Friday, October 31, 2003

Mother sentenced to life for infant's overdose on methamphetamine
"10/31/2003 3:32 PM
By: Associated Press

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) -- A California woman has been sentenced to life in prison in the death of her baby, who overdosed on methamphetamine. Prosecutors say the baby ingested the drug either from the mother's breast milk or from tainted bottle liners that were used to package the drug in the woman's home."
FDA Official: No Need for Labels on Cloned Products
"By James Gerstenzang, Times Staff Writer
WASHINGTON - A senior official of the Food and Drug Administration said today that he saw no reason to place special labels on milk and meat from cloned animals if those products reach grocery shelves. The comment on labeling added a second controversial element to the FDA's announcement today that an advisory panel had found no health reasons to keep cloned animals and their milk out of the nation's food supply, though it wanted to review more data."

Thursday, October 30, 2003

Baby food, breast milk may contain trans fat
[ This is part of a series running on CTV News and in the Globe and Mail. - JC]

CTV News: Avis Favaro finds children under age two may be most vulnerable to trans fat 

"Consumers are going to start getting more details on the levels of trans fat in the foods we love, with new nutritional labelling that goes into effect in just over two years. But many nutrition experts are angry that foods made for children under the age of two will not have to comply with the new labelling rules.

Many studies have found a link between trans fat and heart disease. Canadians already ingest large amounts of trans through hydrogenated oils found in cookies, chips and baked goods. But many parents may not realize they're feeding the potentially dangerous substance to their babies.

That has infant nutrition advocate Elizabeth Sterken of INFACT Canada angry.

'Even in these baby foods, we see partially hydrogenated fats,' Sterken says, holding up a package of infant cereal. 'Trans fatty"
EOC confirms mothers' breastfeeding rights

Published: 30 Oct 2003

"The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) is seeking to correct this week's media claim that mothers have lost their right to breastfeed at work.

The claim relates to the case of RAF flight lieutenant Helen Williams, who lost her case for breastfeeding her baby at work at the Employment Appeal Tribunal. "