April 2015
FOLLOWING FOOD NEWS
AND TRENDS
By Angela S. Hoover, Staff Writer
Peanut Allergy
Research Uses
Probiotics
A team of Australian researchers may have found a key to curing
peanut allergies. In a relatively small
study, scientists from the Murdock
Children’s Research Institute gave
30 allergic children small daily
doses of peanut protein with the
probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus
in increasing amounts during 18
months. Researchers found more
than 80 percent of the children
were able to tolerate peanut protein
at the end of the trial, which is 20
times higher than the natural rate
of resolution for peanut allergy.
The researchers warned parents
against trying this treatment at
home because in the trial some children experienced serious reactions.
Previous research has suggested
probiotics have the potential to
treat allergies. Around 15 million
U.S. children, or about two per
classroom, are allergic to different
foods.
P.F. Chang’s Sued
Over Gluten-Free
Price Hike
Anna Marie Phillips of California
is suing Pan-Asian restaurant chain
P.F. Chang’s over the prices of its
gluten-free menu options. She
claims the surcharge violates the
Americans With Disabilities Act
by forcing those who cannot eat
gluten to pay more. The suit claims
a $1 extra surcharge for gluten-free
dishes was added to ones that were
naturally gluten free. The classaction suit seeks compensation
on behalf of all diners with celiac
disease or gluten intolerance who
ordered gluten-free food from P.F.
Chang’s in California during the
past four years. The lawsuit also
asks for an injunction against any
gluten-free surcharges.
Fraudulent Herbal
Supplements
Uncovered
The New York State attorney
general’s office found herbal supplements sold at Target, Wal-Mart,
Walgreens and GNC did not contain the ingredients listed on the
label, and some even contained
additional, potentially harmful
ingredients. Using a DNA barcoding test on 78 bottles of 24 products, the team found roughly four
out of five supplements tested did
not contain the medicinal herbs
they claimed to have and were
instead rife with “cheap fillers,”
such as powdered rice, asparagus
and houseplants. In some cases
they contained substances that
could be dangerous to those with
allergies. For instance, a Walgreens
ginseng pill contained little more
than garlic and rice powder, and
a Wal-Mart ginkgo biloba supplement was mainly a mix of powdered horseradish, houseplants
and wheat, although the label said
it was wheat- and gluten-free. The
attorney general’s office issued
cease-and-desist letters for “mislabeling, contamination and false
advertising” – all of which are
illegal. The fraudulent brands were
GNC’s Herbal Plus, Target’s Up &
Up, Walgreens’ Finest Nutrition
and Wal-Mart’s Spring Valley.
Coca-Cola Offers
New Milk Called
Fairlife
A Coke subsidiary run by
a former Coke executive
in partnership with Select
Milk Producers, a dairy
cooperative that owns Fair
Oaks Farms, is rolling out a “new
and improved” version of lactosefree milk that has 50 percent less
sugar, 50 percent more protein,
30 percent more calcium – and
is double the price of regular
milk. Fairlife milk is made on
a dairy farm with “fully sustainable high-care processes” and
a “proprietary milk filtering
process” that removes much
of the sugar, according to
Coca-Cola’s North American
president Sandy Douglas. Sue
McCloskey, who developed the
filtration system for Fairlife with
her husband, Mike, says no
protein powders or additional supplements are
added to the mil