Archive

BY PHILIP FINE, in Montreal

A CANADIAN research team has made progress in trying to make eggs less susceptible to cracks. University of Ottawa Professor Max Hincke claims that his work on the basics of eggshell formation could not only help make this natural packaging more robust, but also reduce diseases, such as salmonella, which can contaminate eggs via cracks.…

BY PHILIP FINE

THE AMERICAN Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) says growing food portions are contributing to obesity in the United States. While it says individuals bear the ultimate responsibility for what they eat, the AICR has chided food manufacturers and the restaurant industry for distorting what constitutes an appropriate meal size.…

BY PHILIP FINE

US biotechnologists have discovered a gene that protects potatoes against late blight, the disease that caused the Irish potato famine and a member of the family of pathogens to which all varieties of commercial potato are still susceptible.…

BY PHILIP FINE

THE AMERICAN organic meat industry has welcomed a US Department of Agriculture report that says livestock producers can source ample organic feed at acceptable prices. The Organic Trade Association said the findings should put to rest concerns voiced by competitors in the standard food sector about the availability or cost of organic livestock feed needed by organic producers.…

BY PHILIP FINE

THE US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that food labels making health claims will have to go through a new government review. They will be vetted through government agencies, such as the Agency for Healthcare Quality Research, relying on consumer and scientific studies.…

BY PHILIP FINE

AN AMERICAN federal judge was within his right to temporarily shut down state government approved salmon farms, a US appeals court ruled on August 7. The appellate judge had assessed a May ruling, where a federal judge ordered two Norwegian-owned companies (Atlantic Salmon of Maine and Stolt Sea Farms) to fallow their 12 farms from six to 36 months, after being fined for damaging Maine’s coast with excess feed, faeces and medications.…

BY PHILIP FINE

ONE of America’s largest clothing retailers is being sued for alleged racial bias

in their hiring practices. Nine young adults, including students and graduates of the University of California and Stanford, have accused Abercrombie & Fitch of discriminating against Latino, Asian American and African American applicants and employees.…

BY PHILIP FINE

HEALTH claims about nuts can now be made following the release of a study finding that the regular consumption of nuts could reduce the risk of heart disease. The US Food and Drug Administration says that research has discovered a 47 per cent lower risk of sudden cardiac death for men who ate nuts at least twice a week compared to those who rarely or never consumed nuts.…

BY PHILIP FINE

MCDONALD’S is introducing an allegedly healthy confectionery item to some of its US restaurants to appease parents concerned about their children eating chips. It plans to launch Apple Dippers later this summer, which consists of apple slices that can be dipped in caramel.…

BY PHILIP FINE

HEALTH claims about nuts can now be made following the release of a study finding that the regular consumption of nuts could reduce the risk of heart disease. The US Food and Drug Administration says that research has discovered a 47 per cent lower risk of sudden cardiac death for men who ate nuts at least twice a week compared to

those who rarely or never consumed nuts.…