Like statistics, science is being used both to support and to oppose genetically modified corn in Europe. Read the latest on the ongoing debate below after the jump.

A proposal that Europe’s top environment official made last month, to ban the planting of a genetically modified corn strain, sets up a bitter war within the European Union, where politicians have done their best to dance around the issue.

The environmental commissioner, Stavros Dimas, said he had based his decision squarely on scientific studies suggesting that long-term uncertainties and risks remain in planting the so-called Bt corn. But when the full European Commission takes up the matter in the next couple of months, commissioners will have to decide what mix of science, politics and trade to apply. And they will face the ambiguous limits of science when it is applied to public policy.

For a decade, the European Union has maintained itself as the last big swath of land that is mostly free of genetically modified organisms, largely by sidestepping tough questions. It kept a moratorium on the planting of crops made from genetically altered seeds while making promises of further scientific studies.

But Europe has been under increasing pressure from the World Trade Organization and the United States, which contend that there is plenty of research to show such products do not harm the environment. Therefore, they insist, normal trade rules must apply.

Science does not provide a definitive answer to the question of safety, experts say, just as science could not determine beyond a doubt how computer clocks would fare at the turn of the millennium.

“Science is being utterly abused by all sides for nonscientific purposes,” said Benedikt Haerlin, head of Save Our Seeds, an environmental group in Berlin and a former member of the European Parliament. “The illusion that science will answer this overburdens it completely.” He added, “It would be helpful if all sides could be frank about their social, political and economic agendas.”

Mr. Dimas, a lawyer and the minister from Greece, looked at the advice provided by the European Union’s scientific advisory body — which found that the corn was “unlikely” to pose a risk — but he decided there were nevertheless too many doubts to permit the modified corn.

The article continues. As Fat Loss Victory has pointed out previously, even corn in its natural form is a common allergen. It is increasingly worrisome to see our food supply forever and irreversibly altered when the scientific research is unable to prove conclusively that GMOs are safe.

Another food recall:

General Mills on Thursday recalled about 5 million frozen pizzas sold nationwide under the Totino’s and Jeno’s labels because of possible E. coli contamination.

The problem may have come from pepperoni on pizzas produced at a General Mills plant in Ohio, the suburban Minneapolis-based company said. It said the pepperoni itself came from a separate supplier, not produced at the plant itself, but it declined to release the name of the pepperoni distributor.

The voluntary recall covers pizzas containing pepperoni that have been produced since July, when the first of 21 E. coli illnesses under investigation by state and federal authorities emerged.

Nine of the 21 people reported eating Totino’s or Jeno’s pizza with pepperoni topping at some point before becoming ill. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that eight of the victims have been hospitalized, and four have developed a type of kidney failure.

Eight of the cases were reported in Tennessee, with the other cases found in smaller numbers in Kentucky, Missouri, New York, Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Wisconsin and South Dakota.

“We took action on that basis as a precaution, because of the possibility that a link might exist,” said General Mills spokesman Tom Forsythe. “However, to date we have found no E. coli in our plant, and we have found no E. coli in our products.”

Read the rest of the article for the list of recalled items. As always, Fat Loss Victory, recommends the helpful food safety resources of The U.S. FDA Center for Health Safety and Applied Nutrition website.

Disney has announced plans to eliminate trans fat at all theme parks, U.S. and worldwide. Read more about the announcement below, after the jump.

Walt Disney, seeking to address concerns about childhood obesity and eating habits, will phase out trans fats from food served at its theme parks in Paris, Hong Kong and Tokyo over the next two years.

Trans fats will be excluded from U.S. parks by year-end as planned, Disney, the world’s largest theme-park operator, said Monday. Next month, the company will start selling healthy food products in Tesco supermarkets in Britain.

Disney, based in Burbank, California, is expanding its plan for healthier food overseas to attract consumers concerned about their children’s diets. Last year, responding to calls from nutritionists, the chief executive, Robert Iger, introduced a program to eliminate trans fat food from Disney’s U.S. parks and to add low-fat milk, carrots and other healthier options.

Future World at Epcot Center, Walt Disney World, Orlando

Beware, Hardee’s is supersizing breakfast:

Hardee’s on Monday rolled out its new Country Breakfast Burrito — two egg omelets filled with bacon, sausage, diced ham, cheddar cheese, hash browns and sausage gravy, all wrapped inside a flour tortilla. The burrito contains 920 calories and 60 grams of fat.

Brad Haley, marketing chief for the St. Louis-based fast-food chain, said the burrito offers the sort of big breakfast item normally found in sit-down restaurants with an added advantage.

“It makes this big country breakfast portable,” he said.

Very thoughtful.  We can eat the supersized breakfast while on the treadmill.

Banquet Pot Pies, weighing in at 382 calories and 22 grams of fat – including 8.9 grams of saturated fat – are hardly a diet food of choice, but Fat Loss Victory brings to your attention another food recall; one of numerous in the past several weeks:

Federal authorities are warning consumers not to eat Banquet frozen turkey and chicken pot pies or similar generic store-brand products because they may have caused an outbreak of salmonella poisoning.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began investigating last week after receiving reports of illness. By Friday, it had identified the pot pies as a potential source of the salmonella that sickened more than 100 people in dozens of states.

The CDC sent inspectors Monday to the manufacturer, ConAgra Foods Inc.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service on Tuesday advised consumers not to eat the pot pies “until we are able to determine the source, products and potential production dates of contamination and to verify proper cooking instructions for these not-ready-to-eat products.”

ConAgra voluntarily stopped making the pies Tuesday, The Associated Press reported.

The Omaha, Nebraska-based food giant said the fault may lie in how consumers are preparing the product.

“The company reminds consumers that these products are not ready-to-eat, and must always be thoroughly cooked as instructed on the packages,” the company said in a statement on its Web site. “The cooking instructions for these products are specifically designed to eliminate the presence of common pathogens found in many uncooked products.”

The pot pies in question have the code P-9 printed on the side of the package, ConAgra said.

Consumers may get refunds by returning the product packaging — minus the contents — to the store where they bought it or by sending the side panel of the package that says “P-9″ to ConAgra Foods, Dept. BQPP, P.O. Box 3768, Omaha, Nebraska 68103-0768.

As always, Fat Loss Victory, recommends the helpful food safety resources of The U.S. FDA Center for Health Safety and Applied Nutrition website.

Topps Meat Co., founded in 1940, is going out of business:

Topps Meat Co LLC announced on Friday it was going out of business, crushed by the recall of 21.7 million pounds of beef linked to 30 cases of E. coli-related illness.

“In one week we have gone from the largest U.S. manufacturer of frozen hamburgers to a company that cannot overcome the economic reality of a recall this large,” Anthony D’Urso, chief operating officer, said in a statement.

It was the fifth-largest meat or poultry recall in U.S. history, the Agriculture Department said. But no deaths have been reported due to the outbreak of E. coli 0157:H7, which can cause diarrhea and dehydration.

The company’s website has a link to the announcement.

The Campbell Soup recall:

Campbell Soup Co. on Thursday announced a voluntary recall of more than 72,000 cans of a variety of its Chunky soup because they may contain pieces of hard plastic that present a choking hazard and could cause injury if swallowed.

The recall involves 18.8-ounce cans of Campbell’s Chunky Baked Potato with Cheddar & Bacon Bits. No other products are affected by the recall, the company said.

Campbell said three consumers have reported minor injuries in and around their mouths.

The recalled soups were shipped to 24 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wyoming.

Consumers who purchased Campbell’s Chunky Baked Potato with Cheddar & Bacon Bits with the can code “JUL 08 2009 07097″ were advised to return the product to the store where it was purchased for an exchange or refund.

Yes, this is posted under “Unsafe Foods.” It’s easy to gloss our way through ingredients on a food label that are difficult to pronounce. In this brief episode of Wired Science’s “What’s Inside,” you’ll see exactly what is inside a common dessert topping…one you might want to avoid.

A 32-ounce soft drink has 400 calories, roughly one-fourth of the calories an average person needs per day. A recent CNN article quotes a variety researchers who detail other reasons to avoid soft drinks, some proven, some theoretical.

Scientists also say the body doesn’t respond to liquid calories in the same way it would if those calories came in the form of French fries or chocolate cake. Appetite is controlled by a complex mix of hormones. Some signal the brain that your stomach is getting full. Others, including a hormone known as ghrelin, signal it’s time to eat again.

If you eat a big burger, the level of ghrelin drops for a few hours. That drop doesn’t happen if you drink a Big Gulp soda, even if it has more calories than the burger, according to Wayne Campbell, a professor in the Department of Foods and Nutrition at Purdue University.

“We’re finding your hunger does not go down as far when you consume a beverage, as when you consume a solid,” Campbell said. The result: Even with 400 liquid calories in your stomach, you polish off the burger too.

It is worth noting that 32 ounce is one quart; an unthinkable serving size even as recently as 20 years ago. Antique Coke bottles are doll-like and quaint in comparison to today’s quart-sized plastic drink cups.

The popcorn lung story is all over the Internet and with it, the inevitable plays on words, “Big Popcorn,” “Hot Buttered Death,” and so forth. ConAgra, manufacturer of the Orville Redenbacher and Act II brands of microwave popcorn that contain the deadly flavor additive, diacetyl, announced today that they will discontinue use of the additive.

ConAgra’s announcement comes a week after another popcorn manufacturer, Weaver Popcorn of Indianapolis, said it would replace the butter flavoring ingredient because of consumer concern.

ConAgra doesn’t know how soon it will be able to replace diacetyl with a different butter flavoring, Childs said, but the change will be made sometime over the next year.

“We’ve made that decision based on the knowledge for the potential risk to our employees,” Childs said.

The company has already been making changes at its popcorn plants over the past few years to reduce employee exposure to diacetyl, she said.

But the company doesn’t believe diacetyl in popcorn represents a safety risk to consumers, Childs said.

“We’re fully confident that microwave popcorn is safe for consumers in the home,” she said.

 

We have to expect such equivocation from food manufacturers when millions of dollars, potential lawsuits and public image are at stake. However, it is alarming that ConAgra does not give the impression of being ready to take immediate action, such as a recall of products already on the shelves.

Long before the Associated Press and the rest of the mainstream media discovered the story, David Michaels, PhD, MPH, of The Pump Handle, a blog multi-authored by several public health professionals, had been covering the popcorn lung story extensively, for some time. You can find even more of Dr. Michaels’ research on popcorn lung – bronchiolitis obliterans – on DefendingScience.org.