Air Products Food Industry Specialist Discusses Benefits of Nitrogen for
Variety of Food Processing Applications
LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa., Oct. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Food processors who are
looking to improve product quality, lower costs and increase output may want
to consider adding nitrogen to their operation. Air Products (NYSE: APD) food
industry specialist Chris Johnson will discuss the benefits of using nitrogen
in a variety of food processing applications when he presents “Liquid Nitrogen
— A Beneficial Ingredient in the Food Industry” at the Prepared Foods R&D
Applications Seminar in Itasca, Ill., on Monday, October 19th.  Chris will
provide unique …

WASHINGTON — The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday warned consumers to avoid buying medicines online to treat swine flu, saying one such product contained nothing more than talc and over-the-counter fever-reducer.
The FDA raised the warning after some of its investigators purchased and analyzed products represented online as Tamiflu (oseltamivir), one of the anti-viral medicines that has been shown to be effective against A(H1N1) flu.
“One of the orders, which arrived in an unmarked envelope with a postmark from India, consisted of unlabeled, white tablets taped between two pieces …

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is introducing new legislation that is designed to protect citizens from food borne illnesses.
She wants to ensure there are safe, healthy foods available for everyone.
In a telephone conference, the senator announced a comprehensive plan to overhaul the nation’s food safety laws by improving inspection, recall response and public education.
The proactive cornerstone of the senator’s new legislation is to mandate E. coli inspections of ground beef.
“While the U.S. Department of Agriculture has made some progress improving food safety regulations, the nation’s food safety laws have not been …

Another big name in the pharmaceutical industry has caught the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) attention for making allegedly bogus claims about one of its products. In this case, Procter & Gamble Company has been touting the vitamin C benefits of is Vicks DayQuil and NyQuil products, said Reuters.
It seems that based on the FDA’s list of ingredients approved for over-the-counter (OTC) cough and cold medications, there is no allowance for combining vitamin C with the active ingredients that can be found in the two medications, according to Reuters, …

Figures released by Allergy UK, a charity set up to help the millions of people who suffer from food sensitivity, estimate that 45 per of the country’s population is affected by the condition.
“There’s been a 10 fold increase in people with food intolerances in the UK in the last 25 years,” said Cyndi O’Meara, an expert nutritionist and author of “Changing Habits, Changing Lives Cook Book.”
“A big part of the problem is that we are assaulting our children with chemicals because the food that we are feeding them isn’t real …

From chewing gum to diet soda, aspartame and other low-calorie artificial sweeteners are ubiquitous in food and drink favourites. While the addition of aspartame and other sugar substitutes has garnered extreme controversy over the years, there’s still overwhelming scientific evidence indicating that aspartame is harmless, according to government recommendations.
But surfing the Internet seems to reveal a different story. Much of this can be blamed on “Dr.” Betty Martini, founder of Mission Possible World Health International, an organization trying to cut out aspartame use. Martini claims that this “toxic” substance can …

CHICAGO/WASHINGTON, Oct 14 (Reuters) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned Procter & Gamble Co (PG.N) on Wednesday that its Vicks DayQuil and NyQuil products with vitamin C have false and misleading labeling, and P&G said it would work with the agency to resolve its concerns.
The FDA’s list of approved ingredients for over-the-counter cold-cough drug products does not allow for a combination of vitamin C with the other active ingredients in the two products, the agency said in a warning letter.
The FDA also said that the products are misbranded …

Food safety has been in the news recently, and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who sits on the Senate Agriculture Committee, has a plan to improve food inspections, recall response and public education.
Gillibrand said she is calling for:
Improving testing of ground beef
Improving regulation of all other food, with a focus on prevention, more oversight and higher quality lab testing
Increasing FDA resources
Improving the safety of imported food
Making recalls of contaminated food mandatory
Improving public education
“In America, in 2009, it is unconscionable that food is still going straight to our kitchens, school cafeterias and restaurants …

BOSTON–(Business Wire)–
Kyodo Public Relations Co., Ltd. held a series of events in Boston, on Friday,
September 25th under the theme “Quality First: Genuine Japanese Ingredients for
American Kitchens” (http://www.kyodo-pr.co.jp/qualityfirst/). The events were
sponsored by MAFF (Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan).
The series showcased an assortment of Japanese organic and natural ingredients,
including burdock, lotus root and yuzu juice.
The day began with a seminar by Charlie Shimojo, president of Shimojo NY News,
about the differences between the US and Japanese food retail industries,
followed by a seminar with Hitoshi Tanaka, president of Central Trading Co.,
Ltd. …

For centuries, people have enhanced their foods with various flavorings, preservatives, and dyes. But some ingredients on today’s food labels can be downright scary. Few foods reach today’s supermarkets free of additives – substances that do not occur naturally in a food but are added for various reasons. These include preservatives to prevent spoilage; emulsifiers to prevent water and fat from separating; thickeners; vitamins and minerals (either to replace nutrients lost in processing or to increase nutritional value); sweeteners (both natural and artificial), salt, flavorings to improve taste; and dyes …