The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) released a letter to orange juice processing companies regarding their take on the recent discovery of carbendazim in orange juice. Carbendazim, molecular formula C9H9N3O2, is a fungicide (chemical that destroy fungi that are harmful to crops). This particular fungicide, carbendazim, has been cleared to be used on crops in most parts of the world…
This product may contain nuts.” It’s an increasingly common warning on food labels of all kinds, given the recent heightened awareness of the dangers of nut allergies. Roughly three million Americans suffer from peanut allergies; yet current diagnostic methods don’t detect every case…
Caffeine is regarded by some as being a potent stimulant, but the debate continues as to whether it enhances exercise performance. A range of expert opinions capture the scope of this ongoing debate in an informative roundtable discussion published in Journal of Caffeine Research, a quarterly peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc…
A mouse model to investigate allergy to fenugreek has been developed by Norwegian researchers. The model can also be used to study cross-reactivity to peanut, soy and lupin, major food allergens with public health relevance. Fenugreek is a member of the legume family and is used as an ingredient in curries, chutneys and teas…
A study just published by a Dartmouth team of scientists in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) advances our understanding of the sources of human exposure to arsenic and focuses attention on the potential for consuming harmful levels of arsenic via rice. Arsenic occurs naturally in the environment and in elevated concentrations it can be harmful to human health…
Nowadays, half of all the fish we eat comes from fish farms. The problem is that these fish are increasingly being fed vegetable matter, which could lead to a build-up of residual pesticides in them. A new test shows how high the risk of contamination really is. People are eating more and more fish. To meet rising demand, fish are increasingly being cultivated in fish farms…
As millions of acres of farmland in the U.S. Midwest and South recover from Mississippi River flooding, scientists report that river flooding can increase levels of potentially harmful flame retardants in farm soils. But the higher levels apparently do not find their way into the milk produced by cows that graze on these lands…
A study accuses the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of allowing seafoods with unsafe levels of contaminants to enter the food chain after the BP oil disaster…
A University of Illinois study that uses new technology to assess and compare the safety of radish, broccoli, and alfalfa sprouts concludes that the secret to keeping sprouts free of foodborne pathogens lies in industry’s intense attention to cleanliness of seeds. “Once seeds have germinated, it’s too late…