Food for Thought (May 27 – June 2)

Food and Health

So more than a few New Yorkers took it especially hard Thursday when they learned that Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg wanted to take away their plus-size sodas in restaurants, movie theaters, stadiums, arenas and mobile food carts, as a way, he said, of fighting obesity.  http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/01/nyregion/to-gulp-or-to-sip-debating-a-crackdown-on-big-sugary-drinks.html?_r=1&ref=health

Women in their seventies who exercise and eat healthy amounts of fruits and vegetables have a longer life expectancy, according to research published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.  http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/246050.php

The nation's food supply may be vulnerable to rapid groundwater depletion from irrigated agriculture, according to a new study by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin and elsewhere. The study, which appears in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, paints the highest resolution picture yet of how groundwater depletion varies across space and time in California's Central Valley and the High Plains of the central U.S.  http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/245933.php

The Mediterranean diet, which is characterized by the consumption of fruit, vegetables, beans and peas, fish, olive oil and nuts, has been proven to be beneficial to the health in terms of a lesser chance of chronic illness and a lower mortality rate.  A new study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, reveals that those who stick more to the Mediterranean diet score higher on the quality of life questionnaire in terms of physical and mental well-being. This link is even stronger in terms of physical quality of life.   http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/245990.php

Food Safety

On June 6, in Washington, DC at the Pew Charitable Trusts Conference Center, government leaders and consumer representatives from the United States and the European Union will gather to discuss food safety challenges presented by emerging pathogens. Conferees will discuss approaches to controlling hazards, such as antibiotic-resistant Salmonella and Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, and implications for consumers. http://www.cspinet.org/new/201205281.html

The government is expanding E. coli testing in some raw meat, a move expected to prevent more people from contracting the bacteria that can cause severe illness or death.  Starting Monday, the meat industry will have to test beef trimmings for six new strains of E. coli that have been linked to a growing number of illnesses.  http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2012/05/30/govt_expanding_e_coli_tests_in_meat/

High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) cannot be called "corn sugar," the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has determined.  A citizen's petition filed with FDA by the Washington D.C. Corn Refiners Association (CRA) on Sept. 14, 2010 and supplemented on July 29, 2011 requested the name change.  But in a letter Wednesday, FDA's Michael M. Landa, director of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, turned down the name change request and rejected all three arguments made by the corn processors in their petition.  http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/05/fda-says-just-dont-call-it-corn-sugar/

Three more leading consumer groups weighed in this week on the debate over a controversial plan to revamp poultry inspection by shifting greater responsibility to companies. The Center for Science in the Public Interest, Consumer Federation of America, and Consumers Union each sharply criticized the proposal in their comments filed before the Tuesday deadline, which had been pushed back a month in response to sharp criticism raised by the Government Accountability Project, Food & Water Watch, and poultry inspectors.  http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/06/consumer-groups-criticize-poultry-inspection-proposal/

Food Assistance

Arnold Food Pantry and Thrift Store Director Kathy Flanigan, and board members, announced that the non-profit purchased a new building on Thursday, May 31.  The new building, which is under renovation, is about 12,000 square feet which twice the size of the charity's current location. The pantry feeds about 150 families weekly in Arnold, Imperial and the unincorporated area of Fenton. The thrift store, company donations and money donations are the sole sources of financing for the Arnold Food Pantry. The organization is the largest non-denominational food pantry in the St. Louis area. http://arnold.patch.com/articles/arnold-food-pantry-buys-12-000-square-foot-building#photo-10139757

Iowa is scrambling to develop a plan for spending federal money to expand payment options at farmers markets by allowing shoppers to pull out a benefit card for food assistance to pay for strawberries, fresh greens, home-baked bread and other food.  An appropriations measure approved last year provides $4 million in funding to increase farmers markets participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps.With about 210 farmers markets, Iowa is set to receive about $161,000 for the program, which requires funds be obligated by Sept. 30.  http://www.omaha.com/article/20120531/NEWS01/705319927

Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan has launched a campaign to raise $13 million -- within a year-- to fund capital projects at its Detroit, Southfield and Pontiac distribution sites, aimed at ramping up the amount of food it can distribute.
http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20120527/FREE/305279965/gleaners-launches-13-million-campaign