Red Bull and vodka is a popular drink in many British and Irish
bars, but its popularity could be dampened by a recent warning that
the energy drink, and others like it, should not be drunk with
alcohol.
Consumer advocacy group Public Citizen on Tuesday asked US
regulators to ban Abbott Laboratories' diet drug Meridia, linking
the anti-obesity medicine to several deaths in the United States
and Europe.
In adopting the new EU Directive on Food Supplements last week the
European Parliament laid the foundations for a period of developing
legislative stability for companies involved in food and health
ingredients. Considered by some...
Safety fears over Chinese herbal medicines increased this week
after potentially toxic substances were found in a slimming remedy
sold in the UK. Two people had to be treated for severe
side-effects after taking a cocktail of remedies.
Despite fierce lobbying which at one stage caused the European
Parliament's email system to crash, MEPs yesterday voted to approve
plans for a tightening of the safety controls for vitamin
supplements.
The European Commission has issued a strong statement denouncing
claims in many UK newspapers yesterday that the proposed new rules
for vitamin supplements would push thousands of companies out of
business.
Tomorrow will see the second reading of the European Union's draft
proposals for a directive on food supplements, sparking a new round
of condemnation from supplement manufacturers and retailers across
the Community.
Over 100 organic farms in the UK could be at risk of being tainted
by genetically modified crop test sites, according to research by
an organic farming group.
Three national trade associations representing dietary supplement
producers are about to be established and join IADSA, the
International Alliance of Dietary/Food Supplements Associations.
Following the news earlier this week that scientists in the UK are
calling for elderly Britons to increase their intake of folic acid,
the country's Food Standards Agency (FSA) is to chair an open
meeting on the issue.
Italy has become the first country to ban the use of the
anti-obesity drug sibutramine, prompting fears that other European
countries will follow suit. The drug is sold as Reductil in Italy.
The UK Food Standard Agency (FSA) is considering banning the use of
sheep offal in food products as part of a number of measures
designed to combat the risk of vCJD, the human brain disease linked
to BSE in cattle.
A former baseball star who made false and deceptive claims for a
weight-loss product is being sued by the Federal Trade Commission
this week for $1.1 million.
In what could be a serious blow to the organic food industry, new
research claims that the trend away from pesticide use in fruit and
vegetables could be putting our health at serious risk.
Research into food label design shows that consumers check the
calorie and fat content first on food labels, and while they
understand the term 'trace,' they confuse the terms sodium and
salt.
China needs an organic food law to protect the legitimate rights
and interests of consumers and producers, and ensure healthy
development of organic farming in the country, according to one
senior Chinese official.
The new chair of the Advisory Research Committee of the UK Food
Standards Agency has said that guaranteeing the highest quality of
research will be his main priority.
The White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative
Medicine (WHCCAM), a body set up to advise the US administration on
how better to regulate the alternative medicine industry, has said
that consumers need easier access to...
The decision by the Canadian government to set up a Natural Health
Products Directorate to further regulate the country's natural
health product (NHP) market has been called "a waste of time and
money" in a new study...
The European Commission has unveiled a sweeping reform of food
safety legislation, giving itself more powers to take emergency
steps in crises such as the dioxin poisoning scare.
Drinks with a high-caffeine content will have to be more clearly
labelled following changes introduced to EU labelling regulations,
the UK Food Standards Agency reports this week.
An American researcher who claimed last year that carrageenin from
the Philippines can cause cancer has admitted her research was at
best inconclusive, according to the Seaweed Industry Association of
the Philippines (SIAP).
An investigation by a coalition of dietary supplement makers into a
possible link between popular health supplement kava kava and an
increased risk of liver failure has exonerated the herb, although
the study's author urged that...
BotanicLab has released an official statement on the current status
of the product, PC SPES, the prostate health product that was
voluntarily recalled in early February, which has now been recalled
in two other countries.
A Vanderbilt University pharmacologist who had been considered by
the White House for the top job at the US Food and Drug
Administration has been told he is no longer in the running,
reports Reuters.
The UK Food Standards Agency said it has received further results
of tests on Chinese and blended honey on sale in the UK, and has
issued a recall of the products affected.
The US Senate last week passed the Farm Bill, including an
amendment allowing food stamps to be used for the purchase of
vitamin and mineral supplements.
Tax breaks would be an efficient method of boosting sales of
organic products in the EU and to help them compete with
conventionally produced products. This was the conclusion of a
study commissioned by the European Environmental...
The UK Food Standards Agency has launched a new nationwide campaign
to tackle what it claims are inadequate hygiene standards in
catering businesses across the country.
The European Commission has taken the Italian authorities to the
European Court of Justice over its regulations governing sports
nutrition products. The Commission said that the Italian rules area
barrier to free trade within the...
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is to extend the grace
period for hemp food products containing THC until 18 March 2002,
according to the US Court of Appeals.
The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a voluntary
recall of two popular supplements - PC SPES, which is used for
prostate health, and SPES which is used to boost the immune system
- because they allegedly contain...
ConAgra Grocery Products has recalled 36,000 cases of Healthy
Choice Old Fashioned Chicken Noodle Soup because the brand may
contain whey, a known allergen which was not mentioned on the
label.
The UK Food Standards Agency has tested batches of Chinese and
blended honey following concerns about a lack of control on the use
of veterinary drugs in China. The agency said that seven out of 15
samples tested positive for an illegal...
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has received a settlement of
$30,000 from Robert Waitkus, a businessman running an illegal
pyramid operation selling unlicenced dietary supplements.
The UK Food Standards Agency is calling for a ban on pistachio nuts
imported from Iran following a survey which found high levels of
cancer-causing mycotoxins in 10% of pistachio samples.
The war against terrorism in the US has opened up a new front - the
food industry. The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has made
protecting the food supply from potential terrorist action one of
its priorities for 2002.
A German committee that issues advice on prescription drugs has
recommended that the government make kava, the popular herbal
remedy, a prescription-only product.
European Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner David Byrne
has expressed his concern about the wide variations in measures to
combat E.coli contamination between EU Member States.
La Leva di Archimede, a consumer association which fights to
protect freedom of choice with particular emphasis on health
matters and nutrition, is protesting to MEPs about proposed changes
to the rules governing food supplement sales...
European Union agriculture ministers have given the go-ahead for
the creation of a Union-wide food safety agency, but the exact
location of the body has yet to be decided.
The European Commission is to propose a specific registration
procedure for herbal medicinal products with a long-standing
traditional use in a bid to improve quality checks and market
surveillance.
