News on Health and Nutrition from the United States

January 29, 2008

Virginia Senate Backs Phaseout of Trans Fats in School Food

The Virginia Senate voted unanimously Tuesday to phase out the use of artery-clogging trans fats in food sold at public schools, from the cheese pizza in the cafeteria to the chips in the vending machine. The bill would direct the state superintendent...

January 28, 2008

Website 'Potatoes...Goodness Unearthed' at www.potatogoodness.com launched by United States Potato Board

A new United States Potato Board (USPB) website, www.potatogoodness.com, joined the Board’s online cache of resources championing the goodness and nutrition found in America’s favorite vegetable. This consumer website went live January 17, 2008 and re...

January 24, 2008

Bell offers butter flavor alternative to diacetyl

Bell Flavors and Fragrances has responded to concerns over the use of diacetyl in popcorn by developing butter flavors that are free from the additive. The company claims its replacers provide the same fatty, creamy mouth feel that diacetyl does, and ...

January 24, 2008

Super Bowl Snack Attack…Super Bowl Sunday Is Super Bowl Of Snacking

Super Bowl Sunday is the “Super Bowl” of snacking. Research by the Calorie Control Council and the Snack Food Association finds that Americans will eat 30 million pounds of snacks on the big game day. That breaks down to 11.2 million pounds of potato ...

January 23, 2008

FDA petitioned to end Proposition 65 conflict for foods

Swanson Health Products has filed a petition with the FDA asking it to determine that California's Proposition 65 conflicts irreconcilably with food and supplement regulations, making the industry vulnerable to 'bounty hunters'. Proposition 65 was i...

January 23, 2008

Indra Nooyi: Pepsico's 'Comfort Foods' to resist US slowdown

PepsiCo Inc (PEP.N: Quote, Profile, Research) expects its business, based on "comfort foods", to be resilient to a U.S. economic slowdown, Chief Executive Indra Nooyi said on Wednesday. "In many ways we are countercyclical and it helps...

January 22, 2008

Nueva York: intentan imponer conteo de calorías en menus

Una agencia municipal aprobó el martes un plan para obligar a cadenas de restaurantes de comida rápida a poner la cifra de calorías de sus alimentos en menús, con la esperanza de que eso fuerce a los neoyorquinos a comer de manera más saludable.

January 22, 2008

ConAgra Foods Inc. Terminates Food Safety Officer

A top food safety expert at ConAgra Foods Inc. was fired last week because he violated one of the company's employment polices, company officials said Monday. ConAgra declined to provide more details about Paul A. Hall's termination as vice president ...

New York City reintroduces calorie counts on menu boards

January 22, 2008

Calorie counts on Menu soon mandatory in New York City

Restaurant chains in New York will be forced to put calorie counts on their menus as part of a healthier eating campaign. The city's health board hopes the fat-filled truth about some dishes will shock diners into choosing alternatives. The new rule ...

January 20, 2008

Making Quick Decisions Healthy: Simple Front Of Pack Logo Best To Help Consumers In Busy Shopping Environment

Unilever consumer scientists claim that simple front-of-pack logos will be most effective in helping consumers make the healthy choice in the supermarket. In the journal Appetite, the scientists report on the efficacy of eight front-of-pack nutrition l...

January 18, 2008

Cooks' union calls for diacetyl ban

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...

January 16, 2008

Popcorn-lover sues over lung disease caused by diacetyl

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...

January 16, 2008

Westchester trans fat ban now in effect

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...

January 11, 2008

Boston moves towards trans fat ban

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...

January 09, 2008

Research: Asparaginase can reduce acrylamide in French fries

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 ...

January 07, 2008

'Premium' tops list of food trends of 2008

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 existing line of heart healthy tortilla chips

January 03, 2008

Corazonas launches first and only cholesterol reducing potato chips

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...

January 01, 2008

Among food trends for 2008, look for a stress on health

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 ...