California Senate Votes to Phase-out Artificial Trans Fat from Restaurants

The passage today in the California State Senate of a measure to phase out the use of artificial trans fat in restaurants puts the state on track to being the first in the nation to adopt this life-saving measure. The bill, which Assemblyman Tony Mendoza and Senator Elaine Alquist have skillfully steered through the legislative process, represents the longest nail yet in the coffin of artificial trans fat, which has been a major cause of heart disease.

By CSPI, USA.

Health Policy Resource.

Kraft, General Mills, Dole, & Others Ripping Off Consumers with Bogus Immunity Claims

Kraft’s Crystal Light Immunity Berry Pomegranate drink falsely claims that its vitamins A, C, and E will help “maintain a healthy immune system,” charges the Center for Science in the Public Interest. The nonprofit nutrition watchdog today urged the Food and Drug Administration to crack down on that and other deceptive “structure/function” claims increasingly appearing on food labels.

By CSPI, USA.

Health Policy Resource.

Broken Promises on Maternal Mortality in Nigeria

Broken Promises: Human Rights, Accountability, and Maternal Death in Nigeria, a new report by the Center for Reproductive Rights and Women Advocates Resource and Documentation Centre, illustrates the systematic failure of the Nigerian government to live up to its human rights obligations. That so many women die due to pregnancy related complications can be directly attributed to political and economic factors the government has the power to address.

By CRR, USA.

Health Policy Resource.

Government Prepares Assault on Civil Society Repressive New Legislation Should Be Amended or Scrapped

Ethiopia's government should immediately abandon plans to impose strict government controls and draconian criminal penalties on nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said today. The two groups called on donor governments, whose behind-the-scenes efforts to see the bill reformed appear to have failed, to speak out publicly against the de facto criminalization of most of the human rights, rule of law and peace-building work currently being carried out in Ethiopia.

By Amnesty International, USA.

Governance Policy Resource.