Consumers can’t sue McDonald’s for obesity as a group, judge rules
By Meatingplace Editors
A New York judge has ruled the plaintiffs in a childhood obesity lawsuit against McDonald’s Corp. can’t pursue their claims as a group, Bloomberg reported.
Teenagers Ashley Pelman and Jazlen Bradley accused McDonald’s of harming their health and violating the law through deceptive marketing of Chicken McNuggets, hamburgers, fish sandwiches and french fries in a 2002 lawsuit.
But U.S. Judge Donald Pogue in Manhattan said the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate the company’s marketing and food contributed to the same medical problems in others, and their claims were too distinct to be addressed in a single group lawsuit.
The plaintiffs’ attorneys had said the class size could number in the thousands.
Since the lawsuit was filed, New York has banned the use of trans fats in cooking oil used at restaurants and McDonald’s has added healthier options such as apples and low-fat milk to its menu, the story noted.
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Fast food toy ban wins preliminary approval in San Francisco
By Dani Friedland
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to prohibit the inclusion of toys in children’s meals that don’t meet certain health criteria, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
The legislation now faces a final vote next week. If approved, it would go into effect in December 2011.
The ordinance amends the San Francisco Health Code to set nutritional standards for food that comes with toys or incentives that might entice youth, such as trading cards, admission tickets and other digital or physical products that appeal to children and teens.
Under the new rules, meals containing toys or other incentive items must contain fewer than 600 calories (of which less than 35 percent must come from fat, barring fats from nuts, seeds, eggs and low-fat cheese) and fewer than 640 milligrams of sodium.
Meals with toys also would be required to include at least three-quarters of a cup of vegetables and at least half a cup of fruit. A breakfast meal would be required to contain at least half a cup of fruits or vegetables.
Beverages in meals also face new requirements: Less than 35 percent of a drink’s calories can come from fat and less than 10 percent can come from added sweeteners.
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom had previously said he would veto such a measure if it passed. In Tuesday’s vote, the ordinance passed with a veto-proof margin.
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West Coast sandwich chain heats things up
By Dani Friedland
Togo’s Sandwiches announced Tuesday that it has added toasted sandwiches to its menu.
Customers can now order any sandwich toasted, plus Togo’s has added four new toasted sandwiches to its lineup.
The new Clubhouse sandwich includes applewood-smoked bacon, turkey breast, shredded lettuce, tomatoes and melted cheddar along with a fat free honey Dijon sauce on toasted San Francisco-style sourdough bread.
The Chili Cheese ‘n’ Beef comes with roast beef, melted cheddar cheese, warm chili, red onions and chili-lime tortilla strips with a bacon chipotle mayonnaise on toasted white bread.
The Pepper Jack Pastrami consists of hot pastrami, melted pepper jack cheese, pepperoncinis and Thousand Island dressing, also on toasted white bread.
The Uncle Tony’s Italian combines Italian salami, capicolla, cotto, black forest ham, melted provolone cheese, shredded lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, pickles and pepperoncinis with an Italian vinaigrette and toasted parmesan bread.
San Jose, Calif.-based Togo’s Eateries Inc. has 242 locations.
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Meat eaters are in for sticker shock in 2011: economist
By Meatingplace Editors
Consumers should prepare to pay significantly higher prices for meat, especially beef, by the end of 2011, Purdue University agricultural economist Chris Hurt says.
The culprit, of course, is higher feed costs.
“When we look at the period prior to 2007, corn prices were averaging closer to $2 a bushel and we saw retail prices of beef average about $3.84 per pound,” Hurt said. “Now corn prices are around $5.50 a bushel, and we’re projecting for 2011 that we’ll reach about $4.65 a pound for beef.”
Beef and pork producers are expected to reduce their herd sizes or leave them unchanged next year. Poultry farmers could increase production slightly.
Three primary factors are contributing to the rapid increase in corn prices, Hurt said. People are buying more food in developing countries as incomes rise, the expanding biofuels industry is using more corn, and the weak U.S. dollar is encouraging larger corn purchases by foreign buyers.
Adjustments
Beef producers are adjusting cow numbers downward to offset feed cost increases. U.S. beef cow numbers are expected to reach about 31 million head later this year, down from about 35.7 million in 1996 when herd numbers began declining. Hurt projects U.S. beef production will dip another 2 percent to 3 percent in 2011.
Fortunately, average hog prices should be near average production costs through most of 2011, Hurt said.
“We had been thinking that the pork industry could expand in the range of 1-2 percent next year, but with the great uncertainty about feed costs, I think we’re actually going to see that industry pretty close to unchanged, or up at most about 1 percent,” Hurt said.
Poultry producers could see their production up as much as 2 percent in the year ahead, Hurt said. The broiler industry is bumping up production to grab market share among the animal species. The demand for more feed could pull grain prices even higher, he said.
Hurt said it is important that producers don’t expand production.
“If we keep our production about like it is now, I think we’ll be able to get through the year without major losses. Then we’ll see what the 2011 crops bring, perhaps a moderation in feed prices and a clearer picture of whether we can expand,” he said.
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