This Week in Food (The ‘Anal leakage or love handles?’ edition)
Saturday, January 28th, 2006
Ladies and gents, I present to you, the second in an ongoing series: This Week in Food (The ‘Anal leakage or love handles?’ edition). Commentary follows select excerpts, which are highlighted by the gray blockquotes.
From tasty to toasty: Used cooking oil heats a diner [The Boston Globe, 1/21/06]
The owner of Deluxe Town Diner found a way to slash his fuel bill for heating and hot water to $0 during some weeks this winter: a new system that runs on the 30 or 40 gallons of vegetable oil he uses every week for cooking fries, plus oil he collects from a nearby pizzeria and a pair of Chinese restaurants.
While hundreds of Boston-area restaurants sell or give their used cooking oil to companies that reprocess it into motor and heating fuel, Levy is one of the few who has cut out the middleman and become his own heating supplier. Besides curbing heating costs, Levy is also saving the $100 or more he used to pay a sanitation company to haul away used oil every month.
FDA Panel Recommends OTC Weight-Loss Pill [The Associated Press, 1/23/06]
A joint FDA advisory committee voted 11-3 to recommend approval late Monday following a daylong hearing. The agency usually follows the recommendations of its outside panels of experts, but its final decision could take months. If approved, orlistat would be the first weight-loss drug sanctioned for over-the-counter sales. Roche will continue selling Xenical regardless.
When taken with meals, orlistat blocks the absorption of about one-quarter of any fat consumed. That fat – the equivalent of about 150 to 200 calories – is passed out of the body in stools, which can be loose or oily as a result. Other side effects include gas, incontinence and oily spotting. About half of patients in trials experienced such side effects, the company said.
The best part: the pill’s effects wear off once the patient stops taking it – and it’s only meant to be taken for six months at a time. Temporary, modest weight loss hardly seems worth a 50% chance of “anal leakage.” Even so, GlaxoSmithKline estimates that between 5 and 6 million Americans are willing to gamble with their health to drop a mere 5.3 to 6.2 pounds.
Whatever happened to a sensible diet and regular exercise?
McDonald’s global sales top $20bn [BBC News, 1/24/06]
Fast food giant McDonald’s has seen its global sales top $20bn (£11bn) for the first time in the company’s history.
Full-year revenue rose 7% in 2005, boosted by strong sales in the US and a turnaround in its fortunes in Europe.
McDonald’s: proudly exporting obesity since 1967.
Fish Oil May Not Help Prevent Cancer [The Associated Press, 1/24/06]
Fish oil, seen as beneficial for reducing heart disease risks, probably doesn’t help prevent cancer, according to a review of studies involving more than 700,000 patients.
“It doesn’t mean that omega-3 fatty acids don’t have other health benefits — it’s just that reducing cancer risk isn’t one of them.”
Drink firms tackle child obesity [BBC News, 1/25/06]
Global drinks firms, including Coca-Cola and Cadbury Schweppes, have unveiled a European initiative aimed at tackling the problem of obese children.
Unesda, the Union of European Beverages Associations, said it would limit youth advertising, control sales in schools and improve nutritional labels.
It also pledged a wide range of drinks, including sugar-free and low-calorie, in container sizes that limit intake.
I wonder if they have a similar initiative planned for their US consumers? Or perhaps we just aren’t complaining quite as loudly as our European counterparts?
W.Va. Schools Get Game to Fight Obesity [The Associated Press, 1/25/06]
West Virginia, which has one of the nation’s worst obesity problems, is expanding a project that uses a video game to boost students’ physical activity.
All of the state’s 157 middle schools are expecting to get the video game “Dance Dance Revolution,” and officials hope to put it in all 753 public schools within three years. A pilot project began in 20 schools last spring.
I ♥ video games.
A good-eating trend that’s damaging to the environment [North Jersey.com, 1/25/06]
Food manufacturers seeking to replace partially hydrogenated or trans fats are increasingly using palm oil. It is fast becoming the key ingredient in shortenings, baked goods, candies and deep-fried snack foods.
Manufacturers use palm oil because of its low cost, stability at high temperatures, mild flavor and long shelf life. The oil is produced from palm trees grown on plantations, largely in Malaysia and Indonesia. To make room for expansion in those lands, as well in other palm oil-producing countries, landowners clear forests — a process devastating to wildlife as well as to indigenous people being forced from their ancestral lands.
Sigh. What’s a health-conscious environmentalist to do!?
Fruit and veg ‘cut stroke risk’ [BBC News, 1/27/06]
Eating more than the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables a day can cut risk of stroke, a study says.
Lead researcher Dr Feng He said a diet including lots of fruit and vegetables was also likely to further reduce the risk of other forms of cardiovascular disease, and some cancers.
What, You Got a Problem Paying $102.13 for 2 Tomatoes? [The NY Times, 1/28/06]
Three times in the last three months, Mr. Hinde says, he was overcharged at the grocery. In the first instance, it was an extra $1 on an $8.95 bottle of olive oil. In the second, a “buy one, get one free” discount for caramel dip did not show up. And, in the third, he was charged $102.13 for two tomatoes, bringing the bill to $180, well over what he would typically spend on groceries.
Surveys indicate that consumers lose $1 billion to $2.5 billion each year because of scanner pricing errors. While many states and municipalities have enforcement officers who go to stores to check the accuracy between stated prices and what rings up at the register, it’s up to consumers — whether eating in a restaurant, buying groceries or items at drug stores — to reconcile receipts as soon as they get them.
The only thing worse than paying for “hell food” is overpaying for it!
Ladies and gents, I present to you, the second in an ongoing series: This Week in Food (The ‘Anal leakage or love handles?’ edition). Commentary follows select excerpts, which are highlighted by the gray blockquotes.
From tasty to toasty: Used cooking oil heats a diner [The Boston Globe, 1/21/06]
The owner of Deluxe Town Diner found a way to slash his fuel bill for heating and hot water to $0 during some weeks this winter: a new system that runs on the 30 or 40 gallons of vegetable oil he uses every week for cooking fries, plus oil he collects from a nearby pizzeria and a pair of Chinese restaurants.
While hundreds of Boston-area restaurants sell or give their used cooking oil to companies that reprocess it into motor and heating fuel, Levy is one of the few who has cut out the middleman and become his own heating supplier. Besides curbing heating costs, Levy is also saving the $100 or more he used to pay a sanitation company to haul away used oil every month.
FDA Panel Recommends OTC Weight-Loss Pill [The Associated Press, 1/23/06]
A joint FDA advisory committee voted 11-3 to recommend approval late Monday following a daylong hearing. The agency usually follows the recommendations of its outside panels of experts, but its final decision could take months. If approved, orlistat would be the first weight-loss drug sanctioned for over-the-counter sales. Roche will continue selling Xenical regardless.
When taken with meals, orlistat blocks the absorption of about one-quarter of any fat consumed. That fat – the equivalent of about 150 to 200 calories – is passed out of the body in stools, which can be loose or oily as a result. Other side effects include gas, incontinence and oily spotting. About half of patients in trials experienced such side effects, the company said.
The best part: the pill’s effects wear off once the patient stops taking it – and it’s only meant to be taken for six months at a time. Temporary, modest weight loss hardly seems worth a 50% chance of “anal leakage.” Even so, GlaxoSmithKline estimates that between 5 and 6 million Americans are willing to gamble with their health to drop a mere 5.3 to 6.2 pounds.
Whatever happened to a sensible diet and regular exercise?
McDonald’s global sales top $20bn [BBC News, 1/24/06]
Fast food giant McDonald’s has seen its global sales top $20bn (£11bn) for the first time in the company’s history.
Full-year revenue rose 7% in 2005, boosted by strong sales in the US and a turnaround in its fortunes in Europe.
McDonald’s: proudly exporting obesity since 1967.
Fish Oil May Not Help Prevent Cancer [The Associated Press, 1/24/06]
Fish oil, seen as beneficial for reducing heart disease risks, probably doesn’t help prevent cancer, according to a review of studies involving more than 700,000 patients.
“It doesn’t mean that omega-3 fatty acids don’t have other health benefits — it’s just that reducing cancer risk isn’t one of them.”
Drink firms tackle child obesity [BBC News, 1/25/06]
Global drinks firms, including Coca-Cola and Cadbury Schweppes, have unveiled a European initiative aimed at tackling the problem of obese children.
Unesda, the Union of European Beverages Associations, said it would limit youth advertising, control sales in schools and improve nutritional labels.
It also pledged a wide range of drinks, including sugar-free and low-calorie, in container sizes that limit intake.
I wonder if they have a similar initiative planned for their US consumers? Or perhaps we just aren’t complaining quite as loudly as our European counterparts?
W.Va. Schools Get Game to Fight Obesity [The Associated Press, 1/25/06]
West Virginia, which has one of the nation’s worst obesity problems, is expanding a project that uses a video game to boost students’ physical activity.
All of the state’s 157 middle schools are expecting to get the video game “Dance Dance Revolution,” and officials hope to put it in all 753 public schools within three years. A pilot project began in 20 schools last spring.
I ♥ video games.
A good-eating trend that’s damaging to the environment [North Jersey.com, 1/25/06]
Food manufacturers seeking to replace partially hydrogenated or trans fats are increasingly using palm oil. It is fast becoming the key ingredient in shortenings, baked goods, candies and deep-fried snack foods.
Manufacturers use palm oil because of its low cost, stability at high temperatures, mild flavor and long shelf life. The oil is produced from palm trees grown on plantations, largely in Malaysia and Indonesia. To make room for expansion in those lands, as well in other palm oil-producing countries, landowners clear forests — a process devastating to wildlife as well as to indigenous people being forced from their ancestral lands.
Sigh. What’s a health-conscious environmentalist to do!?
Fruit and veg ‘cut stroke risk’ [BBC News, 1/27/06]
Eating more than the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables a day can cut risk of stroke, a study says.
Lead researcher Dr Feng He said a diet including lots of fruit and vegetables was also likely to further reduce the risk of other forms of cardiovascular disease, and some cancers.
What, You Got a Problem Paying $102.13 for 2 Tomatoes? [The NY Times, 1/28/06]
Three times in the last three months, Mr. Hinde says, he was overcharged at the grocery. In the first instance, it was an extra $1 on an $8.95 bottle of olive oil. In the second, a “buy one, get one free” discount for caramel dip did not show up. And, in the third, he was charged $102.13 for two tomatoes, bringing the bill to $180, well over what he would typically spend on groceries.
Surveys indicate that consumers lose $1 billion to $2.5 billion each year because of scanner pricing errors. While many states and municipalities have enforcement officers who go to stores to check the accuracy between stated prices and what rings up at the register, it’s up to consumers — whether eating in a restaurant, buying groceries or items at drug stores — to reconcile receipts as soon as they get them.
The only thing worse than paying for “hell food” is overpaying for it!
