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China-Biotics enters agreement with US based nutritional product company

China-Biotics, Inc., the leading developer, manufacturer and distributor of probiotics products in China, today announced that the Company has entered into an agreement with a US based nutritional product company.

18 Mar 2011

Greenwich lecturer's book can serve as blueprint for next generation gymnastics

A University of Greenwich lecturer's book could be the blueprint to produce a generation of super gymnasts.

18 Mar 2011

British pie, mash and gravy meals too salty: Heart health experts

A new study by Consensus Action on Salt and Health (CASH) in the UK that looked at 526 pie, mash and gravy meals and products, found some meals to be extremely high in salt. A chicken and mushroom pie with chips or mash, gravy and peas from pub chain Wetherspoons contained an alarming 7.5g of salt, well over the daily maximum recommendation of 6g a day. All the pie and mash pub meals looked at contained more than 3g, half the daily maximum, the report said. The survey, conducted by YouGov, found that the mashed potato and gravy could significantly increase the salt content of a meal. According to CASH, while good progress has been made by supermarkets in cutting salt levels in pies, there are still too many products containing unnecessary quantities of salt.

17 Mar 2011

Hopkins experts: Taking potassium iodide could be harmful

The Johns Hopkins Office of Critical Event Preparedness and Response (CEPAR) is advising that people in the United States should not take potassium iodide as a preventive medication for possible radiation fallout from Japan's evolving nuclear plant crisis.

17 Mar 2011

FAO head highlights food security concerns, need for more agriculture investment

Rising oil prices and the recent drawdown in global cereal stocks could lead to a supply crisis and raise the risk of food riots in developing countries similar to those that occurred between 2007 and 2008, U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization Director General Jacques Diouf said in an interview with Reuters on Monday.

17 Mar 2011

Experts advise against taking unnecessary potassium iodide

There is a mad rush to the stores to pick up potassium iodide supplements to guard against radiation exposure wafting over to the U.S. from Japan, an unlikely event according to experts. This is despite health officials’ warnings that these supplements are pointless and could cause adverse side effects.

16 Mar 2011

Bits of plastic in Lean Cuisine meals bring recall

The recall notice was issued Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and affects about 10,260 pounds of frozen spaghetti and meatballs. Food maker Nestle, in its statement, says the affected packages were produced in October. The health risk associated with this recall is low, the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service explained. If the product is consumed, there is only a remote probability of adverse health consequences.

15 Mar 2011

Emergency responders, insurers, communicators must factor overconfidence into disaster preparations

Past random good fortune can lull a person into a sense of security when it comes to buying flood insurance or deciding whether to evacuate from a hurricane, according to new research. Studies of both professional risk experts and the general public showed people who had experienced a “near-miss” event related to flooding or a potential hurricane, instead of taking extra precautions when faced with possible future disasters, actually behave less protectively.

15 Mar 2011

U.S., S. Korea in talks over how to respond to food aid request by N. Korea

The U.S. continues to evaluate whether to resume food aid to North Korea amid reports of food shortages in the country, Agence France-Presse reports.

15 Mar 2011

Budget cuts could damage Obama administration's plans to beef up State Department, USAID

Due to Congress' proposals to cut spending for the State Department, the Obama administration is increasingly looking toward new funding mechanisms, referred to as blended funds, that pull from Defense Department budgets for activities in Iraq and Afghanistan, CQ reports.

15 Mar 2011

Radiation exposure explained

Amidst threat of major nuclear accident in Japan, people are in a state of panic worldwide said Jerrold Bushberg, a medical physicist at UC Davis. Bushberg said Americans do not have a good knowledge of the science of radiation and tend to over-exaggerate the risks.

14 Mar 2011

New book on toxins

Toxins are a burning issue. A straightforward guide to a closer understanding of toxins in our daily lives is published by Wiley. The Dose Makes the Poison: A Plain-Language Guide to Toxicology, 3rd Edition cuts through the fear generated by the media, which leads to a distortion in many people's conceptions of toxins and chemicals.

14 Mar 2011

Home genetic tests need medical supervision: Expert panel

According to an advisory panel to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, genetic tests sold directly to consumers that might help to predict health risks may need to be supplied through doctors. An official, Alberto Gutierrez, director of the FDA office that regulates diagnostic screening tools reported that the Molecular and Clinical Genetics Advisory Panel concluded two days of hearings on the increasingly popular tests and had come to this resolution.

14 Mar 2011

Red Cross responds to the worst earthquake in Japan's history

The Red Cross is responding to a powerful 8.9 magnitude earthquake that struck Japan overnight. The earthquake, the worst in Japan's history, has triggered a tsunami warning across 20 countries along the Pacific coast.

11 Mar 2011

Study: Dog-walking can help increase physical activity in adults

Man's best friend may provide more than just faithful companionship: A new study led by a Michigan State University researcher shows people who owned and walked their dogs were 34 percent more likely to meet federal benchmarks on physical activity.

11 Mar 2011

GSK announces new NovaMin-containing dental formulation for sensitive teeth

This year, for the first time, millions of Americans will be protecting their sensitive teeth with NovaMin in everyday dental products. Co-inventor Gary Hack, DDS, couldn't be happier.

11 Mar 2011

Opinions: Cuts to U.S. foreign aid; sustainable agriculture to feed the world; gender gap in agriculture

The U.S.' "influence and strength depend far more on convincing and enabling the peoples of the world to look to us as a partner for prosperity and security," Truman National Security Project Fellow Michael Lieberman writes in a Huffington Post opinion piece reflecting on House Republican's continuing resolution proposal to reduce foreign aid spending.

10 Mar 2011

Future Medicine launches Neuropsychiatry

Future Medicine Ltd has today announced the launch of Neuropsychiatry – a new bimonthly title addressing all the latest trends in the field, from R&D through to clinical application and management, presenting research, findings, analysis and commentaries from experts around the world. Neuropsychiatry is published by Future Medicine Ltd (UK, London) renowned for its collection of journals providing healthcare practitioners and research professionals with a unique source of objective, cutting-edge information on exciting trends emerging in light of advances in medicine, healthcare and clinical practice.

10 Mar 2011

USDA certifies O.N.E. Organic Coconut Water as 100% organic

O.N.E., One Natural Experience, a leading producer of all-natural healthy Coconut Water beverages, announced today that it is the first and only mainstay premium coconut water brand to be certified 100% organic for its 11.2 oz. and 1 liter pure Coconut Water offerings.

10 Mar 2011

Ecological farming methods can boost food production in developing countries, U.N. report says

If developing nations shift to using ecological agriculture methods, which rely more on organic and sustainable practices rather than the use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers, they "can double food production within a decade," according to a study by Olivier De Schutter, the U.N. special rapporteur on the right to food, released on Tuesday, Reuters reports.

10 Mar 2011