Tag: food labels

State Pushes Fish Grocers to Warn Consumers

A state government is taking some grocery chains to court to try to force them to post warnings about mercury in fish. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham explains:

Transcript

A state government is taking some grocery chains to court to try to force them to post warnings
about mercury in fish. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham explains:


Just about any fish has trace amounts of methyl-mercury in it due to pollution. But some predator
fish, such as swordfish, shark, and some tuna have higher levels of mercury. The State of
California is taking five grocery chains that sell fish to court. It wants Kroger’s, Safeway, Trader
Joe’s, Albertson’s and Whole Foods to warn consumers that higher levels of mercury can cause
cancer, birth defects and reproductive harm. Tom Dressler is with the California Attorney
General’s office.


“I mean, one example would be to post a warning at the fish counters where the products are sold.
We’re not asking for warning labels on the packages. We just want a clear, reasonable warning
posted that informs consumers and does some good.”


The case is important because California often leads the nation in setting new standards for
environmental law.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Lester Graham.

Canadian Food Labeling Bill Defeated

The Canadian Parliament has voted down a bill that would have required labeling for genetically modified foods. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Karen Kelly reports:

Transcript

The Canadian Parliament has voted down a bill that would have required labelling for genetically modified foods. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Karen Kelly
reports.


The proposal called for labeling food when at least one percent of its ingredients have been genetically modified. Opinion polls have indicated that a large majority of
Canadians support the labeling. But farmers and food industry lobbyists fought the
bill. Holly Penfound of Greenpeace Canada is disappointed
with the defeat. But she says her group will now focus on convincing
companies to label voluntarily.


“We’re going to see more and more companies just gradually realize that they can be leaders in this or they can be followers and the ones who are going to be leaders are going to be in the best economic position in their marketplace.”


Several bills related to genetically modified foods have been introduced in the U.S. but mandatory labeling has yet to come to a vote. For The Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Karen Kelly.

Guide Educates Consumers on Food Additives

Americans are eating more and more processed foods. And that means that food labels are getting longer, as manufacturers add new ingredients to their products. But labels may not tell consumers much about those additives or how much the food was processed. To help educate themselves, consumers can now turn to a new guide to food ingredients. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Steve Frenkel has more: