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Antibiotic-resistant Bacteria Sickened 167, Hospitalized 47 in 2011

March 18, 2012 Comments off

Antibiotic-resistant Bacteria Sickened 167, Hospitalized 47 in 2011
Source: Center for Science in the Public Interest

Rampant use of antibiotics in animal agriculture means foodborne illnesses are likely to become longer, more serious, and harder to treat, according to the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest.

In three major outbreaks of antibiotic-resistant foodborne illness in 2011, 167 Americans became sick, 47 were hospitalized, and one died, according to a white paper released by the group today. Two of those outbreaks were connected to ground turkey, one contaminated with Salmonella Hadar and one with Salmonella Heidelberg, and one outbreak was connected to ground beef contaminated with Salmonella Typhimurium. All of those bacteria were resistant to treatment from several antibiotics that are critically important to human medicine, including drugs in the penicillin, cephalosporin, and tetracycline families.

+ White Paper (PDF)

Categories: Center for Science in the Public Interest, food and agriculture, foodborne illness, public health

What’s all the fuss about green tea?

August 5, 2011 Comments off

What’s all the fuss about green tea? (PDF)
Source: Center for Science in the Public Interest

Green tea is hot. You can buy a bottled green tea beverage just about anywhere these days. And food manufacturers are adding green tea or its extracts to everything from coffee (one Eight O’Clock coffee blend has compounds from green tea “gently infused” into its beans) to juice drinks (V8 V-Fusion contains “the natural goodness of green tea”).

How good is the evidence that green tea is good for your health? Studies in laboratory animals are impressive, but compelling evidence in humans has been hard to come by.

Categories: alternative medicine, Center for Science in the Public Interest, consumer issues, food and agriculture, health and health care

Eating is Xtreme as Ever at America’s Chains

July 22, 2011 Comments off

Eating is Xtreme as Ever at America’s Chains
Source: Center for Science in the Public Interest

If this year’s winners of the Xtreme Eating Awards are any indication, the overfeeding of America seems likely to continue unabated at the nation’s chain restaurants. The dishonorees, unveiled in the current edition of the Center for Science in the Public Interest’s Nutrition Action Healthletter, include burgers topped with pork belly and fried eggs, meatballs stuffed with provolone, and grilled cheese sandwiches stuffed with deep-fried mozzarella sticks.

“If Americans are feeling a little more full when lumbering out of The Cheesecake Factory, Applebee’s, Denny’s, and other chains, it’s not in their heads,” said CSPI nutrition director Bonnie Liebman. “It’s as if the restaurants were targeting the remaining one out of three Americans who are still normal weight in order to boost their risk of obesity, diabetes, heart attacks, and cancer.”

One chain, Applebee’s, is openly bragging about its new “stacked, stuffed, and topped” menu. But that’s hardly the only chain stacking, stuffing, or topping already high-calorie menu items with high-cal add-ons. To put the following numbers into context, consider that a typical eater should limit themselves to about 2,000 calories, 20 grams of saturated fat, and 1,500 milligrams of sodium per day.

+ Xtreme Eating 2011 (PDF)

Categories: Center for Science in the Public Interest, food and agriculture, lists and rankings, obesity
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