Food and Health
Scientists say they have identified five eating patterns for U.S. adults that are strongly influenced by age, race, region, gender, income and education.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120313190052.htm
When it comes to managing children's obesity, cutting portion sizes and cutting carbohydrates can work equally well -- though carb control is tough for many kids, a new clinical trial finds. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46735629/ns/health-childrens_health/
Physicians who have more healthy habits are more likely than doctors without such habits to recommend five important lifestyle modifications to patients, including eating healthy, limiting sodium, maintaining a healthy weight, limiting alcohol and being more physically active. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/242923.php
Prof. Marion Nestle, a leading nutrition expert and public health advocate, criticized PepsiCo’s decision to invest about $500M on marketing its’ “megabrands.” She described the brands as unhealthy and said the company’s decision was a “a crass commercial decision.” http://www.beveragedaily.com/Markets/PepsiCo-draws-fire-for-alleged-crass-commercial-choice-of-profit-over-public-health
Food Safety
Information on food recalls and alerts, keeping food safe, food poisoning, and recent news and features can be found at http://www.foodsafety.gov/index.html.
Foodborne illness outbreaks linked to imported food appeared to rise between 2009 and 2010, according to a new analysis released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Wednesday. http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/03/cdc-outbreaks-linked-to-imported-foods-increasing-2/
In response to nationwide concern among parents and school service providers about 'pink slime' being purchased by the national school lunch program, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Thursday that next year it will give school districts the ability to choose whether they will serve the ammoniated beef product. http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/03/usda-to-offer-school-districts-choice-on-pink-slime/
The continued growth of the certified-organic products sector truly is revolutionizing the modern food system in many positive ways, and changing the way people view food and health. But along with this positive growth has come the not-so-positive growth of a highly-deceptive, unregulated "natural" products sector which churns out food and personal care products that are oftentimes loaded with toxic chemicals, genetically-modified organisms (GMOs), and many other distinctly conventional additives that health-conscious individuals are seeking to avoid.
http://www.naturalnews.com/035238_natural_foods_GMOs_organic.html
Food Assistance
The proposal to devolve social programs to the states may draw more attention as the presidential contest arrives in Mississippi and Alabama, two of the nation’s least-affluent states. In Mississippi, 22 percent of the 3 million residents received food stamps in December 2011, the highest percentage in the nation, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-12/mississippi-whites-not-used-to-help-back-republican-aid-cutters.html
A new program to keep thousands of Delaware kids fed when they are out of school during the summer represents the latest effort to provide proper nutrition to a population that is widely dependent on a network of feeding initiatives.State agencies are teaming up with the U.S. Department of Agriculture this summer to feed 5,000 children who currently receive free or reduced-price meals at school and who may be at risk of going hungry when school is not in session. http://www.delawarefirst.org/24090-delaware-childrens-food-safety-net
In the last three years, demand at the town's food pantry has tripled, Senior Services Director Joyce Becker said, and the facility needs more space. Bethlehem is an affluent suburb, with the median household income around $80,000 and median house value at $272,663, according to city-data.com, but unemployed couples, seniors and single-parent households are increasingly relying on the town's modest pantry. http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Food-pantry-lacks-room-3411022.php
Friday, March 16, 2012
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Food for Thought (Mar. 4 – Mar. 10)
Food and Health
Happy Nutrition Month! That's right, the American Dietetic Association has declared March "National Nutrition Month" and to celebrate This Week in Food News is rolling out a special edition that looks at apples, fats, milk, subsidies, and strawberries. http://www2.tricities.com/blogs/eat-smarter-tri-cities/2011/mar/04/week-food-news-happy-nutrition-month-ar-883786/
Vitamin D may be associated with a lower risk of developing stress fractures in preadolescent and adolescent girls, especially among those very active in high-impact activities, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120305173453.htm
For the first time consumers will get more information to help them decide if cutting down on meat is right for them. As of March 1st, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is requiring that nutrition information be posted on 40 of the most popular cuts of raw meat including chicken breasts, ground beef, pork chops and steak. Nutrition labels will offer a wide variety of information like calories, serving size, cholesterol and saturated fat content. In addition, meat labels will be required to show both the lean content and fat percentage (a cut marked “90% lean”, for example, will now also say “10% fat”). http://www.meatlessmonday.com/usda-to-require-nutrition-labels-on-meat/
Food Safety
Our process of framing and regulating produce food safety is upside down and backwards. Human pathogens constantly flow from urban environments and animal production into farm environments, contaminating water and soil, and finding a home in wildlife. Then we ask farmers to deliver pathogen-free fruits and vegetables. http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/03/produce-farming-on-the-brink/
"Pink slime" has been oozing back into headlines in recent weeks after McDonalds, followed by other fast food chains, announced it had stopped using beef trimmings to fill out its hamburgers. A product the industry calls "lean, finely textured meat" has been a fixture in the ground beef served in the free school lunch program and fast food hamburgers for years. But after Chef Jamie Oliver demonstrated how "pink slime" is made on his TV show last year, and media reports suggested it may not be as safe as the government claims, alarm among consumers began surging. http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/03/09/148298678/is-it-safe-to-eat-pink-slime
Although it maintains that the bisphenol A (BPA) in its cans is safe, the Campbell Soup Company says it has already switched to alternatives in some packaging as it ends the use of the controversial chemical. The decision was hailed by the Breast Cancer Fund (BCF) as a victory for consumers. But the group called on Campbell's to disclose its timeline for the phase-out and reveal the alternatives it will use. http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/03/campbell-soup-will-phase-out-bpa-use/
Food Assistance
Food stamps are saving many of the nation's poorest children. The food stamp program -- now officially called Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP --reduced the number of extremely poor children by nearly 50 percent in 2011, according to a recently released study by the National Poverty Center. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/09/food-stamps-poor-children_n_1335298.html?ref=business
As rising costs and a tough economy squeeze the family pocketbook, school meal programs have witnessed an increase in the number of children who arrive in the school cafeteria without their lunch money. Currently, there is no federal policy for how schools respond to requests for “unpaid meals,” nor is there policy on managing those expenses when incurred. http://www.schoolnutrition.org/Blog.aspx?id=16875&blogid=564
Students and staff at Prince George's County Public Schools are celebrating National School Breakfast Week March 5 to 9 in partnership with Kellogg's cereal company, to increase nutrition awareness and help a local Feeding America food bank. For each school breakfast purchased by students during the week, Kellogg's will donate a bowl of cereal to a local food bank through its "Eat, Share, Prosper" program. http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2012-03-08/explore/ph-ll-edbriefs-breakfast-20120308_1_local-food-bank-kellogg-middle-schools
Breakfast has increasingly become a focus for school nutritionists, both as a means to provide one more meal to low-income students whose families may not have adequate food in the house and to ensure that all students, regardless of family income, don’t start the day hungry. Gov. John Hickenlooper of Colorado and Denver wide receiver Eric Decker – accompanied by some Denver Broncos cheerleaders and DPS Chief Operating Officer David Suppes delivered breakfast to students rolling breakfast carts, to kick off this week’s National School Breakfast Week and Fuel Up to Play 60, a National Dairy Council program that stresses healthy eating and physical activity for students. http://www.ednewscolorado.org/2012/03/04/34134-breakfast-more-common-in-colorado-classrooms
Happy Nutrition Month! That's right, the American Dietetic Association has declared March "National Nutrition Month" and to celebrate This Week in Food News is rolling out a special edition that looks at apples, fats, milk, subsidies, and strawberries. http://www2.tricities.com/blogs/eat-smarter-tri-cities/2011/mar/04/week-food-news-happy-nutrition-month-ar-883786/
Vitamin D may be associated with a lower risk of developing stress fractures in preadolescent and adolescent girls, especially among those very active in high-impact activities, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120305173453.htm
For the first time consumers will get more information to help them decide if cutting down on meat is right for them. As of March 1st, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is requiring that nutrition information be posted on 40 of the most popular cuts of raw meat including chicken breasts, ground beef, pork chops and steak. Nutrition labels will offer a wide variety of information like calories, serving size, cholesterol and saturated fat content. In addition, meat labels will be required to show both the lean content and fat percentage (a cut marked “90% lean”, for example, will now also say “10% fat”). http://www.meatlessmonday.com/usda-to-require-nutrition-labels-on-meat/
Food Safety
Our process of framing and regulating produce food safety is upside down and backwards. Human pathogens constantly flow from urban environments and animal production into farm environments, contaminating water and soil, and finding a home in wildlife. Then we ask farmers to deliver pathogen-free fruits and vegetables. http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/03/produce-farming-on-the-brink/
"Pink slime" has been oozing back into headlines in recent weeks after McDonalds, followed by other fast food chains, announced it had stopped using beef trimmings to fill out its hamburgers. A product the industry calls "lean, finely textured meat" has been a fixture in the ground beef served in the free school lunch program and fast food hamburgers for years. But after Chef Jamie Oliver demonstrated how "pink slime" is made on his TV show last year, and media reports suggested it may not be as safe as the government claims, alarm among consumers began surging. http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/03/09/148298678/is-it-safe-to-eat-pink-slime
Although it maintains that the bisphenol A (BPA) in its cans is safe, the Campbell Soup Company says it has already switched to alternatives in some packaging as it ends the use of the controversial chemical. The decision was hailed by the Breast Cancer Fund (BCF) as a victory for consumers. But the group called on Campbell's to disclose its timeline for the phase-out and reveal the alternatives it will use. http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/03/campbell-soup-will-phase-out-bpa-use/
Food Assistance
Food stamps are saving many of the nation's poorest children. The food stamp program -- now officially called Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP --reduced the number of extremely poor children by nearly 50 percent in 2011, according to a recently released study by the National Poverty Center. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/09/food-stamps-poor-children_n_1335298.html?ref=business
As rising costs and a tough economy squeeze the family pocketbook, school meal programs have witnessed an increase in the number of children who arrive in the school cafeteria without their lunch money. Currently, there is no federal policy for how schools respond to requests for “unpaid meals,” nor is there policy on managing those expenses when incurred. http://www.schoolnutrition.org/Blog.aspx?id=16875&blogid=564
Students and staff at Prince George's County Public Schools are celebrating National School Breakfast Week March 5 to 9 in partnership with Kellogg's cereal company, to increase nutrition awareness and help a local Feeding America food bank. For each school breakfast purchased by students during the week, Kellogg's will donate a bowl of cereal to a local food bank through its "Eat, Share, Prosper" program. http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2012-03-08/explore/ph-ll-edbriefs-breakfast-20120308_1_local-food-bank-kellogg-middle-schools
Breakfast has increasingly become a focus for school nutritionists, both as a means to provide one more meal to low-income students whose families may not have adequate food in the house and to ensure that all students, regardless of family income, don’t start the day hungry. Gov. John Hickenlooper of Colorado and Denver wide receiver Eric Decker – accompanied by some Denver Broncos cheerleaders and DPS Chief Operating Officer David Suppes delivered breakfast to students rolling breakfast carts, to kick off this week’s National School Breakfast Week and Fuel Up to Play 60, a National Dairy Council program that stresses healthy eating and physical activity for students. http://www.ednewscolorado.org/2012/03/04/34134-breakfast-more-common-in-colorado-classrooms
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Food for Thought (Feb. 26 – Mar. 3)
Food and Health
A new report from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) shows 16% of total daily caloric intake of children and adolescents coming from added sugar in foods and drinks. The recommended amount is no more than 15%, but includes fat, as well as sugar. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/242328.php
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System survey of adolescents, only 21% of our children eat the recommended 5 or more fruits and vegetables per day. So not very many children are asking their parents to "pass the peas," and parents are resorting to other methods to get their children to eat their vegetables. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120301180910.htm
In recent studies, University of Georgia foods and nutrition researchers uncovered the unequal distribution of food stores in one Southeast community. The first study covered access to stores for people using food stamps, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, while the second study looked at what healthy foods were available at supermarkets, grocery and convenience stores. Both studies found access to healthy food is most problematic in low-income, predominately black neighborhoods. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/242149.php
On a warm, sunny Thursday morning in Frankfort, school bus drivers and monitors are chatting in their cafeteria-style lounge when Madonna Mikaitis enters the room to make an announcement. "Who's walking today?" Mikaitis booms. "Let's go!" With that, about 15 employees of American School Bus Co. pile into one of their buses and head to Lincoln Mall in nearby Matteson for the group's morning walk through the shopping center's hallways. En route, the drivers pass around a sign-in sheet with the header "Live Well — Live Long!"
http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/ct-x-0229-bus-driver-obesity-20120229,0,706019,full.story
Food Safety
In a move that could help shoppers make more informed choices, the nutrition fact labels seen on most processed foods must now also be on all packages of raw ground beef, turkey and chicken. http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/03/new-labels-required-on-ground-meat-poultry-packages/
Food Safety News pulled the lobbyist reports filed in January 2012 for the fourth quarter of 2011. The top 10 are ranked in descending order based on their reported quarterly spending: Tyson Foods Inc. - $464,837.24; McDonald's Corporation - $430,000; Cargill Inc. - $360,000; Smithfield Foods - $265,000; Hormel Foods Corporation - $123,076; Starbucks - $120,000; The Kroger Co. - $90,000; Wegmans Foods - $90,000; Kraft Foods Global Inc. - $50,000. http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/03/slicing-into-the-food-industrys-40-million-worth-of-lobbying/
Pasou Foods of Syracuse, IN is recalling about 147 pounds of frozen, fully cooked, ready-to-eat pizza sticks because a meat ingredient may have been produced without federal inspection, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced Friday. http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/03/frozen-pizza-sticks-recalled-in-indiana/
Food Assistance
…nearly three-quarters of a century ago almost the only thing you could buy — with or without regulation — was real food. Since then Big Food has moved our diet in the wrong direction, and now we have a surplus of empty calories. The argument for limiting the use of food stamps to actual food is consistent with established policy. They’re already disallowed for tobacco, alcohol,vitamins, pet foods, household supplies and (with some exceptions) food meant to be eaten on premises. Payments have been based on the cost of a “nutritionally adequate diet.” http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/26/regulating-our-sugar-habit/
Families are feeling the pinch more and more these days, and no where is that more evident than at food banks across the nation. According to a new survey by the food research and action center, 20% of Indiana households needed food assistance at some point last year. http://www.14news.com/story/17068689/food-banks-seeing-increase-in-hungry-families
A new report from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) shows 16% of total daily caloric intake of children and adolescents coming from added sugar in foods and drinks. The recommended amount is no more than 15%, but includes fat, as well as sugar. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/242328.php
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System survey of adolescents, only 21% of our children eat the recommended 5 or more fruits and vegetables per day. So not very many children are asking their parents to "pass the peas," and parents are resorting to other methods to get their children to eat their vegetables. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120301180910.htm
In recent studies, University of Georgia foods and nutrition researchers uncovered the unequal distribution of food stores in one Southeast community. The first study covered access to stores for people using food stamps, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, while the second study looked at what healthy foods were available at supermarkets, grocery and convenience stores. Both studies found access to healthy food is most problematic in low-income, predominately black neighborhoods. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/242149.php
On a warm, sunny Thursday morning in Frankfort, school bus drivers and monitors are chatting in their cafeteria-style lounge when Madonna Mikaitis enters the room to make an announcement. "Who's walking today?" Mikaitis booms. "Let's go!" With that, about 15 employees of American School Bus Co. pile into one of their buses and head to Lincoln Mall in nearby Matteson for the group's morning walk through the shopping center's hallways. En route, the drivers pass around a sign-in sheet with the header "Live Well — Live Long!"
http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/ct-x-0229-bus-driver-obesity-20120229,0,706019,full.story
Food Safety
In a move that could help shoppers make more informed choices, the nutrition fact labels seen on most processed foods must now also be on all packages of raw ground beef, turkey and chicken. http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/03/new-labels-required-on-ground-meat-poultry-packages/
Food Safety News pulled the lobbyist reports filed in January 2012 for the fourth quarter of 2011. The top 10 are ranked in descending order based on their reported quarterly spending: Tyson Foods Inc. - $464,837.24; McDonald's Corporation - $430,000; Cargill Inc. - $360,000; Smithfield Foods - $265,000; Hormel Foods Corporation - $123,076; Starbucks - $120,000; The Kroger Co. - $90,000; Wegmans Foods - $90,000; Kraft Foods Global Inc. - $50,000. http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/03/slicing-into-the-food-industrys-40-million-worth-of-lobbying/
Pasou Foods of Syracuse, IN is recalling about 147 pounds of frozen, fully cooked, ready-to-eat pizza sticks because a meat ingredient may have been produced without federal inspection, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced Friday. http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/03/frozen-pizza-sticks-recalled-in-indiana/
Food Assistance
…nearly three-quarters of a century ago almost the only thing you could buy — with or without regulation — was real food. Since then Big Food has moved our diet in the wrong direction, and now we have a surplus of empty calories. The argument for limiting the use of food stamps to actual food is consistent with established policy. They’re already disallowed for tobacco, alcohol,vitamins, pet foods, household supplies and (with some exceptions) food meant to be eaten on premises. Payments have been based on the cost of a “nutritionally adequate diet.” http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/26/regulating-our-sugar-habit/
Families are feeling the pinch more and more these days, and no where is that more evident than at food banks across the nation. According to a new survey by the food research and action center, 20% of Indiana households needed food assistance at some point last year. http://www.14news.com/story/17068689/food-banks-seeing-increase-in-hungry-families
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