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AB SCIEX announces commercial expansion in Brazil

AB SCIEX, a global leader in life science analytical technologies, today announced its expansion of commercial operations in Brazil to support the Brazilian scientific community's increasing use of mass spectrometry for food safety testing, environmental analysis, academic research, drug development, forensic toxicology and clinical research.

12 Mar 2012

Thermo Fisher Scientific introduces new ICP-MS system, iCAP Q

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., the world leader in serving science, today launched its new Thermo Scientific iCAP Q, an ICP-MS system that features world-class performance and increased throughput to help laboratories cut analysis times by up to 50 percent when compared to the XSERIES 2 ICP-MS, the model it replaces.

From Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. 12 Mar 2012

Pink slime to make its way into school lunches: Debate ensues

McDonald's and other fast food chains may have removed “pink slime” from their foods but the ‘gooey’ sounding chemical treatment that removes bacteria from meat is still making its appearance at kids’ school lunches.

11 Mar 2012

Sodexo obtains ISO 22000:2005 Food Safety Management System certification

Reinforcing its commitment to the 10 million customers it serves daily, Sodexo, Inc., leading provider of Quality of Daily Life Solutions, recently obtained ISO (International Organization of Standardization) 22000:2005 certification for its food management systems in the U.S. and Canada, which focuses on ensuring food safety and quality from farm to fork.

6 Mar 2012

Health Impact Project announces awardees of 15 new grants

The Health Impact Project, a collaboration of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The Pew Charitable Trusts, announced the awardees of 15 new grants today. Selected following a nationwide call for proposals, the grantees will conduct health impact assessments (HIAs), a type of study that looks at potential health impacts of policies and projects in other sectors.

5 Mar 2012

Packaged meats to carry nutrition labels like other food products

Starting this Thursday nutrition labels found on almost all packaged foods can be found for ground meat and poultry as well. Forty of the most popular whole, raw cuts or meat and poultry, such as chicken breast or steak, also will have nutritional information either on the package labels or on display at the store, under a new Department of Agriculture rule. The department's Food Safety and Inspection Service has required nutrition labeling since 1993 for products that are not raw or that contain more than one ingredient.

2 Mar 2012

La Selva geothermal system contaminated with arsenic

Monitoring the construction of wells, avoid over-exploiting cold groundwater close to hot groundwater, and controlling mineral water extraction. These are the recommendations from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia and the University of Barcelona, after analysing the contamination of La Selva geothermal system, above all by arsenic pollution.

1 Mar 2012

MRSA strain in food animals concerns experts

The strain of staph, known as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA CC398, most often infects farm workers who come in contact with infected pigs, turkeys, or cows. Now the strain of bacteria has been found in about half of meat samples taken throughout the country. The researchers say that the indiscriminate use of antibiotics in livestock used for food is to blame for the infection's drug resistance.

23 Feb 2012

Oscar nominated movie influences people to change eating and food shopping habits

As Academy Award voters mark their ballots, researchers at the USC Annenberg Norman Lear Center released a study measuring a movie's power to change the behavior of people who see it. Using an innovative instrument developed by the Lear Center, the study of more than 20,000 people found that those who saw the 2010 Oscar nominee Food, Inc. had significantly changed their eating and food shopping habits.

23 Feb 2012

Protein fragments from yellow field pea seeds can lower blood pressure

There are lots of new ideas out there for giving you extra protection against chronic diseases through the food you eat. But many good ideas may never make it to market. Researchers at the University of Guelph, led by Brian McBride, have found a way to enrich milk with docosahexaeonic acid (DHA)-an essential nutrient that many people are lacking.

19 Feb 2012

Arsenic found in baby formula containing organic brown rice syrup

Rice is among the plants that are efficient in taking up arsenic from the soil, environmental chemist Brian Jackson of Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H., and his co-authors said in Thursday's issue of the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. Long-term exposure to extremely high levels of inorganic arsenic can increase the risk of lung, liver and bladder cancer as well as miscarriage and infertility.

18 Feb 2012

FDA requests a budget of $4.5 billion to protect and promote public health

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is requesting a budget of $4.5 billion to protect and promote the public health as part of the President's fiscal year (FY) 2013 budget – a 17 percent increase over the FDA enacted budget for FY 2012.

14 Feb 2012

SDIX, BD enter collaboration for development of microbiology detection solution

SDIX, a leading provider of biotechnology-based products and services for a broad range of life science, biotechnology, diagnostic and food safety applications, and BD Diagnostics, a segment of BD, a leading global medical technology company, today announced the signing of a comprehensive agreement whereby the two companies will collaborate in the development of a microbiology detection solution.

From BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) 6 Feb 2012

Is sugar as bad as alcohol and tobacco?

According to US health experts, sugar is as damaging and addictive as alcohol or tobacco and should be regulated. The University of California team suggests new policies such as taxes are needed to control soaring consumption of sugar and sweeteners. Prof Robert Lustig argues in the opinion piece called “The Toxic Truth About Sugar” in journal Nature for major shifts in public policy.

3 Feb 2012

Plasma can be an effective method to kill pathogens on uncooked poultry

A new study by food safety researchers at Drexel University demonstrates that plasma can be an effective method for killing pathogens on uncooked poultry. The proof-of-concept study was published in the January issue of the Journal of Food Protection.

3 Feb 2012

Report highlights gaps in health IT implementation

A report from the Bipartisan Policy Center noted that gaps persist in the nation's efforts to transition from a paper-based to a computer-based health records system.

30 Jan 2012

First Edition: January 30, 2012

Today's health policy headlines include a report that GOP leaders are pledging quick action on legislation to extend the payroll tax break and to prevent a scheduled cut in Medicare physician payment.

30 Jan 2012

Genetic technology to make inedible seeds more edible

Every night millions of people go to bed hungry. New genetic technology can help us feed the world by making inedible seeds more edible.

30 Jan 2012

Society of Toxicology 51st Annual Meeting and ToxExpo to be held March 11-15

More than 7,000 toxicologists from every corner of the globe are expected to attend the Society of Toxicology (SOT) 51st Annual Meeting and ToxExpo-, which will highlight toxicology's crucial role in creating a safer and healthier world. The five-day meeting will take place at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco from March 11-15, 2012.

25 Jan 2012

UNL project to reduce Shiga-toxin producing E. coli threat

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln will lead a $25 million project to reduce throughout the beef production chain the occurrence of E. coli strains that pose a major threat to public health.

24 Jan 2012