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News archives

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Expert Says Farm Isn't Flu Origin
Mexico's top government epidemiologist said Wednesday that it is "highly improbable" that a farm in the Mexican state of Veracruz operated by Smithfield Foods Inc. is responsible for the nation's swine-flu outbreak. Miguel Ángel Lezana, the government's chief epidemiologist, said in an interview ... Continued...

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

The swine flu crisis lays bare the meat industry's monstrous power
The Mexican swine flu, a genetic chimera probably conceived in the faecal mire of an industrial pigsty, suddenly threatens to give the whole world a fever. The initial outbreaks across North America reveal an infection already travelling at higher velocity than did the last official pandemic strain,... Continued...

Smithfield shares drop on worries about swine flu
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Pork processor Smithfield Foods Inc.'s shares fell Monday as investors worried about how consumers would respond to the swine flu outbreak despite Mexican officials stating that no infected pigs have been found anywhere in Mexico. Investors pummeled Smithfield's shares, even ... Continued...

UN food body checks if "swine flu" linked to pigs
ROME, April 28 (Reuters) - The United Nations' food agency said on Tuesday its was mobilising its animal health experts and sending some to Mexico to check if the new strain of flu virus widely described as swine flu is really directly linked to pigs. "At present, transmission seems to be occurri... Continued...

Monday, April 27, 2009

Paying a Price for Loving Red Meat
There was a time when red meat was a luxury for ordinary Americans, or was at least something special: cooking a roast for Sunday dinner, ordering a steak at a restaurant. Not anymore. Meat consumption has more than doubled in the United States in the last 50 years. Now a new study of more than 5... Continued...

Fructose Linked to More Metabolic Problems than Glucose
Overweight or obese patients who consumed soft drinks sweetened with either glucose or fructose both gained weight. But only those who had the fructose drinks saw an increase in visceral adipose tissue, dyslipidemia, hepatic de novo lipogenesis, and insulin resistance, Peter J. Havel, M.D., of the ... Continued...

Friday, April 24, 2009

Mexico Shuts Some Schools Amid Deadly Flu Outbreak
MEXICO CITY — Mexican officials, scrambling to control a swine flu outbreak that has killed at least 16 people and possibly dozens more in recent weeks, shuttered schools from kindergarten to university for millions of young people in and around the capital on Friday and urged people with flu sympto... Continued...

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Cut out BPA use or risk market exclusion, urges new report
The report Seeking Safer Packaging has been released by Green Century Capital Management, an investor in environmentally sound companies, and As You Sow, an advocate group for corporate responsibility. It claims that 14 of the largest public packaged food and beverage companies still use the contr... Continued...

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

EPA Will Mandate Tests On Pesticide Chemicals
The Environmental Protection Agency for the first time will require pesticide manufacturers to test 67 chemicals contained in their products to determine whether they disrupt the endocrine system, which regulates animals' and humans' growth, metabolism and reproduction, the agency said yesterday. ... Continued...

Monday, April 20, 2009

Studies link packaging chemical to childhood obesity
Researchers found children in New York's East Harlem are three times more likely than other children in the US to be overweight, and they said that high levels of the packaging chemicals found in the children's urine may play a role in obesity by disrupting hormones that regulate growth and developm... Continued...

Friday, April 17, 2009

State, local changes seen as key to U.S. food safety
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Efforts to overhaul the U.S. food safety system could suffer unless major gaps in state and local programs are repaired and integrated with changes taking place in Washington, experts said on Friday. State and local agencies have difficulty preventing and responding to outb... Continued...

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Ounces of Prevention — The Public Policy Case for Taxes on Sugared Beverages
The obesity epidemic has inspired calls for public health measures to prevent diet-related diseases. One controversial idea is now the subject of public debate: food taxes. Forty states already have small taxes on sugared beverages and snack foods, but in the past year, Maine and New York have p... Continued...

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Full plate for Obama's new FDA administrator
Editor's note: Nutrition and public policy expert Marion Nestle answers readers' questions in this column written exclusively for The Chronicle. You can e-mail your questions to food@sfchronicle.com with Marion Nestle in the subject line. Q: President Obama has nominated Dr. Margaret Hamburg as t... Continued...

Friday, April 10, 2009

Food Safety Efforts Have Stalled in Recent Years, CDC Says
Efforts to reduce the number of food-borne illnesses in the United States have stalled in the past three years, and some illnesses are on the upswing, giving new urgency to efforts to reform the nation's food safety system, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported yesterday. "We ne... Continued...

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

`ROCKET FUEL' BABY FOOD DECLARED SAFE
A chemical used in rocket fuel and explosives has been found in 15 baby foods tested by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, though no one appears too worried. The US watchdog said the unnamed formulas contained traces of perchlorate, a salt derivative used in fireworks a... Continued...

Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria in Fuel Ethanol Fermentations
Bacteria occupy, and often thrive, in almost any environment imaginable. Therefore, it should be of little surprise that there are bacteria that can prosper in fermentation reactions offering abundant sugars, nutrients and water. For the fuel ethanol producer, it is paramount to eliminate the gr... Continued...

As Food Recalls Continue to Sprout, What Can a Consumer Do?
Peanuts and pistachios have much in common. Neither is a true nut: the peanut is a legume, same as a bean or a pea, while the pistachio is a seed. Long dismissed as high-calorie snacks, both are enjoying newfound recognition as healthful foods, full of fiber, beneficial fats, vitamins and minerals t... Continued...

Monday, April 6, 2009

Pistachio Recall Signals Tough Stance on Safety
WASHINGTON � As the nation�s second-largest processor of pistachios agreed Monday to recall its entire 2008 crop despite no confirmed illnesses, the Obama administration issued a tough warning to all food makers that sloppy manufacturing practices would no longer be tolerated. With the warnin... Continued...

UGA licenses pathogen-kill tech to FIT
The University of Georgia Research Foundation Inc. licensed a new technology that kills pathogens on foods to HealthPro Brands Inc., the maker of FIT Fruit and Vegetable Wash. Financial terms were not disclosed. The exclusive license includes sublicensing rights and is for select countries around... Continued...

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Historic Shareholder Agreement Reached with McDonald's oin Pesticide Use Reduction
Responding to shareholder concerns, McDonald’s Corporation has agreed to formally survey and promote best practices in pesticide use reduction within its American potato supply chain. As the largest buyer of potatoes in the US, McDonald’s commitment will support progress on this important issue, wh... Continued...