29.jan.07
Meatingplace.com
John Gregerson
On the heels of a Wednesday federal court decision upholding a Texas ban on horse meat for human consumption, both Delta and American Airlines indicated they won't transport the meat overseas markets, where it generally is consumed.
Meantime, it was unclear whether Texas' two horse slaughterhouses were still processing the product.
"My information now is that the plants are not processing at the moment," industry lobbyist Charles Stenholm told The Dallas Morning News. "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that if you can't ship the meat, yo

28.jan.07
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES -- Fish caught off Los Angeles County's coast still, according to this story, contain high levels of banned DDT decades after a manufacturer dumped tons of the pesticide into sewers, creating a toxic plume on the ocean bottom.
The story says there has been no improvement since the last regional fish survey was conducted in the late 1980s, according to a federal survey based on data collected mainly in 2002 but only recently released.
Of 1,200 fish caught off the county coast, white croaker off San Pedro and the Palos Verdes Peninsula were the most highly contaminated. Fish off Orange County and areas north of the Redondo Beach Pier had low concentrations.

26.jan.07
FSIS News Release
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/NR_012607_01/index.asp
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Agriculture is providing consumers with food safety and healthy eating recommendations in anticipation of Super Bowl parties that will held around the country.
Super Bowl Sunday is often recognized as the second biggest single day of food consumption in the United States after Thanksgiving. Like other holidays where food plays a prominent role, food safety should be a prime consideration to ensure that gatherings are healthy and happy events.
"Football, food and friends are great American traditions and the Super Bowl brings them together on one day," said USDA Under Secretary for Food Safety Dr. Richard A. Raymond. "Whenever you combine large amounts of food with a large gathering of people, there are some important items for the host and guests to remember."

29.jan.07
KVOA Tucson, AZ
Associated Press
http://www.kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=6001956
TUCSON, Ariz. -- Child-care centers that don't have licensed, commercial-grade kitchens are, according to this story, being cited by state regulators for not sticking to prepackaged foods.
State health inspectors were cited as saying the rules are aimed at reducing the risk of food contamination, but some child-care centers say they're just trying to feed children healthy food.
The story explains that one Tucson center was cited recently for slicing fresh peaches as a snack for preschool students. A center in Vail was cited for serving children mini-bagels with cheese, and little pizzas made with English muffins.

25.jan.07
Medical News Today
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=61646
There are over 60 diseases that birds and their droppings can carry. The problem is especially worrisome in residential areas, as many of them are airborne and can be transferred to humans just by being around droppings.
Examples of transmissible bird diseases associated with pigeons, geese, starling and house sparrows:
Histoplasmosis is a respiratory disease that may be fatal. It results from a fungus growing in dried bird droppings.
Candidiasis is a yeast or fungus infection spread by pigeons. The disease affects the skin, the mouth, the respiratory system, the intestines and the urogenital tract, especially the vagina. It is a growing problem for women, causing itching, pain and discharge.

24.jan.07
Greenpeace
http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/press/releases/greenpeace-investigation-revea-2
Washington, United States -- The Icelandic government’s claims of sustainable whaling were harpooned this morning, after Greenpeace activists revealed that around 200 tons of meat and blubber from endangered fin whales are still in storage, waiting to be tested for chemical contamination. An additional 179 tons of bones and entrails have been dumped and left to rot in a landfill site. The Icelandic whale meat and blubber is intended for export to Japan, despite the claims by the whaler who caught them that some of it s not fit for human consumption.

24.jan.07
Sydney Morning Herald
http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Boys-screaming-kills-chickens-in-China/2007/01/24/1169594362024.html
Hundreds of chickens have been found dead in east China - and a court has ruled that the cause of death was the screaming of a four-year-old boy who in turn had been scared by a barking dog.
The story says a bizarre sequence of events began when the boy arrived at a village home in the eastern province of Jiangsu in the summer with his father who was delivering bottles of gas, the Nanjing Morning Post reported on Wednesday.
A villager was quoted as saying

22.jan.07
Institute of Food Technologists (IFT)
Its caffeine can bring jitters and its color can stain teeth, yet moderate consumption of coffee—an all-world beverage if ever there was one—is being shown to have generally positive and protective effects on the emergence of disease conditions according to this month’s issue of Food Technology magazine.
In its regular Food, Medicine & Health column, Food Technology reports that recent studies of coffee in combination with reviews of research gathered over the past 30 years reveal that consumption improves glucose regulation and lowers the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, among other favorable effects.

23.jan.07
Globe and Mail
Seth Borenstein, Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- The first phase of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is being released in Paris next week and the report, written by more than 600 scientists and reviewed by another 600 experts and edited by bureaucrats from 154 countries, will conclude that human-caused global warming is here sand is destined to get much worse.
Co- chair Susan Solomon, a senior scientist for the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, was quoted as saying the report includes "a significantly expanded discussion of observation on the climate," and will feature an "explosion of new data" on observations of current global warming.

22.jan.07
University of Florida
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Microwave ovens may be good for more than just zapping the leftovers; they may also help protect your family.
University of Florida engineering researchers have found that microwaving kitchen sponges and plastic scrubbers -- known to be common carriers of the bacteria and viruses that cause food-borne illnesses – sterilizes them rapidly and effectively.
That means that the estimated 90-plus percent of Americans with microwaves in their kitchens have a powerful weapon against E. coli, salmonella and other bugs at the root of increasing incidents of potentially deadly food poisoning and other illnesses.