Food for Thought
Stevia Sweetener Safe or Not?
Just as soft drink companies are poised to introduce new products sweetened with Stevia-derivative rebiana, a new 26-page report by toxicologists at the University of California, Los Angeles showed in several laboratory tests that the sweetener causes mutations and DNA damage, which raises the prospect that it causes cancer. Based on the report, Center for Science in the Public Interest is urging the FDA to not approve the sweetener until further tests are done. Interestingly, the tests sponsored by Cargill, manufacturer of the new sweetener, did not have similar results.
Junk Food Still Available in Schools
Marion Nestle contemplates the recent CDC report showing that, despite the childhood obesity epidemic, about 80% of public schools still sell snacks or sodas to kids during school hours.
