26.feb.07
University of Delaware
University of Delaware researchers have developed an inexpensive, nonchlorine-based technology that can remove harmful microorganisms, including viruses, from drinking water.
UD's patented technology, developed jointly by researchers in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the College of Engineering, incorporates highly reactive iron in the filtering process to deliver a chemical “knock-out punch” to a host of notorious pathogens, from E. coli to rotavirus.
The new technology could dramatically improve the safety of drinking water around the globe, particularly in developing countries. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over a billion people--one-sixth of the world's population--lack access to safe water supplies.

11.feb.07
Associated Press
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Scientists are, according to this story, trying to determine the cause of Colony Collapse Disorder that's killing thousands of honeybee colonies across the U.S. and some commercial beekeepers have reported losing more than 50 percent of their bees.
The story says that the problem could affect not only domestic honey producers but also fruit growers and other farmers who rely on bees to pollinate their crops.
The story adds that one expert at Penn State University says dissected bees have shown alarmingly high levels of foreign fungi, bacteria and other organisms as well as weakened immune systems.

11.feb.07
CP Wire
BOGOTA, Colombia -- By the time the velvety, vibrant-coloured flowers reach a Valentine's Day buyer, they will have been sprayed, rinsed and dipped in a battery of potentially lethal chemicals.
Most of the toxic assault takes place in the waterlogged savannah surrounding the capital of Colombia, which has the world's second-largest cut-flower industry after the Netherlands, producing 62 per cent of all flowers sold in the United States.
The story says that with 110,000 employees -- many of them single mothers -- and annual exports of US$1 billion, the industry provides an important alternative to growing coca, source crop of the Andean country's better-known illegal export: cocaine.

12.feb.07
Atlantic City Press (NJ)
Martin DeAngelis
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/story/7195637p-7050419c.html
LINWOOD — Ian Kimmel, 13, entitled his science fair entry at Linwood's Belhaven School the Fecal Mint Project" to sum up the results of his research into a question that has troubled him for years: Exactly what's in the mints in that bowl on the counter at your favorite local restaurant?
His answer: Put down that spoon.
The story says that the project took him to a dozen or so restaurants around Atlantic County, where he found four places that still use the old system of putting out unwrapped mints in bowls for their customers. All four, he says, were proven in tests by a state-certified laboratory to be contaminated with foul stuff — everything from E. coli to fungus and mold to fecal bacteria.

12.feb.07
The Telegram (St. John's, Canada)
Brenda Matchim of St. Phillip's was cited as saying she discovered a shiny, clear object, about half an inch long, that looked like a shard of glass or hard plastic in a McDonald's hotcake last weekend, adding, "I was shocked," Matchim told The Telegram. "I could have been seriously injured."
Matchim and her husband took the hotcakes back to McDonald's on Kenmount Road, where she had bought them, and asked to speak to the manager.
He refunded Matchim the cost of her meal, and told her the object would be sent away to the restaurant's quality assurance department in Toronto for analysis, and someone would contact her.

01.feb.07
from a press release
Following the huge increase in sales of Omega 3 Fish Oil supplements over the last two years some unscrupulous manufacturers are using raw fish oil full of toxins and saturated fats to profit from the unsuspecting consumer.
With sales of Omega 3 supplements going through the roof, consumers believing their health will improve in leaps and bounds could be in for a huge shock. Instead of ingesting healthy purified Omega 3 they could be swallowing capsules of lard.
The EU supplements directive which came into force in July of last year was supposedly to be designed to protect the consumer, however, Omega 3 fish oils were not included in the legislation.

01.feb.07
Sydney Morning Herald
http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Grape-juice-good-for-the-heart-study/2007/02/01/1169919450073.html
Researchers at the Universite Louis Pasteur de Strasbourg were cited as reporting in the journal Cardiovascular Research that Concord grape juice seems to have the same protective effect against heart disease as red wine.
Dr Valerie Schini-Kerth, lead author of the study, was quoted as saying, "Grape juice can have a similar effect (against heart disease) as red wine but without the alcohol. That is a very important message."
Schini-Kerth and her team found that polyphenols in Concord grape juice activate endothelial cells to produce nitric oxide which helps to protect against cardiovascular disease and to maintain healthy blood vessels and blood pressure.

29.jan.07
Kellen Communications
When it comes to some of today’s health issues, 100 percent fruit and vegetable juices do help reduce risk factors related to certain diseases.
This conclusion is the result of a European study designed to question traditional thinking that 100 percent juices play a less significant role in reducing risk for both cancer and cardiovascular disease than whole fruits and vegetables.
Juices are comparable in their ability to reduce risk compared to their whole fruit/vegetable counterparts say several researchers in the United Kingdom who conducted the literature review. The researchers analyzed a variety of studies that looked at risk reduction attributed to the effects of both fiber and antioxidants. As a result, they determined that the positive impact fruits and vegetables offer come not from just the fiber but also from antioxidants which are present in both juice and the whole fruit and vegetables.

30.jan.07
University of New Hampshire
Aaron Margolin, professor of microbiology at the University of New Hampshire and director of UNH’s Virus and Waterborne Disease Laboratory, is available to discuss the science and public health implications of norovirus.
Noroviruses, also known as Norwalk and Norwalk-like viruses, are estimated to cause 23 million cases of acute gastroenteritis in the United States each year. Symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea, stomach cramps, and sometimes fever. This winter has seen what some say is a high incidence of norovirus, with recent outbreaks on the Queen Elizabeth 2 cruise ship, the Hilton Washington Dulles Airport Hotel, and in several New Hampshire nursing facilities.

30.jan.07
Center for Science in the Public Interest
http://www.cspinet.org/new/200701301.html
WASHINGTON -- Conditions in America’s school cafeterias could trigger potentially disastrous outbreaks of food poisoning at any time, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, which ranks food service operations in a new report released today. Most of the 29 million meals served in the nation’s school cafeterias each day are nutritious and safe, but some school districts and governments aren’t inspecting school cafeterias frequently enough or are using out-of-date food safety standards, leaving students at risk of food poisoning. Younger children in particular face a higher risk of complications from infections caused by E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella, and other potentially deadly foodborne pathogens.