On fairness and claims

Perhaps the best known theory of fairness is John Broome’s: that fairness is the proportional satisfaction of claims. In this paper, I question whether claims are the appropriate focus for a theory of fairness, at least as Broome understands them in his current theory. If fairness is the proportionate satisfaction of claims, I argue, then the following would be true: fairness could not help determine the correct distribution of claims; fairness could not be used to evaluate the distribution of claims; fairness could not guide us in distributing claims (or unowed goods); we could not have a claim to be treated fairly; and we would not be wronged when treated unfairly. These entailments mean that it is questionable that fairness is concerned with claims in the way Broome suggests. At the very least, the relationship between fairness and claims appears to be more complex than the picture painted by Broome.

Food health claims – What consumers understand

Issues pertaining to consumer understanding of food health claims are complex and difficult to disentangle because there is a surprising lack of multidisciplinary research aimed at evaluating how consumers are influenced by factors impacting on the evaluation process. In the EU, current legislation is designed to protect consumers from misleading and false claims but there is much debate about the concept of the ‘average consumer’ referred to in the legislation. This review provides an overview of the current legislative framework, discusses the concept of the ‘average consumer’ and brings together findings on consumer understanding from an international perspective. It examines factors related to the personal characteristics of individuals such as socio-demographic status, knowledge, and attitudes, and factors pertaining to food and food supplement products such as the wording of claims and the communication of the strength and consistency of the scientific evidence. As well as providing insights for future research, the conclusions highlight the importance of enhancing the communication of scientific evidence to improve consumer understanding of food health claims.

‘The Claims of Epic: Overcoming historical distance in the Homeric versions of Derek Walcott and Michael Longley’

This book chapter compares the translation strategies of two contemporay poets, Derek Walcott and Michael Longley, as they attempt versions or rewrites of Homeric epic.

Authorised EU health claims for polyphenols in olive oil

There is evidence that various phenolic compounds (such as oleuropein, tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol) found in virgin olive oil may be responsible for the beneficial effects on cardiovascular disease. In the EU there is an authorized health claim that‘olive oil polyphenols contribute to the protection of blood lipids from oxidative stress’ on the basis of human studies showing significantly reduced levels of oxidized LDL in plasma after virgin olive oil consumption. The claim may be used only for olive oil that contains at least 5 mg of hydroxytyrosol and its derivatives per 20 g of olive oil. Other claims proposed (including maintenance of normal blood pressure and HDL cholesterol concentration, and anti-inflammatory properties) were rejected.

Unwriting food labels: discursive challenges in the regulation of package claims

This article examines the challenges resulting from the regulation of written discourse on food packages. It uses as a case study Hong Kong’s strict new food-labeling law that requires distributers and retailers to remove certain nutritional claims from packages of imported food before they sell them. This practice of redacting unlawful text on packages requires that distributers and retailers engage in complex processes of discursive reasoning, and it some- times results in packages that are difficult for customers to interpret. The case study highlights important issues in the regulation of commercial texts concerning collaboration, intertextuality, and the conflicts that can arise when the principals, authors, and animators of such texts have different agendas.

Two important exceptions to the relationship between energy density and fat content: food with reduced-fat claims and high-fat vegetable-based dishes

Objective: To test the hypothesis that many foods with reduced-fat (RF) claims are relatively energy-dense and that high-fat (HF) vegetable-based dishes are relatively energy-dilute.

Design: Nutrient data were collected from available foods in Melbourne supermarkets that had an RF claim and a full-fat (FF) equivalent. Nutrient analyses were also conducted on recipes for HF vegetable-based dishes that had more than 30% energy from fat but less than 10% from saturated fat. The dietary intake data (beverages removed) from the 1995 National Nutrition Survey were used for the reference relationships between energy density (ED) and percentage energy as fat and carbohydrate and percentage of water by weight.

Statistics: Linear regression modelled relationships of macronutrients and ED. Paired t-tests compared observed and predicted reductions in the ED of RF foods compared with FF equivalents.

Results: Both FF and RF foods were more energy-dense than the Australian diet and the HF vegetable-based dishes were less energy-dense. The Australian diet showed significant relationships with ED, which were positive for percentage energy as fat and negative for percentage energy as carbohydrate. There were no such relationships for the products with RF claims or for the HF vegetable-based dishes.

Conclusion: While, overall, a reduced-fat diet is relatively energy-dilute and is likely to protect against weight gain, there appear to be two important exceptions. A high intake of products with RF claims could lead to a relatively energy-dense diet and thus promote weight gain. Alternatively, a high intake of vegetable-based foods, even with substantial added fat, could reduce ED and protect against weight gain.

The challenge for the dairy industry arising from the new health claims standard: an impetus for innovation

The publication of a Preliminary Final Assessment Report on 4 April 2007 heralded another step towards the introduction of a new Health Claims Standard to be inserted into the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code. This Health Claims Standard, once approved by the Board of Food Standards Australia New Zealand and by the Australia New Zealand Food Regulation Ministerial Council, will permit the making of certain substantiated health claims. Prior to the introduction of the new Standard, health claims have not been permitted on food labels, with the exception of claims in relation to maternal folate consumption and its positive effect in reducing the risk of foetal neural tube defects. The new Health Claims Standard as outlined in the Preliminary Final Assessment Report is likely to have a significant impact on the dairy industry. This paper seeks to analyse that impact, including threats, opportunities and challenges that the Standard poses to the dairy industry and other food suppliers.

The moral status of wrongful life claims

A wrongful life action is a claim brought by a disabled child who asserts that but for a physician's negligence he or she would not have been born, thereby being spared the suffering of life. The action is inherently controversial because the alternative to an impaired life is non-existence. Lord Griffiths has described such claims as 'utterly offensive; there should be rejoicing that the hospital's mistake bestowed the gift of life upon the child'.' This paper cuts through the rhetoric that the debate has generated and analyses whether there is a sound doctrinal basis for recognizing wrongful life actions.

Nutrition, health and related claims

The article deals with food regulations controlling the use of nutrition, health and related claims in Australia and New Zealand. It relates how such regulation of claims are managed in several ways. Examples are the Code of Practice on Nutrient Claims, vitamin and mineral claims, claims about electrolyte drinks and sports food and the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code.

Analysing health claims policy in Australia : a case study of evidence in food and nutrition policy-making

Purpose: Health claims generally describe an association between a food product and a health outcome. There is debate whether health claims promote or obstruct healthy food selection behaviour. This study investigates the role of evidence in food and nutrition policy-making. The research question is how and why was health claims policy made in Australia? The research is innovative in its critical analysis design and its focus on building theory to help improve food and nutrition policy-making processes and outcomes.

Methods: A case study design was adopted in which events, stakeholders and issues associated with the policy review were described from data generated from interviews and documentary sources. A content-analysis tool is being used to critically analyse textual data. Concepts in the text are being identified and relationships among the policy concepts, stakeholders and processes are being mapped.

Findings: The analysis of data associated with the policy review is revealing a pattern of relationships among stakeholders, processes and concepts around shared values, beliefs and interests towards food and health. Broader food regulation contexts have influenced the decision-making environment. The pattern of relationships shares common characteristics with Sabatier’s ‘Advocacy Coalition Framework’ theoretical explanation of policy-making.

Conclusions: The study findings have implications for health claims policy and practice in Australia. As a case study of evidence in food and nutrition policy-making, this research highlights the role of competing interests, beliefs and values in evidence interpretation. Challenges are identified in undertaking food policy research.

Environmental marketing claims : consumer interpretation and policy implications

Environmental claims communicate the concept of green brands. The purpose of this paper is to examine if environmental claims yield satisfactory results. Secondly, what policy measures would best encourage the adoption of environmental claims by businesses? Finally, how should businesses address practical and theoretical implications?The results suggests that in order to avoid misleading consumers, policy makers need to evaluate the public’s understanding of the meaning of claims, disallow the use of nonstandard claims by businesses, establish an education program and mandate their usage. There is also an indication that the usage of recognisable third party environmental labelling may be a more reliable.