Almost half of Australian adults are failing to meet the recommended daily intake of vegetables due to ‘lack of convenience’, according to a survey by kitchenware brand Tefal. According to Tefal, the survey of 2,500 Australians revealed that 45 per cent of Australians failed to meet the recommended daily intake of five vegetable portions. Of these people, 39 per cent said that preparing and cooking vegetables wasn’t convenient as part of their busy lifestyle, and this was major impediment to... ...Read more »

A University of Sydney PhD student has discovered that a patient’s diet and cookery styles impacts on the required doses of medicines commonly used to treat illnesses such as depression and psychosis. Vidya Perera, a final year PhD student in the university’s Faculty of Pharmacy, found that people from South Asia could need lower doses of these medicines because they are likely to have lower levels of CYP1A2, an enzyme that metabolises drugs. Vegetables such as cabbages, cauliflower and broccoli... ...Read more »

An international team of scientists, led by researchers at McMaster and McGill universities, in Canada, has found that a diet containing plenty of fruit and raw vegetables could alter a gene that puts people at risk of heart disease. The researchers said the study involved analysing more than 27,000 individuals from five ethnicities – European, South Asian, Chinese, Latin American and Arab – and the affect that their diets had on the effect of the ‘9p21’ gene. The ‘9p21’ gene... ...Read more »

A drop in the price of fruit and vegetables in August 2011 has contributed to the lowest inflation rates for almost two years in Australia, according to a report published today by leading financial services provider TD-Securities. According to TD-Securities’ Melbourne Institute, the price of fruit and vegetables in Australia fell by 1.6 per cent in August 2011, compared with a rise of 1.8 per cent in July 2011. The TD-Securities Melbourne-Institute monthly inflation gauge dropped 0.1 per cent... ...Read more »

Australia’s chemical regulator, the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA), is considering banning dimethoate. The APVMA is concerned that the insecticide, widely used to control fruit fly in fruit and vegetables, may pose a health risk for consumers. After completing a Residues and Dietary Risk Assessment, the APVMA said this week that the use of dimethoate on many crops exceeds the health standard established in January this year. The APVMA proposes to suspend dimethoate... ...Read more »

The E. coli outbreaks in Germany and France could have come from seeds sourced in Egypt, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has said.The ECDC said that fenugreek seeds imported from Egypt in 2009 and/or 2010 have been implicated in both outbreaks. However, it added on Wednesday (29 June) that there is “still much uncertainty about whether this truly is the common cause of all the infections as there are currently no positive bacteriological results”. The ECDC said... ...Read more »

Health officials are investigating a fresh outbreak of E. coli in France, with a possible link to UK seed firm Thompson and Morgan. The UK firm has suspended internet sales of its rocket and mustard vegetable sprouts after ten people were affected by E. coli in Bordeaux. The recent E. coli outbreak in Germany, one of the largest the world has seen, killed dozens and sickened thousands. The outbreak was attributed to contaminated beansprouts. This latest outbreak is currently being investigated by... ...Read more »

European farmers federation Copa-Cogeca has supported MEP’s calls for greater funds to support producers following the E. coli outbreak in Europe.The federation on Tuesday (21 June) welcomed MEP calls to increase funds for EU fruit and vegetable producers hit by the E. coli crisis under the proposed EU compensation package and called for the Commission and farm minsters to act quickly. The announcement follows a debate in the European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee. “I am pleased... ...Read more »

The number of people killed by the E. coli outbreak in Germany has risen to 35 – although officials have claimed that the number of new cases of illness is showing signs of falling. The Robert Koch Institute said today yesterday that 35 people had died from either the EHEC O104:H4 E. coli strain or the HUS syndrome that, in some cases, has led from the contamination. A further 3,228 have fallen ill from the outbreak, which the Institute believes is linked to contaminated bean sprouts from a... ...Read more »

Scientists have said that the E.coli serotype that has caused a series of deaths and thousands of illnesses across Europe is a new “super-toxic” E.coli strain resistant to antibiotic treatment.The Beijing Genomics Institute said last week that the O104 E.coli strain has not been involved in any previous E.coli outbreaks and that it has several antibiotic resistance genes, making antibiotic treatment difficult. Meanwhile, a study by the Institute of Hygiene at the University Hospital Munster... ...Read more »