Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) recently agreed to sell its hollow sphere plastic pigment product line to Fairlawn, Ohio-based specialty chemicals maker Omnova Solutions Inc. Hollow plastic pigments are used by the paper and paperboard industry. Dow also plans to close two production units at a Texas as part of its restructuring initiatives. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2009.
Volatile crude oil prices have significantly affected the basic chemicals market, forcing the second-largest chemical manufacturer in the world to divest its styrene monomer and ethylbenzene production …

Whole Foods Market(R) Executive and Chef Ann Cooper Visit Washington, D.C. to
Raise Awareness About Importance of Healthy School Lunches
Whole Foods Market Customers Exceed Donation Goal, Fund Free School Lunch
Resource Web Site
WASHINGTON, Sept. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Whole Foods Market (Nasdaq:
WFMI), a leader in natural and organic foods, and Chef Ann Cooper, the
nation’s “renegade lunch lady,” are working to help transform lunch in schools
across the country by kicking off the “School Lunch Revolution” awareness tour
today in Washington, D.C.
Cooper and Whole Foods Market Co-President and Chief Operating Officer Walter
Robb will speak to key …

Important issues surrounding the quality of food and drugs—including global supply chain management, the challenges of creating follow-on biologics (in Canada, subsequent entry biologics) and nanotechnology for drug delivery—will be the focus of the U.S. Pharmacopeial (USP) Convention’s 2009 Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM). The ASM will be held in Toronto, Canada, from September 22 to 25.
“We have a strong international roster of top scientific and regulatory experts in pharmaceuticals, food, biotechnology and measurement,” said Roger L. Williams, M.D., chief executive officer of USP. “Navigating the complexities of global supply chain …

SURGING levels of nitrates from nitrogen fertilisers and food additives have been strongly linked to a “pandemic” of diseases related to insulin resistance, including Alzheimers and Parkinsons.
United States statistics show that the risk of an 85-year-old American dying from Alzheimers Disease has increased nearly 200-fold since 1960, with similar devastating trends across the rest of the developed world showing no signs of plateauing.
“It’s ridiculous,” said Dr Suzanne de la Monte of Rhode Island Hospital in the United States, who with a team of researchers investigated whether the rapid rise in …

Dow Chemical Co. said Thursday it will sell a hollow sphere plastic pigment product line to specialty chemicals maker Omnova Solutions Inc. and close two production units at a Texas plant.
The developments are part of a restructuring plan announced in June shortly after Midland, Mich.-based Dow completed its $16.5 billion acquisition of Rohm & Haas Co.
Dow said styrene monomer and ethylbenzene production at the Freeport, Texas, site will close by the end of the year.
About 60 employees will be affected, with about one-half reassigned to other positions, company spokesman David …

(NaturalNews) Because I take a large number of nutritional supplements, I’ve become increasingly concerned over the years about supplement excipients, binders and fillers. One ingredient frequently used in vitamin manufacturing is titanium dioxide, a nanoparticle powder made of fine titanium bits. It’s best known as an ingredient in sunscreen, but it’s also used in thousands of cosmetic products as well as nutritional products.
Yep, if you take certain vitamins made by GNC or Centrum (as well as hundreds of other companies), you are eating titanium dioxide. And this is an ingredient …

Uncommon Creaminess and Vibrant Fruit Flavors Inspire Foodies to Think of
Yogurt as a Spoonful of Healthy Indulgence
 
FRANKLIN PARK, Ill., Sept. 9 /PRNewswire/ — The food world is taking a whole
new look at yogurt.  Once thought of as a product to be eaten only because
it’s good for you, rather than because it tastes good, critics and the media
have had their eyes opened wide by the new line of Lowell European Classic(TM)
Yogurts launched at the Fancy Food Show in New York in June. 
(Photo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090909/CL72018)
The all-natural, probiotic yogurts are produced by Lowell International …

Many Americans are obsessed with products labeled “low fat,” “low carb,” “sugar free.” and “low calorie.”
Supermarkets appear to carry just as many products labeled with healthy terms, as they do typical caloric faire. 
The problem with these “healthy” products is that many of them are actually unhealthy for you.
Consumers may be fooled into thinking that 100 calories of Nutter Butters can be a healthy weight-loss snack.
Undoubtedly, eating fewer calories will induce weight loss, but at what price?
The obese population in America, and the Western world for that matter, doesn’t need any …

EDMONTON – When Jodie McKague and husband Adam Larson buy groceries, they tend to shop along the perimeter of the store where fresh produce and meats are sold.
As new parents of a two-year-old, they are making “a more conscious effort about foodstuff,” trying to buy “as fresh as possible.”
“I don’t want my daughter to think the only taste out there comes out of packages,” McKague said. “That will make me really sad.”
For the McKagues, “preservative” is a bad word.
But scientists at the University of Alberta are working toward food additives …

President Barack Obama hinted he could support a “sin tax” on fizzy drinks to help lower high rates of US obesity, but admitted it would be an uphill battle against corporate and economic interests.
“I actually think it’s an idea that we should be exploring,” Obama said in the forthcoming issue of Men’s Health, regarding potential taxes levied on soft drinks such as colas and other sugar-filled products.
“There’s no doubt that our kids drink way too much soda. And every study that’s been done about obesity shows that there is as …