Food for Thought (Feb. 19 – Feb. 25)

Food and Health

A compound in citrus fruits may reduce your stroke risk, according to research reported in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association. Eating higher amounts of a compound in citrus fruits, especially oranges and grapefruit, may lower ischemic stroke risk. Women who ate high amounts of the compound had a 19 percent lower risk of ischemic stroke than women who consumed the least amount. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120223182638.htm

Worldwide, inadequate vitamin D is common, and deficiencies can be found on all continents, in all ethnic groups, and across all ages. Why are these widespread low levels of vitamin D such a great concern? Because research conducted over the past decade suggests that vitamin D plays a much broader disease-fighting role than once thought. http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/vitamin-d/

Food Safety

Depending on who you ask, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Microbiological Data Program (MDP), which randomly tests produce for dangerous pathogens, is either an unnecessary, slow-moving program housed in the wrong agency, or a critical public health initiative that fills a big, alarming gap in domestic produce testing. The debate over MDP, which falls under the Agriculture Marketing Service, intensified last week with the news that the Obama administration's budget eliminates the $5 million program in Fiscal Year 2013. http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/02/the-fight-over-the-microbiological-data-program/

Two new cases, both from Michigan, have been confirmed in the multistate outbreak of E. coli O26 linked to raw clover sprouts served at Jimmy John's restaurants in six states, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Friday. That brings the outbreak total to 14. All of those sickened are female. Two have been hospitalized. http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/02/outbreak-linked-to-raw-sprouts-grows-to-14-cases/

Food Assistance

Dozens of students at a Texas middle school staged a boycott of the cafeteria lunch menu last week in protest of repetitive offerings, the Victoria Advocate reported. Inspired by a recent history lesson in which they learned the word "boycott," around 30 seventh graders at Austwell-Tivoli Junior High School near Texas' Gulf Coast decided to bring their lunches from home Tuesday through Friday. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/21/students-boycott-school-lunches-texas_n_1291411.html

Low-income county residents who take advantage of CalFresh, or the program formerly known as food stamps, is finally on the rise after years of low participation. Still, a new report by California Food Policy Advocates notes that barely more than half of Californians eligible for food stamps sign up. And some 81,000 Sacramentans who qualify still haven’t registered. In fact, a little more than half of all eligible Californians participate in CalFresh. This means the program, which is federally funded and county administered, fails to reach 3.5 million state residents for nutritional assistance. http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/more-sacramentans-using-californias-food-stamp/content?oid=5240896

Schools are increasingly dishing up dinner to students — something advocates for the poor praise but conservatives question. The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, signed into law by President Barack Obama in December 2010, provides federal funds for the after-school dinner program in areas where at least half the students qualify for free or reduced price lunches. Before the change, the program was limited to 13 states and the District of Columbia. http://www.abc4.com/content/news/national/story/More-public-schools-dish-up-three-meals-a-day/3kXC6e5-l06RwfxDAHFXQg.cspx

Food for Thought (Feb. 12 - 17)

Food and Health

Diet soda may benefit the waistline, but a new study suggests that people who drink it every day have a heightened risk of heart attack and stroke. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46431225/ns/health-diet_and_nutrition/

According to a study in the February issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals, a Mediterranean-style diet may be healthier for the brain. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/241760.php

In Illinois, farmers and ranchers will focus on spreading the word about how consumers can stretch their grocery dollars with healthy, nutritious food during Food Checkout Week next week. http://www.whig.com/story/16959937/pike-county-farm-bureau-plans-food-check-out-week-event-monday-in-pittsfield

A new study in the February issue of the Journal of Food Science, published by the Institute of Food Technologists, shows that fish oil can be added to goat cheese to deliver high levels of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids without compromising taste or shelf-life. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120216133249.htm

A University of South Carolina study shows that Mexican-American youth gain pounds as they move away from the dietary habits of their native country, a move that is putting them at risk for serious health problems. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120213153948.htm

Food Assistance

Schools in Bossier and Caddo parishes, Louisiana have been tweaking menus for years to prepare for the changes. They made more changes this year, such as serving only skim or low-fat milk and introducing new vegetables. Some changes are more popular than others. http://www.shreveporttimes.com/article/20120218/LIVING02/202170343/School-lunches-getting-makeover?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE

For thousands of Alaska kids, a simple school breakfast may draw them to school, boost their ability to learn and improve their behavior, advocates say. Now the pressure is growing on the state Legislature to put state dollars into the federal school meal program for the first time. http://www.thenewstribune.com/2012/02/17/2031049/legislators-feel-pressure-to-help.html

It's estimated the SNAP program, what we commonly call "food stamps", brought in more than $16 million to the Montana economy last year and as Dennis Bragg has discovered in his special reports this week, those dollars are especially important in the state's small communities. http://www.kpax.com/news/snap-bringing-dollars-back-into-mt-economy/

Food Safety

Brown rice syrup used in many organic foods as a substitute for the often-chastised high fructose corn sugar is causing problems of its own with high arsenic levels. That means danger for those consuming such products as "organic" infant milk formula, cereal bars or high energy foods that contain the organic brown rice syrup (OBRS) as an ingredient, according to a Dartmouth College research team. http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/02/brown-rice-syrup-puts-arsenic-in-those-organics/

FDA released a statement on arsenic in brown rice syrup highlighting their commitment to protecting the nation's public health from contaminants in our food supply and has been monitoring for arsenic content for more than 20 years. Because arsenic is naturally occurring in soil and was used for many years in pesticides, FDA knows there are trace amounts of arsenic in many foods. They expanded surveillance activities in rice to ensure that consumers are protected. A study of findings is scheduled to be completed in Spring 2012. http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/FoodContaminantsAdulteration/Metals/ucm292531.htm

An additional Campylobacter infection has brought the total number of illnesses to 77in an outbreak linked to raw milk from Your Family Cow dairy in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/02/raw-milk-campylobacter-outbreak-expands/

Food For Thought (Jan. 29 – Feb. 3)

Food and Health

The debate over whether high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is really worse for you than sugar is always popular and heated. Full disclosure: based on the available research, one reporter states will usually land you on the side that says there really is no difference. A sugar is a sugar is a sugar. However a new study suggests for the first time that there is a (slight) difference in the way the body processes HFCS and sugar.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eatingwell/sugar-corn-syrup_b_1250010.html?ref=health-news&ir=Health%20News

On February 1, First lady Michelle Obama said the campaign to bring healthy food to all Americans is happening neighborhood by neighborhood.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/industries/first-lady-to-promote-access-to-healthy-food-with-stop-at-future-calif-market-site/2012/02/01/gIQAV094gQ_story.html

Three student-chefs at a Rochester school won a $2,500 grant for promoting healthy eating in their school. The Northwest College Prep students received their big check morning of February 1. http://www.whec.com/news/stories/S2477897.shtml?cat=565

Food Assistance

Thirty-two million kids — 10 percent of the American population, and the future of the country — are about to start eating better. That’s the bottom line of the new Department of Agriculture (U.S.D.A.) guidelines for government-subsidized school meals, announced last week. The new rules are the first changes to the program in 15years, and come as part of the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act. http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/31/finally-good-news-about-school-lunches/

Two of Colorado's largest school districts have already begun implementing the changes. JeffCo Public Schools and Denver Public Schools say they already abide by 90% of the changes being mandated by the new school lunch guidelines. http://www.thedenverchannel.com/education/30342622/detail.html

New federal guidelines aimed at making school lunches more nutritious were announced this past week. It may seem like a welcome trend, but in the Los Angeles school district, many students are calling healthier inedible. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_162-57368008/some-call-healthy-l.a-school-lunches-inedible/

The debate about food stamps continues. In an exclusive interview last week with ABC’s Diane Sawyer, Obama responded to Gingrich’s regular campaign trail refrain on food stamps, with the president saying that “the American people are going to make a judgment about, you know, who’s trying to bring the country together and who’s dividing it, who is, you know, tapping into some of our worst instincts.” http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/01/newt-gingrich-defends-food-stamps-vs-paychecks-charge/

Food Safety

The Mexican-style fast food chain referred to only as "Restaurant Chain A" in a report on a 10-state outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is Taco Bell, Food Safety News has learned. http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/02/taco-bell-named-in-salmonella-investigation-report/

W & C International Import Inc. is recalling “Rely” Sardine Anchovies because the product was found to be un-eviscerated. The recalled “Rely” Sardine Anchovies were distributed nationwide in 7.0 oz. plastic packages. The “Rely” Sardine Anchovies are a product of China.
http://www.botulismblog.com/botulism-watch/monthly-installment-of-uneviscerated-fish-recall-w-c-international-recalling-sardines-due-to-possibl/

Pennsylvania health authorities have not yet announced the results of their tests, as the number of people who are sick after drinking milk from a raw milk dairy has risen to 35 in four states. The confirmed cases of Campylobacter infection include 28people in Pennsylvania, four in Maryland, two in West Virginia, and one in New Jersey.
http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/02/maryland-confirms-campylobacter-in-dairys-raw-milk/