To ensure that Americans understand the potential significant risks, and resulting long-term costs, of consuming dairy cheese products, the FDA should ensure that the notice above is prominently placed on product packaging and labeling for all dairy cheese products...
The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine filed a lawsuit on Sept.
22, 2020, against the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for failing to
respond to a petition that asks the agency to require cheese manufacturers
to add the following warning label on all dairy cheese products: “Dairy
cheese contains reproductive hormones that may increase breast cancer
mortality risk.”
The petition, which was filed on Oct. 3, 2019, cites several studies linking
consumption of cheese and other dairy products to increased risk of breast
cancer.
A 2017 study funded by the National Cancer Institute that compared the diets
of women diagnosed with breast cancer to those without breast cancer found
that those who consumed the most American, cheddar, and cream cheeses had a
53% higher risk for breast cancer. The authors say that components in dairy
such as insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) and other growth hormones may be
among the reasons for the increased risk for cancer.
The Life After Cancer Epidemiology study found that, among women previously
diagnosed with breast cancer, those consuming one or more servings of
high-fat dairy products (e.g., cheese, ice cream, whole milk) daily had a
49% higher breast cancer mortality, compared with those consuming less than
one-half serving daily.
“To ensure that Americans understand the potential significant risks, and
resulting long-term costs, of consuming dairy cheese products, the FDA
should ensure that the notice above is prominently placed on product
packaging and labeling for all dairy cheese products,” says the petition.
The lawsuit also includes claims against the Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS), which oversees the FDA, for failing to respond to two
Freedom of Information Act appeals for records relating to conflicts of
interest and financial disclosures for members of the 2015 Dietary
Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC). HHS and the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) selected the members of the 2015 DGAC. DGAC members are
often nominated by the dairy, egg, and meat industries, but their
relationships are not always transparent.
The product of the DGAC’s work was a scientific report that HHS and USDA
used to develop the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. (The 2020
DGAC recently released its report that will be used to develop the 2020-2025
Dietary Guidelines for Americans.)
The lawsuit says, “The 2015 Dietary Guidelines state that ‘[b]reast cancer
is the third leading cause of cancer death in the United States’ and
acknowledge evidence ‘that healthy eating patterns also are associated with
a reduced risk of . . . postmenopausal breast cancers[.]’ … Yet the
document’s ‘Healthy U.S.-Style Eating Pattern’ recommends consuming three
cups of dairy per day, which can increase breast cancer risk.”
A recent study found that women who consumed 2-3 cups of cow’s milk per day
had an 80% increased chance of breast cancer. The lead author of the paper
said that possible reasons for these associations between breast cancer and
dairy milk may be the sex hormone content of dairy milk, as the cows are of
course lactating, and often about 75% of the dairy herd is pregnant. The
study found that replacing dairy milk with soy milk was associated with a
32% reduced risk of breast cancer.
“The 2015 Dietary Guidelines’ Healthy U.S.-Style Eating Pattern—which
recommends 3 cups of dairy daily, including cheese—could be putting
Americans at risk for breast cancer,” says Susan Levin, MS, RD. “Americans
have the right to know if this potentially deadly recommendation was
influenced by Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee members profiting from
the dairy industry.”
The Physicians Committee’s Let’s Beat Breast Cancer campaign offers a simple
four-pronged approach to fighting breast cancer: Choose plant-based foods,
exercise regularly, limit alcohol, and maintain a healthy weight.
LetsBeatBreastCancer.org, includes the science behind the four steps,
resources, and a pledge that visitors can take to follow the four steps—and
get a free e-cookbook.
The Physicians Committee is suing the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
for ignoring our legal petition to require cheese manufacturers to add the
following warning label on all dairy cheese products: “Dairy cheese contains
reproductive hormones that may increase breast cancer mortality risk.”
A 2017 study funded by the National Cancer Institute that compared the diets
of women diagnosed with breast cancer to those without breast cancer found
that those who consumed the most American, cheddar, and cream cheeses had a
53% higher risk for breast cancer. The authors say that components in dairy
such as insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) and other growth hormones may be
among the reasons for the increased risk for cancer.
The Life After Cancer Epidemiology study found that, among women previously
diagnosed with breast cancer, those consuming one or more servings of
high-fat dairy products (e.g., cheese, ice cream, whole milk) daily had a
49% higher breast cancer mortality, compared with those consuming less than
one-half serving daily.
The American Cancer Society estimates that there will be more than 300,000
new cases of breast cancer in the United States in 2020 and more than 42,000
deaths.
Please tell the FDA to require breast cancer warning labels on cheese.
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