News on Health and Nutrition from the Americas

A union for U.S. hotel, restaurant and kitchen workers has called on cooking oil manufacturers to stop using a toxic butter-flavoring additive called diacetyl."It could pose a serious health risk to commercial cooks and UNITE HERE is calling for f...

Wayne Watson, from Centennial, Colorado, is thought to be the only consumer of popcorn to have developed the rare lung condition bronchiolitis obliterans (popcorn lung).   Watson's lungs have been damaged by the flavour chemical diacetyl in the artif...

Westchester County’s ban on the use of cooking oils that contain trans-fat is now in effect for restaurants, school cafeterias and other licensed food service establishments. Starting January 15, 2007, Health Department inspectors will check for trans...

Following the lead of New York City and Brookline, health regulators in Boston last night took the first step toward banning artery-clogging trans fat from French fries, doughnuts, and other food sold in restaurants and corner stores. The Boston Publ...

More than seven million kilos of high-stability canola oil has been used in Canadian KFC restaurants since the company ditched its vegetable shortening frying methods last year in favour of the healthier alternative. Demand from the restaurant chain, ...

Using the asparaginase enzyme to treat French fries could reduce the formation of acrylamide by 60 per cent, a joint Chilean-Danish study has reported. The study, published on-line in the journal Food Chemistry, weighs into the hot topic of acrylamide ...

The overarching trend that will continue to dominate the marketplace in 2008 is the consumer quest for premium, according to a recent report by the Hartman Group. The report identifies five trends for the year ahead that are set to impact the food and ...

Corazonas Foods Inc., creators of great-tasting, heart-healthy snack foods, transforms the all-American classic potato chip into a heart-healthy culinary delight with the launch of Corazonas Heart-Healthy Potato Chips. Patented technology infusing pla...

Calgary may be making history this week as the first Canadian city to ban trans fats in restaurants, but that doesn't mean eating out will soon become much healthier. Some nutrition experts are concerned the massive push to eliminate trans fats in Ca...

In the New Year, expect to see a flood of new food products boasting their ailment-specific benefits — everything from fighting colds to cancer, from easing arthritis to wrinkles. But the predicted growth of "value-added"foods is just part ...

Burger King has gained the dubious distinction of having the highest levels of artery-clogging, obesity-inducing trans fats in its french fries, chicken nuggets and other meals compared with its fast-food peers, according to federal data released Thur...

ConAgra Foods today announced that it has reformulated its Orville Redenbacher’s and ACT II microwave popcorn brands with a new butter flavoring that has no added diacetyl. These newly reformulated products are arriving on store shelves now. “Microwav...

Snyder's of Hanover announced the addition of two new MultiGrain items to its 100 Calorie pack offerings. Health-conscious consumers can enjoy our new Sunflower Chips which are all-natural with 0 grams of trans fat, contain 6 grams per serving of Wh...

Kettle Foods is giving potato chips, America’s number one salty snack, a makeover with new 100-calorie bags of its award-winning Kettle™ brand Bakes Lightly Salted Potato Chips. Named “Best Chips” in Health Magazine’s May 2006 Best New Foods for Busy...

Frito-Lay announced on Monday a voluntary recall of 41 cases of mispackaged potato chips that could pose a risk to people with milk allergies.

McDonalds prints coupons on report cards that reward young children for getting good grades. As childhood obesity rates soar, the controversy is growing about this potentially harmful partnership between fast food companies and public schools.

ConAgra Foods has said it has removed nearly three million pounds of sodium from a range of products without affecting taste.The firm said it will continue to look at ways of cutting down salt, and said it has already managed to remove up to 20 per cen...

Ontario is taking action to make schools healthier places to learn by moving to drop trans fat from lunchroom menus."Our kids' health is just too important to risk,"said Premier Dalton McGuinty. "Trans fats have no place in our schools a...