NYC judge just ruled on #sodaban, says it's arbitrary and capricious. This is a victory for small business and personal choice in #NYC.

— NYC Beverage Choices (@NYCBevChoices) March 12, 2013

It was doomed to fail, writes the Guardian. Even New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg acknowledged, "When we began this process, we knew we’d face lawsuits." He added, "When you adopt a groundbreaking policy, special interest will sue. That's America."

So the overturning by New York State judge Milton Tingling of Bloomberg's proposed ban on sugary beverages above 16 ounces, which was due to go into effect on Tuesday before being dismissed as "arbitrary" and "capricious" by Tingling, didn't come as a complete surprise.Continue reading...

As New York City enters a period of public comment on Mayor Michael Bloomberg's proposed ban on large soft drinks, it seems that everyone already has had a lot to say about it. What's left?

There's the contingent who's backing the entire idea, including the city's health commissioner, Dr. Thomas Farley. He heads NYC's Board of Health, which voted unanimously on Tuesday to put Bloomberg's controversial (and lampooned on the current cover of The New Yorker) proposal to the public.

Other avowed fans of the proposed ban include ex-Coca-Cola marketing executive Todd Putman, who has gone on a mea culpa tour to oppose the soft-drink industry and expose his earlier 'dirty' work.

"How can we drive more ounces into more bodies more often" was how Putman described what he perceived as his mission as a Coke marketer.

Meanwhile, however, the proposed ban has fallen flat with New Yorkers in a new poll by Quinnipiac University. Slightly more than half — 51 percent — are against the idea, led by older voters, with 57 percent of those aged 50 to 64 raising their hands as opposed. Manhattan lodged the highest geographic support.Continue reading...

It didn't take long for New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who has been on the warpath against obesity, to create buzz around his plans for a ban on banning the sale of sugary drinks in containers larger than 16 ounces at cinemas, restaurants and other "service" outlets in Gotham.

Hizzoner barely had time to tweet messages such as, "Obesity kills thousands of NYers a year & adds $4 billion a year in health care costs," and, "Public health officials across America talk about fighting obesity. In NYC, we DO something about it," before one of the biggest brand targets of his proposed move, Coca-Cola, lashed back at the Bloomberg-spurred Department of Health proposal.

"The people of New York are much smarter than the New York City Health Department believes," Coca-Cola's statement said. "We are transparent with our consumers. They can see exaclty how many calories are in every beverage we serve. New Yorkers expect and deserve better than this."Continue reading...

What's in a name? A lot, if you've got an inconvenient one and you want to change it. Would John Denver ever have become beloved, or even reviled, as Henry John Deuschendorf?

Thus you can understand the disappointment of the makers of high-fructose corn syrup this week after the U.S. Food & Drug Administration rejected a request by the corn-refining giants to allow them to change the name of their product to "corn sugar."

The agency said that it defines sugar as a solid, dried and crystallized food — not a syrup. Plus there's already something that technically is a solid corn-based sweetener, dextrose. Thus, the corn refiners are stuck with the moniker — better known by the acronym HFCS — that might as well appear as a skull and crossbones on nutritional labels, the way many American mothers see it.Continue reading...

Boston isn't the only US city that's not sweet on sugar these days. In what seems to be a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black, sugar producers are suing corn processors in Los Angeles for peddling unhealthy products.

C&H Sugar and other groups of sugar-cane and beet farmers sued in Los Angeles this week to block Cargill, Archer-Daniels-Midland and other members of the Corn Refiners Association who produce high-fructose corn syrup from rebranding their product as "corn sugar."

The court battle kicked off today, with sugar farmers claiming they want to save nutrition-minded Americans from the companies' false advertising and efforts to undermine good ol' American healthy eating. 

It's no surprise that even sugar producers would want to keep their distance from the HFCS Complex these days.Continue reading...

Just a few years after making its appearance in all-natural beverages and other “foodie” items, stevia-based products are stepping up their bid for a bigger share of the sugar-substitute market that has been dominated for a decade by Splenda.

Just as the battle over high-fructose corn syrup and sugar — and America's battle with obesity — heats up, Cargill’s Truvia brand has launched a multi-million-dollar advertising campaign with the tagline "Honestly Sweet" and plans to take the no-calorie sweetener brand’s relationship with consumers to the next level, from mere awareness to an emotional connection.Continue reading...