CrispTek has released brownie, cookie and muffin mixes built on a rice-flour blend patented by Agricultural Research Service chemists. The blend absorbs less oil than other batters, the products are free of common allergens, and the mixes are in more than 1,500 stores.
Food Consumer
Law & Regulations
FDA: Lowering Sodium in the Food Supply
Americans average 3,400 mg of sodium a day, nearly 50 percent above the 2,300 mg federal limit, and most of it comes from processed and prepared foods. FDA says cutting intake could prevent hundreds of thousands of premature deaths and illnesses within a decade.
Politics
Industry Watchdog: New USDA Rules Betray Organic Stakeholders by Kowtowing Factory Farm Operators
The Cornucopia Institute calls USDA's draft organic animal welfare rule a cynical delay, saying lenient provisions would institutionalize operations of up to two million chickens or 18,000 dairy cows while other requirements could push family-scale organic dairies out of business.
Food
Brand Naming Pro Alexandra Watkins to Keynote at Second Annual BrandStorm™ (PR)
Alexandra Watkins, founder of the naming firm Eat My Words and author of Hello, My Name is Awesome, will close the second BrandStorm on November 15 in San Francisco. Attendees get a copy of the book; United Fresh members pay $695 to attend.
Politics
Will Monsanto Ever Give Up the Fight against GMO Labeling?
The Organic Consumers Association points to new Partially Produced with Genetic Engineering labels appearing nationwide as Vermont's law takes effect July 1, and urges readers to press senators to block a new DARK Act after Agriculture Secretary Vilsack called for a system.
Healthy Recipes from AICR
Healthy Recipes: Wasabi-Crusted Cod with Ponzu Sauce
A recipe for cod marinated in ponzu sauce, smeared with wasabi paste, coated in whole-wheat panko and sesame seeds, seared then finished in the oven. Makes four servings at 161 calories each. Hannah Herrera's version won first place in AICR's recipe contest.
Chemical
Chromium, arsenic exposure linked to cancers
Spanish researchers compared arsenic and chromium levels in topsoil from 7,917 towns against 861,440 cancer deaths and found statistical associations with stomach, pancreatic and lung cancer and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. They call chronic low-level exposure a potential risk factor.
Alerts
Recalls of Frozen Vegetables, Frozen Fruit, and Other Products Related to Investigation of Listeria Illnesses
CDC, FDA, USDA and state officials tie a multistate Listeria outbreak to frozen vegetables from CRF Frozen Foods, which on May 2, 2016 recalled everything processed at its Pasco, Washington plant since May 2014. Dozens of other brands have since recalled products.
Advisories
USDA Urges Consumers to Keep Clear of the Danger Zone This Summer
USDA food safety staff remind grillers to keep perishable food out of the 40 to 140 F Danger Zone, where bacteria can double in 20 minutes. Hold cold food at or below 40 F and hot food at or above 140 F, and limit time out to two hours, or one hour above 90 F.
Advisories
Food Allergies: What You Need to Know
Millions of Americans react to food each year, and while most reactions are mild, some are life-threatening and there is no cure. The 2004 Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act requires FDA-regulated labels to name the food source of ingredients containing any of eight major allergens.
Chemical
Zinc oxide increases oxidative stress
Zebrafish exposed to zinc oxide nanoparticles for 4 to 96 hours showed changes in liver SOD, MDA and catalase that point to increased oxidative stress, and exposure lasting up to 30 days produced structural damage to the liver.
Food
Does olive oil reduce the risk of breast cancer?
AICR's Karen Collins says evidence on olive oil and breast cancer remains limited. The Spanish PREDIMED study linked high extra virgin olive oil intake to lower risk, but the studies carry caveats, and AICR's continuous update project has not identified olive oil as protective.
Drug
Melatonin helps radiation-induced dermatitis in breast cancer patients
In a trial of 47 women having radiotherapy after breast-conserving surgery, grade 1 or 2 dermatitis appeared in 59 percent of those using melatonin cream against 90 percent on placebo, the Israel Medical Association Journal reports.
Lifestyle
Could antiperspirants increase breast cancer risk?
Writing in Morphologie, P.D. Darbre argues aluminum salts in antiperspirants may be a breast cancer risk factor, noting that tumors and cysts cluster in the upper outer breast nearest the underarm and that aluminum behaves like estrogen in laboratory studies.
Phytochemicals
Anthocyanin helps prevent prostate cancer
Testing the dietary anthocyanin cyanidin-3-O-glucoside in two prostate cancer cell lines, researchers at the University of Catania found it slowed proliferation, increased DNA fragmentation and raised levels of the tumor suppressor P75NGFR. They suggest it may help prevent the disease.
Minerals
Iron may affect gestational diabetes mellitus risk
A Boston University-led study found high preconceptional heme iron intake was associated with a 55% higher risk of gestational diabetes, while high non-heme iron intake was linked to 52% lower risk and supplemental iron to 22% lower risk. The authors say causation was not proved.
Chemical
Food Additive Titanium Dioxide Toxic to Blood Cells
Mahidol University researchers exposed human peripheral blood mononuclear cells to 26.4 nm titanium dioxide at 25 micrograms per milliliter or more for 24 hours; the particles triggered reactive oxygen species and the cells began to die.
Politics
Got tested? You probably failed. - Newsletter 052816 from Organic Consumers Association
OCA's newsletter reports that 93 percent of Americans who sent urine samples to The Detox Project's glyphosate testing project tested positive, with children showing the highest levels. It also covers Bayer's bid to buy Monsanto, which Monsanto rejected while talks continue.
13770 stories