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Suggestions called common sense

The Food and Drug Administration has issued guidelines to food companies that use peanut products to help reduce the spread of salmonella after an outbreak that lead to the recall of more than 3,200 products (so far). The FDA warns that the high-fat environment of peanut butter (or, say, peanut butter ice cream) makes salmonella more resistant to heat, and cooking processes might not be enough to kill the pathogen if the temperature isn’t high enough or kept there long enough. The agency advises companies that get products from third parties to check for salmonella and to only buy products from companies with good safety procedures in place. Bill Marler, an attorney representing 85 sickened clients, says companies should have been doing that already.

Obesity, diabetes and heart disease may spur dementia

A series of studies in the journal Neurology points to links between obesity, heart disease and diabetes and an increase in dementia, illustrating that there’s a lot people can do to stave off mental decline as they age. One study in women showed that obesity, high blood pressure and low levels of good cholesterol were each associated with a 23 percent increased risk of cognitive impairment. Another study found that obese men, but not obese women, were more likely to have signs of cognitive decline, and still another linked high levels of bad cholesterol and diabetes to faster progression of decline in people with Alzheimer’s. But not all research agreed; one study found that after age 65, it was underweight people, not overweight people, who had the highest risk of developing dementia.

Restaurants say getting rid of trans will cost big

Yesterday we told you about a plan in British Columbia to cut trans fats at restaurants, but the restaurant industry says now is not a good time. They say that in these tough economic times changing to healthier, more expensive oils may put some restaurants out of business that are already struggling with the high cost of food and fewer customers. One restaurant estimates the oil will cost an extra $350 a month, and that they’ll continue to use the fatty oil as long as possible because it’s cheaper.

Oklahoma considers calorie counts

The latest state to jump on the restaurant menu calorie count bandwagon is Oklahoma, where the state senate has already passed legislation similar to a rule in California that requires calorie counts be listed on the menus of chain restaurants in the state. The state’s restaurant group says it would prefer a national law that makes standards for menu labeling the same across state lines, but they can live with the regulation as written. Oklahoma is tied for the eighth most obese state in the union.

Church-based program helps parishioners lose weight

A 12- week, church-based weight-loss program helped 46 percent of the overweight and obese African Americans who took part in it to lose at least 5 percent of their body weight, and almost 69 percent of those were able to keep the weight off for six months. The program used in the study was called Fit Body and Soul, and it was conducted by lay leaders who had trained in the program for two days. Among the 35 people who took part in the study, 26 percent lost 7 percent of more of their body weight over the course of 12 weeks. Researchers call the results “remarkable” and say more research is planned to compare congregations using this program and others using a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention plan.

Syrup shortage has restaurants rationing

Finally, we’re all getting pretty used to reports about the high cost of food, but one food product you might not have heard about that’s gotten really expensive is maple syrup, which is now costing about $70 a gallon, up from $40 last year. Experts say supplies are lower this year because Quebec, which produces 75 percent of the world’s syrup supply had a 40 percent smaller-than-normal harvest thanks to extra snow and cold. And the Master Cleanse diet fad has more people seeking out the good stuff than before. Vermont restaurants say they’re trying to come up with ways to ration the sweet stuff rather than letting diners pour with abandon.

(By Sarah E. White for CalorieLab Calorie Counter News)

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 11th, 2009 and is filed under Diabetes, Diet programs, Food miscellaneous, Food safety, Foreign stories (non-U.S.), Government obesity actions, Labeling and disclosure, Nibbles: diet news shorts, Nutrition, Obesity health dangers, Obesity research and studies, Public policy, Religion and obesity, Trans fat. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed. Permalink.