The Health Protection Agency (HPA) in the UK is investigating cases of Salmonella newport related to watermelons following a salmonella outbreak that has infected 35 people across the country. Dr Bob Adak, head of the gastrointestinal disease department at the HPA said “Although it is too soon to say with certainty what the likely causes of the infection are, early indications suggest that a number of people became unwell after eating watermelon”. Dr Adak also said that cases have been also notified... ...Read more »

An Israeli study released in the latest issue of the journal, Steroids, has suggested that adding dessert foods such as cakes, cookies or chocolate to a balanced breakfast meal, could aid in the functionality of weight-losing dieting to help control cravings. The study was conducted by a team of scientists led by Dr Daniela Jakubowicz, a leading professor Tel Aviv University’s Sackler Faculty of Medicine. Over 32 weeks, One hundred and ninety three clinically obese, non-diabetic adults were randomly... ...Read more »

The EU Parliament has voted against the labelling of food with “X% less” or “no added X” claims. The Food and Drink Federation, the UK’s leading voice for the food and drink industry, has expressed disappointment with the vote, which took place on 2 February 2012. The UK industry said it was concerned about the potential impact on industry’s discouragement of industry formulation of healthier foods. UK Food and Drink Federation’s response Barbara Gallani, Director of Food Safety... ...Read more »

New research about snackfoods and consumers’ snack food choices, ‘Healthy Snackers’, was released in the U.S on 2 February, 2012 by Mintel Research. Mintel defined a “healthy snacker” as one who chooses to consume snacks that are healthier than others, while reducing the consumption of less-healthy nibbles. According to Mintel’s research report, 44 percent of healthy snackers said they tend to eat healthfully most of the time while 42 percent made it a point to snack on foods that are... ...Read more »

A U.S study at Drexel University, published in the January 2012 issue of Journal of Food Protection, has said that a form of cold plasma might be an effective method for killing pathogens on uncooked poultry. The Drexel study involved raw chicken samples contaminated with Salmonella enterica and Campylobacter jejuni bacteria treated with plasma for varying periods of time. The plasma treatment claims to “have eliminated or nearly eliminated bacteria in low levels from skinless chicken breast and... ...Read more »

A report by Rabobank’s global Food and Agribusiness and Advisory department on 3 February, 2012 has forecast strong but uneven growth in world dairy products. In the report, Rabobank stated that “the global dairy market will offer strong growth prospects in the coming five years, but the uneven spread of this market expansion and an era of elevated pricing will create as many challenges as opportunities for key players along the dairy supply chain”. Growth will be highly skewed to emerging... ...Read more »

Cocoa, an antioxidant-rich raw ingredient for chocolate is “set to become a major force in the market for functional and healthier food”, according to Julian Mellentin, director of UK consultancy, New Nutrition Business. His company is a leading provider of analysis and insight into the global nutrition business. He said that cocoa was at a tipping point, as a result of scientific convergence and technological process, corporate strategy, consumer awareness and consumer desire for foods that... ...Read more »

A new scientific study conducted at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine suggests a potential link between the consumption of diet soft drinks and heart attacks or other vascular events. The study has found that people who drink diet soft drinks on a daily basis may be at an increased risk of suffering vascular events such as a stroke, heart attack, and vascular death. The research led by Dr Hannah Gardener ScD was examining the relationship between both diet and regular soft drink... ...Read more »

For over 40 years, scientists and physicians have thought eating a high-fibre diet lowered a person’s risk of diverticulosis. A new US study of 2,104 people shows this may not be accurate. The study, which was conducted by researchers at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at the Chapel Hill School of Medicine found that eating high fibre diets raised, as opposed to lowered, the risks of developing diverticulosis. The study also suggests the commonly-held belief that constipation increases the... ...Read more »

A research conducted by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and Harvard University has found that women who consumed a diet high in animal fat and cholesterol before pregnancy were at higher risk for gestational diabetes. Gestational diabetes is a form of diabetes seen during pregnancy that increases the risk for certain pregnancy complications and health problems in the newborn. Moreover, the increased risk for gestational diabetes seen with animal fat and cholesterol appeared to be... ...Read more »