I am what is called a 'secret chocoholic' ...I attend CA meetings everyday in my kitchen when Mark is at work and kids at school. Isn't admission to the problem the first step? and whoever said this was a problem? ;)
SAN FRANCISCO (May 12) - A lawyer who has spent much of his life enjoying Oreo cookies has sued Kraft Foods Inc. seeking to ban the much-loved cookies in California because they contain trans fat, an ingredient he calls inedible.
Kraft boasts that people have eaten 450 billion Oreo cookies since they introduced the chocolate wafer sandwich cookies with a creamy filling in 1912.
But if British-born attorney Stephen Joseph has his way, that culinary love affair will come to an end, at least until Kraft stops using hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils to make the cookies.
Kraft calls the suit filed in Marin County Superior Court just north of San Francisco baseless but Joseph says he is taking advantage of a provision of the California civil code that holds manufacturers liable for common products if not "known to be unsafe by the ordinary consumer."
The ingredient is used in thousands and thousands of products. In an interview on Monday, Joseph said, "I am probably full of hydrogenated fat because until two years ago I didn't know about it. I resent the fact that I have been eating that stuff all my life."
Hydrogenation adds hydrogen gas to vegetable oil, helping to solidify it into products such as margarine. Health experts say the process makes them as unhealthy as real butter, if not more so, as the hydrogenated fats act like cholesterol in the body. Trans fats are common in cookies and crackers and part of both the cookie and filling in Oreos. \09
'SHOCKING' CASE
"That's what's so shocking; that it has been so well hidden," said Joseph, who has set up an advocacy group called BanTransFats.com Inc. "I hope if nothing else comes of this lawsuit that more people know about trans fat than before."
Kraft says it is already testing alternatives to trans fats but said they will vigorously fight the lawsuit.
Its parent company Altria Group Inc. is also the owner of cigarette maker Philip Morris USA, itself no stranger to legal battles over product safety.
"We know the importance of good nutrition and we are committed to helping people lead a healthy lifestyle, but we have no choice than to draw the line against baseless lawsuits like this," Michael Mudd, Kraft's senior vice president for corporate affairs, said in an interview.
"We've been ... exploring ways to reduce trans fat in Oreos and those efforts are continuing," he continued. "You can make a cookie without trans fat but what you're trading off is the unique taste and texture that people have come to expect."
U.S. companies, the world masters in processed foods, are showing an awareness of trans fats. Frito-Lay, part of PepsiCo Inc., announced last year it would eliminate trans fats from snacks such as Doritos. McDonald's Corp. also said it would make French fries with less trans fat.
In February, a federal court threw out a lawsuit against McDonald's that claimed its burgers and fries cause obesity.
The commissioner for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has said the agency will soon require labeling information about trans fats in foods.
05/12/03 17:38 ET
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
Well, let's see....that album came out in 1965 and the woman on the cover is already obviously....um...mature, so if that wasme that would make me, what, 60 or 65? ;)
oops?
Any statement is a question, as long as you end it with a question mark?
I think you may be right?
dipping oreos in Hersheys chocolate syrup with a glass of ice cold MILK?
mmmmmmmmmmm? doesn't that sound yummy?
how's that ares? better? ;)
was that a question, likker lady?
all this time, wasn't it your daughter and husband who are the chocolate freaks, me2?
I am what is called a 'secret chocoholic' ...I attend CA meetings everyday in my kitchen when Mark is at work and kids at school. Isn't admission to the problem the first step? and whoever said this was a problem? ;)
can this be a public ca meeting? where all of us secret chocoholics meet?
Isn't addiction to chocolate actually a virtue????
WoW, coincidence? ...
SAN FRANCISCO (May 12) - A lawyer who has spent much of his life enjoying Oreo cookies has sued Kraft Foods Inc. seeking to ban the much-loved cookies in California because they contain trans fat, an ingredient he calls inedible.
Kraft boasts that people have eaten 450 billion Oreo cookies since they introduced the chocolate wafer sandwich cookies with a creamy filling in 1912.
But if British-born attorney Stephen Joseph has his way, that culinary love affair will come to an end, at least until Kraft stops using hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils to make the cookies.
Kraft calls the suit filed in Marin County Superior Court just north of San Francisco baseless but Joseph says he is taking advantage of a provision of the California civil code that holds manufacturers liable for common products if not "known to be unsafe by the ordinary consumer."
The ingredient is used in thousands and thousands of products. In an interview on Monday, Joseph said, "I am probably full of hydrogenated fat because until two years ago I didn't know about it. I resent the fact that I have been eating that stuff all my life."
Hydrogenation adds hydrogen gas to vegetable oil, helping to solidify it into products such as margarine. Health experts say the process makes them as unhealthy as real butter, if not more so, as the hydrogenated fats act like cholesterol in the body. Trans fats are common in cookies and crackers and part of both the cookie and filling in Oreos. \09
'SHOCKING' CASE
"That's what's so shocking; that it has been so well hidden," said Joseph, who has set up an advocacy group called BanTransFats.com Inc. "I hope if nothing else comes of this lawsuit that more people know about trans fat than before."
Kraft says it is already testing alternatives to trans fats but said they will vigorously fight the lawsuit.
Its parent company Altria Group Inc. is also the owner of cigarette maker Philip Morris USA, itself no stranger to legal battles over product safety.
"We know the importance of good nutrition and we are committed to helping people lead a healthy lifestyle, but we have no choice than to draw the line against baseless lawsuits like this," Michael Mudd, Kraft's senior vice president for corporate affairs, said in an interview.
"We've been ... exploring ways to reduce trans fat in Oreos and those efforts are continuing," he continued. "You can make a cookie without trans fat but what you're trading off is the unique taste and texture that people have come to expect."
U.S. companies, the world masters in processed foods, are showing an awareness of trans fats. Frito-Lay, part of PepsiCo Inc., announced last year it would eliminate trans fats from snacks such as Doritos. McDonald's Corp. also said it would make French fries with less trans fat.
In February, a federal court threw out a lawsuit against McDonald's that claimed its burgers and fries cause obesity.
The commissioner for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has said the agency will soon require labeling information about trans fats in foods.
05/12/03 17:38 ET
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
Trans Fat information http://aolsvc.health.webmd.aol.com/content/article/60/67219.htm
????? WOW ?????? You may really die here...We may loose oreos?
We may loose oreos?
Did you not know that "loose" is an adjective and "lose" is a verb?
Why do you choose to bring it up? Maybe she chose to use it wrong?
Hmmm, I believe we were talking about that Oreo case yesterday in my frivolous lawsuits forum, weren't we, ares? ;)
yes i believe we were, weren't we?
Excellent! Shall we change the topic, then?
Is it ok if I type too fast and make a typo?
Is it ok if I don't have enough money to buy a computer that won't skip letters and can keep up with my fast typing skills?
aren't you getting the laptop this weekend so you don't have to worry about overtyping the computer?
only for a day? :(
isn't its owner worried that you'll become too attached to it? why does she believe you'll give it back?
Ooooh, are there really computers that won't skip letters? Where can I get one? :)
"You don't own a TV? What's all your furniture pointed at then?
Joey from Friends
Uh.....the windows?
Is Eisenhower on the dime?
Trip 4 JOE?
Brother, can you spare a dime?
Sister can you spare a franc? Or just go to
"Be Ultra Stupid I STILL LOVE YOU?"
Is this Joe's post 5300 for the TOTNH thread?
Le franc est fini. Peut-etre vous avez eu l'intention de dire l'euro? ;)
Joe? Are you there?
Juste comme une devise! Le franc s'inquiète-t-il si je suis fini?
Oh My! Is that a picture of L. Lionne?
Well, let's see....that album came out in 1965 and the woman on the cover is already obviously....um...mature, so if that wasme that would make me, what, 60 or 65? ;)
Did someone find Kelly's treasure?
Somebody got a treasure in a van at the park, but was her name Kelly?
did we ever figure out if that was actually kelly's treasure or not?
Who is Kelly?
was that Kelly's face that was scraped off the coin?
or eaten away by bugs?
Wow, did anybody else forget about this thread?
I did, Did you?
Why else would I ask the question?
Why are you calling us back in to this thread?
What is your evil plot?
Who, me?
Uhm, no?
You see?
As long as you put a question mark at the end, you're OK?
Um, are all these statements masquerading as questions giving anyone else a headache?
THX, didn't I mention that I had the flu?
Oh, and Happy New Year?
THX, didn't I mention that I had the flu?
You just did, didn't you?
Did I mention I've got a bug myself?
Should be a fun New Years Eve, don't ya think?
With all this action, you think it's time to take this thread out of the nursing home?
Don't people in nursing homes ever get any action?
And THX, are you feeling any better?
Why aren't you people out celebrating??
And THX, are you feeling any better?
I wish I were dead?