Louis Rothschild Jr.
	2006
Louis Rothschild Jr., 76, the founder, publisher and editor of Food Chemical News, a weekly newsletter covering the regulatory side of the food industry, died June 25 at the Copper Ridge care facility in Sykesville, Md. He had Alzheimer's disease.
Mr. Rothschild started the newsletter in 1958, the year Congress approved the food additive amendments to the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. The amendments regulated additives, particularly in processed foods.
The newsletter covered artificial sweeteners, pesticide residue and the safety of the meat supply, among other major issues.
In 1974, it won a federal court decision against the Treasury Department's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. The bureau had unlawfully prohibited the media from attending a meeting at which lobbyists and trade representatives were present in an advisory capacity, the judge found.
Over the years, the newsletter grew to 100 pages with thousands of subscribers paying $1,000 annually. Mr. Rothschild also started three sister publications covering other aspects of the food industry. The privately held business was sold to the Times Mirror Co. in 1992.
Mr. Rothschild was a native Washingtonian and a 1948 graduate of  Wilson High School. At Northwestern University, he received a bachelor's and a master's degree in journalism.
Early in his career, he reported for the United Press wire service and F-D-C Reports, a food, drug and cosmetics newsletter.
He played clarinet and was a former board chairman of Washington Conservatory of Music. He was a District resident.
His marriage to Jean Oscar Rothschild ended in divorce.
Survivors include his wife of 43 years, Sonia Steinberg Rothschild of Washington; and two children from his second marriage, Karen Rothschild of Gaithersburg and Alan Rothschild of Belmont, Mass.