and now also Pizza Hut under suspicion of using Cow ingrediences - Nun auch Pizza Hut mit Rinderbestandteilen ?

06-22-2002, 12:53 PM

U.S. Companies Worry They May Take Blame For Obesity
Source:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...6/13/financia\
l0905EDT0045.DTL

USA, June 13, 2002: Fearing they may be held responsible for the nation's
expanding waistline, U.S. food and beverage makers are going on the defensive
with obesity. Some packaged-food companies are contemplating advertisements that
would discourage consumers from overeating their products. A handful are giving
exercise equipment to schools and expanding the health-and-wellness information
on their Web sites. Others are mulling legal issues in case they are accused in
lawsuits of promoting a growing national health crisis.

In December, a surgeon General's report warned that obesity rates in the U.S.
had reached epidemic levels and called for a "national plan of action." Last
month, the Grocery Manufacturers of America, the powerful food-trade group,
urged a congressional panel not to blame individual foods as the cause of
America's weight gain.

Recently a handful of lawsuits have accused food companies of deceptive
marketing. Sued for billing its french fries as vegetarian, even though they are
made with a beef flavoring, McDonald's Corp., said it would donate $10 million
to Hindu groups and others in the U.S. as a partial settlement.

„h A similar complaint was filed against Pizza Hut, alleging that the company
concealed the use of beef products in its "vegetarian" pizzas. While the current
litigation mainly targets companies for allegedly misleading claims, not for
selling fattening foods, some legal experts see the cases as a portent for
future obesity suits.

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