Watermelons have reportedly been bursting on farms in eastern China during recent wet weather, a phenomenon that state media attribute to the growth chemical forchlorfenuron. Jumping into a burgeoning watermelon market, approximately 20 first-time users of the chemical reportedly lost up to 115 acres after applying it too late in the season on an inappropriate variety of melon. Dubbed the “exploding melon” because of its tendency to split, most of the ruined fruit was apparently fed to fish and pigs. Legal in the United States on kiwi and grapes and allowed in China in general, forchlorfenuron is safe when used properly, according to a horticulture professor quoted by a news source. See Associated Press, May 17, 2011.
Category Archives Other Developments
McDonald’s Corp. investors have reportedly rejected a shareholder proposal that asked the company to prepare a report assessing the role of fast food in “childhood obesity, diet-related diseases and other impacts on children’s health.” Led by the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia, which apparently owns $2,000 in company stock, the proposal coordinated with an open letter campaign launched by Corporate Accountability International (CAI) that asked McDonald’s CEO Jim Skinner to retire “marketing promotions for food high in salt, fat, sugar, and calories to children, whatever form they take—from Ronald McDonald to toy giveaways.” The letter apparently ran in several media outlets, including the Chicago Sun-Times, New York Metro and San Francisco Examiner, and garnered signatures from more than 550 health professionals and organizations. At the May 19, 2011, shareholder meeting, however, the company recommended a “no” vote on the proposal, and Skinner evidently defended the iconic clown as an…
A group of physicians and scientists has written a letter to federal agencies calling for more pesticide testing on children’s favorite fruits and vegetables. Noting that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) typically releases latest data on pesticide residues on fruits and vegetables each January but has yet to do so this year, the May 6, 2011, letter urges officials from the USDA, EPA and FDA to “speed the release” of such data. Signed by leaders of medical schools such as Columbia University, Harvard, Mount Sinai, and Stanford, the letter warns that growing evidence shows pesticide consumption can cause lasting harm to children’s brain development. “Children are uniquely sensitive to harmful effects from pesticides,” the letter states. “Yet they eat substantial quantities of certain fresh fruits and vegetables—apples, berries, peaches, for example—proven to contain multiple pesticide residues. We urge you to expand testing programs and share ample information with the…
Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity has released a new study claiming that “a penny per ounce” tax on sugar sweetened beverages “has the potential to reduce consumption and generate significant revenue.” Tatiana Andreyeva, et al., “Estimating the potential of taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages to reduce consumption and generate revenue,” Preventive Medicine, April 2011. To estimate revenues from an excise tax on sugar-sweetened beverages, the study’s authors evidently constructed “a model projecting beverage consumption and tax revenues based on best available data on regional beverage consumption, historic trends and recent estimates of the price elasticity on sugar-sweetened beverage demand.” Using this model, the authors described the public health impact of beverage taxes as “substantial,” estimating that a penny-per-ounce tax would reduce sugar-sweetened beverage consumption by 24 percent and lower “the daily per capita caloric intake from sugar-sweetened beverages from the current 190-200 cal to 145-150 cal, if there…
A New York gallery has reportedly offered cheese made with the breast milk of three nursing women as part of a research project studying the ethics of modern biotechnology. The Lady Cheese Shop, a temporary art installation, recently gave out samples of West Side Funk, Midtown Smoke and Wisconsin Chew made from breast milk, screened for diseases and pasteurized. Miriam Simun, a New York University graduate student responsible for the art installation and the cheese, told a news source that she hoped her effort prompted people to contemplate how human bodies are used as “factories” that produce blood, hair, sperm, eggs, and organs harvested for others. “Cheese is a conversation starter,” Simun was quoted as saying. “Some people are loving it, and some people are gagging.” See Reuters, May 2, 2011.
The Cancer Council Australia (CCA) Alcohol Working Group has published a position statement in the May 2011 Medical Journal of Australia, claiming that alcohol use causes cancer and that any level of consumption “increases the risk of developing an alcohol-related cancer.” According to the statement, an analysis verified by “external experts” found that “the level of risk increases in line with the level of consumption” and that an estimated 5,070 cases of cancer “are attributable to long-term chronic use of alcohol each year in Australia.” It also noted that “alcohol use may contribute to weight (fat) gain, and greater body fatness is a convincing cause of cancers of the oesophagus, pancreas, bowel, endometrium, kidney and breast (in postmenopausal women).” CCA recommends that consumers (i) reduce “the risk of alcohol-related harm over a lifetime” by drinking “no more than two standard drinks on any day,” and (ii) reduce the risk of…
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has sent a letter to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, drawing attention to a plan that would allegedly prohibit FDA from considering drug residues in bob veal calf tissues “as an indicator of possible drug misuse on dairy farms.” According to CSPI, bob veal cattle are young beef animals “harvested directly from dairy farms, and therefore, these cattle are key indicators of drug use on the specific farms and are also important indicators of potential use in dairy cattle residing on those farms.” The consumer group thus feels that a policy barring test results from these animals “would make it harder for FDA to detect misuse of animal drugs in dairy cattle and, as a result, consumers may be more likely to be exposed to hazardous drugs in milk and milk products and/or resistant strains of human pathogens…
The University of California, Davis, Olive Center and Australian Oils Research Laboratory have issued an April 2011 report on olive oils sold in California, concluding that 73 percent of sampled oils allegedly fell short of International Olive Council (IOC) standards for extra-virgin oil. Building on a July 2010 report, the latest results were based on two IOC-accredited sensory panels, which analyzed 134 samples from eight brands sold in three different California regions. According to the report, the two panels concluded that: (i) “Of the five top-selling imported ‘extra virgin’ olive oil brands in the United States, 73 percent of the samples failed the IOC sensory standards”; (ii) “All of the oil samples passed the IOC chemistry standards for free fatty acids (FFA), fatty acid profile (FAP) and peroxide value (PV), but several of the imported samples failed the IOC’s ultraviolet absorption (UV) tests”; (iii) “70 percent of the samples from…
A Chicago public school that six years ago prohibited most homemade lunches has recently found itself in the media spotlight, with some parents publicly questioning the policy that Little Village Academy Principal Elsa Carmona has defended as more nutritious for children. The Chicago Tribune has reported that Carmona instituted the ban after watching students bring “bottles of soda and flaming hot chips” on field trips. “While there is no formal policy, principals use common sense judgment based on their individual school environments,” confirmed a Chicago Public Schools spokesperson. “In this case, this principal is encouraging the healthier choices and attempting to make an impact that extends beyond the classroom.” But some parents have faulted the school for providing unappetizing fare while bringing in more money from students forced to purchase lunch. Their complaints have since received national attention from groups like the Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF), which called the…
Researchers presenting at the 2011 Experimental Biology conference in Washington, D.C., have reportedly claimed that stearidonic acid-enriched (SDA) soybean oil is “an effective source of long-chain polyunsaturated fat in foods,” and that soy genetically engineered to produce these omega-3 fats, commonly found in fish, could be on tables as early as 2012. The panel on SDA-enriched soy was evidently part of the meeting’s omega-3 symposium led by Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition and Public Health Dean Eileen Kennedy, who noted that the American diet is typically lacking two long-chain omega-3s, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), in part because consumers are wary of methyl mercury warnings for seafood. “Against this backdrop, SDA-enriched soybean oil is very attractive,” Kennedy apparently told Science News. “Moreover, if and when SDA-enriched oil becomes available, it should cost less than fish-oil capsules (some of which have allegedly been found contaminated with pesticides, dioxins and…
