FDA Warns on Infant Formula Suspected in China Illnesses

news.yahoo.com — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning American consumers not to use any infant formula made in China. The warning comes on the heels of an investigation in China of substandard formula following nationwide reports of infants being hospitalized with kidney stones. read more...

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CFIA warns against consuming Sure Slice roast, corned beef over bacter

medindia.net — Concerns over meat-borne Listeria bacterial contamination have prompted a health warning from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. CFIA and Burlington, Ont.-based Maple Leaf Consumer Foods are warning the public not to serve or consume Sure Slice brand Roast Beef and Corned Beef in one-kilogram packages. The affected roast beef products have a best-before date of Aug. 9, while the affected corned beef packages bear an Aug. 23 best-before date. The agency says there have been no confirmed illnesses associated with eating the meat. However, the products have been distributed nationally, primarily to restaurants, hospitals and nursing homes, and may also be sold at deli counters. Consumption of food tainted with Listeria can lead to high fever, severe headache, neck stiffness and nausea. Pregnant women, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems are particularly at risk. read more...

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Putting the squeeze on produce to kill germs

msnbc.msn.com — WASHINGTON - Could food producers literally squeeze the salmonella out of a jalapeno? Or zap the E. coli from lettuce without it going limp? Headline-grabbing food poisonings from raw foods are prompting new interest in technology — from super-high pressure to irradiation — to get rid of some of the bugs. It won’t be a panacea: Far better to prevent contamination on the farm than to try to get rid of it later. read more...

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FDA limits salmonella warning to Mexican peppers

edition.cnn.com — WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Only Mexican-grown raw jalapeños and raw serrano peppers have been linked to the salmonella outbreak, a spokesman for the Food and Drug Administration said Friday. Mexican officials said the findings were "premature," even as the FDA issued an advisory stating that a contaminated jalapeño pepper originated in Mexico. Mexico's National Sanitation and Farm Food Quality Service director Enrique Sanchez told The Associated Press that Mexico sent a letter to the United States on Friday "expressing our concern and our most forceful complaint against this decision." read more...

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Salmonella infections top 1,000; peppers now suspected

edition.cnn.com — WASHINGTON (AP) -- More than 1,000 people now are confirmed ill from salmonella initially linked to raw tomatoes, a grim milestone Wednesday that makes this the worst food-borne outbreak in at least a decade. Adding to the confusion, the government is warning certain people to avoid types of hot peppers, too. Certain raw tomatoes -- red round, plum and Roma -- remain a chief suspect and the government stressed again Wednesday that all consumers should avoid them unless they were harvested in areas cleared of suspicion. read more...

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Green Tea: Is it Heart Healthy?

healthnews.com — With everybody thinking green to preserve the planet, the next time you have a choice of white, green, or black, you might want to choose green—tea that is—to help preserve your heart. There are thousands of varieties of teas available, each with a different taste, different health benefits, and varying levels of caffeine. While these differences are decided by growing region, when they were harvested, and processing method—all teas come from a plant called Camellia sinensis. Green tea is currently the #1 choice due to its high level of antioxidants, which appear to help detoxify and fight cancer, help lower blood pressure, fight gingivitis and cavities, and help regulate blood sugar levels. Green teas are often mixed with fruits or scented with flowers and have only 5 to 10 percent the caffeine of coffee. read more...

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FDA Food Protection Plan Shows Significant Progress

fda.gov — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Food Protection Plan Progress Report, released today in conjunction with the Interagency Working Group on Import Safety Action Plan Update, shows significant areas of activity to further improve the safety of America’s food supply since unveiling its Food Protection Plan in November 2007. The improvements highlight the agency’s efforts to address domestic and global changes in our food supply to help keep consumers enjoying one of the safest food supplies in the world. "The Food Protection Plan is the comprehensive framework the agency needs to enhance the protection of our nation's food supply," said Commissioner of Food and Drugs Andrew C. von Eschenbach, M.D. "Implementing the strategic approaches outlined in the plan is essential if we are to enhance our ability to respond and intervene in foodborne outbreaks. But there is much more that needs to be done. We are hopeful that Congress will support these efforts by providing the proposed new authorities that we requested in the Food Protection Plan." read more...

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Juice up your diet

edition.cnn.com — Eating fruits and vegetables helps keep you healthy and protects against disease, but it's not always easy to consume as much produce as experts advise. Fortunately, juices can be a convenient way to squeeze in extra servings. Six ounces -- just 3/4 cup of juice -- counts as one serving of a fruit or vegetable. "Fruit and vegetable juices are excellent natural sources of vitamins and minerals and, in moderation, can be part of a healthy diet," says Barry W. Ritz, PhD, a nutritional immunology researcher at Drexel University in Pennsylvania. "Compounds found in fruit and vegetable juices appear to have widespread positive effects on health." And the variety of juices available today helps expand our palates, too. Besides longtime favorites such as orange, grape, and apple juice, "now we have exotic juices made from things like pomegranate or blueberry or lychee," Ritz says. read more...

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