Food & Nutrition News Clips

• The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued a warning to consumers that certain dietary products containing plantain may be contaminated with Digitalis, a plant with powerful heart stimulants. Products that typically contain plantain are certain herbal laxatives, poultices and a few teas, including bulk teas. Consumers who have purchased such plantain-containing items should check with their stores to see if the products came from the contaminated source.
• Although milk is one of the most frequently allergenic foods, milk sugar (lactose) has always been considered benign. Because of this, it is often used as an additive in nutritional supplements, foods and medications. New research now indicates that milk sugar is, in fact, allergenic, and some individuals who react adversely to certain supplements or drugs may be reacting to the milk sugar they contain.
• Meat processors subject their products to enzymes, chemicals, blades and electrical pulses in order to achieve a tender texture. However, now, scientists at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and a company called Hydrodyne have come up with a more ingenious method to soften up meat—an explosive charge that tears the meat fibers. The technique has the added benefit of killing any microbial bystanders lurking in the flesh. [Editor: Irradiating, chemicalizing, genetically modifying, hydrogenating, medicating, microwaving, refining, artificializing and now exploding—what else can they do to food to make it unhealthy?]

Based on information in: FDA Consumer, Sept/Oct 1997; Townsend Letter for Doctors & Patients, Dec 1997; Business Week, 10-20-97