Category: Issue 302
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Researchers Decode Cow Genome to Improve Livestock Husbandry
A project involving more than 300 scientists from 25 countries has reportedly decoded the complete genome of the cow, thus providing “tantalizing clues to explain ‘the essence of bovinity.’” Published in the April 24, 2009, edition of the journal Science, the results have apparently shown that the organization of human chromosomes more closely resembles that…
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Study Concludes Dietary Acrylamide Not Linked to Lung Cancer
A recent study has reportedly found no positive association between dietary acrylamide intake and lung cancer, concluding that the chemical created by baking, frying and toasting foods at high temperatures may be “involved in human carcinogenesis through pathways other than genotoxicity.” Janneke G. F. Hogervorst, et al., “Lung Cancer Risk in Relation to Dietary Acrylamide Intake,”…
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Lyndsey Layton, “David Kessler Knew That Some Foods Are Hard to Resist; Now He Knows Why,” The Washington Post, April 27, 2009
Discussing former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner David Kessler’s book about overeating, Washington Post staff writer Lyndsey Layton opens with an anecdote about Kessler climbing into dumpsters behind fast-food restaurants to find the ingredient lists for some of the foods they offer. He apparently found high-calorie, fat, sugar, and salt content in many of his…
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Interest Builds Surrounding Taste, Science Behind Stevia
New York University professor and public health nutrition author Marion Nestle wonders “Is Stevia really ‘natural?’” in her April 29, 2009, blog Food Politics. The sweetener, she writes, is isolated from the leaves of the stevia plant and therefore the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) lets companies assert that it is natural. “We can debate…
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Daniel Engber, “Dark Sugar: The Decline and Fall of High-fructose Corn Syrup,” Slate, April 28, 2009
“Like other villainous ingredients – trans fat and artificial food dye come to mind – high-fructose corn syrup [HFCS] is accused of being at once unhealthy, unnatural and unappetizing,” writes Slate contributor Daniel Engber in this article exploring these “three cardinal claims of food politics” against HFCS, which has suffered a consumer backlash “exacerbated by the…
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Special Litigation Committee Seeks Dismissal of Shareholder Lawsuits Against Chiquita
An independent special litigation committee (SLC) recently filed a comprehensive report detailing the actions of Chiquita Brands International executives, directors and counsel that led to the $25 million settlement of a Justice Department investigation into the company’s illegal payments to Colombian terrorist groups. The SLC recommends that shareholder litigation stemming from the payments, settlement and…
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USDA to Conduct First Wide-Scale Survey of Organic Production
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced the first wide-scale survey of organic farming to ascertain how the growth of such practices is changing the face of American agriculture. The Organic Production Survey will examine organic farming that took place during the 2008 calendar year, including production and marketing practices, income and expenses. “This…
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OSHA Convenes Rulemaking Panel on Diacetyl
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will convene a rulemaking panel May 5, 2009, to study the effects that a proposed rule on occupational exposure to diacetyl would have on small businesses. The Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA) panel allows small businesses that may be affected by the proposal to provide comments…