Fungicides Found in Orange Juice, Coca-Cola told Gov't

Cola-Cola Co. said Wednesday it found an unapproved fungicide in orange juice made by Coke and its competitors, and alerted federal regulators that some Brazilian growers had sprayed trees with the substance.

The beverage giant, which makes Simply Orange and Minute Maid, would not say which brands had shown the fungicide. Both brands contain juice from Brazil.

The Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency have said orange juice is safe to drink and the levels found are below levels of concern.

Atlanta-based Coca-Cola, which makes the Minute Maid and Simply Orange brands of orange juice, said Thursday it had notified FDA of the low levels of the fungicide carbendazim in the company's orange juice and in competitors' juice. The FDA had said Monday that an unnamed company had told the agency about the fungicide and confirmed Wednesday the company was Coca-Cola.

Neither the FDA nor the company said which orange juice products tested positive. Carbendazim is not currently approved for use on citrus in the United States, but it is used to combat mold on orange trees in Brazil, which exports orange juice to the United States. Fungicides are used to control fungi or fungal spores in agriculture.

The FDA said Coca-Cola found levels up to 35 parts per billion of the fungicide, far below the European Union's maximum residue level of 200 parts per billion. The U.S. government has not established an official maximum residue level for carbendazim in orange juice.

The Environmental Protection Agency has said a risk assessment of carbendazim showed no risks at up to 80 parts per billion, but officials believe real levels of concern are much higher.

"The residues we have seen reported at 35 parts per billion are thousands of times below the concentration that would raise safety concerns," said EPA spokeswoman Betsaida Alcantara.

Coca-Cola spokesman Dan Schafer said: "This is an industry issue that affects every company that produces products in the U.S. using orange juice from Brazil."

Most orange juice products made by Coke and other companies contain a blend of juice from different sources including Brazil. In addition to Coca-Cola, Pepsico Inc.'s Tropicana brand is one of the largest U.S. orange juice producers. A spokesman for Tropicana declined to say whether the company had done its own testing for the fungicide.

The FDA has begun testing shipments of orange juice at the border and will detain any that contain more than 10 parts per billion of the chemical. Because the fungicide is not approved for use in the United States, any amount found in food is illegal, but FDA spokeswoman Siobhan Delancey said any amount below 10 parts per billion isn't measurable. All tests released by the agency so far have been negative, she said.

The agency said it won't remove any juice currently on store shelves because it doesn't believe the levels of residue are harmful, though that juice is also being tested.

In the letter to the Juice Products Association earlier this week, FDA official Nega Beru asked the industry to ensure that suppliers in Brazil, the world's largest orange producer, and other countries stop using the fungicide.

"If the agency identifies orange juice with carbendazim at levels that present a public health risk, it will alert the public and take the necessary action to ensure that the product is removed from the market," he said.

Orange juice for March delivery fell 10 cents, or 5.3 percent, to $1.781 per pound on Wednesday. Coca-Cola Co. shares fell 49 cents to close at $67.57 and Pepsico Inc. shares fell 39 cents to close at $64.62.

The fungicide discovery comes after the FDA said it would also step up testing for arsenic in apple juice. FDA officials said last year that the agency is considering tightening restrictions for the levels of arsenic allowed in the juice after consumer groups pushed the agency to crack down on the contaminant.

Studies show that apple juice has generally low levels of arsenic, and the government says it is safe to drink. But consumer advocates say the FDA is allowing too much of the chemical - which is sometimes natural, sometimes man made - into apple juices often consumed by children.

Patty Lovera of the advocacy group Food and Water Watch said the FDA and the Agriculture Department, which also oversees food imports, should have a better system for tracking potential contaminants in food.

"It seems like we keep playing catch up chemical by chemical," she said. "As we import more and more, this isn't going to be the last time this happens."

Originally Posted: About Additive

A New Trump Card to Against 3 p.m. Slump - Have an Egg!

The other afternoon I hit a classic mid-afternoon slump. Sleepy and sluggish, I grabbed for a bit of chocolate. But I probably should have had egg whites or maybe a piece of steak. Because a recent study in mice has found that it's protein, not sugar, that provides the perk.

Brain cells called orexin cells secrete a stimulant that makes us energetic and tells the body to burn calories. If the cells' activity decreases, narcolepsy or sudden sleepiness, is the result. The work is published in the journal Neuron.
[Mahesh M. Karnani et al., "Activation of Central Orexin/Hypocretin Neurons by Dietary Amino Acids"]

Scientists marked orexin cells in mice brains so they would fluoresce. Then they tracked the cells’ activity after feeding the mice different kinds of food.

Turns out that glucose blocks the function of the orexin cells. This effect might be the main reason for the desired post-lunch siesta. But the researchers also found that amino acids stop the glucose action, keeping the cells active and the mice alert. So next time I get that 3 p.m. slow down, I'll have an egg. If I'm alert enough to remember.

Originally Posted: About Additive

Eat More Fruits and Vegetables, If You want A Healthy-Looking

Owning a healthy skin is every girls' dream. Recent study found that a variety of  lotions contained chemical additives or take sunbath can not guarantee you have a healthy face, while eating plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables is the best way to help you build a healthy looking.

Many people love what they consider a suntan's healthy glow. But the color you get from eating vegetables might be the most attractive glow of all. That’s according to research in the journal Evolution and Human Behaviour.

Researchers controlled the diet and evaluated the skin color of 82 participants for eight weeks. Those who ate more fruits and vegetables had a yellower hue to their skin. That tone comes from carotenoids in the fruit and veggies, which are linked to better immune defenses and reproductive health.

In related studies, the scientists recruited volunteers to look at photographs of 51 faces. They could manipulate the colors of the face to increase the darkness or the yellow tones. They were asked to adjust the colors until the faces looked to be what the subjects considered the most healthy. And the majority preferred a yellowish tone, like that produced by carotenoids. This held true for Caucasians in the U.K. and black Africans in South Africa.

The researchers say the preference could be a gauge of vigor - many animals let their health be known to potential mates through vibrant coloration. So eating more fruits and vegetables if you want your face to advertise your fitness.

Originally Posted: About Additive

A New Centre for Additive Layer Manufacturing (CALM) opened in UK

The University of Exeter opened its Center for Additive Layer Manufacturing (CALM), which features machines that can work with several materials to allow for a huge range of possibilities in potential products. The first facility of its kind in the UK, the Center offers the EOSINT P800 laser sintering system from EOS, which can build parts at temperatures up to 385°C and enables production using high-performance polymers, such as PEEK.

The European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company N.V. (EADS) supports CALM, which is in part financed by the EU and the European Regional Development Fund under the competitiveness operating program (£1.5 million).

The partnership enables the University of Exeter to provide additive manufacturing facilities for the southwest of the UK, further helping to raise awareness for a technology that is currently shifting paradigms in design and manufacturing, says Dr. Hans J. Langer, founder and CEO of EOS. The company also looks forward to expanding the use of the PEEK material, which is being processed on the P800, in the aerospace, medical and motorsports arena.

High performance materials, including PEEK, are mechanically strong and wear-resistant in the toughest of operating environments. Parts made of PEEK are being developed as an alternative to metals for applications including aerospace parts and medical instruments. As a result, the manufacturing process for prototypes and products is being simplified.

Businesses that are producing prototypes and developing products can now benefit from this pioneering £2.6 million facility at the University of Exeter. The facility will enable businesses, entrepreneurs and researchers to harness the potential of additive manufacturing. The centre is offering heavily subsidised rates to SMEs in Devon, Dorset, Wiltshire and Cornwall, giving smaller businesses access to world-class facilities at affordable prices.

With this EOS manufacturing technology, complex or bespoke parts and complete products can be created by building them up one layer at a time via laser sintering, thus significantly reducing the time it takes to get a product from the design stage into market. Businesses will also benefit from the technical expertise of CALM staff, gained through their experience in industry.

Originally Posted: About Additive

Harmful Food Additives Found at Snacks and Beverages in Taipei Teashops

Cue:Sometimes our vision clears only after our eyes are washed away with tears.



A random sampling revealed that some of the ingredients added to snacks and beverages sold at shops in Taipei failed a test for a problematic additive, Taipei City health officials told a press conference yesterday.

The city’s Department of Health randomly inspected 54 ingredients often added to drinks and sweets sold at teashops, and found three of them did not meet regulations, constituting a 5.6 percent failure rate.

The three items were found to contain high levels of sorbic acid, a type of food preservative that is unfit for consumption, Food and Drug Division Director Chen Li-chi said.

The ingredients found to be unsafe were marble-sized black tapioca balls, taro beads and konjac, a long strand of chewy jelly consumed throughout Asia.

Officials have ordered that sales of the three products cease and any stocks be destroyed. They also fined the suppliers of one of the products, who was registered in the city.

Since the other two manufacturers who provided the unsafe items are not located in Taipei, the city government has forwarded the case on to the appropriate jurisdictional authorities, Chen said.

The officials called for food manufacturers to regulate themselves according to the Act Governing Food Sanitation and reminded the public that violators face fines between NT$30,000 and NT$150,000.

Results of future food inspections will also be posted on the health agency’s Web site, the officials said.

Digression:Everything will be okay in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end.

Originally Posted: About Additive

New Additives Make the Oil Changes Changing

Advances in oil and automotive technology mean the old oil change rule "you should change your car's oil every 3,000 miles" no longer applies.



The reason oil needs changed is because it gets dirty and the additives inside get used up, just as they're designed to do. But by the late 80's, big changes in car manufacturing made them much cleaner.

Now, drivers can go 5,000 to 7,000 miles between oil changes, and some models can go as long as 20,000 miles.

The reason oil needs changed is because it gets dirty, and the additives inside get used up, just as they're designed to do, but by the late 1980s, big changes in car manufacturing made them much cleaner.

"We were carbureted then, we're fuel injected now. The rings are better now. We have better engines, better metal, so we do not get the contaminants and the sludge in the oil like we used to," said Joe Smith, automotive instructor.

Some companies are introducing re-refined oil because oil never wears out. Re-refined oil is used oil that's cleaned with new additives added back in.

"All the oil manufacturers have to meet a standard for oil, but they can meet a minimum standard or, if their oil's more expensive, they could increase their additive package because that's the most expensive part of the oil," said Richard Augustus, fuel engineer.

In fact, the better the additive package in oil the longer you can go without a change.

In the long run, it could actually save you money.

Chemists inside the BG lab in Wichita, KA, work diligently to mix and test additives, constantly keeping up with newer and tougher regulations by the American Petroleum Institute.

"There are numerous additives that are formulated into the oil. Those include detergents; those include anti-wear additives, antioxidants and dispersants. These different additives all have different functions," said Dustin Willhite, BG director of technology.

These changes have brought about many different oil types, such as semi-synthetic or full-synthetic. The way you know what's best for your car is a combination of letters and numbers, which are clearly stated in all owners' manuals.

In the small print, some manufacturers require a specific brand of oil be used.

"Basically, you have to use that manufacturer's oil, or else they void your warranty," Smith said.

Let's talk price. Is it true that you get what you pay for? In most cases, yes.

“All the oil manufacturers have to meet a standard for oil but they can meet a minimum standard or, if their oil's more expensive, they could increase their additive package because that's the most expensive part of the oil,” said Fuel Engineer, Richard Augustus.

In fact, the better the additive package in oil the longer you can go without a change. So in the long run, it could actually save you money.

And the science behind these additives is nothing to sneeze at.

The best advice? Do your homework. Know what your car needs and be diligent with your maintenance. It's a small price to pay to keep your engine clean and your wallet full.

Originally Posted: About Additive