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Food
Food Safety and Poisoning
NEWS:
20 million chickens may have eaten tainted feed "Federal officials on Friday placed a hold on 20 million chickens raised for market in several states because their feed was mixed with pet food containing an industrial chemical."
21.7 million pounds of meat recalled "The Topps Meat Co. on Saturday expanded its recall of frozen hamburger patties that may be contaminated with the E. coli bacteria and may have sickened more than a dozen people in eight states. Topps said it was recalling 21.7 million pounds of ground beef products distributed to retail grocery stores and food service institutions throughout the United States, up from the 332,000 pounds it recalled on Tuesday. "
A Hole in the Food Safety Net? "Consumer advocates are raising concerns about whether federal restrictions meant to stop the import of tainted Chinese seafood are strong enough. … 'We had a problem with the fact that FDA is going to allow China to be one of the certifiers, since they have done such a poor job of certifying' the safety of seafood in the past, … 'We're not sure they can handle this.' "
Artificial Food Additives May Increase Hyperactivity in Children " "Artificial colours or a sodium benzoate preservative (or both) in the diet result in increased hyperactivity in 3-year-old and 8/9-year-old children in the general population," the authors write. "We recorded substantial individual differences in the response of children to the additives. … According to the authors of the current study, artificial food colors and additives have been shown to affect behavior in children, with an increase in overactive, impulsive, and inattentive behavior, (ie, hyperactivity, similar to that seen in children with ADHD). A recent meta-analysis showed a significant effect of artificial food color and additives on the behavior of children with ADHD."
Baby Carrots Recalled "Bags of baby carrots sold by King Sooper, Ralphs, Publix, and Trader Joe's have been recalled because of possible Shigella contamination."
Botulism Recall Widened "Botulism risk has spurred the FDA and Castleberry's Food Co. to widen Castleberry's canned goods recall. The recall now includes more than 80 canned goods for people and four products for pets. All of those products are made by Castleberry's Food Co., but they bear various brand names. … Earlier, the recall only included products with certain "Best By" dates printed on the cans. But now, the recall includes all of the products listed by Castleberry's, regardless of "Best By" date. … Castleberry's Food Company is located in Augusta, Ga. Its products were in the U.S. and Canada. For more information, including details about product refunds, contact Castleberry's consumer information hotline at (888) 203-8446 or (800) 203-4412. "
Chemical in pet food also fed to state hatchery fish "Farmed fish have been fed meal spiked with the same chemical that has been linked to the pet food recall, but the contamination was probably too low to harm anyone who ate the fish, federal officials said Tuesday. Some of the contaminated feed was tracked to six Washington state hatcheries, and was immediately pulled from use."
Chemical Linked to Birth Defects - Bisphenol A - Found at Unsafe Levels in Canned Food "In the most comprehensive U.S. tests for an industrial chemical used to line cans of foods, an independent laboratory found a compound linked to birth defects in more than half of the samples of canned fruit, vegetables, soda, and baby formula from supermarket shelves, according to an Environmental Working Group (EWG) report released today."
China's Food Safety Woes Expand Overseas "The list of Chinese food exports rejected at American ports reads like a chef's nightmare: pesticide-laden pea pods, drug-laced catfish, filthy plums and crawfish contaminated with salmonella. Yet, it took a much more obscure item, contaminated wheat gluten, to focus U.S. public attention on a very real and frightening fact: China's chronic food safety woes are now an international concern. In recent weeks, scores of cats and dogs in America have died of kidney failure blamed on eating pet food containing gluten from China that was tainted with melamine, a chemical used in plastics, fertilizers and flame retardants. While humans aren't believed at risk, the incident has sharpened concerns over China's food exports and the limited ability of U.S. inspectors to catch problem shipments."
China’s not the sole source of tainted imports "Mexican cantaloupe irrigated with water from sewage-tainted rivers. Candy laced with lead. Chinese toothpaste is not the only concern for U.S. consumers wary of the health risks posed by imported goods. Producers in other developing nations are big violators of basic food safety standards, even as they woo consumers with a growing appetite for foods like pickled mangoes from India and winter-season fruits and vegetables from Mexico. … Candy makers are still major violators, making up at least 15 percent of the FDA’s June rejections for Mexico after inspectors determined that shipments were filthy, unsafe or contained pesticides. In the same month, FDA inspectors determined that four shipments of oral electrolyte solution — used to treat dehydration in children with acute diarrhea or vomiting — contained unsafe coloring and false labeling. While the products carried the name of Abbott Laboratories of Mexico, a spokeswoman for the Chicago-based company, Tracey Noe, said it had not been notified of any product rejection and noted that products are sometimes counterfeited or diverted for sale to the wrong country."
Chinese food 'made from cardboard' "Chopped cardboard, softened with an industrial chemical and flavored with fatty pork and powdered seasoning, is a main ingredient in batches of steamed buns sold in one Beijing neighborhood, state television said. … Squares of cardboard picked from the ground are first soaked to a pulp in a plastic basin of caustic soda -- a chemical base commonly used in manufacturing paper and soap -- then chopped into tiny morsels with a cleaver. Fatty pork and powdered seasoning are stirred in. Soon, steaming servings of the buns appear on the screen. The reporter takes a bite."
Consumers Left Holding the Peanut Butter Jar
Dole salads recalled for E. coli in U.S., Canada "A package of Dole salad mix that tested positive for E. coli has triggered a recall in at least nine states, prompting new produce fears almost exactly a year after a nationwide spinach scare. The tainted bag of Dole’s Hearts Delight salad mix was sold at a store in Canada, officials said. Neither Canadian health officials nor Dole Food Co. have received reports of anyone getting sick from the product. "
Drowning in germs "VICTORIAN homes and food outlets are swarming with harmful bacteria, an investigation has found. Germs are lurking on dinner tables in homes, restaurants and takeaway outlets, tests have shown. The Sunday Herald Sun conducted microbiological tests and found the dangerous E coli bacteria on tables and floors of homes, restaurants, city food outlets and suburban takeaways. This comes as the number of cases of enteric or gastrointestinal illnesses has risen in Victoria. … It is estimated that there are five million cases of food poisoning in Australia each year."
Embalming agent formaldehyde found in Chinese cookies in Philippines "… Philippine authorities said they were testing more Chinese products after ordering several candy and cookie brands withdrawn from store shelves because they tested positive for a harmful embalming chemical."
EU takes China to task after cough syrup kills "Meanwhile, EU Consumer Commissioner Meglena Kuneva said Beijing should improve its product safety monitoring and provide more information about the measures it takes against manufacturers of fake or shoddy exports."
FDA aware of dangers to food "The Food and Drug Administration has known for years about contamination problems at a Georgia peanut butter plant and on California spinach farms that led to disease outbreaks that killed three people, sickened hundreds, and forced one of the biggest product recalls in U.S. history, documents and interviews show. Overwhelmed by huge growth in the number of food processors and imports, however, the agency took only limited steps to address the problems and relied on producers to police themselves, according to agency documents. … Congressional critics and consumer advocates said both episodes show that the agency is incapable of adequately protecting the safety of the food supply. "
FDA Renews Castleberry's Chili Warning "A list of recalled products, which includes brands such as Castleberry's, Bunker Hill, Austex, Big Y, Lowes Foods, Kroger and Piggly Wiggly, can be found at http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/castleberry.html#recall. "This is a very big recall," said David K. Elder of the FDA's Office of Regulatory Affairs. The four people known to be affected so far ate chili sauce produced during two days in May. The responsible production plant, in Augusta, Ga., produced as many as 10,000 24-can cases per day, and the cans are labeled as having a shelf life of two years. "
FDA Urgently Warns Consumers about Health Risks of Potentially Contaminated Olives
Food Prep May Be as Important as Ingredients Themselves "The methods used to produce or cook food may have as much impact on your health as the actual food, U.S. researchers report. Grilled, fried or broiled animal products such as meats and cheeses contain a class of toxins called "advanced glycation end products" (AGEs), which have been linked to inflammation, insulin resistance, diabetes, vascular and kidney disease, and Alzheimer's disease, say a team from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. AGEs are also produced when food products are sterilized and pasteurized."
Food safety a big problem worldwide: WHO officials "China should not be singled out for particular concern over food safety, a big problem that rich and poor countries alike must tackle through better regulation, top World Health Organization (WHO) officials said on Tuesday."
Frozen Pepperoni Pizzas Recalled
Geese's revenge: Foie gras may cause disease "Geese force-fed and then slaughtered for their livers may get their final revenge on people who favor the delicacy known as foie gras: It may transmit a little-known disease known as amyloidosis, researchers reported on Monday. Tests on mice suggest the liver, popular in French cuisine which uses it to make paté de foie gras and other dishes, may cause the condition in animals that have a genetic susceptibility to such diseases, Alan Solomon of the University of Tennessee and colleagues reported."
Health Tip: Produce May Harbor Pesticides
Microwave-popcorn fumes a home hazard? " … the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association issued a statement Tuesday recommending that its members reduce "to the extent possible" the amount of diacetyl in butter flavorings they make. It noted that diacetyl is approved for use in flavors by the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA)."
Sam's Club beef recalled after illnesses "MINNEAPOLIS - The Sam’s Club warehouse chain has pulled a brand of ground beef patties from its shelves nationwide after four children who ate the food, produced by Cargill Inc., developed E. coli illness. Cargill asked customers to return any remaining patties purchased after Aug. 26 to the store or destroy them. The children became ill between Sept. 10 and Sept. 20 after eating ground beef patties that were bought frozen under the name American Chef’s Selection Angus Beef Patties from three Sam’s Club stores in the Twin Cities area."
Shoppers offered few safeguards against 'Wild West' imports "However, even inside China, there have been shocking revelations in recent months: Pigs fattened on force-fed wastewater, dairy cows given so many antibiotics they can't produce yogurt from their milk and lard made from sewage. A Chinese government report earlier this month found that 80 percent of food and products for domestic consumption passed inspection -- meaning that nearly 1 in 5 failed to meet minimal standards. That's just the tip of the iceberg, according to Zhou Qin, a dissident writer who has researched China's food standards. He said he believes the situation is much worse than anyone realizes. Farmers and producers, he said, are continually finding new and dangerous ways to cut costs. He cited the example of a farmer in the south who he said deliberately added a cancer-causing chemical to pigs because it made the flesh look better and less fatty. When he challenged the farmer about the potential health dangers, Qin said he replied, "People in the city get free health care." "
Tainted Animal Feed May Be in Fish "Acheson, who is the FDA's assistant commissioner for food protection, explains that the tainted ingredients came from the same two Chinese companies linked to melamine-tainted pet food and animal feed fed to U.S. hogs and poultry. Those Chinese companies shipped the tainted ingredients to Canada, which produced fish meal that was then shipped to several U.S. fish farms. Acheson said he doesn't know how many fish (or what types of fish) might have eaten the tainted fish meal. "
Tainted food exposes Chinese import woes "Dried apples preserved with a cancer-causing chemical. Frozen catfish laden with banned antibiotics. Scallops and sardines coated with putrefying bacteria. … For years, U.S. inspection records show, China has flooded the United States with foods unfit for human consumption. And for years, FDA inspectors have simply returned to Chinese importers the small portion of those products they caught -- many of which turned up at U.S. borders again, making a second or third attempt at entry."
Tainted poultry has entered food supply "Although the chickens, which came from 38 poultry farms in Indiana, have already made their way into the food supply, there appears to be minimal or no health risk to humans, the government said. The Agriculture Department and the FDA said in a joint statement Monday that officials learned of the link between the chicken feed and tainted pet food as part of the investigation into imported rice protein concentrate and wheat gluten that have been found to contain the industrial chemical melamine and related compounds. "
The Toxic Republic " … tells of monstrous abuses: soy sauce bulked up with arsenic-tainted human hair; hormone-infused snack foods that grow facial hair on 6-year-old boys and breasts on 7-year-old girls; dangerous drugs fed to pigs to make their meat look better. … the first head of China's State Food and Drug Administration, was sentenced to death in May for approving fake medicines in exchange for bribes. And at the factories whose chemical melamine was implicated in at least 16 U.S. pet deaths, two managers have been jailed."
Too Much Fructose Could Leave Dieters Sugar Shocked
ARTICLES:
15 Ways to Make Your Food Safer
Health Tip: Wash Fruits and Vegetables
The Full List: 43 Fruits & Veggies (pesticides)
JOURNAL ARTICLES:
Brominated flame retardants in US food. (Mol Nutr Food Res. 2007)
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