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THE SUGAR ASSOCIATION, INC. ANNUAL MEETING
OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
WASHINGTON, D. C.
MAY 11, 1978
I N D E X
TAB
Agenda A
Report of Nominating Committee B
Election of Auditor and Legal Counsel C
Report of the Treasurer D
Research Program Funding Schedule E
Nutritive Sweetener Council F
Amendments to By-Laws - CE&I Membership Agreement G
Report of Budget Commi t te.e H
Other I
Public Policy Forecasting, Inc.-FTC Labelling Study
Atlantic Constitution Articles
"How Sweet It Is" - April 20
"Sugar Taking Its Lumps" - April 21
AGENDA
THE SUGAR ASSOCIATION, INC.
ANNUAL MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
May 11, 1978
---
---.l . Appointment of Secretary of the Meeting
2. Approval of Minutes of Board of Directors
Meeting - February 9, 1978
3. Report of Nominating Committee - Election of
Officers and Executive Committee
4. Election of Auditor and Legal Counsel
5. Report of the Treasurer
6. Application for Contributing Research Membership
7. Report and Recommendations of Public Communications
Committee - Mr. Don. F. Martin
8. Food and Nutrition Advisory Council Report - Dr. D. B.
Coursin
9. World Sugar Research Organization - Review.
10. Nutritive Sweetener Council
11. Amendments to By-Laws:
a. Contributing Education & Information Membership - Agreement
b. A.ssociate Membership
12. Report of Budget Committee
13. Public Policy Forecasting, Inc. -F.T.C. Labelling Study
14. Fall Meeting of the Board of Directors
THE SUGAR ASSOCIATION, INC. NOMINEES
1978/1979
OFFICERS AND EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
OFFICERS: William
w.
Sprague, Jr. John B. Boy Johnw.
Tatem, Jr. Horace D. Godfrey Davidc.
Carter Roger H. Sullivan Delta R. Barbour EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE: Charles Azarow John B. Boy John B. Bunker Rowland M. Cannon Guy D. Manuel Horace D. Godfrey Jack B. Powell William W. Sprague , Jr. Roger H. Sullivan Chairman Vice Chairman PresidentVice President
Treasurer
_Secretary
Assistant Secretary
RESOLUTIONS FOR AUDITORS AND COUNSEL FOR 1978-1979:
RESOLVED, That Arthur Ander·sen & Company be appointed Auditors of The Sugar Association, Inc. for the fiscal year of 1978-1979; and further
RESOLVED, That Corcoran, Youngman &
Rowe be appointed Legal Counsel for The Sugar Association, Inc. for the fiscal year of
THE SUGAR ASSOCIATION, INC.
Report of the Treasurer
STATEMENT OF ASSETS, LIABILITIES AND FUND BALANCE
MARCH 31, 1978
ASSETS
Cash
Accounts & Other Receivables
Security Deposits Prepaid Expenses
Investments - The Sugar Assn., Inc.
Investments - FNRF
FNRF-Receivable from General Fund
TO'I'AL ASSETS
LIABILITIES AND FUND BALANCE
Accounts Payable Rent Deposit
Accrued ICUMSA Project Expenses Accrued Relocation Expenses Accrued Deferred Compensation Payable to FNRF
TOTAL LIABILITIES FUND BALANCE, Per Schedule II
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND. FUND BALANCE
$ 40,122 3,206 27,928 700 250,000 84,878 131,539 $ 836 1,312 14,876 29,106 53,668 131.,539 SCHEDULE I $538,373 $231,337 307,036 $538,373
SCHEDULE II
THE SUGAR ASSOCIATION, INC. Report of the Treasurer
STATEMENT OF INCOME AND EXPENSES
AND CHA.i~GES IN FUND BALANCE FOR THE PERIOD END.ED MARCH 31 , 19 7 8
INCOME: Membership Contributions CRM Contributions Interest Income - SA Interest Income - FNRF Other Income - FNRF TOTAL INCOME EXPENSES:
Food & Nutrition Advisory Council
Consulting & Monitoring - FNAC
Approved Research Projects - FNRF
ISRF (WSRO}
Public Relations
Exhibits
Distribution of Printed Material
Dist. of Printed Material - Unbudgeted
Administrative Expenses (Exhibit I}
TOTAL EXPENSES
INCOME OVER EXPENSES
FUND BALANCE, beginning of period
FUND BALANCE, end_~f period
*-Dawber Research Project Contribut ions
$898,679 80,000 6,796 2,034 9,897* $ 38,030 34,166 146,727 47,974 276,503 14,234 6,321 2,454 253,590 $997,406 $819,999 177,407 129,629 $307,036
THE SUGAR ASSOCIATION, INC.
Report of the Treasurer
STATEMENT OF ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES FOR THE N.INE MONTHS ENDED .MARCH 31, 1978
Salaries
Special Counsel
Meetings, Travel, Conferences &
Entertainment Legal & Auditing
Rent
Office Equipment & Rental Office Supplies & Expense
Library
Telephone & Telegraph Postage
Insurance & Property Taxes
Payroll Taxes & Hospitalization
Deferred Compensation/Bonuses Miscellaneous
TOTAL ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES
$110,766 30,112 28,216 13,602 16,252 6,201 3,077 3,515 8 ,.351 3,102 1,126 9,587 17,250 2,433 EXHIBIT I $253,590
RESEARCH PROGRAM FUNDING SCHEDULE May 11, 1978 Principal Investigator Starting Date 7/1/75-6/30/76 7/l/76-6.fl2.LI!. 7/1/77-6/30/78 7/1/78-6/30/79 7/1/79-6/30/80 Project No. SA-4-003/75 Greenwood (Columbia U) 1/1/76 $18,725 $22,954 $ 25,124 SA-3-002/75 SA-2-027/76 SA-9-016/76 SA-1-018/76 SA-2-021/76 (3 yrs.) Brunzell 2/1/76* (U. of Wash.) (l yr.)
West 7/1/76* (U. of Okla.) (1 yr.)
Wurtman (M.I.T.) Feary (L. S.U.) 7/1/76 (3 yrs.) 8/1/76* (3 yrs.) 1/1/77 24,489 7,000 22,460 20,910 20,376 Robertson (VA Hosp. Seattle,WA) (3 yrs.)** SA-2-028/76 SA-6-041/76 SA-3-048/76 SA-3-029/76 SA-2-050/77 SA-1-064/77 SA-6/087 /77 SA-4-046/76 Keen (Guy'.s Hosp. London) Felig (Yale U. l 4/1/77 (1 yr.) 6/1/77 (2 yrs.) Fry 6/1/77
(U. of Oregon) (2 yrs.)
Nestel (Australian Nat. Univ.) Arky (Harvard Med. School) Slee (U. Conn.) Dawber (Boston Univ. Med. School) Pi-Sunyer (St. Luke's Hosp., NY) 6/1/77 (2 yrs.) 7/1/77 (l yr.) 12/1/77 (3 yrs.) 1/1/78 (6 mos.) 1978 (2 yrs.) SA-1-073/77 Levine 1978 SA-6-082/77 SA-9-094/78
(U. of Okla.) (3 yrs.) Gidez (A.Einstein Coll. Med.) Schade (U. of N.M.) 1978 13 yrs.) 1978 (2 yrs.) Funds As signed Total F=ds Available*** Residual Funds Available****
13,494 22,150 18,500 12,500 7,500 24,240 .~-$43,214 $192,084 215,000 22,916 22,517 $ 22,576 20,744 21,644 2l,920 23,410 19,980 12,500 23,681 25,660 27,972 19,503*** 26,299 5,000 4,800 4',600 16,524 17,845 19,273 19,581 20,481 $256,507 $114,282 $ 51,845 268,416 240,000 240,000 11,909 125,718 188,155
\
*Brunzel! project completed 1/31/77. West project completed 6/30/77. Fell")' project will be
discontin·ued 6/30/78.
*•Third year of Robertson protocol contingent on results of first two yeara.
***Total Funds Available for FY-1976 based on $150,000 from Sugar Association, $10,000 f,rom each of five CRMs and· $5,000 from each of three CRMs. For subsequent fi3cal years, TFA based on $150,000 from Sugar Association plus $10,000 from each CRM. For FY-1977 $10,500 contributed by other international organizations toward the Dawber project.
****Residual Funds Available from any given fiscal year will be carried into the Total Funds Available for the following fiscal year. TFA for 1977/78 includes contributions of $245,500 plus $22,916 RFA from 1976/77. Subsequent years do not show this RFA carry over.
NUTRITIVE SWEETENER COUNCIL
I
Preamble
For some time now sugar has been publicly criticized as being detrimental to the nation's health.
The criticism started some years ago with the diet craze and was taken up by the promoters of fad foods and diets,.
mega-vitamin cures and quack remedies. In turn, sugar has been challeng-ed by_many misinformed consumer advocates looking for a target to
justify their existences. The cycle continues with an impression-able media looking for controversy, which, again in turn, influences
the politician seeking to impress the voters.
This criticism continues unabated despite the fact that sugar has been declared safe by the scientific community in re-sponse to the questions of the FDA.
The criticism has culminated in publication of "Dietary Goals for the United States," a politically inspired, lay-written, inaccurate document, which among other lofty recommendations has suggested to the American public that i t cut back on its intake of sugars (including corn sweeteners) by 45 per cent.
The Sugar Association, Inc., in responding to this flood of criticism, has stemmed the tide to some extent in reaching its
short-....___ term objectives of gathering the scientific facts concerning sugar
and health and disseminating them to professional target audiences capable of spreading them in sugar's support.
The Board and Staff of The Sugar Association now believe this deluge of unsubstantiated criticism requires a firm and direct
/
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-response to the consuming public in defense ·and explanation both of
sugar itself and sugar-containing products.
With this in mind and with an awareness that reaching 216 million potential users of sugar and sugar-containing products is a massive communications assignment, the Association proposes the
formation of a Nutritive Swe·eten·er Council. It would start with a
core membership from Association ranks and be supplemented by com-panies engaged in the manufacture and sale of sugar-containing products, thus enabling greater financial support and broader com-munications input.
In addition to a substantial monetary contribution, the Association can contribute a definitive body of scientific infor~ mation concerning sugar and health and the input of one of the finest working scientific research councils in the food industry, namely the Food and Nutrition Advisory Council, which already has Contributing Research Members from the sugar-using industries.
As well, the Nutritive Sweetener Council would offer its cooperation and disseminate its information to all associations representing the sugar-using industries.
We invite you to join with The Sugar Association as a member of the Nutritive Swe·etener Counci 1 in ·tackling· this communications effort. It rr:ust be-:-.understood, however, that this effort is not a · one-shot affair but an o"ngoing operation that will take years to be
I I
Poli·cy Statement
The basic long-term communications objective of the Council is to take the message of sugar's safety, supported by the scientific facts, to as many of the 216 million potential American consumers of sugar and sugar-containing products as possible.
The message will explicitly counter false charges against s~gar, and at the same time explain the role of sugar--used in
moderation--in a well-balanced diet.
A secondary objective of great importance is to take the true sugar story to those key government officials who are presuming to shape public policy in matters of nutrition and health. This is a vital consideration in that highly prejudiced, uninformed so-called consumer advocates have permeated government at all levels--usually proffering inaccurate or false information. And government decisions in our present society frequently bypass the wishes of the consuming public. Thus government--Federal, state and local--would be the number one specialized target audience of the Council.
(Of extreme priority in this area are the Federal Trade Com-mission, with its inclination and ability to orchestrate the
adver-tising of sugar-containing products [and perhaps many other foods]; the Food and Drug Administration, with its leaning toward singling out sugar for discriminatory labeling; and the Department of Agri-culture, with its declared intention of redirecting the American diet, including experimenting with children's diets in the School Lunch Program.)
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-of unde~standing among the consuming public in which the manufacture, sale and distribution of sugar and sugar-containing products may be carried on free of false and unfounded charges and the constant threat of legislative restriction.
Other major target audiences include dentists, physicians, educators and professional nutritionists.
III Structure
The Counci l will be comprised of firms engaged in the manu-facture, sale and distribution of nutritive sweeteners or food pro-duct s cont aining these sweeteners that are willing to lend financial support to its activities.
The Council's communications messages will be based on
scientifically-substantiated information concerning use of nutritive sweeteners. It will encourage and fund the development of additional information when i t is required.
The Council will disseminate its messages through every
acceptable communications means to every appropriate public group and will conduct information and surveillance programs directed to each appropriate Federal, state and local legislative body and regulatory agency, in order to achieve a true, fair and reasonable understanding and acceptance of nutritive sweeteners, their applications and their effects on humans.
The Council will be made up of the Director of Public Re-lations of the Sugar Association; official Sugar Association members, numbering not more than seven communications executives on a rotating basis; and one communisations executive each from the sugar-using company members.
It will be the responsibility of the Council to assess its problems, plan and budget i ts program and supervise its implementation.
In addition, there will be a Nutritive Sweetener Commi t tee, made up of the President of the Sugar·Association; five Sugar
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-Board on a rotating basis; and one executive each from the sugar-using company members.
It will be the responsibility of the Nutritive Sweetener Committee to authorize the Council's programs and dispurse funds for their implementation.
The day-to-day activities of the Council will be managed by an executive director supportad by a. staff, located in Washington.
Financial support for the Council will be provided by its members, with The. Sugar Association contributing a portion of its over-all communications budget and its other assets--which include its body of knowledge, its literature, its professional contacts and its ongoing program of scientific research. Sugar-using members will contribute specific dues on an annual basis.
The monies collected from the Sugar Association and contri-buting members will be segregated from the Association's general funds to pay for all expenses of operating the Council and its programs.
So the Council may have immediate impact, the Sugar Associ-ation Board has recommended that the program begin with a $1 million fund, including a $250,000 contribution by the Sugar Association. · A lesser amount would severely limit the Council's ability to carry out its assignment.
It has been _~uggested that $150,000 be the fee for full membership in the Council for sugar-using companies. However, this
figure may be adjusted after the Council has had the opportunity to explore its needs and estab~ish its budget. In the case of group membership, the contributions should bear a semblance to the partici-pation of the industry in point in· over~all sugar usage.
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-It has also been suggested that at a later date an Associate Membership be established--at a reduced scale--to permit small
organi-zations and industry associations to support the program.
A ftnal decision on these matters will result from dis-cussions with future members of the Council.
As a matter of policy, the Council would determine the least costly and most effective methods and materials for achieving its specific communications objectives.
IV Strategy
With the additional funds the new organization would provide, the Council would pursue a corrmmnications strategy of disseminating the message of sugar's role in a balanced diet in positive terms to every corner of the country--and beyond if necessary--with such
frequency that i t could not be avoided by the average literate adult. Specifically, i t would bring the SCOGS (Select Committee on GRAS Substances) Report--establishing sugar's role--to the attention of the public, extolling its accuracy and scientific sources.
The Council would also bring the facts concerning "Dietary Goals"--the McGovern Committee Report--to the public, responding to its non-scientific and politically inspired content.
The Council would seek to bring the facts concerning dental caries--the only known disease to which sugar contributes--to the American public. The story has never been accurately told and needs precise explanation--even in some professional and scientific circles.
The Council would follow a "You are wrong!" approach in ad-dressing its critics on the matter of cardiovascular disease. The results of recent studies have eliminated the possibility that sugar contributes to this problem. This same approach would be followed in responding to other allegations against sugar.
-·
The Council would adopt a positive approach by stressing the basic goodness of the products they represent and reassuring the public of their contributions to good nutrition.
The Council would address its messages to a numbe~ of special-ized target audiences (publics), on a priority basis, and plan and
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-implement its program to develop informational opportunities with
these groups.
The Council would assist, where possible, in the planning of and preparation for communications materials pertaining to sugar
V
Target Audiences
A. Target Audiences (Direct)
1. The American Consuming Public
2. Government Food and Health Officials (Federal,
State, Local) ·
3. Legislators (Federal, State, Local)
4. Dentists
S. Physicians
6. Educators
7. Nutritionists
B. Target Audiences (As Communications Aids)
1. Stockholders
2. Financial Community
3. Employees
4. Unions
5. Major Social Organizations
6. Allied Industry Associations
7. Media:
TV, Food Editors, Editorial Writers,
Columnists, Newspapers, Magazines,
Radio, Feature Services
(Among those target audiences that can contribute to an
effective communications campaign are stockholders, employees and
unions. They can lend an impressive weight of public opinion [letter
writing campaigns, etc.] when they are properly informed of the
con-sequences of their failure to be heard.
Major social organizations, such as the American Legion and
the American Federation of Women's Clubs, can provide national support
through their reach ~o millions of members, if the time is taken to
VI
Tools of Implementation
1. Regular News Releases
2. Feature Story Development
3. Mailings to Editorial Writers
4. Mailings to Columnists
5. TV News Clips
6. Radio Script Releases
7. Sugar and Health Press Kit
8. Literature Distribution
9. Media Seminars
10. Media Convention Attendance
11. Federal Government Liaison Representative
12·. State Government Liaison Representative
13. Government Officials Seminars
14. Legislative Surveillance Program
15. Speakers Bureau
16. Stock Speech with Slides
17. Speech Forums/National and Regional
18. Spokesman/Scientific
19. Spokesman/Celebrity
20. TV Talk Shows
21. Radio Talk Shows
22. Film on Sugar and Health
23. Teachers Guide on Dental Health
24. Generate and Publish Books on the Various Aspects of Sugar
25. Provide Facts to University Nutrition Information Programs
26. Letter-writing Campaigns
27. Sugar Information to Data Banks
28. Institutional Advertising (When Necessary)
29. Grant to Public Broadcasting Service
VII
Research and Evaluation
1. Initial Fast Survey to Determine the Extent to Public Disenchantment with Sugar
2. Initial Fast Survey of Key Government Employees in Regard to Sugar and Health
3. Periodic Surveys to Determine the Extent of the Program's Progress
4. TV, Radio Transcripts 5. Print Media Clippings
SELECTED LIST OF REFERENCES ON THE SAFETY
OF
SUGARAme.rica~ Diabetes Association. Principles of nutrition and dietary
reco::..rnendations for patients with diabetes mellitus: 1971. Diabetes
22:633-634, 1971.
American Diabetes Association; Endocrine Society; American Medical
Association. Statement on hypoglycemia. Journal of the American
Medical ~ssociation 223:682, 1973.
Anderson, J. W.; Herman, R.H.; and Zakirn, D. Effect of high glucose
and high sucrose diets on glucose tolerance of normal men. American
Journal of Clinical Nutrition 26:600-607, 1973.
Bibby, B.G. The cariogenicity of snack foods and confections. Journal
of the A.rner·ican Dental Association 90:121-132, 1975.
Bierman, E.L. and Nelson, R. Carbohydrates, diabetes and blood lipids.
World. Review of Nutrition and Dietetics 22:280-287, 1975.
Clydesdale, F.M. Carbohydrate sweeteners in nutrition: fact and
fancy. in Carbohvdrates and Health edited by L.F. Hood, E.K. Wardrip,
and G.N. Bollenback. Westport, CT: AVI, 1977.
Connor, W.E. and Connor, S.L. Sucrose and carbohydrate. in Present
Knowledge in Nutrition, 4th ed. Washington, DC: The Nutrition
Foundation, 1976.
Danowski, T.S.; Nolan,
s.
and Stephan, T. Hypoglycemia. World Reviewof Nutrition and Dietetics 22:288-303,1975.
DePaola, D.P. and Alfano, M.C. Diet and oral health. Nutrition Today
May/June 1977.
Desor, J.A.; Maller, O.; and Turner, R.E. Taste in acceptance of
sugars by human infants. Journal of Comparative & Physiological
Psychology. 84:496-501, 1973.
Evaluati on of the Health Aspects of Sucrose as a Food Ingredient. ·
pre-pared for Food & Drug Administration. Bethesda, MD: Federation of
~JTierican Societies for Experimental Biology, 1976.
Finn, S.B. and Glass, R.L. Sugar and .dental decay. World Review of
Nutrition & Dietetics 22:304-326, 1975.
Finn, S.B. and Jamison, H. The relative effect on dental ca.ries of
three food supplements to the diet. Journal of Dental Research 48:
207, 1969.
Friedman, L.; et al. Toxic response of rats to cyclamates in chow and
synthetic diets. Journal of the National Cancer Institute
49:751-760, 1972.
Glass, R.L. and Fleisch, S. Diet and dental caries; dental caries
incidence and the consumption of ready-to-eat cereals. Journal of
the American Dental Association 88:807-813, 1974.
Grande, F. Sugar and cardiovascular disease. World Review of Nutrition
and Dietetics 22:248-269, 1975.
Hueper, W.C. Are sugars carcinogens? An experimental study. Cancer
Research 25:440-443, 1965.
Jackson, D. Caries experience in English children and young adults.
during the years 1947-1972. British Dental Journal 137:91-98, 1974.
Keys, A.· Sucrose in the diet and coronary heart disease.
Athero-sclerosis 14:193-202, 1971.
Maller, O. and. Desor, J.A. Effect of taste on ingestion by human
new-borns. In Fourth Symposium on Oral Sensation & Perception ed. by J.
Bosma. Washington, DC: U.S. Gov't Printing Office, 1974.
Medalie, J.H., et. al. Major factors in the development of diabetes
mellitus in 10,000men. · Archives of Internal Medicine 135:811-817,
1975.
Prevention of Coronary Heart Disease. Report of the Joint Working
Party of the Royal College of Physicians of London & the British
Cardiac Society. Journal of the Royal College of Physicians
10:213-275, 1976.
I
.
)
Rowe, N.H.; Anderson, R.H.; and Wanninger, L.A. Effects of
ready-to-eat breakfast cereals on dental caries experience in ·adolescent
children: a three-year study. Journal of Dental Research 53:33-36,
/ 1974.
Shuler, F.F. Comment on dietary goals. Nutrition Today. Nov./Dec.
1977.
Stare, F.S. Role of sugar in modern nutrition. World Review of
Nutrition & Dietetic~ 22:239-247, 1975.
Sugar in the Diet of Man. World Review of Nutrition and Dietetic~
22:237-326, 1975.
Walker, A.R.P. Are high compared with low consumers of sugar more
prone to obesity, diabetes and coronary heart disease? South African
Journal of Science 71:201-205, 1975.
SECTION 1.
ARTICLE II Members
Afnenament to ~y-Laws
The membership of the Corporation, in addition to the incorporators and subscribers to the Certifi-cate of Incorporation, shall consist of five classes, namely Sustaining Members, Associate Members, Contributing Members, Contributing Research Members, and Contributing Education and
Information Members. In the case of Sustaining Members and
Associate Members, the membership shall consist only of persons, firms, partnerships, associations or corporations engaged in the production, processing or refining of cane or beet sugar, as may be elected to such membership as hereinafter provided. Sustain-ing Members shall be those who market all, or a substantial
part, of their production in the continental United States and
who are parties to agreements with the Corporation providing for contributions to the support of all of its activities~ Associ-ate Members shall be those who market none~ or a relatively
small part, of their production in the continental United States and who are parties to agreements with the Corporation providing for contributions to the support of some, but not all, of its
activities. Contr~buting Members shall be persons, firms, partner-ships, associations, or corporations, which are not engaged in
production, processing or refining of cane or beet sugar but which
in the judgment of the directors may properly contribute to the Corporation, Contributing Research Members shall be persons, firms,
..
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-partnerships or corporations who are commercial or industrial
users of cane or beet sugar in food products and who are
interested only in sponsoring and financing scientific research
into sugar and its role in health and good nutrition. The
Con-tributing Research Members' liabilities, responsibilities, and
powers shall be strictly limited to the operations of the Food
and Nutrition Research Committee, and approved research projects.
Contributing Educa~ion and Information Members shall be persons,
, associations
fims( partnership~/fr corporations who are commercial or
indus-trial users of nutritive sweeteners in food products or who are
manufacturers or producers of non-sucrose nutritive sweeteners and who are interested in promoting educational and informational
activities about nutritive sweeteners and food industry use
there-of. The Contributing Education and Information Members'
liabili-ties, responsibilities and powers shall be strictly limited to the
operations of the Nutritive Sweetener Committee and approved
edu-cational and informational projects.
Election to Membership shall be by a majority vote of
the directors present at any meeting of the Board at which a
quorum is present; or by a majority vote of the members present
at any meeting of members at which a quorum is present; or by
unani-mous election in _y1_riting signed by all the then members of the
Corporation, and filed with the Secretary, subject, however, in
each case to deposit by the elected member of his written
ac-ceptance of such membership with the Secretary of the Corporation.
Member$ shall each have only the financial obligation to the
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-tributed by Contributing Research Members shall be segregated
in a Food and Nutrition Research Fund and used exclusively for ·
funding research projects approved by the Association's Food and
Nutrition Research Committee. All funds contributed by the
Con-tributing Education and Information Members shall be segregated
in a Nutritive Sweetener Fund and used exclusively for funding projects approved by the Nutritive Sweetener Committee and for
administrative costs incurred in connection therewith. The
amount of funds contributed by Contributing Research Members shall be established pursuant to a separate written Agreement
between the Association and such Members. The amount of funds
contributed by the Education and Information Members also shall be established pursuant to separate written agreement between the
Amendment to By-.Law9
ARTICLE III
Meetings of the Members of the Corporation
SECTION 4. At all meetings of the members of the
Corporation, one-third of the members (but not less than nine) present in person or by proxy, including Sustaining Members who are at least a majority of those present, shall constitute a quorum, but less than a quorum shall have power to adjourn
from time to time, until a quorum be present. Contributing
Re-search Members and Contributing Education and Information Members shall not be considered in determining the presence or absence
of a quorum. At all meetings of members, each member shall be
entitled to one vote, except Contributing Members, Contributing Research Members and Contributing Education and Information
Members, which shall have no vote. A member in arrears, as
de-fined in Section 2, Article VII .hereof, shall not be entitled to
vote and shall not be counted in determining the presence or absence of a quorum, or in determining the number required for a
majority or other vote of members. The Chairman of the Board or
in his absence, the Vice Chairman of the Board, shall preside at
CONTRIBUTING EDUCATION AND INFORMATION MEMBERSHIP
AGREEMENT
This Agreement made as of the day of
197 , by and between THE SUGAR ASSOCIATION, INC., a non-profit
membership corporation organized under the laws of the State of
New York (the "Association") and
,
as a Contributing Education and Information Member of the
Association (the "Contributing Education and Information -Member"}".
WITNESSETH THAT
WHEREAS, the Association has been incorporated under the laws of the State of New York for the purposes set forth in its Certificate of Incorporation; and
WHEREAS, the Association's Certificate of Incorporation
and By-Laws provide that i t is not organized for pecuniary profit, and that no part of its net earnings shall inure to any class of
Member or individual; and
WHEREAS, the Contributing Education and Information
Member has been duly elected and has accepted election as a
Contributing Education and Information Member of the Association, as defined
in
the By-Laws of the Association; andWHEREAS, the Association has established a Nutritive Sweetener Committee to consist of the Association President and
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-Association's Board of Directors ~a ~erve on a rotating basis)
and one each from Contributing Education and Information Members
(to be chosen by such Members) to serve with such Committee
em-powered to authorize and fund educational and informational projects.
WHEREAS, the Association through its Board of Directors
has established a Nutritive Sweetener Council comprised of the
Association's Director of Public Relations and no less than seven
(7) Sustaining Members and an equal number of Contributing·
Education and Information Members at such time as there are at
least seven (7) Contributing Education and Information Members
of the Association; and
WHEREAS, prior to the time there are at least seven (7)
Contributing Education and Information Members, the Nutritive
Sweetener Council shall be comprised of seven (7) Sustaining
Members and the actual number of Contributing Education and
Infor-mation Members; and
WHEREAS, the Nutritive Sweetener Council has been
established to develop and formulate educational and
infor-mational programs, projects and activities and, after approval
and funding by the Nutritive Swee·tener Cornmi ttee, to supervise
the implementation of such programs, projects and activities; and
WHEREAS, the Association and the Contributing Education
and Information Members have agreed to establish a Nutritive
Sweetener Fund (the "Fund") to fund educational and informational
projects proposed by the Nutritive Sweetener Council arid approved
- 3
-WHEREAS, financial support for the carrying out of
educational and informational activities concerning sugar and its role in the food industry will require the contribution of sub-stantial funds by Contributing Education and Information Members and the Association and commitments for such funds are necessary for a considerable period of time so that projects proposed by the Nutritive Sweetener Council and approved by the Association's
Nutritive Sweetener Committee may be conducted.
NOW, THEREFORE, the parties hereto, in consideration of the premises and the mutual undertakings hereinafter set forth, and also in consideration of similar agreements made or to be made by and between the Association and other Contributing Education and Information Members, agree as follows:
1. Subject to the provisions of this Agreement, in-cluding the right of resignation hereinafter set forth, the Con-tributing Education and Information Member hereby agrees that, in order to supply funds for the nutritive sweetener educational and informational activities during the fiscal years beginning July 1, 1978 and thereafter, i t will contribute and pay in each fiscal year to the Fund, during which this Agreement is in force beginning July 1, 1978, the sum of
Dollars ($ ) . The Association will contribute annually to the Fund from its general funds for ap-proved educational or informational projects the sum of Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand Dollars ($250,000).
- 4
-It is hereby agreed that funds received from the
Con-tributing Education and Information Member- shall be used solely for educational and informational activities and administrative costs incurred by the Nutritive Sweetener Council in connection therewith.
2. The Contributing Education and Information Member accepts its obligations under this Agreement in consideration of the foregoing undertakings by the Association, which the Con-tributing Education and Information Member hereby recognizes as of general benefit to itself as well as to the public, and also in consideration of the Association's obtaining similar contri-bution agreements from other Contributing Education and Infor-mation Members. The Contributing Education and Information Members' liabilities as Members are strictly limited to their obligations under this Agreement to make the annual contributions herein required.
3. The amounts required as provided in Article 1 hereof for the respective fiscal year shall be due and owing by the
Contributing Education and Information Member at the beginning of the fiscal year; provided that in the case of a Contributing Education and Information Member elected after the end of the
first quarter in any fiscal year, the amounts P?tyable by him shall be reduced by one quarter for each quarter of the fiscal year elapsed before his election.
4. A Contributing Education and Information Member may at any time give notice of intention to resign. Such
resig-- 5
-nation shall become effective on June 30th in any year, if notice
of intention to resign has been given in writing to the Secretary of the Association on or before the preceding June 30th;
pro-viding in every inst~nce, that all contributions due to the Association have been paid, including contributions for the fiscal year in which the resignation shall become effective. Promptly upon receipt of any such notice of intention to resign, the Secretary shall notify all other members.
S. This Agreement and all questions arising
there-under shall be governed by the laws of the State of New York. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be duly executed as of the day and year first above written.
THE SUGAR ASSOCIATION, INC. By
By
Contributing Education and Information Member
SECTION 2.
ARTICLE IV Board of Directors
Amendment to By-Laws
Subject to the provisions of Section 3 of this Article IV, directors shall be elected at the annual meeting (or at a special meeting called for the purpose in lieu of the annual meeting) as follows: The majority of Associate Members present at .the meeting shall be entitled to elect as directors the lesser of (A) the number of Associate Members or
(B) one fourth of the directors specified in Section 1 of this Article IV; and all other directors shall be elected by the vote of the majority of the Sustaining Members present at the meeting. In case of any failure of the Associate Members present at any such meeting to elect the number of directors to which they are entitled, the directors necessary to constitute the full number may be elected by the vote of the majority of the Sustain-ing Members. Directors elected pursuant to this Section shall hold office until the next annual meeting and until their suc-cessors are elected and qualified. The directors shall elect a Chairman from their number who shall preside at meetings of the Board of Directors and shall have such other duties as from time to time shall be conferred upon him by the Board of Directors.
7kSUf~r1~
P/UY.
1511 K Street, N. W Washington, D. C. 20005
April 17, 1978
TO: THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
1978-1979 BUDGET
Gentlemen:
Enclosed please find the proposed 1978-79 Budget which will
be presented to the Board of Directors at our May 11, 1978 meeting.
This budget follows the procedures of past years. Also the
total expenditures and income are in line with the previous
year which are shown for comparison.
Some discussion of the areas of consequence follow:
Revenues; As you can see, the income from the member-ship is assessed as being the same as 77/78. The CRM's income has been increased by $30 ,000 counting on three new CRMs.
Expenses: The administrative increase of $16,200 is due to small inereases in salaries, taxes and sundry expected inflationary costs.
Scientific Programs: The ~otal scientific budget has decreased due to the reduction in dues to the WSRO. The amount set aside for research projects reflects the increase of CRM membership.
Public Relations: 1978/79 budget is divided into two
parts--Sugar Association direct public relations and the newly formed Nutritive Sweetener Council future
activities . The NSC activities cannot at this time be
detailed and the set aside only reflects our
contri-bution to the NSC. When and if we get this new
operation going and contributions from the Contributing
Education and Information members are received, a
de-tailed budget can be prepared. However regardless of
the status of the NSC, the total expenditure of Sugar
Association funds for public relations should not exceed
the total of $350,000, the same as in the previous year.
The Board of Directors Page Tt.vo
April 17, 1978
Educational Projects: A decrease of $5,000 in this section.reflects an expected reduction in film distri-bution costs.
Total Expenses: $1,184,000--this represents an overall increase of expenses of $6,200. However, if our esti-mated revenues hold up, the fund balance at the end of the 78/79 fiscal year will be enhanced by $41,000 .
. With the constant shifting of our various activities and the meeting of new challenges everyday, i t is difficult to take into account all the possibilities of fiscal change. The enclosed proposed budget does however present a reasonably accurate appraisal of otir financial needs and possibilities for the coming year.
Enclosure
Respectively submitted, THE BUDGET COMMITTEE
Rowland M. Cannon, Chairman John B. Boy
David C. Carter Roger H. Sullivan
William W. Sprague, Jr., ex officio John W. Tatem, Jr. , ex officio
STATEMENT .OF ESTIMATED REVENUES AND EXPENSES Budget Budget 1977/78 1978/79 Revenues Me.mbership $ 1,100,000 $ 1,100,000 CRMs 80,000 110,000 Interest 15,000 15,000 $ 1,195,000 $ 1,225,000
Fund Balance (Est.)
6/30/77 129,629 146,829 ·( 6/30/7 8)
Total Income
& Fund Balance $ 1,324,629 $ 1,371,829
Expenses Budgeted 1,177,800 1,184,000
THE SUGAR ASSOCIATION, INC. SCHEDULE. OF EXPE~SES ADMINISTRATIVE Salaries Payroll Taxes/Hosp. Def. Comp/Eons/Pension Special Counsel Travel Professional Fees Rent Office Equip./Rental Office Supplies/Exp. Telephone/Telegraph .Postage Meeting Expenses
Confer. & Entertainrn•t Insurance/Taxes - Office Library Miscellaneous TOTAL - ADMINISTRATIVE SCIENTIFIC PROGRAMS Nutrition Grant·s
Food & Nutr. Adv. Coun. Consulting/Monitoring ISRF /WSRO Research Projects-F&NRF TOTAL - SCIENTIFIC PUBLIC RELATIONS Monthly Fee
Salaries & Benefits Writing & Placement Media Relations Horne Ee. Program
SITDOM Merchandising
Film Dist/Promotion Newsletter
Food Editors Liaison
Miscellaneous
SUB-TOTAL - PR
Nutritive Sweetener Council Home Ee .. Program - Salaries
Miscellaneous
TOTAL - PUBLIC RELATIONS
EDUCATIONAL PROJECTS
Exhibits
Dist/Prod. Printed Mat'l
Dist/Pr'd Mat'l-Unbudgeted Distribution of Film TOTAL - EDUCATIONAL GRAND TOTALS Budget FY 77/78 $ 160,000 14,000 26,000 40,000 14,000 21,000 22,000 7,000 6,000 9,000 4,000 10,000 10,000 1,800 4,000 2,000 $ 350,800 $ 60,000 35,000 110,000 230,000 $ 435,000 $ 30,000 50,000 15,000 50,000 144,000 10,000 25,000 8,000 6,000 12,000 $ 350,000 $ 350,000 $ $ 19,000 8,000 5,000 10,000 42,000 $1,177,800 Budget FY 78/79 $ 170,000 16,000 26,000 40,000 14,000 21,000 24,000 7,000 6,000 10,000 4,500 10,000 10,000 2,000 4,000 2,500 $ 367,000 $ 60,000 50,000 60,000 260,000 $ 430,000 $ 15,000 30,000 10,000 20,000 9,000 6,000 10,000 $ 100,000 $ 250,000 $. 350,000 $ $ 19,000 8,000 5,000 5,000 37,000 $1,184,000
I
I
I
7kSttfavA~
57/Z&.
J. W Ta:tem. Jr.
President
Hr. Graham T. T. Molitor President
Public Policy Forecasting, 9 2 0 8 Wooden Bridge Road Potomac, Maryland 20854 Dear Graham:
1511 K Street, N. W Washington. D. C. 20005
May 1, 1978
Inc.
Some of our members who have received your request for their thoughts regarding sugar content disclosure have asked us to respond to you on their behalf.
These comments should not be construed as representing the official position of the sugar industry. These are our opinions and
hope-fully will be helpful in your analysis of options available for disclosing sugar content of various foods~
Our basic assumption is that we are referring to foods sold
directly to the consumer and not bulk supplies sold to industrial users.
Primarily, we do not object to the labeling of sugar content of foods so long as the content of all other ingredients is also de-clared.
We believe that the important information for the. consumer to have is how much of a given ingredient is present in a food as i t is eaten. This would present a fair picture to the consumer when she uses, for instance, dried soups or beverage mixes, tomato paste, dried fruits which are usually stewed before eating, dried cereals and cake mixes.
A pictorial on. the lapel of a food container seems appropriate. This could be in the form of a measuring device such as a cup or
teaspoon. It could also be pie shaped. In essence, such a pictorial would shm,, the consumer how much of each ingredient she will eat when the food is taken in the usual manner.
To address another point in your memo, we vigorously object to the suggestion to put a hazard warning on food products containing sugar. There is no compelling evidence that warrants such a move.
Mr. Graham T. T. Molitor Page Two
May 1, 1978
Finally, let me note that although we do not have any sample dis-closure labels available, we are enclosing nutrition material we have found helpful in our efforts to try to educate the public. Perhaps i t would also be of interest to you to know that we have
produced a film on basic nutrition, 11
Nutri tion Is •.• , 11
which has.
proved exqeptionally popular and useful as a teaching aid for many schools and organizations.
We do have in our· library many publications relative to the health
issues with which sugar has been associated. We are quite willing
to make this information available to you at any time.
l·le are very much interested in your project and would like to be
kept up to date on your progress.
Sincerely,
~~
P r e s ~ ·
JWr: drb
Public Policy Forecasting, Inc. 9208 Wooden Bridge Road • Potomac, Maryland 20854 • (301) 762-5174
March 23, 1978
My company has been engaged by the Federal Trade Commission to prepare a study analyzing all possible methods of disclosing sugar content in human foods (labeling disclosure, point of sale notice, advertising statements, standards of identity, nutrition education programs). We also will be reviewing tariff and agricultural policies intended to affect sugar consumption.
Your company is a major factor in the sugar industry and conunents from your organization would be most helpful. We are particularly interested in receiving your thoughts about sugar· content disclosures·
(percent, grams per 100 grams, grams or ounces per.serving, teaspoons per serving, nutrient density, caloric/nutrient ratio, hazard warnings, etc.).
Copies of nutrition education materials, research papers analyzing any of the issues raised, and actual samples of sugar content disclosure labels would be most helpful~
Thanking you in advance for your consideration and cooperation,
I am, Sincerely yours,
t;)~
1·1
·
Y/vt~
Graham T. T. Molitor / President GTTM/coTHE . .\TLANTA CO:\'STITL'TJO.'\\ Thor., April' 20, 1978
S m
e
Foo
ds
May
Co
n
t
a
in Mo e
S
ee
teners
T
han
You Th
ink
·
By Tina McEiroy CoMlihJtion Staff Writer
Think of some of the · pet names we use for our lovers, children and friends- "sweetheart" "honey " "sugar pie," "sweetie."' All of the~ are sweet words associated with love and affection. But frcim the looks of publicity given to sugar in foods lately - from presweetened cereals to tomato ketchup to processed cheese - it might soon be an insult to call someone "sugar."
Sugar in the diet has left a bad taste in the mouths of such diverse g oups as celebrities, health food advocates and nutritionists, while
manufacturers who use sugar as an ingredient in their foods have taken
a defensive attitude on the subjed. In short, another battle along the consumer front is shaping up .. The Federal Trade Commission has pr o-posed regulating sugar and snack
food commercials on children's TV shows, and the Senate's Select Com
-mittee on GRAS (generally recog -nized as safe) Substances has leveled its gaze on the topic of sugar in the diet. Also, an "Evaluation of the Health Aspects of Sucrose as a Food Ingredient" has been prepared for the Food and Drug Administration.
Wby all this jnterest in sugar? Ronald M. Deutsch, author and lec -turer on nutrition, says it's due in part to an increased interest in health, diet and weight reduction
among most Americans. ·
In other words, it is not, as some
suspect, only those so-called "health.
food nuts" who are on the attack
against sugar; it is also the WOlJli!D
who prepares meals for the family"; ·
parents who have to pay for visits to the dentist, and consumers who ques
-tions the price and safety of added
sugar.
And this interest is reflected in the
bookstore. The shelves are full of books on sugar - "Complete Junk
Food Book," "The Brand Name
Sugar Guide," "The Nuts Among the
Berries." Also, the March issue of Consumer Reports magazine fea
-tured a cover story c.a sugar.
Although some· would argue the
point, sugar is a nutrient. It is a di
-£estible carbohydrate, and all digest
-ible carbohydra es are nutrien s. Simple sugar is the "basic food of
life,'' the most fundamental of foods. In nature, green plants convert
energy from the sun into sjmple sugars by combining carbon dioxide and water, and then make complex: sugars from the simple ones. -··
Sugar is a source of energy and calories in the diet. For over 50 years, U.S. Department of Com-merce figures show, sugar-has pro-vided about ·20 _percent of the calo-ries in the American diet.
When most of us refer to sugar, we mean sucrose, a nearly pure car -bohydrate -'- table sugar, beet sugar or cane sugar. But we consume other forms of sugar, too: Fructose, a natural sugar found in fruit; glucose,
the only natural carbohydrate also found in the body's general circula-.
tion; dextrose, also caUed glucose;
and levulose (found in honey), known
as fructose. These sugars are mon o-saccharides - the simplest st
ruc-. tural units of carbohydrates.
When two monosaccharides are joined, a disaccharide is formed. ·The most common disaccharide is s u-crose, made of one molecule of gl u-cose and one molecule of fructose. The suffix "ose" indicat~s a sype of sugar.
The first sweetner, mentioned in
records more than 6,000 years ago, · was honey (which contains fructose and glucose). It was not widely used,
since it was available only to the
privileged.
Around 32;> B.C., sugar cane, cultivated in India, became a tropical source of sucrose.
After the time of Columbus, when sugar cane was brought to the Caribbean, the use of sugar became a bit more widespread.
In the Middle Ages, it is reported, the sweetener was so highly priced that it took an average person's weekly salary to buy a pound. ·
In fact, it was not until the Napoleonic Wars, in the early 1800s, and the development of the sugar beet that the world gained a temperate-zone source of sugar.
In 1972, the estimate for worldwide sugar production was 74 million metric tons. In the United States, 10 million tons is mar-keted every year.
What concerns most sugar-conscious con-sumers today is the amount of sugar found in our diets. Food processors are using more in their products, food experts say, and many parents believe that kids are eating more sweets. In the good old days, it is commonly said, we did not consume nearly as much sugar as we do today.
The studies show an interesting picture. Annual consumption of sugar is computed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture by the amount of "disappearance" of sugar each year. _The disappearance figures include con-sumption and waste.
In 1925, the per capita disappearance rate was 100 pounds. By 1975, the rate-was .
102 pounds for each American. So, over 50 years, the amount of sugar disappearance has varied little (not counting the drop· to 87 pounds per capita during World War II). These figures include sugar used in home or restaurant cooking, sugar added by the con-sumer and sugar used in processed foods.
Yet a shift has been noted in the way sugar is used. In 1910, 25 percent went for industrial use and the remainder went for household use. Sixty-one years later, in 1971, the industrial sugar-use figure was 72 per-cent, with the percentage of corn sweeteners ·
added. The rest was for household use. "The point here is, the discretionary use of sugars by the consumer at the present time is very limited," writes Sidney M. Ca n-tor, a speaker at the 1975 National Academy of Sciences forum on "Sweeteners: Issues and
Uncertainties." ·
From the figures, we know we are ge t-ting more sugar in the processed foods we eat : than our parents and grandparents did 50
years ago. because more is used in industry
and we are eating more processed food.
--- 2
-But just how much? When stated in·
per-centages of the total weight of a product, the
figure can be astounding.
In the sugar report prepared for the FDA ' bv the Life Sciences Research Office, a listing of the weighted mean percent level of added sucrose in foods gives an idea of how much we are 11ettinl! in our nroce;;sed foods:
·o ·· · · r
Cheese 24.56 percent.
Processed vegetables, ju.ices 13.25 percent.
Fa.ts and oils 3.43 percent.
Condiments, relishes 26.82 percent.~
Instant coffee and tea 12.60 percent.
Fr?zen dairy desserts, mixes 9.31 percent.
Soups and soup mixes 20 percent.
Pasta and rice dishes 1.43 percent.
Baked goods, breads 11.42 percent.
Breakfast cere:ils 26. 71 percent.
Imitation dairy produets 16.24 percent.
Processed fruit, juices, drinks 12.58 percent.
Consumers Report magazine did some
testing of its own for its article on sugar. Its
analysis included not only a determination of
the proportion of sucrose contained in a
prod-uct but also "all varieties of sugar, incl.uding
those in corn syrup, honey, fruit, and
vegeta-bles." Here are some of the findings:
Coffee-Mate non-dairy creamer 65.4 percent.
Libby's canned peaches
Heinz tomato ketchup
17.9 percent. 28.~ percent.
Wishbone Russian salad dressing 30.2
per-cent.
Ritz crackers 11.8 percent.
Ceo! Whip non-dairy whipped topping 21.0
percent.
-Hershey's milk chocolate bar 51.4 per.cent.
Shake 'n Bake seasoned coating mix 17.4
per-cent.
Hambuger Helper
Skippy creamy peanut butter
23.0 percent.
9.2 percent.
THE ATDANTIC CONSTITUTION Apr. 20, 1978 - Continued
Sugar is added to processed foods, says
Roger Coleman of the National Food
Proces-sors Association in Washington, which pri-·
marily represents canners in the country,
"principally for taste purposes."
"Some products are not acceptable to the
consumer without the addition of some
sugar," he says, citing canned pears and fruit
cocktail as two examples.
Joel Williams of Savannah Foods, which
produces Dixie Crystals sugar products and
some processed foods for institutional use,
agrees that sugar is added to food products
"to improve the palatability of food being
sold, to enhance flavor of foods-canned
vegetables, for instance.
"They've howled about sugar, but it
makes food palatable," he says. "The result is
that (consumers) eat food that's good for them."
Laurie tieacnam, adv1s·or to tne president
of the food processors organization,
remem-bers his mother adding a little sugar to
vegetables for taste, and his wife does, too.
He wonders how many housewives "who
con-sider themselves good cooks add a little sugar.
in cooking." But he disagrees with the FDA
report on percentages of sugar in canned
. vegetables.
Not all processors use sugar _in canning
vegetables, Beacham says, and those who do
only use a small amount - 1 or 1 ½ percent
sugar.
A spot check at a grocery store sho\vs
that sugar. (either. sucrose, dextrose, corn
syrup or "natural sweeteners") is used in can
-ned vegetables such as Green Giant white
corn, Libby's peas and carrots, Del Monte
sweet peas and Chef Boy-ar-dee spaghetti sauce with meat.
Processors are required to list in
gredi-ents in descending order of ingredient
amounts, but percentages and specific
amounts of each ingredient are not listed.
Beae:ham says he does not think consumers
are that interested in the percentage of
in-gredients and that listing amounts would
"add something to the price" of the product.
Coleman (of the food processors' group)
adds that most companies that can fruits, for
instanc_e, offer a variety of packing methods.
There is ·fruit packed in heavy syrup, in
medium syrup, in natural juices, in water and
a dietetic type.
"We'll provide whatever the consumer wants,'' the processors' spokesman says. "We
don't list· the amount of sugar used, but you
can tell" by the way the product is packed
- 3
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..
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OH
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OH
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Staff Art.,ork,-Tre'llll" IrvinTHE ATLANTIC CONSTITUTTON Apr. 20, 1978 - Continued
I
, 1ON, Fri., Apri,l 21, 1978
s
..
.
·
Is
It Harmless
Or
A
Real
-·
Villain?
Experts
Leave Us Confused
:
The second of two articles
By Tina McElroy
Constit\Jtion Slaff Writer
Mary Poppins told us "a spoonful 0£
sugar makes the medicine go dQwn in
the most delightful way." But maybe she hadn't done much reading on the health aspects of sugar in the diet. Truth is, many people have turned sour on sugar.
In recent years, for instance, sugar
has been identified as a primary suspect
in a variety of health problems -obesity, diabetes, heart disease and den
-tal caries. It has also become the target of many nutritionists who dismiss it as a
"junk food," worthless and possibly harmful. In short, sugar has been taking
its lumps lately,
Physicians, scientists and nutritio
-nists have churned out books on the su
b-ject, a U.S. Senate committee has delved
into the topic, and dentists have drilled
into sugar to study its cariogenic effect. They-and scores· of others-are
asking just how much sugar we're eating and what ·is its effect upon health.
Opin-ions, even expert opinions, vary. Some
say there's not a grain of granulated
truth in the attack against sugar; others
contend that it is Dixie-Crystal clear to
all but the benighted that America's
sweet tooth is causing the decay of
soci-ety.
The truth lies buried in the nation's sugar bowls.
In the body, sugar is digested -:b.Y
breaking down complicaled sugar (
su-crose) to simple sugar (glucose and · fructose), because simple sugar is the only {orm that can be absorbed through
the intestinal walls into the bloodstream. From the blood, the substances go to the
liver, where the fructose is metabolized into glucose. The only sugar that the body can use is glucose, which is turned into fat.
As a food ingredient, sucrose has been categorized as "generally re cog-nized as safe" (GRAS) in the Code of Federal Regulations. But the Senate Se-lect Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs published a report last ye~r
recommending a reduction in the amount of fat, cholesterol,
sugar and salt in the diet and an increase in complex
car-bohydrate intake.
So the nutritionists; physicians and · other authorities
. argue on, choosing up sides and clashing _in a sort of nutri-:
· _tional Sugar Bowl, wit~ the public waiting on the sidelines to.
see which way the sugar cookie crumbles.
Ronald Deutsch, author and lecturer on the s_ubject of
nutrition, says of sugar, "There is no toxic effect in moderate
amounts of sugar." · · · ·
And in ·the 1975 report "Evaluation of the Health Aspects
of Sucrose as a Food Ingredient," prepared for the Food and
' Drug Administration, the findings state:
"Other than the contribution made to dental caries; there
, is no clear ·evidence in the available information on sucrose
·. that demonstrates a hazard to the public when used at the
: levels that are now current and in the manner now
prac-• ticed." · : . . .
· · In most studies and reports conducted on the health
as-: pects of sugar in the diet, the words "highly unlikely," "no
: .clear evidence,'.' "unknown" and "undetermined" occur again
a and again. . '
: , .· And a look at the major maladies commonly associated
: .with the intake of sugar _reflects the same·uncertainty. ·
· • Since many people associate sugar with diabetes, they
. ·assume that sugar is the cause of the disease. ):'et the cause
: .of diabetes is unknown. Experts report there is no evidence
·that excessive consumption of sugar causes diabetes. The
; .1975 FDA report on health and sugar said that studies had
: found "no plausible evidence that sucrose, except as a
non-' specific source of excessive calories, ,is related to the dis-·
' ease." ..
- The same paucity of conclusive· evidence shrouds the
:-claim linking sugar intake with cardiovascular disease. A
, ) 972 study by J. Yudkin found a correlation between deaths
'. due to ~ardiovascular disease and sucrose consumption, but a
, jgint report by the .Royal College of Physicians of London
'and the British Cardiac Society concluded that "there is no
'. :Orm evidence linking sugar intake and coronary heart dis,
· :ease." ·
· ;_ Another dimension of the sugar controversy is what
nu-. trionist Dr. Sara Hunt of Georgia State University calls "the
_-popularity of hypoglycemia." Hypoglycemia is a low level of
. bl~d sugar. It is often accompanied by shakiness, trembling,
:anxiety, fast heartbeat, headaches, hunger sensations feel-ings of weakness, and occasionally, seizures and coma. ' · ·
Ironically, the condition is aggravated rather than relieved by the ingestio11 of concentrated sweets.
. >