Garden of Healing Articles

FDA will not require labeling of genetically engineered animals that are sold as food

Posted in News | Friday, September 19th, 2008 | Comments Off

GENETIC ENGINEERING

FDA will not require labeling of genetically engineered animals that are sold as food

SOURCE: http://www.consumersunion.org/pub/core_food_safety/006137.html

September 18, 2008

Statement of Consumers Union

Consumers Union finds it “incomprehensible” that the FDA will not require labeling of genetically engineered animals that are sold as food. Genetically engineered animals may contain genetic material from entirely different species. For example mouse genes have been put into pigs to help them metabolize phosphorous more efficiently, and spider genes have been put into goats so that they produce spider silk in their milk.

FDA proposed today that they will only review genetically engineered animals for their safety as food, and will not require any labeling. “It is incomprehensible to us that FDA does not view these animals as different from their conventional counterparts, and therefore something that under law is required to be labeled,” stated Jean Halloran, Director of Food Policy Initiatives at Consumers Union, nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports. “In our view, consumers have a right to know if the ham, bacon or pork chops they are buying come from pigs that have been engineered with mouse genes.”

Consumers Union is also concerned that cows engineered to produce antibiotics in their milk, which can help the cow avoid udder infections, also will not be labeled. “Unlike conventional antibiotics, which must be cleared from the cow before it can be used to produce milk or meat, the antibiotic that is genetically engineered into the animal will always be present. We are concerned both about the potential safety and lack of labeling on such food products,” stated Michael Hansen, Ph.D., Senior Scientist at Consumers Union.

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SOURCE: http://www.consumersunion.org/pub/core_food_safety/006137.html

Consumers Union Contacts:

Jean Halloran, (914) 378-2457 and/or Dr. Michael Hansen, (917) 774-3801

T. Denny Sanford Donates $30 Million to San Diego Consortium for Regenerative Medicine

Posted in News | Tuesday, September 16th, 2008 | Comments Off

STEM CELLS

T. Denny Sanford Donates $30 Million to San Diego Consortium for Regenerative Medicine

Consortium of Four Research Institutions to be Renamed Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine

SOURCE: http://www.burnham.org/default.asp?contentID=615

September 16, 2008

The San Diego Consortium for Regenerative Medicine today announced that it has received a generous $30 million donation from T. Denny Sanford of South Dakota.

In recognition of the donation, the Consortium is now known as the Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine. The funds provided by Sanford, combined with a $43 million major facilities grant awarded by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) earlier this year, will be used to build and equip a facility where scientists from the Consortium’s four member institutions can collaborate on world-class stem cell research

“The fact that Denny Sanford chose to make such a substantial donation to the Sanford Consortium speaks volumes about the quality research that scientists from our four member institutions bring to the table,” said Edward Holmes, M.D., SDCRM’s President and CEO. “This facility will allow for faster and smarter research to take place by providing a venue for collaboration.”

Sanford added, “I am excited to support this unique collaboration of four world class institutions. I believe that by working together these researchers will quickly bring forward novel scientific developments that ultimately help patients with limited or no treatment options today.”

The gift will be announced at a press conference to be held today at 10 a.m. PDT at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research in La Jolla, Calif.

The Sanford Consortium will be one of seven new stem cell research Institutes funded by CIRM to help build California’s global leadership in stem cell research and to accelerate the field as a whole.

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About T. Denny Sanford
A philanthropist from Sioux Falls, S.D., T. Denny Sanford is a philanthropist who donates significantly to health and science ventures. Through his own giving and the Denny Sanford Foundation, his charitable donations include $400 million to Sioux Valley Hospitals and Health Systems, now Sanford Health; $70 million to the state of South Dakota for the Sanford Science Center; and $20 million to the Burnham Institute for Medical Research in San Diego for the Sanford Children’s Health Research Center. Sanford has been listed on the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s list of top donors and BusinessWeek’s “50 Most Generous Philanthropists” list.

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SOURCE: http://www.burnham.org/default.asp?contentID=615

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About the Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine
Formed in 2005, the Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine is a nonprofit organization that marshals the intellectual resources of four world-leaders in life sciences research: the Burnham Institute for Medical Research, the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, The Scripps Research Institute and the University of California, San Diego. Using the collective strength of its members, the Consortium’s research program is focused on developing tools and technologies to hasten the pace of stem cell research progress and to discover and develop diagnostics, therapies and cures to relieve human suffering from chronic disease and injury. The Consortium was originally assembled as the San Diego Consortium for Regenerative Medicine, but renamed in September 2008 after a naming donation from T. Denny Sanford.

Ozone Gas suggested to Sanitize Leafy Greens

Posted in News | Friday, September 12th, 2008 | Comments Off

FOOD SAFETY

Ozone Gas suggested to Sanitize Leafy Greens

By Tracie Cone, Associated Press

SOURCE: http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20080912/news_1n12ecoli.html

September 12, 2008

MONTEREY – Ozone gas, commonly used to disinfect wine barrels, also could help the produce industry keep the nation’s salad clean.

Research on E. coli transmission released yesterday said ozone gas is faster and more effective than chlorinated water at sanitizing leafy greens. Scientists said it could be pumped into cooling vacuums where lettuce is stored after arriving from the fields.

“This is great, it’s really simple to do,” said Steve Scaroni, a grower and shipper who works in California and Mexico. “This could be the answer.”

Scaroni was among 300 food industry executives, growers and regulators who gathered in the Central California city of Monterey to learn the results of the $2 million research, funded by Fresh Express, in response to the 2006 E. coli outbreak in spinach. The outbreak killed three people, sickened 200 others and cost the leafy greens industry about $80 million.

Fresh Express wasn’t linked to the 2006 spinach recall but funded the studies to help the industry avoid another outbreak.

Among the research findings:

Contamination can spread during washing, cutting and the tumble drying of greens, and chlorinated water alone isn’t enough to kill the pathogens.

Some varieties of spinach with textured leaves have greater potential for harboring pathogens than smooth-leaf varieties.

E. coli can paralyze pore closures on spinach leaves and allow bacteria into the plant.

Even cooked compost used in organic operations can retain traces of live E. coli cells that can reconstitute under the right conditions.

Spinach and lettuce harvested on hotter days are more likely to create an environment for pathogen growth.

“I think one of the most important things these studies have shown is that temperature control is a key issue,” said Linda Harris of the University of California Davis. “Lower temperatures reduce the statistical probability (that harmful pathogens will develop).”

The research is the beginning in the industry’s effort to determine how E. coli is transmitted and how it reproduces in processed foods.

The exact source of the 2006 contamination wasn’t discovered, but scientists suspect cattle, feral pigs or other wildlife may have spread the E. coli by defecating near crops.

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SOURCE: http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20080912/news_1n12ecoli.html

Mediterranean Diet May Cut Diabetes Risk

Posted in Diabetes, News | Monday, June 16th, 2008 | Comments Off

EAT & BE WELL

Mediterranean Diet May Cut Diabetes Risk

By Nicholas Bakalar

Published: June 10, 2008

SOURCE: http://health.nytimes.com/pages/health/nutrition/index.html

Sticking to the Mediterranean diet — rich in olive oil, grains, fruits, nuts, vegetables and fish, and low in meats and dairy — may lower the risk for diabetes.

Scientists followed 13,380 healthy Spanish university graduates for an average of four and a half years, tracking their dietary habits and confirming new cases of diabetes through medical records. The study was published online May 29 in The British Medical Journal.

The researchers ranked the strictness of adherence to the diet on a 10-point scale, and found that those with the highest scores reduced their relative risk of diabetes by 83 percent compared with those with the lowest.

The authors acknowledge that the number of cases of diabetes they found was small, which limits the statistical power of the finding, and that the nutritional information is based on self-reporting, which is not always reliable.

Still, the large sample and the finding of a dose-response relationship between stricter adherence to the diet and lowered risk of diabetes give the study strength.

“There are good fats, like those in olive oil, that are quite healthful,” said Miguel A. Martínez-González, the lead author and a professor of epidemiology at the University of Navarra. “We have to change this belief that a low-fat diet is the key to good health.”

Swiss sit atop ranking of greenest nations

Posted in News | Tuesday, January 29th, 2008 | Comments Off

ENVIRONMENT

Swiss sit atop ranking of greenest nations

U.S. tumbles from 28th to 39th in Yale-Columbia environmental index

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22802081/wid/18298287/

MSNBC

Who’s the fairest of them all when it comes to environmental performance? A ranking released Wednesday by experts at Yale and Columbia universities lists Switzerland at the top, followed by the Scandinavian bloc (Sweden, Norway, Finland) and then Costa Rica.

For the complete story: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22802081/wid/18298287/

Kosher and Halal Multivitamins

Posted in News | Saturday, January 19th, 2008 | Comments Off

NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS

Kosher and Halal Multivitamins for Pregnant Women

By Mark Isaac Thyss, Garden of Healing®

January 19, 2008

Canadian firm receives Kosher and Halal certification for prenatal multivitamins.

Duchesnay, a Québec, Canada firm, is the first and only pharmaceutical company in Canada to receive Kosher certification from the Kashruth Council of Canada (COR) and Halal certification from the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) for its prescription prenatal multivitamins PregVit folic 5 and PregVit.

With this news, Jewish and Muslim women now have access to a family of prenatal vitamin and mineral supplements that comply with their religious beliefs and related food standards. Jewish and Muslim populations in Canada are approximately 350,000 and 1 million respectively.

Company spokesperson Christine Walter explained how the “very complex process” to produce PregVit folic 5 and PregVit took more than one year due to comply with standards. Every one of the two products’ ingredients had to reach exacting standards of food set by both religions.

To be certified Kosher and Halal, the 27 active and inactive ingredients of the formulas had to comply with the requirements of the Jewish and Muslim religious laws pertaining to food.

The ingredients contained in PregVit folic 5 and PregVit do not contain animal by-products from pork, bovine or chicken.

Manufacturing, packaging and handling processes meet certification standards, and the PregVit folic 5 and PregVit manufacturing site is subject to periodic inspections from the certification agencies.

In addition, to meet the needs of thousands of women with celiac disease or with lactose intolerance, PregVit folic 5 and PregVit do not contain gliadin-gluten, lactose or tartrazine.

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Search keywords: Kosher, Halal, multivitamins, pregnant women, Duchesnay, Québec, certification, Kashruth Council of Canada (COR), Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), prenatal, PregVit folic 5, PregVit, Jewish, Muslim, religions, animal by-products, pork, bovine, chicken, celiac disease, lactose intolerance, gliadin-gluten, lactose, tartrazine

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About Duchesnay: www.duchesnay.com

Based in Laval, Québec, Duchesnay is the first pharmaceutical company to dedicate itself exclusively to pregnant women and their newborns, to ensure that expecting women who require pharmacological treatments for pre-existing or pregnancy-related diseases have access to proper counselling and to medications that are proven safe for them and for their newborns.

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FDA will not require labeling of genetically engineered animals that are sold as food

T. Denny Sanford Donates $30 Million to San Diego Consortium for Regenerative Medicine

Ozone Gas suggested to Sanitize Leafy Greens

Mediterranean Diet May Cut Diabetes Risk

Swiss sit atop ranking of greenest nations

Kosher and Halal Multivitamins

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