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News archives

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Plastics industry behind FDA research on bisphenol A, study finds
A government report claiming that bisphenol A is safe was written largely by the plastics industry and others with a financial stake in the controversial chemical, the Journal Sentinel found. Although the Food and Drug Administration will not reveal who prepared its draft, the agency's own docume... Continued...

Suspect eggs pulled off shelves in southern China: report
BEIJING (AFP) — Wal-Mart has begun pulling a major brand of eggs from its Chinese stores as a precaution after the chemical melamine was detected in them in Hong Kong, a spokeswoman said Tuesday. Wal-Mart has begun removing the "Kekeda" brand of eggs produced by the Hanwei Group, a leading egg pr... Continued...

Monday, October 27, 2008

A Rise in Kidney Stones Is Seen in U.S. Children
To the great surprise of parents, kidney stones, once considered a disorder of middle age, are now showing up in children as young as 5 or 6. While there are no reliable data on the number of cases, pediatric urologists and nephrologists across the country say they are seeing a steep rise in youn... Continued...

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Healthier, fresher produce taking root at hospitals
To anyone who has tried to chow down on the soggy vegetables, canned fruit and dry meat that's stereotypically served to patients, staff and visitors, the phrase "hospital food" may sound like an oxymoron. But a national initiative taking root in Maryland is trying to change all that, to the bene... Continued...

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Melamine taint - old problem has new urgency
Editor's note: Nationally recognized nutrition expert Marion Nestle answers readers' questions in Food Matters, written exclusively for The Chronicle. E-mail your questions to food@sfchronicle .com, with "Marion Nestle" in the subject line. Q: Every day we hear about more foods from China with me... Continued...

Scientists call review of GE food safety assessment
A GROUP of scientists today called for an urgent and independent review of the safety assessment procedure for genetically engineered food and for all GE food to be labelled. Greenpeace said that an open letter had been sent to Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon by 15 scientists ahead of a disc... Continued...

Monday, October 20, 2008

Health Canada Reaffirms Safety of BPA for Use in Metal Food Packaging
WASHINGTON, Oct 17, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Today's announcement by Health Canada regarding completion of its assessment of bisphenol A (BPA) offers reassurance to Canadians that the use of this chemical in the production of epoxy resins in metal food and beverage packaging presents no risk to consu... Continued...

Friday, October 17, 2008

U.S., EU both claim victory in beef hormone dispute
A ruling on the European Union's ban on beef treated with growth hormones had both the United States and the EU applauding. The World Trade Organization's Appellate Body concluded on Thursday that the European Union can continue to ban imports of beef treated with growth hormones, but the United... Continued...

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Editorial: BPA and the Donor
For an agency that claims to be rooting out conflicts of interest, the Food and Drug Administration has done a poor job of handling what looks like a potential conflict on a committee evaluating the safety of bisphenol-A, known as BPA. There is growing fear that BPA a chemical found in baby bottl... Continued...

Donation raises questions for head of FDA’s bisphenol A panel
A retired medical supply manufacturer who considers bisphenol A to be "perfectly safe" gave $5 million to the research center of Martin Philbert, chairman of the Food and Drug Association panel about to make a pivotal ruling on the chemical’s safety. Philbert did not disclose the donation, which ... Continued...

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Climate Change May Harm Health of Humans, Raise Disease Risk
Oct. 14 (Bloomberg) -- The world needs to be better prepared to react to the deleterious effects that climate change may have on humans, including dirtier water, crop shortages and a higher risk of disease and food spoilage, European officials said. Special attention should be given to the impact... Continued...

New Consumer Guide Points to Health and Environmental Risks of Sludge Use in Food Production
Consumers should choose foods produced without sludge and avoid use of sewage sludge-based fertilizer products in home gardens, concludes a new guide by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP). Sewage sludge can contain disease-causing microbes, synthetic chemicals, and heavy metal... Continued...

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Pollution studies getting personal
In south Minneapolis, 100 children are providing urine samples to be tested for arsenic from a long-abandoned pesticide storage site. In Oakdale, Lake Elmo and Cottage Grove, 200 adults are signing up to have blood drawn and analyzed for traces of three former 3M chemicals found in their drinking wa... Continued...

Friday, October 10, 2008

Center for Food Safety challenges USDA on genetically engineered crops
Center for Food Safety challenges USDA on genetically engineered crops The Center for Food Safety responded today to the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) new proposed regulations for the oversight of growing genetically engineered (GE) crops. In the Center's view, while stricter r... Continued...

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Climate change: Dirty, deadly dozen pathogens expand
WASHINGTON: Health experts from the Wildlife Conservation Society have released a report that lists 12 pathogens that could spread into new regions as a result of climate change, potentially impacting human and wildlife health and global economies. The best defence, according to the report's auth... Continued...

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Citing cost, USDA kills pesticide-testing program
The Bush administration has abruptly halted a government program that tests the levels of pesticides in fruits, vegetables and field crops, arguing that the $8 million-a-year program is too expensive—a decision critics say could make it harder to protect consumers from chemicals in their food. Th... Continued...

Sweetener Controversy Grows
Ads hyping high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) for its similarities to sugar are hitting the airwaves - part of a major marketing campaign from the Corn Refiners Association meant to combat the bad rap that HFCS has gotten in the past years. The commercials feature products containing HFCS - a mother... Continued...

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Hundreds of U.S. Chemicals and Companies Will Be Impacted By European Union REACH Regulation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Jennifer Andreassen, Environmental Defense Fund, 202-572-3387, jandreassen@edf.org (Washington, DC – September 30, 2008) Hundreds of companies located in 37 of the 50 United States produce or import hundreds of chemicals designated as dangerous by the European Un... Continued...