Two recently released studies have purportedly found high concentrations of bisphenol A (BPA) in the thermal paper used by many retailers to print cash register receipts. Researchers with the Warner Babcock Institute for Green Chemistry in Massachusetts tested 10 blank cash register receipts from Boston-area businesses and found some had BPA concentrations as high as 19 mg on a 12-inch long receipt. Ted Mendum, et al., “Concentration of bisphenol A in thermal paper,” Green Chemistry Letters and Reviews, July 28, 2010. They suggest that businesses avoid an potential health risks by using BPA-free receipt paper. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) also apparently studied BPA concentrations in cash register receipts, submitting 36 samples from fast food restaurants, large retailers, grocery stores, gas stations, and post offices to a lab for testing. According to EWG, 40 percent of the samples had high BPA levels, in some instances 250 to 1,000 times greater than…
Category Archives Scientific/Technical Items
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has issued a report that claims less than 10 percent of American adults limit their daily sodium intake to recommended levels. Titled “Sodium Intake Among Adults—United States, 2005-2006,” the report also suggests that processed grains and meats, including poultry and luncheon meats, provide two-thirds of sodium in the U.S. diet. In addition, approximately 77 percent of dietary sodium purportedly comes from processed and restaurant foods, many of which do not taste salty. U.S. adults consume more than twice the current recommended limit of 2,300 milligrams of sodium per day, according to the report, which examined data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. “Sodium has become so pervasive in our food supply that it’s difficult for the vast majority of Americans to stay within recommended limits,” said lead author Janelle Peralez Gunn. “Public health professionals, together with food manufacturers, retailers and health care…
A forthcoming Judgment and Decision Making study has reportedly suggested that consumers underestimate the calorie content of foods deemed “organic.” According to media reports, University of Michigan researchers found that students presented with identical food choices were more likely to describe the option labeled “organic” as having fewer calories than the “conventional” product. Participants also expressed greater leniency toward a fictional dieter if she selected an organic dessert over a non-organic one. “These findings suggest that ‘organic’ claims may not only foster lower calorie estimates and higher consumption intentions, but they may also convey that one has already made great progress toward one’s weight loss goal,” one researcher was quoted as saying. See LiveScience.com, June 24, 2010.
A recent study has reportedly linked a 35 percent tax on sugar-sweetened beverages to a 26-percent reduction in sales over a four-week period. Jason Block, et al., “Point-of-Purchase and Education Intervention to Reduce Consumption of Sugary Soft Drinks,” American Journal of Public Health, June 2010. Harvard University researchers apparently imposed the equivalent of a penny-per-ounce tax on all sodas and sweetened beverages sold in the Brigham and Women’s Hospital cafeteria. They also examined the effects of a stand-alone health education campaign and one implemented in conjunction with the 45-cent tax. Their findings allegedly demonstrated that as the cost for sugar-sweetened beverages rose, (i) demand for these beverages declined; (ii) sales of coffee and diet soda increased; and (iii) consumers did not replace sugar-sweetened beverages with juices or other sugary snacks, “such as cakes and cookies.” When combined with the educational program, the tax resulted in an extra “18 percent decline…
Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity has published a study purportedly showing that children “significantly preferred” snack foods branded with popular cartoon characters. Christina Roberto, et al., “Influence of Licensed Characters on Children’s Taste and Snack Preferences,” Pediatrics, June 2010. Researchers apparently asked 40 children between 4 and 6 years old to sample three identical pairs of graham crackers, gummy fruit snacks and carrots “presented either with or without popular cartoon characters on the package.” The children described whether the two items in each pair tasted the same or whether one tasted better, and then selected “which of the food items they would prefer to eat for a snack.” The results purportedly indicated that participants not only preferred the taste of the branded foods, but that the majority “selected the food item with a licensed character on it for their snack.” The influence of cartoon characters also…
A study recently published in the American Heart Association’s Circulation journal purportedly shows that consumption of processed meats “is associated with higher incidence of [coronary heart disease] and diabetes mellitus.” Renata Micha, et al., “Red and Processed Meat Consumption and Risk of Incident Coronary Heart Disease, Stroke, and Diabetes Mellitus. A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis,” Circulation, May 17, 2010. The Harvard researchers apparently reviewed some 1,600 studies involving about 1.2 million subjects and found that the consumption of just 50 g per day of processed meat, such as one hot dog, was associated with a 42 percent higher risk of developing heart disease. They found no increased risk associated with the consumption of unprocessed red meats and reportedly suggested that the difference may be explained by the levels of salt and nitrate preservatives found in cold cuts, bacon and sausage. The president of the American Meat Institute, which objected to the findings,…
A coalition of public interest organizations has issued a report, “No Silver Lining, An Investigation into Bisphenol A in Canned Foods,” that purportedly detected levels of the chemical in more than 90 percent of the cans from consumers’ shelves that were tested. While the highest levels of BPA, at 1,140 parts per billion (ppb), were apparently found in a can of green beans from a residential pantry in Wisconsin, average levels were 77.36 ppb. According to the report, a pregnant woman of average build consuming several canned food and beverage products in a single day could ingest as much as 138.19 µg of BPA, or 1.94 µg/kg body weight. Outlining the scientific research purportedly linking BPA exposure to a number of negative health impacts, including obesity, low sperm count, miscarriage, placental cell death, infertility, heart disease, and changes in brain development, the report contends that levels of just 1 or…
A recent study has reportedly linked “dietary and genetic evidence for phosphate toxicity” to premature aging in genetically engineered (GE) mice. Mutsuko Ohnishi and M. Shawkat Razzaque, “Dietary and genetic evidence for phosphate toxicity accelerating mammalian aging,” FASEB Journal, April 2010. Researchers first used “an in vivo genetic approach to determine the role of phosphate toxicity in mammalian aging,” engineering mice that lacked the gene responsible for regulating phosphate levels. These mice had a short life span and showed “numerous physical, biochemical and morphological features consistent with premature aging.” The study authors then genetically reduced serum phosphate levels, which ameliorated the aging-like features in a second group of mice and led to prolonged survival. But when fed “a high-phosphate diet,” these GE animals again exhibited signs of accelerated aging. According to the abstract, these findings “clearly suggest[s] that phosphate toxicity is the main cause of premature aging” in mice. The study further…
Cambridge Health Alliance researchers studying the investments of health and life insurance companies have apparently concluded that the companies own some $1.88 billion, or 2.2 percent, of the stock issued by the five leading fast-food companies. Arun Mohan, et al., “Life and Health Insurance Industry Investments in Fast Food,” American Journal of Public Health, April 15, 2010. The analysis relied on shareholder analysis from the Icarus database, accessed in June 2009. The researchers, who call for the insurance companies to divest themselves of these holdings or to leverage their holdings “to force the adoption of practices consistent with widely accepted public health principles,” consider the insurance companies’ investments inconsistent with their missions and public health role. The authors speculate that the investments may return more than the costs of insuring people who consume fast food or the companies may be investing this way through inadvertence, that is, “insurers are unaware…
A recent study has apparently found a “statistically significant association” between added dietary sugars and increased blood lipid levels in U.S. adults. Jean Welsh, et al., “Caloric Sweetener Consumption and Dyslipidemia Among US Adults,” Journal of the American Medical Association, April 2010. Researchers analyzed blood lipid levels and other nutritional data obtained from more than 6,000 men and women enrolled in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) between 1999 and 2006. Their results reportedly demonstrated that “increased added sugars are associated with important cardiovascular disease risk factors, including lower HDL-C [good cholesterol] levels, higher triglyceride levels, and higher ratios of triglycerides to HDL-C.” Compared with participants who received less than 5 percent of their daily caloric intake from added sugars, those who consumed the highest amount—46 teaspoons per day—were most at risk for developing heart disease. The authors contend that these findings “support the importance of dietary guidelines that…
