5 Things: Management company pays $19M to settle D.C. school lawsuit

Each Friday I compile a list that highlights five things you probably missed in the news that week and why you should care about them.

Here’s your list for the week of June 8:

1.    Chartwells/Thompson Hospitality pay $19 million to settle lawsuit
The management companies, which formed a joint venture to manage D.C. Public Schools foodservice program in 2008, has agreed to pay $19 million to settle a lawsuit filed by former foodservice director Jeffrey Mills, who was fired in 2013. Mills, who filed a separate suit against the district, says he was fired for raising flags about the mismanagement of the foodservice contract. The lawsuit against the management companies alleged that Chartwells/Thompson Hospitality “overcharged the city and mismanaged the school meals program, with food often arriving at schools late, spoiled or in short supply,” according to an article in the Washington Post.

Read more: D.C. schools food vendor pays $19 million to settle whistleblower lawsuit

2.    Who determines which flavors are “natural”?
“Natural” seems to be this year’s buzzword. But much like “healthy,” natural can mean different things to different people. So just who gets to define which flavors and additives are natural in our foods? It’s a trade association called the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association, which operates with the FDA’s blessing. The association serves as the nation’s regulator of flavor additives and is supposed to make its research of the safety of flavors available to the public. But some, like Susan Schiffman, an adjunct professor at North Carolina State University who studies sweeteners, say that isn’t exactly happening, according to an article in Time.

Read more: Meet the Secret Group That Decides Which Flavors Are ‘Natural’

3. Warning labels coming to San Fran sugary beverages
Lawmakers have unanimously passed a bill that would require sugary beverages to come with a warning sign, a la cigarettes. The message would be: WARNING: Drinking beverages with added sugar(s) contributes to obesity, diabetes, and tooth decay. This is a message from the City and County of San Francisco.” The law also prohibits the use of city funding to purchase such beverages. The law goes into effect this summer, unless the mayor vetoes it  by June 19.   

Read more: San Francisco Approves Warning Label for Sugary Drink Ads

4.    Steph Curry raps about college dining hall
The NBA MVP can add another item to his impressive resume—rapping about the dining hall at Davidson. Curry’s part begins at 0:59.

Read more: 5 Things: Fines for candy rewards and hospital cuts GMOs

" target="_blank">WATCH: Video of Steph Curry Rapping About Davidson Dining Hall Resurfaces

5.    Metal found in school meals causes parent backlash
After her son found a piece of metal in the chicken patty he was served at school lunch, Anne Marie Frisch was less than pleased. She became even less so recently at a board meeting for the Susquenita School District, in Pennsylvania, when she and the district’s superintendent got into a debate about the process of informing parents of the metal incident—Frisch says there has been no schoolwide notification of this incident or another of a foreign object found in school food.

Read more: After metal is found in cafeteria food, what should a school district do?

Bonus: Black Hat Chefs travel to Denver VA hospital to train, inspire

Contact Becky Schilling at [email protected].
Follow her on Twitter: @bschilling_FM