Infinite Unknown

Agency Will Accept Industry Proposals To Sell The Public Animals With Mixed DNA

Two featherless chickens peck around in some grass at the Hebrew University in Rehovot. Israeli scientists at the Agriculture department of the university have genetically engineered bare-skinned chickens as part of a research project to develop succulent, low fat poultry that is environmentally friendly. (AP)

(CBS/AP) The U.S. government will start considering industry proposals to sell genetically engineered animals as human food.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Thursday a government review will ensure that such animals are safe to eat.

Genetically engineered animals are created when scientists insert a gene from one species of animal into the DNA of another animal to reprogam some of its characteristics.

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Tags: animals, Congress, consumer, DNA, FDA, Food, Genetically Modified Organisms, GMO, Government, Politics, U.S.

Groups Raise Questions About the Safety of Bisphenol A

Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

Sept. 16, 2008 — Researchers and environmental groups attacked the FDA for concluding that a widely used plastic ingredient is safe for humans, saying the agency ignored critical studies showing potential ill health effects.

The comments came at a hearing called by the FDA to examine the science around bisphenol A (BPA). The chemical is used in hard plastic products, including some baby and water bottles, and is also used to line metal food cans.

A growing number of advocacy groups and some members of Congress have called on regulators to ban bisphenol A.

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Tags: babies, bisphenol-A, BPA, children, Congress, Environment, FDA, Health, Science, Scientists, toxic, toxicity, U.S.

Bisphenol A previously associated with developmental problems in fetuses

TUESDAY, Sept. 16 (HealthDay News) — Bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical found in plastics that include baby bottles and packaging for food and beverages, may put people at risk for heart disease and type 2 diabetes, a new study concludes.

Adding to the controversy surrounding this ubiquitous chemical, this study fuels the fears of those who want it banned. However, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said in April that BPA was “safe and that exposure levels to BPA from food contact materials, including for infants and children, are below those that may cause health effects.”

The research, published in the Sept. 16 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, was released early to coincide with a public hearing the FDA is holding on the issue Tuesday.

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Tags: babies, bisphenol-A, BPA, chemicals, children, diabetes, FDA, Health, heart disease, Science, Scientists

This article is a must read.

Related video:
Nutricide - Criminalizing Natural Health, Vitamins, and Herbs (Dr. Rima Laibow, M.D.)

__________________________________________________________________________

By: Dr. Gregory Damato, Ph.D.

(NaturalNews) Codeath (sorry, I meant Codex) Alimentarius, latin for Food Code, is a very misunderstood organization that most people (including nearly all U.S. congressmen) have never heard of, never mind understand the true reality of this extremely powerful trade organization. From the official Codex website (www.codexalimentarius.net) the altruistic purpose of this commission is in “protecting health of the consumers and ensuring fair trade practices in the food trade, and promoting coordination of all food standards work undertaken by international governmental and non-governmental organizations”. Codex is a joint venture regulated by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and World Health Organization (WHO).

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Tags: Aflatoxin, antibiotics, Argentina, Australia, Big Pharma, Brazil, Cameroon, Canada, CODEX Alimentarius, Congress, Disease, Egypt, EU, FAO, FDA, Fluoridation, Fluoride, Food, food supply, Genetically Modified Organisms, Ghana, GMO, Health, Indonesia, Irradiation, Japan, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, Minerals, Monsanto, Nigeria, nutrition, nutritional value, organic, pesticides, Pharmaceutical Industry, pharmaceuticals, Politics, Singapore, South Africa, Sudan, toxic, U.N., U.S., vitamins, WHO, Zinc

(NaturalNews) Actor Dennis Quaid, whose newborn twins were nearly killed when a hospital error led to a massive drug overdose, urged Congress to preserve people’s ability to sue drug companies for injuries caused by their products.

Quaid and his wife are suing Baxter International, maker of the blood-thinning drug heparin, which nearly killed their children. The lawsuit alleges that Baxter knew that the labels on the child and adult doses of heparin were confusingly similar, as Baxter had already changed its labeling after three infants died from similar mix-ups. But the company failed to recall the older bottles with the confusing labels, leading to the error with Quaid’s children.

Yet lawsuits such as Quaid’s could be thrown out if the Supreme Court accepts the arguments of the Bush administration and the FDA that citizens should not be able to sue for injuries caused by an FDA-approved drug.

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Tags: Big Pharma, Bush administration, Congress, FDA, George Bush, Government, Health, Heparin, law, Pharmaceutical Industry, Politics, Supreme Court, U.S.

(NaturalNews) The FDA has just announced that food producers may now start zapping lettuce and spinach with just enough ionizing radiation to kill E. coli. The muckety-mucks at the FDA have decided, in their infinite wisdom, to use the American public as guinea pigs in an ongoing human experiment to find out the long-term effects of the consumption of irradiated food.

In spite of the FDA’s insistence that eating food treated with just a wee bit of ionizing radiation is safe, Public Citizen (a consumer watchdog group founded by Ralph Nader in 1971 for the purpose of protecting health, safety, and democracy) believes otherwise (understatement) and is trying to get the word out to consumers about the lies that are being told to the trusting American public.

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Tags: birth defects, Cancer, chemicals, E.coli, FDA, Food, Government, Health, Irradiation, nutrients, Pasteurized, Salmonella, U.S., USDA, vegetables, vitamins

(NaturalNews) According to a report by the Organic Consumers Association, a toxic chemical that is a byproduct of rocket fuel is rapidly poisoning the food and water supply in the United States. Known as perchlorate, this chemical has been found in 93% of the nation’s milk and lettuce supply in a recent FDA study. It has also been found in the drinking water for at least 22 states at extremely alarming levels. Perhaps the scariest statistic is that perchlorate has been found in the breast milk of 97% of the mothers who were tested.

What are Americans supposed to eat?

Unfortunately, lettuce and milk weren’t the only foods that were found to be contaminated. Perchlorate was found in tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, spinach, citrus, melons and more. Sadly, even organic vegetables were affected, because most crops are irrigated from polluted water sources. In a Wired.com article by Amit Asaravala, Bill Walker, the vice president of the Environmental Working Group’s West Coast operations, was quoted as saying, “The study confirms what we and some other people have been saying for a while — that perchlorate is not only a problem in areas with known water contamination but for anyone who eats food grown in the U.S.”

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Tags: CDC, Congress, contamination, Depression, drinking water, Environment, FDA, Food, food supply, Government, Health, iodine, milk, NASA, organic, Organic Consumers Association, perchlorate, Politics, Pregnancy, rocket fuel, toxic, toxicity, U.S., vegetables, water

Source: http://www.foodsafety.gov/~lrd/fr070404.html

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Food and Drug Administration
21 CFR Part 179
[Docket No. 2005N-0272]
RIN 0910-ZA29

Irradiation in the Production, Processing and Handling of Food

AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS.

ACTION: Proposed rule.
_____________________________________________________________________________

SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is proposing to revise its labeling regulations applicable to foods (including dietary supplements) for which irradiation has been approved by FDA.

FDA is proposing that only those irradiated foods in which the irradiation causes a material change in the food, or a material change in the consequences that may result from the use of the food, bear the radura logo and the term “irradiated,” or a derivative thereof, in conjunction with explicit language describing the change in the food or its conditions of use.

For purposes of this rulemaking, we are using the term “material change” to refer to a change in the organoleptic,
nutritional, or functional properties of a food, caused by irradiation, that the consumer could not identify at the point of purchase in the absence of appropriate labeling.

FDA is also proposing to allow a firm to petition FDA for use of an alternate term to “irradiation” (other than “pasteurized”).

In addition, FDA is proposing to permit a firm to use the term “pasteurized” in lieu of “irradiated,” provided it notifies the agency that the irradiation process being used meets the criteria specified for use of the term “pasteurized” in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the act) and the agency does not object to the notification.

This proposed action is in response to the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (FSRIA) and, if finalized, will provide consumers with more useful information than the current
regulation.

Related article:
The Food Irradiation Plot: Why the USDA Wants to Sterilize Fresh Produce and Turn Live Foods into Dead Foods

Tags: FDA, Food, food supply, Government, Health, Irradiation, nutrition, U.S., USDA

(NaturalNews) The major cattle cloning companies in the United States have admitted that they have not bothered to try and keep meat from the offspring of clones out of the U.S. food supply, in spite of a request by the FDA several years ago.

“This is a fairy tale that this technology is not being used and is not already in the food chain,” said Donald Coover, who owns a specialty cattle semen business. “Anyone who tells you otherwise either doesn’t know what they’re talking about, or they’re not being honest.”

Coover admitted that for several years, he has been openly selling semen from cloned bulls. He is sure, he added, that others are doing the same.

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Tags: Beef, Cloning, FDA, Food, food supply, Health, U.S., USDA

Officials have warned against Roma, round and plum tomatoes from some sources

More than 1,000 people in more than 40 US states are now confirmed to have become ill with salmonella since April, officials say.

The US health authorities suspect the bacteria to be present in some raw tomatoes, chilli peppers and the coriander used in salsa.

The outbreak is deemed to be the worst one of a food-borne illness in the US for more than a decade.

Two people are said to have died, and 200 people have been taken to hospital.

There have also been several cases in Canada.

Investigators say they think there are several sources for the outbreak as many of those ill say they did not eat hot peppers or foods like salsa that contain them, Dr Robert Tauxe, food safety chief at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“We are quite sure that neither tomatoes nor jalapenos explain the entire outbreak at this point… We’re presuming that both of them have caused illness,” he told the Associated Press.

“We really are working as hard and as fast as we can to sort out this complicated situation and protect the health of the American people.”

(”Suspect”, “They Think”,“Quite Sure”, “Really Working Hard”, “As Fast As We Can”, that says it all.
They have not the foggiest idea. - The Infinite Unknown)

High-risk population

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Tags: bacteria, Diarrhoea, FDA, Food, Health, immune system, Salmonella