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Bill Would Require Grocers, Restaurants to Label Lab-Grown Meat
In the state known as America’s Dairyland, Wisconsin law sets penalties for selling margarine unless it’s clearly labeled as such. Now, state lawmakers are reviving another food-related proposal that’s inspired by those pro-butter requirements. The latest bill, however, applies specifically to lab-grown meat.
Under a proposal circulating for co-sponsors, any meat or seafood that’s cultivated in a lab would have to be labeled as “lab-grown meat” if it’s sold at restaurants or stores in Wisconsin. State Rep. Clint Moses, R-Menomonie, described it a “truth-in-labeling bill.”
“It’s very important to the general public, because they want to know what it is they’re eating,” Moses said in an interview with WPR. “I would certainly want to know if what I was eating was something synthetically made, or man-made, versus something that was naturally occurring in our meat production process.”
Moses authored the proposal alongside state state Sen. Romaine Quinn, R-Birchwood.
Lab-grown meat isn’t on grocery store shelves yet. But the U.S. Department of Agriculture set the stage for its expansion in 2023 when it granted approval to two companies that cultivate chicken meat from animal cells in a lab.
Popular Spice Recalled Over Lead Levels as Millions Warned
A food recall is warning millions of consumers — especially parents of young children — about potential lead contamination in ground cinnamon, a spice which is particularly popular during autumn and winter. Durra Ground Cinnamon sold in 100-gram plastic containers is being recalled by distributor Eureka Inc. of Pomona, California, because it “has the potential to be contaminated with lead,” the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on Tuesday.
The products were sold at grocery stores in California and Michigan from Aug. 24 to Oct. 6, the FDA said. Newsweek reached out to Eureka Inc. via email outside of regular office hours on Wednesday. Lead is a toxic metal that can cause serious health issues if ingested. “Long-term exposure to lead-contaminated food can lead to adverse health effects, especially in young children, including neurological impacts,” the FDA stated in its advisory.
“Increased blood lead levels could be a sign of exposure. For children, permanent damage to the central nervous system, learning, and developmental problems may occur. For adults, lead poisoning can result in abdominal pain, muscle weakness, kidney dysfunction, and hypertension.”
Both Diet and Sugary Drinks Increase Fatty Liver Disease Risk, Study Says
U.S. News & World Report reported:
People could be at higher risk of fatty liver disease from both sugary sodas and diet drinks, a new study says. In fact, artificially sweetened drinks might pose a greater threat to liver health than sugary beverages, researchers reported Monday at the United European Gastroenterology’s annual meeting in Berlin. The team also found that replacing these drinks with water significantly reduced people’s risk of fatty liver disease.
“Sugar-sweetened beverages have long been under scrutiny, while their ‘diet’ alternatives are often seen as the healthier choice,” lead researcher Lihe Liu said in a news release. She’s a graduate student in gastroenterology at the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University in Suzhou, China.
“These findings challenge the common perception that these drinks are harmless and highlight the need to reconsider their role in diet and liver health,” Liu added.
Fatty liver disease occurs when fat accumulates in the liver, which over time can cause liver damage. It’s the most common chronic liver disease, researchers said, affecting more than 30% of people worldwide.
Are Ultraprocessed Foods Truly Addictive?
In a moment that many of us can relate to, I found myself mindlessly eating gummy worms from my kitchen drawer right after lunch — despite not even particularly liking them. This common experience reflects a deeper relationship with highly processed foods that scientists are increasingly understanding as less about personal weakness and more about how these products are engineered to override our natural satiety signals.
Researchers are now building a compelling case that ultraprocessed foods share more similarities with addictive substances than with natural foods. These products – typically combinations of salts, fats, and sugars stripped from their natural sources and recombined with additives — can hijack our brain’s reward system in ways reminiscent of alcohol, nicotine, and even opioids. The consequences of this relationship are far-reaching, considering that ultraprocessed foods now comprise over half of the average American’s caloric intake.
“This stuff isn’t food. It’s a hedonically optimized substance created through processing to make corporations a lot of money,” explains psychologist Ashley Gearhardt of the University of Michigan.
Some scientists have even begun referring to these items as “foodlike products” rather than actual food. Unlike minimally processed foods (like fruits or meats), processed ingredients (like sugar or butter), or traditionally processed foods (like cheese), ultraprocessed foods contain limited whole food components and numerous additives designed to maximize appeal and consumption.
FDA Issues Highest Risk Warning for Tuna Recalled in 37 States
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued a Class I recall — the agency’s highest of three health-risk ratings — for Kirkland Signature brand Ahi Tuna Wasabi Poke sold at Costco locations across 37 states.
The voluntary recall, announced by Western United Fish Company on Sept. 20, was prompted after Listeria monocytogenes contamination was detected in green onions used in the product, with federal officials urging consumers not to consume the affected tuna. Approximately 3,314 pounds of the product have been affected.
Newsweek contacted the product’s manufacturer, Western United Fish Company dba Annasea Foods Group, of Kent, Washington, via general email inquiry outside of regular office hours on Tuesday.
