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 says. “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 …

With a new administration, some health experts long opposed to aspartame use are hoping that the FDA will review evidence against the sweetener and revoke an approval they say was marred by falsified testing data and political interference by the Reagan administration.
Aspartame, the artificial sweetener used around the world, causes cancer in lab rats, and should be banned for human consumption, says Samuel S. Epstein, MD, professor emeritus of environmental and occupational medicine at the Chicago School of Public Health, University of Illinois, and chair of the Cancer Prevention Coalition.
Epstein …

Food allergies are a severe hyper-reaction of the immune system caused by a massive release of histamine and other chemical mediators from certain types of white blood cells called mast cells and basophiles. Food allergies only affect 1-2% of the population. People suffering from a food allergy can usually identify what foods they are allergic to without testing because the reaction will occur every time and shortly after eating the allergic food.
Food sensitivities are delayed food allergies that manifest themselves in many different ways and can affect any organ system …

August 28, 2009, South Korea issued notification, the South Korea Food and Drug Administration formulating its revised food additive standard specifications.
The formulation and revision of laws and regulations developed 59 kinds of food additive ingredients specifications. Strengthened or developed the following 58 of lead, cadmium, mercury or iodine Specifications:

A GMO (genetically modified organism) is the result of a laboratory process of taking genes from one species and inserting them into another in an attempt to obtain a desired trait or characteristic, hence they are also known as transgenic organisms. This process may be called either Genetic Engineering (GE) or Genetic Modification (GM); they are one and the same.
But haven’t growers been grafting trees, breeding animals, and hybridizing seeds for years?
Genetic engineering is completely different from traditional breeding and carries unique risks.
In traditional breeding it is possible to mate …

SINGAPORE entrepreneur Lena Sim, founder and owner of the Ministry of Food (MOF) restaurant chain, is setting up 300 outlets in China – and that’s only for starters. MOF could eventually open up to 10,000 outlets there.
The first 300 outlets – based on MOF’s concepts that cover Japanese, Chinese and European cuisine, desserts and beverages – are expected to open in cities across China within three years.
 
And that’s just to test the market. Ms Sim is upbeat about ‘making it’ there and opening thousands more outlets later.
‘China is a black …

BENEO-Group will be announcing a major new initiative at this year’s Food Ingredients Europe (FiE) exhibition to celebrate 200 years of experience in the functional ingredients industry.
Although under wraps until FiE, the BENEO-Group’s announcement will benefit customers in the development of truly innovative new products. With over 200 years of experience in carbohydrate research, BENEO-Group offers functional ingredients that are derived from natural sources chicory, sugar beet and rice. The BENEO-Group is the ideal partner for those looking to create products suitable for weight management, digestive, bone and dental health, …

Des Moines, IA – “We are all grateful to Pew Charitable Trusts for sponsoring this important forum. I have worked with Pew for so many years on so many issues, and I can tell you that this organization is a true national treasure. Washington is a place of more heat than light. We count on Pew as a major source of light — and enlightenment. And they never let us down.
“It is also very appropriate that we are addressing the issue of food safety, as September is National Food Safety …

China is now working on a new system of food safety standards that is expected to guarantee people’s health and be more compatible with international norms, said a senior health official Saturday in Beijing.
“The Ministry of Health is now working with other government agencies to formulate a new system of food safety standards, as required by the country’s new food safety law that went into effect June 1 this year,” said Vice Minister of Health Chen Xiaohong at the Food and Drug Safety Responsibility Forum on Saturday.
According to Chen, the …

Students I speak with observe that school food is often either unappetizing (overcooked cafeteria veggies) or unhealthy. Tasty junk food at school has become a magnet for kids across the nation, encouraging nutrition choices that hurt kids now, and build unhealthy habits for the long run.
Thankfully, a growing wave of school boards is starting to tackle the issue, one school district at a time. A quick phone call to your school board could help tip them into action.
But even when action is taken, there is usually a lag of a …