Companies removing trans fat ahead of FDA labeling requirement
January 18, 2005 16:00

Trans fat has been in the nation's food supply for decades, giving products a long shelf life and making goodies like chips and cookies oh so yummy.

But the FDA deadline is pushing many companies to reformulate products or create new versions without the artery-clogging fat.

"If nobody was requiring the labeling, they would just keep right on doing what they've been doing all along," said Dr. Mary Enig, a nutritionist who ideally would like trans fat to be banned.

Food manufacturers say they are making the changes to promote good health.

The Food and Drug Administration cries "safety risk" whenever it meets a politically sensitive proposal. Allow seniors to import cheaper drugs from Canada? The FDA opposes it due to "safety concerns." Last year, the FDA rejected allowing emergency contraception - the so-called morning-after pill - to be sold without a prescription.

Why the opposition?

You guessed it: safety concerns....

http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050118/OPINION03/501180377/1035/OPINION

Class counsel for plaintiffs in the nationwide
fen-phen class action settlement told a federal judge
that the proposed amended settlement before the court
is needed to resolve litigation that had arisen or
threatened to arise from the settlement itself. A
group of 50 plaintiffs lawyers and Wyeth, the
defendant in the litigation, announced they had
negotiated a tentative settlement affecting 11,000
cases brought by individuals who opted out of the
global settlement.

*****

The Legal Intelligencer, Law.com, 01/18/2005

For complete story, search
http://www.law.com

$ - Only subscribers can access this article

*****

"If there's one lesson we Americans ought to have learned by now, it's to always double-check the claims made by the people who are running this country. Because there's no question that to get their way, these guys will lie. So when George Bush showed up recently... (Read Article)