April 24 – Following a request from the European Commission to the European Food Safety Authority, the Scientific Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources added to Food was asked to provide a scientific opinion on the safety of calcium phosphinate added for nutritional purposes as a source of calcium in food supplements and on the bioavailability of calcium from this source.
The present opinion deals only with the safety of calcium phosphinate as a source of calcium and the bioavailability of calcium from this source. The safety of calcium itself, …

The Irish Dairy Board, the commercial co-operative that exports Irish dairy produce, has reported a dip in turnover to just under €2.09 billion for 2008, down 7% on the previous year.
The board said that highly priced stock had a negative impact on profitability in the first half of the year, but the second half saw a major improvement from both the consumer and ingredients divisions. This resulted in a reduction in the full year operating surplus to €24.3m.
The Irish Dairy Board’s consumer foods division reported ‘a good year’. Its product …

The 41st Session of the Codex Committee on Food Additives (CCFA) was held in Shanghai, China on March 16–20, 2009. The committee was very productive with several documents moving forward for adoption by the 32nd Codex Alimentarius Commission including: food additive provisions for the General Standards for Food Additives (GSFA); amendments to the International Numbering System; and specifications for the Identity and Purity of Food Additives arising from the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) 68th meeting (i.e., 20 additives including carob bean and guar gum, phytosterols and …

What should one’s diet be during pregnancy? Although there always seems to be a shifting current when it comes to supplementation and foods of detriment, make sure you eat a substantial amount of healthy foods. If it’s made in a laboratory, I’d probably avoid it for your child’s sake. There is also an outline of what the balance should be for your macronutirents. So, more specifically, what foods should a soon-to-be mother eat in abundance and what foods should be avoided?
Foods that need to be avoided vary greatly. As mentioned …

Everyone’s heard the cliché “you are what you eat.” And, it’s true – your health is intimately connected to the foods and drinks you put in your mouth. But, have you ever stopped to consider what other impacts your food choices may have? Industrial farming practices can cause soil and water pollution. Over-packaged, single-size foods result in litter and plastic waste that will linger in landfills for hundreds of years. The average American meal travels 1,500 miles from farm to fork increasing air pollution and greenhouse gases. Human health is …

BEIJING — China said Tuesday that food safety monitoring had improved since it launched a nationwide drive in December against illegal additives.
The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (GAQSIQ), one of the departments that participated in the effort, said in a statement that it had taken steps including examining food producers and products and upgrading food-processing facilities to reduce risks.
 
Last December, nine departments including GAQSIQ and the ministries of Health, Industry and Information Technology, Public Security, Supervision, Agriculture and Commerce began the nationwide campaign.
The effort followed the melamine-adulterated …

The world is running out of oil and the evidence is mounting. The term most commonly used in the discussions surrounding first the ceiling in oil discoveries and now more recently the ceiling of oil production is Peak Oil. Peak Oil since the mid 1950s has been argued as theory but their are more convincing arguments than just $4 a gallon gasoline (last summer) that support what should now be deemed as fact. The chances of finding another large oil reserve fall dramatically each day. Another fact that augments this …

A widespread and silent killer that’s worse for your health than alcohol, nicotine and many drugs is likely lurking in your kitchen cabinets right now.[1] “It” is monosodium glutamate (MSG), a flavor enhancer that’s known widely as an addition to Chinese food, but that’s actually added to thousands of the foods you and your family regularly eat, especially if you are like most Americans and eat the majority of your food as processed foods or in restaurants.
MSG is one of the worst food additives on the market and is used …

With 300~500 times the sweetness of sugar, saccharin, which can’t be absorbed by human body and keeps stable in the production of food, has been approved for food use in over 100 countries. Owing to the safety concerns of saccharin used as food additive, the global demand for saccharin used as food additive has been decreasing in recent years.
As the 
largest saccharin supplier, China’s output of saccharin accounts for over 80%of the world’s total. In order to boost its sugar industry, Chinese government has restricted the domestic production and sales of …

(NaturalNews) Salt is currently considered a leading culprit for high blood pressure and other health problems. This is based on the premise that a high sodium intake creates high blood pressure, which can lead to heart attacks, arterial, and kidney problems. Salt is high in sodium. But sodium is essential for proper absorption of other major nutrients and functioning of nerves and muscles, as well as being necessary for balancing water and minerals in the body.
Lately there have been studies that strongly question the research on sodium hazards, as well …