News

BPI Files Suit Against ABC for Disinformation Campaign

In mid-September, BPI Technology, Inc., Beef Products, Inc., and Freezing Machines, Inc. (collectively, “BPI”) filed a suit against the American Broadcast Companies, Inc. (ABC), ABC News, Inc., three ABC News reporters, and others for allegedly knowingly and intentionally publishing false and disparaging statements regarding BPI and the lean finely textured beef (LFTB) it makes. BPI alleges that ABC and others launched a concerted disinformation campaign against the companies, which had a significant adverse affect on BPI’s reputation, as well as a significant negative financial impact on the companies.

In their complaint, filed in September in Circuit Court in Union County, S.D., BPI alleges that ABC and the individuals named in the suit knowingly made false, defamatory and disparaging statements regarding BPI and LFTB during a disinformation campaign this spring.

The suit further alleges that the statements were made even after BPI and others sent ABC factual information about LFTB, including conclusions from USDA, FDA, food safety organizations, and numerous beef industry experts that LFTB is a safe, nutritious lean beef. As result of the disinformation campaign, BPI sales declined from approximately five million pounds of LFTB per week to less than two million pounds per week, three BPI facilities have closed, and more than 700 employees lost their jobs.

As of this writing, the official response from ABC News was a short news statement which read, “Statement from Jeffrey W. Schneider, Senior Vice President, ABC News: ‘The lawsuit is without merit. We will contest it vigorously.’”

A copy of the complaint and LFTB information are available at www.beefisbeef.com.
 

Study Shows Consumers Eat More Mini Meals

U.S. consumers are less likely to skip their breakfast, lunch, and dinner meal times today than they were five years ago, however these meals are often likely to be described as mini-meals rather than full meals, according to a food market research report by The NPD Group.

Americans still carve out main meal times, but the number of items consumed at each has declined over time, and consumers snack in-between meals often, the report, “Snacking in America 2012,” showed.  The report examined long-term attitudes and behaviors about snacking as well as snack-selection drivers.

Other results showed that:

• The average American has 4.1 food and beverage items at dinner compared with 5.3 items in 1985.
• Dinner is the only meal at which a majority of the meal occasions are considered by consumers to be a full or complete meal.
• Snack occasions fill the gaps between traditional main meals with morning showing multiple eating occasions.
• One of every five eating occasions in the U.S. is a snack.
• 53% of Americans are snacking two or three times a day. 

“Our frequent snacking is a result of our hectic lifestyles, need for convenience, increasing  desire to eat healthier foods, and simply to enjoy what we eat,” says Darren Seifer, NPD food and beverage industry analyst. “There is, however, a complexity to snacking behaviors based on demographics, needs, states, and attitudes. Food manufacturers and retailers will need to align their business strategies with the appropriate consumer behaviors in order to capitalize on consumers’ penchant for snacking.”
 

CDC Releases 2011 FoodNet Preliminary Data

On July, CDC released the 2011 preliminary data of the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet). FoodNet tracks foodborne illness and generates information that provides a foundation for food safety policy and prevention efforts. In addition to the data, the 2012 Clinical Infectious Diseases FoodNet supplement, “A Foundation for Food Safety in the United States,” provides new information on current issues. Key points of data include:

• The frequency of illnesses caused by the six most common foodborne diseases (Campylobacter, Listeria, Salmonella, Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O157, Yersinia, and Vibrio) was 23% lower in 2010 than in 1996-1998. But a comparison of 2006-2008 to 2010 indicates that progress has slowed recently.
• Salmonella Enteritidis infections are a growing problem; chicken and eggs are likely major sources.
• 14% of the illnesses caused by the seven most common foodborne diseases are attributable to contact with animals.

Some of the trends noted in separate studies include:

• In 32% of foodborne disease outbreak investigations conducted by FoodNet sites, 2003–2008, the food vehicle was determined. Etiology (bacteria or virus responsible for the outbreak) was found in 60% of outbreak investigations. Investigations that were not successful in determining the food or cause of the outbreak had too few patients ill, too few stool specimens to test, or too few control subjects.
• Campylobacter is the most common cause of foodborne illness in travelers returning to the U.S. from overseas. Over half of all such infections reported were in travelers to Latin America and the Caribbean. However, travel to Africa carried the greatest risk of travel-associated infection (75.9 cases per 100,000 travelers).
• Older adults and pregnant women, especially Hispanics, have a higher risk of invasive diseases caused by Listeria infections, including bloodstream infection, meningitis, miscarriage, and stillbirth. Among older adults, the risk of invasive listeriosis increases as people get older.
• There was no significant change in the incidence of listeriosis from 2004 to 2009. Increasing prevention efforts such as food safety education for pregnant women, especially those who are Hispanic, and older adults are recommended.
• The frequency of Vibriosis illness increased from 1996 to 2010. More effective prevention efforts, such as measures to inform the public about the hazards of raw shellfish consumption and to decrease contamination of oysters, are recommended.
• Resistance to commonly used antibiotics is high. Although most cases of shigellosis can be managed without antibiotics, it may be more difficult to treat severe infections if Shigella isolates are becoming resistant to commonly used antibiotics.
• Culture-independent testing is becoming a more common way to diagnose foodborne diseases, and with it comes challenges and opportunities for public health agencies, clinical laboratories, and industry. This report summarizes these challenges and opportunities, and suggests strategies that can be adopted to ensure that surveillance data continues to be accurate. Some of the strategies suggested for public health agencies include collecting information on testing methods used, regularly surveying clinical laboratories regarding testing practices, and conducting validation studies.

Links to full reports on each of these trends are available at http://www.cdc.gov/foodnet/data/publications/cid-supplement.html#illness.

More information on Foodnet is available at http://www.cdc.gov/foodnet/.