Alex Malaspina
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Alex Malaspina was a top executive at Coca Cola, who also acted as the main administrator (title 'Vice-President') of two rather infamous health policy institutes -- both of which had numerous sub-divisions or attached organisations. These constitute a conglomerate which appears to be administered by the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) and the Toxicology Forum.
The ILSI merged with the Nutrition Foundation Inc. in 1985, and created two sub-institutes: the ILSI Nutritional Foundation (ILSI-NF) and the Risk Science Institute (ILSI-RSI). The Society of Toxicology was also part of this complex also. Then a whole range of other institutes were sloughed off. The ILSI also extended geographically with each national/regional organisation being overtly independent -- but since each was funded by the same global food, chemical and pharmaceutical companies, this gave the consortium worldwide unity.
The funding sources were the food, chemical and pharmacuetical industries initially, with the tobacco industry reluctently being permitted entry at a later date. Other industries also joined.
Associates
- Carol Henry
- Roger D Middlekauff (lawyer/lobbyist)
- Jack Filer (pediatrician)
- Catherine B Maimon, Admin, Toxicology Forum Inc (St. Helare ???)
Documents & Timeline
1977-78 Symposium and Annual Meeting of the Flavor & Extract Manufacturers Association (FEMA) lists:
- Alex Malaspina reporting on the "International Food Laws Committee"
- Roger Middlekauff reporting on "Status of FD& Colors: Materials Transportation. ALSO "Report of the BVO/SAIB Committee"
- The President of FEMA was Dr J Frank Perkins, of the Swiss flavour specialist firm Firmenich, Inc. (also tobacco)
- The President-Elect was Robert W Koch, Sn, of the Chicago Food Materials Corporation.
- Board members included Dr J Allen Brent, VP of the Coca Cola Company (the Malaspina company)
- Malapina reported (as chairman) also on the International Food Laws Committee. They were promoting the use of GRAS rules in the USA -- "Generally Recognised As Safe" -- which didn't require any laboratory testing. He reports here on the development of colourings and additive classifications worldwide, and regrets that some food manufacturers have begun advertising and promoting the idea that their food stuffs are free from artifical chemicals.
- Middlekauff reported on "Current Status of FD&C Colors and Materials Transportation". The FDA has recently reorganised and published its Code of Federal Regulations. Middlekauff and Malaspina are already working together,
1984 Alex Malaspina, L Jack Filer and Robert L Brent set up the Health & Environmental Sciences Institute as a part of the ILSI. [3]
1984 Feb 20-22 Winter Toxicology Forum meeting at L'Enfant Plaza Hotel, Washington DC This lists two members (not executives)
- Catherine B Maimon, Administrator with The Toxicology Forum
- Alex Malaspina, who is now VP, External Technical Affairs at Coca Cola
- Philippe Shubik, who is still listed at Oxford University (He was President, but appears gullible but uncorrupted) [4]
1984 Sep 4 Membership of the Saccharin Technical Committee of the ILSI includes
- James L Emerson - Director Scientific and Regulatory Affairs, Coca Cola
- Alex Manaspina - Vice President Coca Cola
- Roger Middlekauff - lawyer for FEMA
- Gio Batta Gori - researcher fired from the NCI
- Wallace Hayes - RJ Reynolds Chief Scientific affairs [5]
1985 Jan 1 The International Life Sciences Institute -- Nutrition Foundation (ILSI-NF) is created.
On January 1 1985, The Nutrition Foundation, Inc. and the North American Branch of the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) joined forces and consolidated their programs. The combined activities and resources of these two organizations have been fully integrated under the International Life Sciences Institute -- Nutrition Foundation (ILSI-NF).
This is the Board of Trustees of the International Life Sciences Institute (North America).
- Dr L Jack Filer was Executive Director
- * Sharon Senzik was Administrator
- George W Irving Jr (consultant) [Also Executive Vice President] (ex Chm. SAB, Int. Sugar Research Foundation)
- Konrad E Block, Harvard Uni [Also Chairman]
- Peter B Dews, Harvard Medical School [Also Executive Vice President] (Philip Morris consultant in Psychiatry)
- Frank N Kotsonis, NutraSweet
- Louis C Lasanga, Tufts Uni [Also Vice President of Safety/Toxicology]
- Alex Malaspina, Coca Cola [Also President ILSI]
- Robert McVicar, He ran the KGF Foundation (Philip Morris affiliate) which laundered funds from tobacco to other institutions, such as the American Health Foundation
- Walter H Meyer, Procter & Gamble [Treasurer]
- Roger D Middlekauff, McKenna Conner and Cuneo (FEMA) [Also Secretary]
- Robert A Neal, Chemical Industry Institute of Toxicology
- Michael W Pariza, University of Wisconsin (Food Research Institute) Advisor to Steven Milloy at TASSC and ACSH; Ed. Board of Regulatory Toxicology & Pharmacology [6]
- Alfred E Harper University of Wisconsin (Dept of Bichemistry) Advisory Board of American Council on Science & Health (ACSH)
- Robert E Smith, Nabisco (RJ Reynolds Tobacco affiliate)
- James W Stanley, Pepsicola
The US Agency for International Development (AID - administers civilian foreign aid) designated the Nutrition Foundation as the secretariat of both International Vitamin A and Nutritional Anemia consultative groups which provided consultation and developed dietary guidelines. [7]
1985 Aug 21 UK Tobacco advisor Francis JC Roe was reporting to British American Tobacco (BAT) on an International Congress of Nutrition held in Brighton UK. There were 2000 delegates plus spouses, with large numbers from the USA and Japan. He has a critical comment about a Bulgarian's command of English and his "habit of talking loudly (mainly to Alex Malaspina)".
The significance is simply in the fact that he didn't need to explain who Malaspina was. Clearly he was well known even to UK tobacco executives. Later in the report he notes that:
Alex Malaspina used his 35 minutes to eulogise on the activities and achievements of ILSI (International Life Sciences Institute) . What he had to say was clear and impressive but had little to do with the title under which he spoke, namely "Regulatory constraints on food - Safety and Nutrition" . Many of the audience were surprised at the scale and breadth of ILSI's activities .[8]
1987 Sep 18 The ISLI-Nutritional Foundation is actively organising opposition to California's Proposition 65 (Clean Air, Clean Water Act). [9]
1990 Jan 20 The ILSI and the ILSI-NF are holding a joint meeting of board members in Paradise Island in the Bahamas. There are 100 in attendance overall (It's a tough life being a lobbying executive) Under discussion are:
- A. Health & Environmental Sciences Institute (HES1)
- B. ILSI in Latin America (Mexico & Brazil)
- C. Risk Science Institute
- D. Research Foundation
- E. WHO and FAO
- F. ILSl's Scientific Role
Alex Malaspina is listed as President, and a dozen ILSI staff are on the attendance list. [10]
1990 Aug 6 A meeting of the Development Committee of the Pan American Health Organisation (subdivision of the WHO) has as committee members: [11] • ex-President Jimmy Carter, now living in Atlanta Georgia
- Paul Dietrich, a full-time anti-WHO tobacco lobbyist, listed here as President of the Institute for International Health & Development at the Catholic University in Washington DC.
- Alex Malaspina the head of International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) and Toxicology Forum. He is listed here as Senior VP of Coca Cola Corporation, also of Atlanta Georgia.
- Jack Otero, International VP of Transportation Communications Union (AFL-CIO) ... and also a lobbyist for the tobacco industry's Labor Management Committee, and President of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA) (He was paid personally through his own company Otero Global Resources Inc.) [12] [13] The LCLAA was given a large annual donation (Tobacco institute generally gave them $12,000 pa, but in 1993 this rose to $250,000 [14] )
- Rita Di Martino, Director Federal Govt. Affairs, AT&T. Also lobbyist for National Council of La Raza and associate of Francis D Gomez of Philip Morris International [15] [16] She was associated with Otero's Labor Council for Latin American Advancement.