Dive Brief:
- After a University of Maryland press release praised chocolate milk from small manufacturer Fifth Quarter Fresh, particularly for helping young athletes suffering concussions, the university is now distancing itself from those claims as controversy arose
- After releasing the news late last month, UMD is now performing a review of the preliminary results of its study after red flags were raised when the full details of the study were not released.
- Pat O'Shea, vice president of research at the University of Maryland, said that "the review's goal is not to determine the validity of the study results, but why they were published without proper vetting," The Huffington Post reported.
Dive Insight:
The Fifth Quarter Fresh study was part of the Maryland Industrial Partnership, which connects local businesses with researchers with the intent of boosting Maryland's economy. UMD said these studies are subjected to the same standards as other research performed at the university.
These collaborations are often scrutinized for conflicts of interest as experts feel that results knowingly or unknowingly skewed in the favor of the sponsoring company could create public confusion about nutrition.
The most recent case would be Coca-Cola's debacle with the Global Energy Balance Network (GEBN), a nonprofit that touted exercise as more important than diet in the fight against obesity, according to a New York Times report in August. Coca-Cola refuted that the company disregarded the importance of a healthy diet, saying the report "created confusion." To promote transparency after the report's release, Coca-Cola disclosed $118.6 million in health research and program funding.
In November, the University of Colorado School of Medicine returned a $1 million grant from Coca-Cola that was originally meant to fund the creation of GEBN. Later that month, the Associated Press released a series of emails connecting Coca-Cola and GEBN's relationship, and about a week later, GEBN discontinued operations.
Earlier this month, this story surfaced once again over a $550,000 grant to James Hill, a University of Colorado professor, nutrition expert, and director of the Anschutz Health and Wellness Center, who helped create GEBN.