"center for science in the public interest" news and stories

• Is it back-to-school time already? Almost. Pack up your lunchbox.
• (Not sure what to put in it? The Center for Science in the Public Interest has ideas.)
• One Lexington sports bar is heading for the border.
• When cobbler feels like too much trouble, try making a slump. That's right: slump.

While its programming may be kid-friendly, a new report shows that a majority of the food advertisements on Nickelodeon are for unhealthy foods.

A study from the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) finds that "nearly 80 percent of food ads on the popular children's network Nickelodeon are for foods of poor nutritional quality," CBS News reports.

That's actually an improvement from 2005, when CSPI found 90 percent of the ads were for junk food. Between 2005 and 2009 the industry began a self-regulatory program through the Better Business Bureau's Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI), but CSPI says that self-regulation isn't working.

Photo: chooyutshing, Flickr

Bon appétit?

On Tuesday, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) released its list of Top 10 riskiest foods policed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. According the the report, the items on the "FDA Top 10" account for nearly 40-percent of all reported foodborne outbreaks since 1990. The CSPI is a non-profit food safety and public health organization.

The FDA regulates nearly 80 percent of the nation's food supply including fruits and vegetables, seafood, egg and dairy products and most packaged foods.

But are they being overly cautious? Read the list after the jump.

The words "all natural" on the packaging of Capri Sun juice drinks have prompted a Florida woman to file a lawsuit against Kraft Foods, Inc., the drink's producer, the Associated Press reported. Assisted by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, Linda Rex of Boynton Beach, Fla., claims that the inclusion of high fructose corn syrup is what makes the drink in the little silver pouch less than "all natural." You might remember the CSPI from when they filed and then withdrew lawsuits against Kentucky Fried Chicken over trans-fat use last year, or for their similar actions against Starbucks. A recent press release from CSPI points out that the organization has also challenged 7UP's use of the word "natural." A statement from Kraft says that the "all natural" label was already on the way out and will soon be replaced with packaging that claims "no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives,'' the AP reported. CSPI's always-witty executive director Michael Jacobson, coiner of phrases such as "venti-sized health problems" and "Kentucky Fried coronary," said HCFS "would more accurately be called 'Fresh from the Factory.'"