(07-13) 04:00 PDT Washington — Dick Peixoto planted hedges of fennel and flowering cilantro around his organic vegetable fields in the Pajaro Valley near Watsonville to harbor beneficial insects, an alternative to pesticides.
He has since ripped out such plants in the name of food safety, because his big customers demand sterile buffers around his crops. No vegetation. No water. No wildlife of any kind.
“I was driving by a field where a squirrel fed off the end of the field, and so 30 feet in we had to destroy the crop,” …

MUMBAI/DELHI: Indian subsidiaries of global food and beverage companies such as Unilever, Kellogg, Coca-Cola , PepsiCo and ConAgra are planning to 
adopt common nutritional labelling standards to address growing health awareness and concerns about obesity.
The move, aimed at pre-empting the integrated foods law that is expected by the year-end, is in line with the strategy adopted by their parent companies at the global level.
Hindustan Unilever (HUL) has already initiated the move for brands such as Kissan, Knorr and Annapurna . Others such as Kellogg, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo are evaluating their options …

Increasing concern for the safety of ingredients in cosmetics has brought some widely used cosmetic preservatives by the family name ‘paraben’ to center stage. Paraben preservatives are listed under multiple names and are used to preserve the majority of cosmetics on the market today, not only to prevent the growth of bacteria and fungi but also to promote the abnormally long shelf-life of products.
As with chemically preserved foods, paraben preserved cosmetics ensure that the cosmetic manufacturer can produce the product en masse and take comfort in a multi-year shelf life. …

Recent blog posts and news articles have posted a quote from Shelley Case, stating that according to a Canadian Celiac Association study, blue cheese (or bleu cheese) is gluten-free. It is important to look more in-depth at the study that she was referring to, what it means, and exactly how the tests were conducted.
To make blue cheese, cheese makers place cultured mold into tiny holes in a round of cheese. Historically, blue cheese was made using bread as the base to grow the mold. It is the mold that grows …

At first it may seem only right for Dean Foods Co., the nation’s largest organic dairy producer, to roll out a line of yogurts and milk marketed as “natural.” But Dean’s announcement last week alarmed advocates of organic food, who say the burgeoning market for less-expensive “natural” foods reaps billions from consumers while guaranteeing little or nothing in exchange.
Certified organic food products are regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and are produced by farmers and manufacturers under a strict set of rules. But the agency defines the term “natural” …

The term “cottage” originally referred to the family cottage (home) familiar to most rural communities; and described as a source of pleasure, family bonding, and individual rest and relaxation. When we refer to the “Cottage law” we are addressing legal tools employed by a state government to establish a legal arrangement for low risk food production prepared at a home residence.
A “Cottage Food Production Operation” involves a person using their own kitchen facility to produce food items that are not potentially hazardous, including bakery products, jams, jellies, candy, dry mixes, …

Vegetarian diets can help combat cancer, according to a new study by Cancer Research UK.
Research published in the British Journal Of Cancer this month found those who adhere to a strict meat-free diet are 45 per cent less likely to develop certain forms of the disease.
Scientists monitored 61,000 people over 12 years and found that vegetarians were 12 per cent less likely to develop cancer of all types than their meat-eating counterparts. And when it came to cancers of the blood – including leukaemia, myeloma and lymphoma – the vegetarians’ …

Want to look better and feel better? What if you could avoid just 10 food ingredients and make a huge improvement in your health.
Paula Owens the author of “The Power of 4” says avoiding these 10 things will change your body dramatically. Owens has a master’s degree in holistic nutrition and a bachelors degree in kinesiology.
She explains what ingredients to avoid and how your body will benefit if you avoid them.
1. HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP: HFCS is the number one source of calories for most Americans and causes obesity.
You’ll find …

Several  additives, coloring materials, vitamins, inorganic salts, antibiotics and plant fibers are added to foods and beverages in order to enhance the taste, palatability, texture and shelf life of these.
 However, in many cases, these additives are regarded as safe compounds, though their adverse reactions seem to be very rare in the general population (0.01-0.23%) but higher in atopic individuals (2-7%).  Probably because of the difficulty in diagnosis, most of the available information is based on case reports or small series.  Reported reactions are mostly mild and may affect the skin, …

Anything that doesn’t occur naturally in a particular food is considered an additive. Many of these substances occur naturally in one food but become additives when used in the manufacture of another food. You might find sodium propionate in the list of ingredients in a loaf of bread, but if you buy Swiss cheese, you’ll be eating ten times as much sodium propionate. It won’t be listed on the label, because it is a natural component of the cheese.
Why are additives put in food?
They have a variety of functions. Additives …