Health News: Boston College illness outbreak is Norovirus ♦ Vermont dairy farm agrees to stop violating drug residue regulations ♦ Cannabidiol shows promise for children with severe epilepsy

Boston College illness outbreak is Norovirus City health experts and Chipotle Mexican Grill agreed Tuesday that as many as 80 mostly Boston College students sickened over the weekend likely were victims of the “vomiting disease” known as norovirus and not victims of the more serious nine-state E. coli O26 outbreak. Members of the Boston College men’s basketball team were among the..

Vermont dairy farm agrees to stop violating drug residue regulations A Vermont dairy farm family, which has had trouble keeping drug residues from showing up in the meat it sells for human consumption at or below tolerance levels, has agreed to a permanent injunction and consent decree with the federal government. Correia Family Farms was named in a complaint Monday for a permanent injunction .

Pharmaceutical CBD (cannabidiol) shows promise for children with severe epilepsy Around the globe there is high interest in the use of cannabidiol, for the treatment of people with epilepsy, especially children who have treatment-resistant forms of the disorder. Three studies highlight emerging efficacy and safety data of Epidiolex, a pharmaceutical liquid formulation of cannabidiol. A fourth study highlights possible interactions of CBD with existing anti-epileptic drugs in animal models of seizures.

Men's interest in babies linked with hormonal responses to sexual stimuli Young men's interest in babies is associated with their physiological reactivity to sexually explicit material, according to new research. Young men who reported more interest in babies showed a lower increase in testosterone in response to sexually explicit material than men who weren't as interested in babies.

Health News: FDA: Illegal drug residue in cows ♦ Vitamin E, improves lung function when exposure to air pollution ♦ Antibody's unusual abilities might inspire vaccine strategies

FDA: Illegal drug residue in cows and sulfites in fish Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration published warning letters sent to a dairy and to two seafood processing facilities. Goyenetche Dairy of Buttonwillow, CA, was cited for illegal drug residues in the tissues of a dairy cow sold for slaughter for food.

New way to treat skin conditions: World's first mercury-free film-type ultraviolet light source Scientists have developed the world's first new mercury-free light source that produces ultraviolet radiation for medical applications. It is currently being certified as a medical instrument, and sales are expected to begin in October 2015. This equipment should effectively treat skin diseases such as atopic dermatitis, leucoderma, and psoriasis. Because it can deliver high-intensity radiation to only the affected area, it should reduce the treatment time and patients’ stress

Antibody's unusual abilities might inspire vaccine strategies The recent discovery of a novel antibody that works in an unusual way could inspire new vaccine strategies. The antibody appears to have properties that might keep bacteria like disease-causing E. coli from adhering to human cell surfaces and also dislodge those already attached. Among the common pathogens for which researchers are seeking more effective methods to prevent adherence to human cell surfaces are the forms of E. coli that cause urinary tract infections.

Antibody, improves lung function when exposure to air pollution An association between the amount of vitamin E in the body, exposure to particulate pollution and lung function has been uncovered by a new study. The paper adds to growing evidence from previous studies suggesting that some vitamins may play a role in helping to protect the lungs from air pollution

10/24/2013 Daily Food News: AG Runoff Causing Health Risk, Meat with Drug Residue, Vaccine for Multiple Strains of FLu, Russia Bans Foods

EMERGING CONTAMINANTS: AG RUNOFF POSES HEALTH RISKS

The most well-documented impacts of agriculture runoff on human and ecological health are primarily related to nutrient pollution in water, where nitrogen and phosphorus from fertilizers cause oxygen-starved “dead zones” in water. Now, scientists and government agencies are also examining the impacts of agriculture runoff as a significant source of emerging contaminants, substances that may... Continue Reading

FOOD-SAFETY COALITION ASKS FARM BILL CONFEREES TO REJECT TWO AMENDMENTS

Note: Time to Write your Congressman

Members of a food-safety coalition are gunning for two amendments to the Farm Bill they say would delay implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act and impede a state’s ability to protect its citizens from foodborne illness. Eight consumer groups comprising the Make Our Food Safe Coalition and the Safe Food Coalition sent a...Continue Reading

FDA WARNS NY RANCHER ABOUT POTENTIALLY HARMFUL DRUG RESIDUES

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning letter to the owner of Riverview Ranch and Livestock in New York, after an investigation found that the operation sold an adulterated animal for slaughter for food.. Continue Reading

Study: Flu vaccine plus immune suppressor may offer broader protection

US researchers reported yesterday that giving mice a flu vaccine and simultaneously treating them with rapamycin, an immune-suppressing drug, caused them to generate antibodies that were protective against other flu strains, including H5N1 and H7N9. Continue Reading

PROBLEMS POSED BY ANIMAL AGRICULTURE HAVE WORSENED IN RECENT YEARS

In the past five years, policies by the Obama administration and Congress have worsened the problems that animal agriculture poses to public health, the environment and animal welfare, Continue Reading

Russia’s Food Patriotism and Bans on Select Imports

You may not have heard of Gennady Onishchenko, but if his own accounts are to be believed, he’s the Russian government official who single-handedly averts major public health crises posed by foreign countries’ dangerously lax and unsophisticated food safety standards. To others, Onishchenko, Russia’s chief sanitary inspector, is also Russia’s chief manufacturer of elaborate food safety scares to wage geopolitically motivated trade wars with other countries, particularly former Soviet republics. Continue Reading