Coca-Cola Company – Toxic Chemicals in Products: Bisphenol A (BPA)
WHEREAS
Coca-Cola is the world’s largest beverage company, annually selling almost 570 billion servings of beverages. A significant part of Coca-Cola’s business includes selling beverages in aluminum cans. Our company has developed a valuable premium brand based on the trust of consumers and our company’s market leadership.
Coca-Cola’s Product Safety Policy states that Coke uses “the highest standards and processes for ensuring consistent product safety and quality.” Yet, Coca-Cola’s canned beverages use linings containing Bisphenol A (BPA), a potentially hazardous chemical.
BPA has received media attention for its use in polycarbonate plastic bottles, which Coca-Cola does not use. However, BPA is a chemical also used in the epoxy lining of canned foods and beverages. BPA can leach out of these containers and into food and beverages, resulting in human exposures. BPA is known to mimic estrogen in the body; numerous animal studies link BPA, even at very low doses, to potential changes in brain structure, immune system, male and female reproductive systems, and changes in tissue associated with increased rates of breast cancer. Exposure to BPA by the very young as well as pregnant women are among the greatest concerns to experts.
A recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association also associated BPA with increased risk for human heart disease and diabetes. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is reviewing the safety of BPA after significant concerns were raised by its own scientific subcommittee about the validity of its previous analysis of the chemical.
Manufacturers of baby and sports bottles have been eliminating BPA-containing plastics due to consumer concerns. According to US News & World Report, US-based Eden Organics has developed a can lining that does not contain BPA, and has been using it for several years. In contrast, the Washington Post reported in May 2009 that Coca-Cola was involved in meetings to “devise a public relations and lobbying strategy to block government bans” of BPA in can linings.
The US Congress, as well as some US states and cities, have proposed legislation banning BPA in certain food and beverage packages. Canada’s health agency has already banned BPA-containing baby bottles.
In addition to potential bans, proponents believe our company faces liability or reputational risks from defending and continuing to use BPA in cans. For instance, class action lawsuits against other companies already contend that manufacturers and retailers of BPA-containing products failed to adequately disclose BPA’s risks.
RESOLVED
Shareholders request the Board of Directors to publish a report by September 1, 2010, at reasonable cost and excluding confidential information, updating investors on how the company is responding to the public policy challenges associated with BPA, including summarizing what the company is doing to maintain its position of leadership and public trust on this issue, the company’s role in adopting or encouraging development of alternatives to BPA in can linings, and any material risks to the company’s market share or reputation in staying the course with continued use of BPA.
Kellogg Company – Nanotechnology in Food
WHEREAS
Nanotechnology is the science of manipulating matter at the molecular scale to build structures, tools, or products, known as nanomaterials. The extremely small particles create opportunities for innovation; however the scientific community has raised serious questions about safety. The processed food industry is reportedly involved in research on the use of nanomaterials, but it is not publicly known whether such materials are used in Kellogg products or packaging.
The novel properties of nanomaterials offer many new opportunities for food industry applications, for example as potent nutritional additives, stronger flavorings and colorings, or antibacterial ingredients for food packaging. However these same properties may also result in greater toxicity risks for human health and the environment. Because of their very small size, nanoparticles may have much greater access to our bodies, so they are more likely than larger particles to enter cells, tissues and organs. In fact, laboratory studies report that many types of nanoparticles interfere with normal cellular function and cause oxidative damage and cell death.
Some consumer products that incorporate nanomaterials are likely to be used by children or by women who are pregnant or nursing. Therefore, we are particularly concerned about liability risks from nanotechnology in this type of consumer product, including cereal or other products marketed to children.
Given recent scientific findings, proponents believe companies that use nanomaterials in consumer products may face significant financial, liability and reputational risks. The insurance giant, Swiss Re, notes that “what makes nanotechnology completely new from the point of view of insuring against risk is the unforeseeable nature of the risks it entails and the recurrent and cumulative losses it could lead to, given the new properties — hence different behavior — of nanotechnologically manufactured products… …[T]hese artificially manufactured nanoparticles will be traceable back to the manufacturer, which makes the establishment of liability easier than in the case of substances that are universally present, such as ultrafine particles from diesel exhaust fumes.”
Proponents believe nanomaterials are being sold to the public at large without adequate testing to ensure safety, and often without any notice or warning of their presence or potential hazard, placing manufacturers in potential peril.
Proponents believe that the best way to protect the public and to prevent unnecessary litigation-related financial losses may be to avoid producing products with nanomaterials unless they have been subject to robust evaluation for human health and environmental safety, and to label all products that contain nanomaterials.
RESOLVED
Shareholders request that the Board publish a report to shareholders on Kellogg’s policies on the use of nanomaterials in products and packaging, at reasonable expense and omitting proprietary information, by August 1, 2009. This report should identify Kellogg product or packaging categories that currently contain nanomaterials, and discuss any new initiatives or actions, aside from regulatory compliance, that management is taking to reduce or eliminate potentially harmful consumer exposures.
SUPPORTING STATEMENT
Proponents believe the report should discuss activities such as labeling, consumer education and options for selection of materials.
