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Health Highlights: March 20, 2003

Posted on: Thursday, 20 March 2003, 06:00 CST

Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of The HealthScout News Service:

FDA Issues Guidelines to Protect U.S. Food Supply

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has released a set of voluntary guidelines for the nation's food manufacturers, processors, and distributors, designed to protect the food supply from terrorist attack.

Part of the federal government's "Operation Liberty Shield" to bolster homeland security, the guidelines to manufacturers include suggestions to enhance import security and limit outbreaks of foodborne illness while "maintaining the free flow of goods and people across our border with minimal disruption to our economy and way of life," the agency said in a prepared statement.

The proposals also are directed at retail establishments, including bakeries, bars, cafeterias, commissaries, convenience stores, grocery stores, food service for airlines and trains, restaurants, and vending machine operators, as well as cosmetic establishments. They identify preventive measures that store operators can take to minimize security risks to their products, the agency said.

"Securing our food supply against terrorist threats is one of our most important public health priorities, especially at a time of heightened alert," said Tommy Thompson, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which includes the Food and Drug Administration. "FDA is responsible for 80 percent of what we eat. Americans depend on FDA to keep food safe and secure, and we will keep doing all we can to fulfill this critical mission."

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Too Few New Yorkers Get Screened for Colon Cancer

Less than half of New York City residents over age 50 have been screened for colon cancer, and the rate of screening is especially low among blacks, say two new surveys.

A poll by the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene found that 44 percent of blacks over age 50 had ever had a colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy to check for colon cancer, The New York Times reports.

The same survey found that the colon cancer screening rates were 51 percent for Asians, 45 percent for Hispanics and 53 percent for whites.

A second survey was done by the New York Academy of Medicine along with a group of medical schools and research centers. That survey found that screening rates for city residents over age 50 were 34 percent for blacks, 28 percent for Hispanics, 30 percent for Asians and 48 percent for whites.

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Undeclared Peanuts Result in Candy Platter Recall

A candy platter that may contain undeclared chocolate peanuts is being recalled, says the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The recall affects the "Fancy Candy Platter" sold in 28-ounce plastic trays and made by J&D Fine Foods of Brooklyn, N.Y. The platter was sold exclusively at Stop & Shop supermarkets in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island and New York.

The platter is a six-compartment plastic tray with a combination of items that may include chocolate-covered peanuts and raisins, chocolate-covered and/or yogurt-covered pretzels, non-pareils, juju fish, and super sour worms.

A sticker on the label reads J&D Fine Foods Fancy Candy Platter. The UPC code is 7-32426-14003-8. There are no lot codes on the containers.

People who have an allergy to peanuts may suffer a serious or life- threatening allergic reaction if they eat this product. No illnesses have been reported to date.

Consumers who purchased the product can return it to the local Stop & Shop for a full refund. For more information, phone J&D fine foods at 1-866-533-6637.

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Increase in Female HIV Rates

A European study says that HIV infection rates among women are catching up with infection rates in men.

Health care analyst Isis Research looked at 3,000 people across Europe being treated for HIV infection between July and October 2002, BBC News Online reports.

The study says the increased rates of HIV infection in women are linked to a surge in HIV infection via heterosexual contact.

It found that 51 percent of people newly diagnosed with HIV were infected through heterosexual contact, while 36 percent were infected through homosexual contact. The remainder of new infections were contracted through non-sexual contact, such as needle-sharing.

Ten years ago, 38 percent of HIV infections were contracted through homosexual contact and 28 percent through heterosexual contact.

Experts warn that the shift toward more HIV infections through heterosexual contact could result in more babies being born to mothers with HIV, BBC News Online reports.

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Habits May Contribute to Nearsightedness

A person's genes are most responsible for whether he or she is nearsighted, but reading habits also can be a factor, the Boston Globe reports of new research.

Nearsighted children spend an average of two hours more per week studying or reading than children with 20/20 vision, an Ohio State University study concludes. But the researchers warn that since so much of a child's risk depends on whether his or her mother and father are nearsighted, parents should not quash a child's desire to read.

The Ohio State scientists also found that nearsighted children spend as much time as normal-sighted children playing video games, which appears to discount a link between video games and vision problems.

The study involving 366 eighth-graders is published in the journal Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science.

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Two Big Macs a Day Keep Obesity Away?

Can someone eat two Big Macs a day and still remain slim?

McDonald's says "yes." The company points to Wisconsin resident Don Gorske, who is in the Guinness Book of World Records for eating the McDonald's signature sandwich religiously twice daily. In fact, the Associated Press reports, Gorske downed his 19,000th Big Mac this week.

Gorske, 49, of Fond du Lac, is 6 feet tall and weighs 180 pounds. McDonald's attorneys, in defending a lawsuit, recently cited him as an example of someone who frequently eats fast food but has stayed slim.

Gorske says he's sure of when he consumed his 19,000th Big Mac, having logged everything he's eaten in a notebook for many years. "I admit I'm obsessive compulsive," he tells the AP.

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