7UP To Drop "Antioxidant" Marketing

Company Agrees to Stop Fortifying Soda with Vitamins WASHINGTON--Dr Pepper Snapple Group has agreed to stop fortifying certain of its 7UP soft drinks with vitamins and will no longer claim the product has antioxidants. The agreement ends litigation initiated by the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest and the consumer protection law firm Reese Richman LLP, which in November filed a federal class action lawsuit against the company on behalf of a California consumer. “Soda is not a health food, and should not be marketed as a healthy source of antioxidants or other nutrients,” said CSPI litigation director Steve Gardner. “It’s to the credit of Dr Pepper Snapple Group that it carefully considered these concerns, and worked collaboratively to resolve the dispute without further litigation. The end result is a big plus for consumers.” 7UP’s regular and diet Cherry Antioxidant, Mixed Berry Antioxidant, and Pomegranate Antioxidant varieties had small amounts of vitamin E added at the time of the lawsuit. According to the complaint, the pictures of cherries, blackberries, cranberries, raspberries, and pomegranates on various 7Up labels gave the impression that the antioxidants might have come from fruit, but there is no fruit juice of any kind in any variety of 7UP. FDA policy prohibits the fortification of carbonated soft drinks and junky snack foods with vitamins. Consumption of non-diet soda and other sugar drinks promotes weight gain, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, tooth decay, and other problems, according to CSPI and other health authorities. CSPI recommends that people drink water, unsweetened iced tea, seltzer water, or seltzer mixed with fruit juice, but if they do want soda to choose a diet soda over full-calorie soda. CSPI said that while it is pleased that Dr Pepper-Snapple agreed to stop fortifying its products, litigation over individual products is not the best way to get companies to obey the law. “It’s unfortunate that the FDA, with its authority and resources, doesn’t enforce the law against all the companies that illegally add nutrients to their products,” Jacobson said. Last week a federal magistrate ruled that a separate lawsuit against Coca-Cola, for what CSPI says is deceptive marketing of its vitaminwater line of soft drinks, may proceed as a class action. CSPI’s litigation unit is acting as co-counsel in that suit.

National Restaurant Association Joins Coalition to Advocate for Fair Effective Tax Rates Promotes tax fairness principles, policies for both small and larger businesses

National Restaurant Association Joins Coalition to Advocate for Fair Effective Tax Rates Promotes tax fairness principles, policies for both small and larger businesses (Washington, D.C.) The National Restaurant Association today announced its participation in a new group called the Coalition for Fair Effective Tax Rates, a diverse group of organizations joined to advocate for tax reform through fair effective tax rates, the amount of tax that businesses actually pay. In addition to the nearly 500,000 restaurant locations represented by the National Restaurant Association, the Coalition’s members include a wide range of nearly 500,000 additional businesses – including small business owners paying individual tax rates as well as large corporations paying corporate rates. The groups are unified by agreement that the federal tax code needs to be overhauled, and comprehensive reform is needed. “In order to spur job creation and economic growth throughout the economy and the restaurant industry, there needs to be a focus on an equal treatment of businesses under the tax code,” said Scott DeFife, Executive Vice President of Policy and Government Affairs for the National Restaurant Association. “By eliminating tax preferences, lawmakers would have the opportunity to lower corporate and individual tax rates and promote more robust economic growth.” Coalition members plan to encourage Administration officials and members of Congress to use effective tax rates as a leading metric as tax reform develops on Capitol Hill. The Coalition hopes effective-tax-rate comparisons will bolster legislation that broadens the tax base while lowering rates for corporations as well as pass-through businesses. The Coalition does not plan to take positions on specific tax provisions, but will concentrate on the benefits of viewing tax reform through the lens of effective tax rates with the goal of creating a fair, neutral playing field across all industries and business sectors. The National Federation of Independent Business and the Retail Industry Leaders Association co-chair the Coalition. A full listing of the group’s membership and more information about the coalition can be found on the group’s website: http://www.FairEffectiveTaxRates.com

Minimum Wage Buying Power Was Higher in 1956 – That’s Bad for Business

Business Leaders Join Members of Congress Urging Increase; Launch New Business for a Fair Minimum Wage Petition FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 24, 2013 Contact: Bob Keener, bob@businessforafairminimumwage.org, 617-610-6766 Washington DC, July 24, 2013 – Business owners urge a minimum wage increase to strengthen the economy as today marks four years without a raise. The current $7.25 federal minimum wage is lower than it was in 1956 at $8.58, adjusted for inflation. Today’s minimum wage workers have far less buying power than their counterparts did in 1968 when the minimum wage was at its highest value of $10.74, adjusted for inflation. “We cannot build a strong economy with wages worth less than they were half a century ago,” said Business for a Fair Minimum Wage Director Holly Sklar. Jon Cooper, the Owner of Spectronics Corporation in New York, who is appearing today with Sen. Gillibrand (NY), Sen. Casey (PA), Rep. Miller (CA) and Rep. Edwards (MD) at a Capitol Hill Press Conference, said, “Employers who pretend they can’t pay a minimum wage equivalent to what their counterparts paid in the 1960s should be ashamed of themselves. Fair wages are part of the formula for success at my company, the world’s leading manufacturer of ultraviolet equipment and fluorescent materials. Raising the minimum wage will help America succeed.” Dan Preston, Co-Owner of Telequest Inc. in New Jersey, said, “The best way to boost the economy is from the bottom up, rewarding hardworking people who are scraping by on minimal, stagnant wages. Henry Ford figured this out a century ago: Pay workers a reasonable wage, and they’ll be able to buy your products and make everyone better off.” “I want my employees concentrating on our customers, not worrying how they will afford to pay rent or put food on their own table,” said Amanda Rothschild, Co-Owner and Manager of Charmington’s café in Baltimore. “We’ve paid our employees more than the minimum wage from the day we opened, and that’s helped our business succeed. We have low turnover, which saves us money and improves productivity and quality. If my small restaurant can pay higher entry wages, certainly the big chains can too.” Business for a Fair Minimum Wage has launched a new sign-on statement for businesspeople supporting an increase in the federal minimum wage. Lead signers include Costco, Eileen Fisher, ABC Home, and small business owners including those quoted here. Amy Chender, Chief Operating Officer of retailer ABC Home, with stores in Florida, New York and New Jersey, said, “A minimum wage increase will put a stronger foundation under our economy. Wages are a basic cost of business and like energy, transportation and other expenses, costs change over time. The minimum wage must increase to reflect the rising cost of living. ABC Home pays well above the current minimum wage to all our hundreds of employees and we are ardently committed to supporting an overdue minimum wage raise.” Business for a Fair Minimum Wage supported the last increase in the minimum wage and believes another makes good business sense. The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013 would gradually raise the minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 in three annual steps of 95 cents each and then provide annual adjustments for inflation. “The minimum wage would be over $10 already if it had kept up with the rising cost of living since the 1960s instead of falling way behind,” said Business for a Fair Minimum Wage Director Holly Sklar. “Minimum wage critics know that most Americans think a fulltime job should keep you out of poverty, so they cloak justification of poverty wages in the myth that increasing minimum wage increases unemployment. In fact, as we point out in Research Shows Minimum Wage Increases Do Not Cause Job Loss, the most rigorous studies of the impact of actual minimum wage increases show they do not reduce employment.” Camille Moran, Owner of Caramor Industries in Louisiana, which includes Four Seasons Christmas Tree Farm, said, “If I don’t pay my employees a decent wage they won’t have money to spend at other businesses, and if other businesses don’t pay their workers a decent wage, they can’t afford to buy my trees and I can’t afford to hire more employees. Our lowest paid employees already earn at least $10 and we provide better product at competitive prices with big box stores. Raising the minimum wage is good economics.” Jeff Furman, Chair of Ben & Jerry’s Board of Directors, said, “I support a living wage economically, morally and with deep conviction. I support raising the federal minimum wage as an important step in that direction. At Ben & Jerry’s, we pay $16.13 to start and adjust our entry pay regularly to assure it is a living wage.”

Berries Over Bugs! Dannon Urged to Use Berries, Not Insect-Derived Carmine, to Color its Yogurts

WASHINGTON--The Center for Science in the Public Interest wants global yogurt giant Dannon to put berries over bugs. Dannon uses carmine—a dye extracted from the dried, pulverized bodies of cochineal insects—to give several varieties of fruit-flavored yogurt their pink color. The nonprofit food watchdog group says that Dannon’s practice cheats consumers, who might expect that the named fruits—and not the unnamed creepy crawlies—are providing the color. And, the bug-based dye puts some consumers at risk of serious allergic reactions. Strawberry, Cherry, Boysenberry, and Raspberry varieties of Dannon’s “Fruit on the Bottom” line all contain the critter-based dye, as does the Strawberry flavor of Dannon’s Oikos brand of Greek yogurt. Two flavors of Dannon’s Light and Fit Greed use the extract, as do six of its Activia yogurts. Dannon uses other natural colorings, such as purple carrot juice, in its Danimals line of yogurts marketed to children. CSPI’s Chemical Cuisine guide to food additives says “certain people should avoid” carmine since a small percentage of consumers can have reactions ranging from hives to anaphylactic shock after eating it. “I have nothing against people who eat insects, but when I buy strawberry yogurt I’m expecting yogurt and strawberries, and not red dye made from bugs,” said CSPI executive director Michael F. Jacobson. “Given the fact that it causes allergic reactions in some people, and that’s it easy to use safer, plant-based colors, why would Dannon use it at all? Why risk offending vegetarians and grossing out your other customers ?” CSPI is sponsoring an online petition on TakePart.com urging Franck Riboud, CEO of Dannon’s parent company Groupe Danone, to replace the bug-based dye with more of the fruit advertised on the label. The cochineal insect is a tiny, parasitic scale insect native to South America and Mexico. It lives on and feeds off a certain type of cacti. The red color comes from carminic acid, which the insects have in abundance. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, it takes on the order of 40,000 of the little bugs to produce one pound of cochineal extract. Besides yogurts, carmine can be found in candies, ice creams, and beverages, as well as in drugs and cosmetics. In response to a CSPI petition, the Food and Drug Administration at least requires carmine to be listed on food labels when it is used. Previously, companies could obscure the presence of the insect extract by labeling it “artificial color.” CSPI had urged the FDA to go further and describe carmine as “insect-derived,” making it easier for vegetarians, Jews who keep Kosher, or anyone otherwise averse to eating such ingredients to avoid it.