Washington, D.C.-based Center for Science in the Public Interest filed a petition Wednesday asking that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ban two types of carcinogenic chemicals often labeled as “caramel coloring,” most often on products like Coca-Cola, Pepsi and other dark-colored colas.

According to CSPI, the artificial brown coloring is made by reacting sugars with ammonia and sulfites under high pressure and temperatures and those reactions “result in the formation of 2-methylimidazole and 4 methylimidazole, which in government-conducted studies caused lung, liver, or thyroid cancer or leukemia in laboratory mice or rats.”

CSPI referred to a National Institutes of Health National Toxicology Program study that found “clear evidence” that both 2-MI and 4 MI are animal carcinogens. The state of California also recently added 4 MI to its list of “chemicals known to the state to cause cancer.” If the state goes forward with regulation, Coke, Pepsi and other soft drinks would be required to sport a cancer warning label, according to the group.

“Carcinogenic colorings have no place in the food supply, especially considering that their only function is a cosmetic one,” said CSPI executive director Michael F. Jacobson. “The FDA should act quickly to revoke its approval of caramel colorings made with ammonia.”

Caramel III, a type of coloring produced with ammonia, but not sulfites, used to make certain types of beer, soy sauce, and other dark brown foods, is also being targeted by CSPI.

The trade group representing America’s food makers, the Grocery Manufacturers Association issued a statement in response to the petition Wednesday denying CSPI’s claims.

“Ensuring the safety of our products – and maintaining the confidence of consumers – is the single most important goal of our industry.  Product safety is the foundation of consumer trust, and our industry devotes enormous resources to ensure that our products are safe.  Our companies continuously review and monitor all emerging science and scientific studies and incorporate these as warranted into our manufacturing practices to help ensure that we are always producing the safest possible product for our consumers,” read the statement.
 
“4-MEI is found in trace amounts in a wide variety of foods and beverages,” continued GMA. “There is no evidence that 4-MEI causes cancer or poses any other health risks to humans.  In addition, no health regulatory agency around the globe, including the FDA, has said that 4-MEI is a known human carcinogen.”

United Nations food agencies are assessing whether to begin an emergency operation in North Korea to help millions of people at risk of hunger, according to an Agence France-Presse report.
North Korea made the formal request, Radio Australia News reported. The country has been hit hard by a harsh winter, the increase in global food prices and an outbreak of contagious foot-and-mouth disease that has caused the destruction of thousands of animals.
The World Food Programme (WFP) says the assessment will continue until March 6 to determine whether an emergency operation should be launched in April. 
The UN aid agency, one of the largest food buyers in the world, has delivered food to the victims of flooding in Pakistan, the earthquake in Haiti and the drought in the Sahel region of Africa.
The last WFP operation in North Korea, from September 2008 to November 2009, was the UN agency’s biggest international operation.

As part of an initiative to improve food safety practices in retail and foodservice establishments, FDA has developed a poster and flyer designed to raise awareness of sanitation concerns with commercial deli slicers commonly used to cut meats, cheeses and produce in food stores, delis and restaurants.
The poster, targeted to operators of food establishments and their front line food employees, is suitable for posting near deli slicers, and explains the importance of proper maintenance and highlights examples of hard-to-clean problem areas.
The flyer, targeted to food safety professionals, offers tips to ensure deli slicers are being properly cleaned and maintained and when slicers should be removed from service until repaired or replaced.
If deli slicers are not properly cleaned and sanitized on a regular basis, food soils and disease-causing microorganisms can accumulate and result in food contamination. These machines have a long life in retail and foodservice establishments, and over time may become difficult or impossible to properly clean and sanitize.  Routine professional maintenance of all deli slicers is critical to preventing the equipment from becoming a significant food safety hazard.  
Outbreaks of foodborne illness resulting in serious illnesses and hospitalizations have been linked to food that has become contaminated during contact with deli slicers. FDA is working with stakeholders to develop new minimum standards for the design and construction of deli slicers and to ensure that proper cleaning and maintenance instructions are provided with each machine.
FDA encourages consumers to ask store and restaurant management about the procedures they follow to ensure their deli slicers are properly cleaned and maintained.   
The new poster and flyer are available in both English and Spanish at no charge and can be ordered at: http://www.fda.gov/downloads/Food/ResourcesForYou/UCM222258.pdf
For orders greater than 500, contact Shirley Turpin at shirley.turpin@fda.hhs.gov.
The documents can also be downloaded from the web at:
AssistanceandTrainingResources/ucm240554.htm”>http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/RetailFoodProtection/IndustryandRegulatory 
AssistanceandTrainingResources/ucm240554.htm”>AssistanceandTrainingResources/ucm240554.htm  

The frontier in the fight against childhood obesity should be pushed back to toddlers and preschoolers, a new study suggests. The researchers found that kids ages 3-5 already have developed a taste for sugary, fatty, and salty foods, and easily recognize the brands that offer these options.

The university researchers found that very young children, once exposed to foods with high sugar, fat and salt contents, develop a palate for those foods, which are usually higher in flavor than their healthier alternatives, but are also the foods most closely linked to childhood obesity.

The study was comprised of two experiments. In the first, 67 children and their parents were asked a series of questions about what foods the children liked. Foods with added flavor, such as chips, ketchup and chocolate milk, were favorites among the children, and parent responses confirmed their children’s affinity for foods with high amounts of sugar, salt and fat.

 
The second experiment examined whether marketing affects children’s preferences for unhealthy foods. One hundred eight children were shown pictures of fast food and soda, and asked to determine whether the product was made by Brand A, Brand B, or not offered in fast food stores. The study found that children who were able to match the most foods and drinks with their brands were also those whose parents reported their children as having the strongest preference for sugary, fatty and salty foods.

In other words, children exposed to fast foods and soda were more likely to favor these flavors over others.

All of the 3-5-year-olds were able to match some foods with the brands that serve them, and some turned out to be experts.

“It’s amazing to sit down a 3½ or 4-year-old and have them get 90 percent right,” says Dr. Bettina Cornwell, a marketing professor at the University of Oregon and co-author of the study.

Cornwell explains that, in a vicious cycle, marketers want to promote foods that appeal the most to consumers. Consumers choose more flavorful foods over their blander competitors, but these foods rely on sugar, fat or salt to achieve a bigger flavor pop.  As people buy more of these unhealthy products, their palate for sugary, fatty and salty foods increases, which creates further incentive for marketers to push them.

“They’re in a war against each other of being more flavorful, more extreme,” she says.

The study reports that children partial to these more flavorful foods are also more likely to add extra flavors, such as condiments or salt, to existing food to get an even bigger “flavor hit.”

Cornwell says the study’s biggest implication is that the fight against childhood obesity needs to start at a young age, and start at home.

“If we want to influence the obesity epidemic, we have to start earlier. If we wait until school age, a child’s palate is probably developed,” she says. She explains that once children arrive in a new environment like school, they will choose what they know and like. If they prefer sugary, fatty and salty foods, they’ll be likely to ignore the salad bar altogether.

The study suggests reducing kids’ exposure to unhealthy foods so that they don’t develop a taste for big flavor kicks. Cornwell says the rule to remember is “repeated exposure leads to preference formation,” so the goal is to eliminate opportunities for exposure.

The study recommends putting foods high in sugar, fat or salt out of sight of young children. “Little kids are great about that kind of stuff,” Cornwell says. “Out of sight out of mind.” The same principle applies to food advertising. The less kids see ads for foods, the less they’ll demand those foods.

Not sure where to draw the line on what you let your kid eat or watch? Cornwell has some novel advice: “Interview them.” Ask your own child what makes them want to eat certain foods. “They’ll tell you all about it,” she says.

The study was conducted by Cornwell and Anna McAlister, a professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. An early version was released in the journal Appetite. The final version is due to be released in print soon.