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Food Contamination
Dioxin scare
Issue Date: Dec 15, 2004
a scare of dioxin contamination in animal feed has gripped the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, France and Spain. The Dutch farm ministry sealed off nearly 200 livestock farms recently after carcinogenic dioxin was detected in a potato feed product used in the country. About 96 of these farms were re-opened later after tests confirmed absence of contamination.
Poison in Indian food
Issue Date: Nov 30, 2004
Reports of high mercury content in us waters have alarmed American Indians in Minnesota, among the biggest fish consumers. According to a recent report based on us Environmental Protection Agency data, 44 states, including Minnesota, have high levels of mercury in their waters. Earlier this year, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency also said that around 1,900 lakes and streams in the state were "impaired".
Japan no more 'mad' at US cows
Issue Date: Nov 15, 2004
Japan might ease its total ban on us beef. It is considering granting an exemption to us cows aged 20 months or younger from testing for mad cow disease before shipping. The proposal was recently submitted by Japan's agriculture and health ministries to the government's Food Safety Commission for approval. Tokyo has been insisting on blanket testing following the detection of the first case of mad cow disease in the us in December 2003.
Cocooned in secrecy
Issue Date: Oct 31, 2004
Mexico Greenpeace Threat
Heavy metal
Issue Date: Aug 31, 2004
Panic waves swept across the island nation when it was learnt that a consignment of contaminated corn from China had found its way into various food products. The corn, which contained more than 100 times the safe level of lead, was imported in October. It was then milled before being used in products such as baby foods, soups, batters and baking goods.
Lethal cocktail
Issue Date: Jul 15, 2004
Health authorities in the Chinese city of Guiyang are recalling nearly 9,000 bags of milk powder. In early June, over 150 children in the southwestern province of Guizhou were poisoned by the product. Tests showed that it contained golden staphylococcus toxin, which causes heart fever, and even death.
Red alert
Issue Date: Jun 15, 2004
The 'red tide', a densely populated algal bloom, is floating off the coast of China's eastern Yangtze river delta. It is threatening to contaminate seafood in Shanghai and a warning to the effect has been sounded to the residents by the media. The fishing industry in the Zhoushan Island region of the country's Zhejiang province has been warned that crabs, clams and other shellfish caught in the area could be harmful to the health of consumers.
Egg-knock
Issue Date: May 15, 2004
The Soil Association (sa), an organic farming group, has found that up to 20 million eggs sold in the uk each week could contain traces of a potentially dangerous drug. In tests, nearly one in eight egg samples contained residues of the antibiotic lasalocid, harmful to people with heart ailments. Lasalocid is usually added to chicken feed as a preventive for gut infections. It is not meant to be fed to laying hens.
Dangerous delicacy
Issue Date: Apr 30, 2004
Hazardous levels of colouring agents in the uk's favourite dish, chicken tikka masala, have caused a stir among health officials. Trading Standard Institute, a consumer protection unit, took 102 random samples of the food item from Indian restaurants in the uk. Of these, only 44 contained the substance within permissible limits.
No Entry
Issue Date: Nov 30, 2003
William L Jordan, senior policy advisor with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (usepa) said that 'people want transparency and participation'. Everyone in the Napoleon-I hall of Le Meridian hotel in New Delhi nodded. Jordan was speaking during the 'Symposium on Risk Assessment of Pesticide Residues in Water and Food' organised by The International Life Sciences Institute (ilsi)-India.
