint came from the
Organic Trade
Association, a business group. The association whines that some
"organic" products may be no longer available unless they can be adultered
by non-organic ingredients. Is it just me, or is there a flaw somewhere in that
argument?
Green GrubB. R. Guest, the management company that
runs a dozen restaurants (Blue Fin, Ruby Foo's Times Square, Fiamma Osteria…) in New York and has outposts in Las Vegas and Chicago, recently
secured
green certification for its NYC locations from the rigorous standards of
the
Green Restaurant Association.
