Chocolate corset : Designer Anita Jakobson displays a creation made from chocolate at the 14th Chocolate fair (Salon du Chocolat) in Paris.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Chocolate corset
Chocolate corset : Designer Anita Jakobson displays a creation made from chocolate at the 14th Chocolate fair (Salon du Chocolat) in Paris.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
China's government admits failings in milk scandal
(UPDATE) BEIJING — Premier Wen Jiabao says the Chinese government was partly responsible for the tainted milk scandal that has sickened tens of thousands of children and shaken consumer confidence in the country's food exports.
In an interview published in this week's Science Magazine, Wen said the government feels "great sorrow" over the contamination, which has been blamed for the deaths of four babies.
"We feel that although problems occurred at the company, the government also has a responsibility," Wen said in the Sept. 20 interview posted Friday on the Web site of the magazine, published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
A Chinese version of the interview in the People's Daily newspaper, the ruling Communist Party's mouthpiece, quoted Wen as saying the government had been lax in "supervision and management."
It's a rare admission by a member of China's leadership. Wen has won popular admiration for his visits to the country's poor rural areas and victims of the devastating May 12 earthquake in Sichuan province.
Authorities have blamed dairy suppliers, saying they added the industrial chemical melamine to watered-down milk to dupe quality control tests and make the product appear rich in protein.
Melamine is used in the manufacturing of plastics, fertilizer, paint and adhesives. Health experts say ingesting a small amount poses no danger, but in larger doses, the chemical can cause kidney stones and lead to kidney failure. Infants are particularly vulnerable.
Wen said the process of making milk products — from the collection of raw milk to production and transportation — "all need to have clear standards and testing requirements and corresponding responsibilities."
"I once again solemnly emphasize that it is absolutely impermissible to sacrifice people's lives and health in exchange for temporary economic development," Wen said. "Food, all food, must meet international standards."
In its efforts to deal with health and public relations issues stemming from the situation, the government has issued strict standards for allowable melamine levels in food and 5,000 inspectors have been dispatched to provide 24-hour supervision over the industry.
A number of officials have been fired for negligence and some of China's dairy giants ensnared in the turmoil have opened their factories for a government-led media tour in a bid to regain the public's trust.
The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, the country's chief quality watchdog, said on its Web site Saturday that a fresh round of random tests on liquid milk have showed allowable amounts of melamine.
The agency said it collected samples from 544 batches of liquid milk from 70 brands in 22 cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing and Harbin.
"All the samples were found to be in line with melamine limits," the agency said.
Similar results were found for samples taken from 105 batches of baby formula from 20 brands in 10 provinces, it said.
Health officials have said that while deliberate tainting is explicitly forbidden, small amounts of melamine can leach from the environment and packaging into milk and other foods.
China's exports were hammered by quality scandals even before the uproar over contaminated milk. Its manufacturing industry had been under intense scrutiny after melamine and other industrial toxins were found last year in exports ranging from toothpaste to a pet food ingredient.
Since the latest scare, milk-linked products from China have been withdrawn from stores in dozens of countries as governments increase vigilance and step up safety tests.
On Saturday, Taiwan's health authorities said the island is banning imports of ammonium bicarbonate — a rising agent used in baking — from the mainland after it tested positive for melamine.
Panama on Friday said several kinds of Chinese cookies and candy have tested positive for traces of melamine.
Panama Food Safety director Gilberto Real said of 56 Chinese products pulled from stores last month, 28 tested negative and 24 are still being examined.
Dozens of Panamanians died last year after taking Chinese-made medicine contaminated with a thickening agent found in antifreeze. - AP
Friday, October 17, 2008
10 Toaster-Oven Dinners for Hectic Weeknights
After a crazy day at work, the thought of turning on the stove can be overwhelming, but the toaster oven is so unimposing and so friendly. Here are 10 yummy recipes, good for one or two people, where you can easily sub the toaster oven for your baking, melting, or broiling.
Note: If you're partial to your microwave, you can use it to heat ingredients, but when it comes to melting cheese or heating bread, stick to your toaster oven.
1. English Muffin Mini Pizzas
The perfect size for your mini oven. Toast the muffin, then add toppings and melt on the "broil," or hottest, setting.
2. Classic Tuna Melt
No need to use that big broiler. Use your handy dandy toaster oven to brown the bread, then add contents open-face to melt the cheese.
3. Loaded Potato
Cook your potato for 1 hour in the toaster, then load it up.
4. NYC Dog
Yup, you can cook your dogs in the toaster oven. Split them lengthwise down the center, lay them upside down and broil in the toaster for 10 minutes.
5. "Grilled" Ham & Cheese w/ Pineapple
Instead of firing up the skillet, toast both pieces of bread lightly (with or without butter), then add the ham, cheese, and pineapple and toaster broil briefly.
6. Vegetarian Taco Salad
The secret ingredient is Boca chili. Heat it in a little cup right in the toaster oven.
7. The Real Reuben
Toast the bread, then add the contents open-face and close after melting.
8. Zucchini, Corn, Black Bean & Cheese Quesadillas
Grease a small baking sheet and feel free to chop up and use any veggies or meat you have in the fridge or freezer. Leave the tortilla open until the melting is done.
9. Baked Steak Burritos
Do all the baking in the toaster and even skip the microwave by baking the beans in a thin layer directly on the tortilla.
10. Open-Faced Southwest Turkey Melt
Another meltdown for the littler broiler.
Top 20 Rankings for Best College Food
Belgian chocolate truffles (made from scratch) and student feedback are two ingredients in the success of Wheaton College's food program, which ranked number one in Princeton Review's 2009 Best Campus Food list. Klaus Mandl, the General Manager of Food Services at Wheaton, previously worked at Boston's Ritz-Carlton hotel, and this week's menu reads like he still does. Main courses include lavender-infused pork chops with onion gravy and cumin-lime baked chicken with avocado cream sauce. These gourmet menus are created with input from "The Wheaton Cuisine Team," a group of students who gastronimically represent the student body.
When it comes to the cafeteria, this kind of staff-student partnership is a growing trend. "Many of the schools [in the Best Campus Food list] have similar student-and-staff groups that are really nimble about answering students concerns, and many are using organic and locally grown food," says Robert Franek, author of Princeton Review's Best 368 Colleges 2009, where the Best Campus Food list appears. The list is based on student reviews and is being regarded with increased significance by students and staff. The New York Times recently reported, "As palates grow more sophisticated and admissions become more competitive, many top colleges are paying attention to dining rooms as well as classrooms." Here are the top 20 schools that made the cut for 2009...
BEST CAMPUS FOOD
(In the book, Princeton Review's Best 368 Colleges, 2009)
1. Wheaton College (IL), Wheaton, IL
2. Bowdoin College, Brunswick, ME
3. Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA
4. St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN
5. James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA
6. Colby College, Waterville, ME
7. Franklin W. Olin Col. of Engineering Needham, MA
8. Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
9. University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN
10. Gustavus Adolphus College, Saint Peter, MN
11. Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
12. University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
13. Scripps College, Claremont, CA
14. Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT
15. Claremont McKenna College, Claremont, CA
16. Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, PA
17. Miami University (OH), Oxford, OH
18. College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, ME
19. Bates College, Lewiston, ME
20. University of Georgia, Athens, GA
When it comes to the cafeteria, this kind of staff-student partnership is a growing trend. "Many of the schools [in the Best Campus Food list] have similar student-and-staff groups that are really nimble about answering students concerns, and many are using organic and locally grown food," says Robert Franek, author of Princeton Review's Best 368 Colleges 2009, where the Best Campus Food list appears. The list is based on student reviews and is being regarded with increased significance by students and staff. The New York Times recently reported, "As palates grow more sophisticated and admissions become more competitive, many top colleges are paying attention to dining rooms as well as classrooms." Here are the top 20 schools that made the cut for 2009...
BEST CAMPUS FOOD
(In the book, Princeton Review's Best 368 Colleges, 2009)
1. Wheaton College (IL), Wheaton, IL
2. Bowdoin College, Brunswick, ME
3. Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA
4. St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN
5. James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA
6. Colby College, Waterville, ME
7. Franklin W. Olin Col. of Engineering Needham, MA
8. Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
9. University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN
10. Gustavus Adolphus College, Saint Peter, MN
11. Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
12. University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
13. Scripps College, Claremont, CA
14. Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT
15. Claremont McKenna College, Claremont, CA
16. Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, PA
17. Miami University (OH), Oxford, OH
18. College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, ME
19. Bates College, Lewiston, ME
20. University of Georgia, Athens, GA
Top 10 Tips to Stay Energized All Day
1. Start the day right. Yes, that means breakfast. Combine a whole grain with fruit, skim dairy, or soy milk, and even add some lean protein to the mix to sustain energy levels throughout the morning. Cooked oatmeal with yogurt and a banana or Lite Mueslix with soy milk and blueberries are good choices.
2. Have a mid-morning snack. Combine a protein and a carbohydrate. It is fine to be hungry mid-morning, so honor your hunger and give your body fuel when it is asking for it. Try yogurt with a peach, low fat string cheese with an apple, or cottage cheese and grapes.
3. Eat lunch on time. Don't push back lunch until you are ravenous. Instead, eat your mid-day fuel right on time to keep your blood glucose levels nice and steady.
4. Boost your mental energy. Nature's nutrition for the brain are omega-3 fatty acids. Add light tuna or salmon to your lunchtime food choices, in addition to walnuts, tofu, and canola oil. Healthy fat keep you feeling full for a longer period of time, so add small amounts to meals and snacks. Some good choices include avocado and almonds.
5. Start the day with moderate caffeine levels and keep caffeine intake modest. While it does increase mental energy, too much caffeine may lead to energy highs and then lows, and it can interferes with quality sleep.
6. Limit processed foods high in sugar. Avoid the office candy jar, treats, and vending machine whenever possible. Processed foods do not provide sustained energy and can result in low-energy moments during the day.
7. Consume foods high in folate. Higher levels of blood folate have been associated with faster and better thought processing. Good sources include lentils, chickpeas, black beans, asparagus, broccoli, avocado, and orange juice. Also important are vitamins B6, found in bananas and spinach, and B12, found in lean proteins and skim dairy products.
8. Have an afternoon snack. If dinner is late or if you have an evening workout scheduled, fruits, vegetables, and low-fat yogurt provide energizing carbohydrate.
9. Consume complex carbohydrates that contain fiber. The fiber allows the carbohydrates to be released more slowly, providing sustained energy. Opt for whole grain bread, whole wheat pasta, brown rice, and whole grain cereals.
10. Stay hydrated. About two-thirds of our body is water, and dehydration can contribute to reduced energy levels. About 80% of the fluid we consume comes from the fluids we drink, and the other 20% comes from foods. Always drink when you are thirsty, and have water available during the day to hydrate regularly.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Rangers prospect dies during game
NEW YORK (TICKER) —New York Rangers prospect Alexei Cherepanov died during a game in his native Russia on Monday night. He was 19.
The New York Post reported that Cherepanov suffered a heart attack and collapsed on the bench during Avangard Omsk’s game against Vityav Chekhov.
Former Rangers captain Jaromir Jagr had just finished a shift with Cherepanov and was talking to the him when the Russian suddenly collapsed.
TSN of Canada reported that medical officials attempted to get Cherepanov’s heart beating again. According to the web site, there was no ambulance present at the arena. The report stated that it took between “15 and 20 minutes” to transport Cherepanov from the arena to the hospital.
The Rangers observed a moment of silence in his honor prior to Monday’s game against the New Jersey Devils.
New York general manager Glen Sather addressed the tragedy in a statement released by the team.
“We are extremely saddened by the tragic passing of Alexei,” Sather said. “On behalf of the New York Rangers organization, I would like to extend our deepest sympathies to his family. Alexei was an intelligent, energetic young man with tremendous talent and an extremely bright future.”
The 17th overall selection in the 2007 draft, Cherepanov had been playing with Avangard Omsk of Russia’s Continental Hockey League. He had seven goals and five assists in 12 games for Avangard this season.
“He was a great kid,” Cherepanov’s agent, Jay Grossman, told TSN. “He had a great smile and was an outstanding player with a great future on and off the ice. It’s both shocking and devastating news for all of us.”source
The New York Post reported that Cherepanov suffered a heart attack and collapsed on the bench during Avangard Omsk’s game against Vityav Chekhov.
Former Rangers captain Jaromir Jagr had just finished a shift with Cherepanov and was talking to the him when the Russian suddenly collapsed.
TSN of Canada reported that medical officials attempted to get Cherepanov’s heart beating again. According to the web site, there was no ambulance present at the arena. The report stated that it took between “15 and 20 minutes” to transport Cherepanov from the arena to the hospital.
The Rangers observed a moment of silence in his honor prior to Monday’s game against the New Jersey Devils.
New York general manager Glen Sather addressed the tragedy in a statement released by the team.
“We are extremely saddened by the tragic passing of Alexei,” Sather said. “On behalf of the New York Rangers organization, I would like to extend our deepest sympathies to his family. Alexei was an intelligent, energetic young man with tremendous talent and an extremely bright future.”
The 17th overall selection in the 2007 draft, Cherepanov had been playing with Avangard Omsk of Russia’s Continental Hockey League. He had seven goals and five assists in 12 games for Avangard this season.
“He was a great kid,” Cherepanov’s agent, Jay Grossman, told TSN. “He had a great smile and was an outstanding player with a great future on and off the ice. It’s both shocking and devastating news for all of us.”source
Tainted milk, a baby's death and lawsuit in China
XINXING, China - Heartbroken at the sudden death of their baby boy, the Yi family struggled to forget what they thought was a tragic twist of fate. They burned his clothes, toys, everything but a single photo and the baby formula he drank.
Then health officials suddenly arrived at the family's rural home last month with shocking news: Milk contaminated by an industrial chemical might have killed their son. On Monday, the Yis filed a lawsuit against the company at the heart of the scandal — the first court action by a family of a child who died.
Unrecognized at the time, 6-month-old Yi Kaixuan's death in May made him among the first victims in what would become a nationwide scandal. It would be another four months before the dairy, Sanlu Group Co., revealed there was a problem, and the government later confirmed there was widespread contamination of China's milk supply. Four infants have died and tens of thousands of children were sickened.
"I have no idea how any of this happened," Yi Yongsheng, the baby's slight, soft-spoken father, told The Associated Press on Sunday as he ran his fingers through his hair.
His wife, Jiao Hongfang, crouched outside in the courtyard cooking silently. She had collapsed in grief at her son's death and again in September when officials came with news of the tainted milk.
"She doesn't want to face this anymore," Yi said.
The scandal is one of the worst tainted food crises in China in years. It has exposed shoddy practices in the booming dairy industry and raised questions about when the government first knew dairy products were contaminated with melamine, a chemical used in making plastics and fertilizers. Unscrupulous suppliers are suspected of adding it to watered-down milk to mask the resulting protein deficiency in quality tests.
Sanlu — a state-owned company whose products were the most heavily tainted — is now largely defunct, with the Xinhua News Agency reporting Monday that several other companies were vying to scoop up its assets.
Worst affected, however, have been China's poor, who turned to Sanlu products because they were less expensive.
In places like Xinxing, a town of brick and packed-earth houses surrounded by corn fields in the roughly terraced hills of western China, families have little. Yi spends most of the year working construction jobs in one of China's largest cities, Xi'an, while Jiao tends their small plot of land. The family makes about $580 a year.
The baby boy was their second child; they have a 5-year-old daughter. China's strict family planning rules allow many rural Chinese to have a second child in order to try for a boy, in a nod to traditional preferences for male heirs.
Infant formula for the baby was expensive but necessary. Jiao's breast milk wasn't enough, Yi said, so they started supplementing with milk powder. By his second month, formula was all the infant was fed. They thought the formula was healthy, and Sanlu was a brand with a good reputation.
"And it was just a little cheaper than the others," Yi said — $2.60 for a package that would last three or four days.
But on April 20, the baby wouldn't stop crying and had problems urinating. Jiao took him to the village clinic, but they couldn't pinpoint a problem.
Alarmed, Yi left his construction job and returned home. The family headed for the Gansu provincial capital, Lanzhou. On April 30, they took the baby to two city hospitals. Doctors were stunned, Yi said. They said they'd never seen a child with so many kidney stones, and the situation was critical.
A frenzy of testing followed, and the bills piled up past $145. The parents didn't sleep all night, waiting.
Around noon the next day, a doctor came to tell them their baby had died.
No one at the time, the doctors included, seemed to link the kidney stones and the infant formula.
Terrible luck, the family decided. In keeping with local custom that treats the death of a child so young as a tragedy best quickly forgotten, they burned everything. They kept a single photo of the child — shown with his grandfather during Chinese New Year in February — and the infant formula. It was a luxury and could be used for another child. There was no funeral.
"Burning those things was like walking away," Yi said. "To keep looking at them and remembering would be too sad."
The family did their best to forget the boy, until Gansu provincial health officials arrived in mid-September. They asked many questions and took samples of the baby formula, then told the family to wait — they would call later with information.
Since then, the family hasn't heard a word.
The Gansu provincial health department declined comment, its spokesman saying they do not give telephone interviews.
Yi only considered undertaking legal action after a friend contacted a Shanghai-based lawyer who'd grown up in the nearby city of Tianshui.
Attorney Dong Junming took the case without charge and started adding up the damages: $6,700, which Dong estimates equals 20 years of the average Gansu farmer's salary; $146,000 for emotional damages.
"Frankly? Sanlu won't pay out that much," Dong said Sunday at a cafe in Lanzhou, where he was making final preparations for filing the lawsuit. "But we think this situation is really shocking, so we're going to ask."
Such liability suits are rare in China, despite growing public awareness of an individual's legal rights. A group of some 100 lawyers who offered free legal advice to victims of the tainted milk scandal have faced official pressure to withdraw from the cases, attorney Chang Boyang told the AP. After the massive earthquake in May, some parents whose children died in the collapse of shoddily built schools said they were offered cash in return for signing pledges not to sue.
So far, just two other known lawsuits have been filed in the tainted milk scandal, both by families of babies who were sickened but survived. In both — one in southern Guangdong province, the other in central Henan — it is not clear whether the courts will accept the lawsuits. In the Yis' case, Dong said he was told the court would make a decision Tuesday.
In Xinxing, Yi is relying on Dong to handle the legal details. He studied no further than ninth grade, and Jiao only went to primary school. They had placed their future in their children.
Both Yi and his wife are only 30, and Yi said some day they might try for another child, a sibling for their daughter.
The girl, Yi Xuan, really liked her baby brother, Yi said. "But maybe she's already forgotten him."
Yi sat on a low stool as he spoke, the single photo of the baby on a table beside him. The daughter, pink-cheeked and shy, hid behind him but eventually noticed the photo. She smiled and said the baby's name.
She reached for the photo. But Yi looked hard at her and pushed it away.- AP
Then health officials suddenly arrived at the family's rural home last month with shocking news: Milk contaminated by an industrial chemical might have killed their son. On Monday, the Yis filed a lawsuit against the company at the heart of the scandal — the first court action by a family of a child who died.
Unrecognized at the time, 6-month-old Yi Kaixuan's death in May made him among the first victims in what would become a nationwide scandal. It would be another four months before the dairy, Sanlu Group Co., revealed there was a problem, and the government later confirmed there was widespread contamination of China's milk supply. Four infants have died and tens of thousands of children were sickened.
"I have no idea how any of this happened," Yi Yongsheng, the baby's slight, soft-spoken father, told The Associated Press on Sunday as he ran his fingers through his hair.
His wife, Jiao Hongfang, crouched outside in the courtyard cooking silently. She had collapsed in grief at her son's death and again in September when officials came with news of the tainted milk.
"She doesn't want to face this anymore," Yi said.
The scandal is one of the worst tainted food crises in China in years. It has exposed shoddy practices in the booming dairy industry and raised questions about when the government first knew dairy products were contaminated with melamine, a chemical used in making plastics and fertilizers. Unscrupulous suppliers are suspected of adding it to watered-down milk to mask the resulting protein deficiency in quality tests.
Sanlu — a state-owned company whose products were the most heavily tainted — is now largely defunct, with the Xinhua News Agency reporting Monday that several other companies were vying to scoop up its assets.
Worst affected, however, have been China's poor, who turned to Sanlu products because they were less expensive.
In places like Xinxing, a town of brick and packed-earth houses surrounded by corn fields in the roughly terraced hills of western China, families have little. Yi spends most of the year working construction jobs in one of China's largest cities, Xi'an, while Jiao tends their small plot of land. The family makes about $580 a year.
The baby boy was their second child; they have a 5-year-old daughter. China's strict family planning rules allow many rural Chinese to have a second child in order to try for a boy, in a nod to traditional preferences for male heirs.
Infant formula for the baby was expensive but necessary. Jiao's breast milk wasn't enough, Yi said, so they started supplementing with milk powder. By his second month, formula was all the infant was fed. They thought the formula was healthy, and Sanlu was a brand with a good reputation.
"And it was just a little cheaper than the others," Yi said — $2.60 for a package that would last three or four days.
But on April 20, the baby wouldn't stop crying and had problems urinating. Jiao took him to the village clinic, but they couldn't pinpoint a problem.
Alarmed, Yi left his construction job and returned home. The family headed for the Gansu provincial capital, Lanzhou. On April 30, they took the baby to two city hospitals. Doctors were stunned, Yi said. They said they'd never seen a child with so many kidney stones, and the situation was critical.
A frenzy of testing followed, and the bills piled up past $145. The parents didn't sleep all night, waiting.
Around noon the next day, a doctor came to tell them their baby had died.
No one at the time, the doctors included, seemed to link the kidney stones and the infant formula.
Terrible luck, the family decided. In keeping with local custom that treats the death of a child so young as a tragedy best quickly forgotten, they burned everything. They kept a single photo of the child — shown with his grandfather during Chinese New Year in February — and the infant formula. It was a luxury and could be used for another child. There was no funeral.
"Burning those things was like walking away," Yi said. "To keep looking at them and remembering would be too sad."
The family did their best to forget the boy, until Gansu provincial health officials arrived in mid-September. They asked many questions and took samples of the baby formula, then told the family to wait — they would call later with information.
Since then, the family hasn't heard a word.
The Gansu provincial health department declined comment, its spokesman saying they do not give telephone interviews.
Yi only considered undertaking legal action after a friend contacted a Shanghai-based lawyer who'd grown up in the nearby city of Tianshui.
Attorney Dong Junming took the case without charge and started adding up the damages: $6,700, which Dong estimates equals 20 years of the average Gansu farmer's salary; $146,000 for emotional damages.
"Frankly? Sanlu won't pay out that much," Dong said Sunday at a cafe in Lanzhou, where he was making final preparations for filing the lawsuit. "But we think this situation is really shocking, so we're going to ask."
Such liability suits are rare in China, despite growing public awareness of an individual's legal rights. A group of some 100 lawyers who offered free legal advice to victims of the tainted milk scandal have faced official pressure to withdraw from the cases, attorney Chang Boyang told the AP. After the massive earthquake in May, some parents whose children died in the collapse of shoddily built schools said they were offered cash in return for signing pledges not to sue.
So far, just two other known lawsuits have been filed in the tainted milk scandal, both by families of babies who were sickened but survived. In both — one in southern Guangdong province, the other in central Henan — it is not clear whether the courts will accept the lawsuits. In the Yis' case, Dong said he was told the court would make a decision Tuesday.
In Xinxing, Yi is relying on Dong to handle the legal details. He studied no further than ninth grade, and Jiao only went to primary school. They had placed their future in their children.
Both Yi and his wife are only 30, and Yi said some day they might try for another child, a sibling for their daughter.
The girl, Yi Xuan, really liked her baby brother, Yi said. "But maybe she's already forgotten him."
Yi sat on a low stool as he spoke, the single photo of the baby on a table beside him. The daughter, pink-cheeked and shy, hid behind him but eventually noticed the photo. She smiled and said the baby's name.
She reached for the photo. But Yi looked hard at her and pushed it away.- AP
China dairy sued over infant's toxic milk death
BEIJING - The family of a baby whose death has been blamed on toxic milk filed suit against one of China's largest dairies Monday, as another company ensnared in the scandal said it was a victim of unscrupulous subcontractors.
The lawsuit against Shijiazhuang Sanlu Group Co. was filed over the May 1 death of 6-month-old Yi Kaixuan in the northwestern city of Lanzhou, the family's lawyer said.
It is the first to be filed over a child who died from drinking the tainted milk and asks for almost 1.1 million yuan ($160,000) in damages.
Milk collection stations and individual farmers have been accused of watering down milk to increase volume, then adding the industrial chemical melamine to increase protein levels. Melamine, used mainly in plastics and fertilizer, is high in nitrogen and can make milk appear to contain more protein, which is what quality tests measure.
The practice has been blamed for causing the deaths of four infants and sickening 54,000 others, with 10,000 still hospitalized.
Speaking on a television talk show late Sunday, the president of Bright Dairy said his company had been "too nice" toward milk collection stations that bought milk from farmers. The comments appeared aimed at restoring consumer confidence in the wake of the scandal that has dinged the reputation of some of China's best-known food companies.
"We thought they were operating in good conscience," Guo Benheng said on state television's economics channel.
"I'd say we made an innocent mistake, although an innocent mistake is still a mistake. We are definitely making corrections," Guo said, according to a transcript of his remarks posted on official Web sites Monday.
Appearing on the same show, the vice president of Mengniu Dairy, one of the country's largest, said the scandal had affected the company profoundly.
"This sort of thing just tears your heart apart," Zhao Yuanhua said.
The Yi family's lawyer, Dong Junming, said he turned the lawsuit in at Lanzhou's No. 2 Intermediate People's Court where clerks told him they would notify him Tuesday as to whether it would be accepted.
At least two other lawsuits have been filed against Sanlu — the company at the center of the uproar — in recent weeks by parents of children suffering from kidney stones. It is not clear if courts will allow these suits to progress.
Product liability lawsuits are still relatively rare in China, and lawyers have complained of government pressure to withdraw from the cases.
The scandal has struck a blow to China's efforts to build global brand names and establish healthy business practices. Chinese milk powder and other food products have been banned from more than a dozen countries, worsening an increasingly painful downturn in China's crucial export sector and threatening household incomes in the vast, mostly poor countryside.
In a sign of the scandal's rising financial toll, newspapers on Monday reported said Chinese beverage-maker Hangzhou Wahaha Group was considering buying dairy assets from Sanlu.
Sanlu is 43 percent owned by New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra Group, which has already slashed the value of its investment. China's government took over and suspended Sanlu's operations last month, and company heads have been detained for investigation.
China's dairy industry has sped ahead in recent years, far outpacing regulatory structures aimed at ensuring safety and quality. Since the tainting scandal broke last month, strict standards for allowable melamine levels in food have been set and 5,000 government inspectors dispatched to provide 24-hour supervision over the industry.
Last week, police arrested a dairy farmer accused of producing 600 tons of melamine-spiked protein powder. Eight dairy farm owners and milk buyers were also arrested for purchasing the powder.
Latest tests on 172 batches of milk powder from 55 different brands showed them to be safe for melamine content, according to the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, the government's chief food quality inspector said Monday. So far, 1,300 batches of milk powder from 195 different brands produced after Sept. 14 have turned up safe, the administration said in a report posted on its Web site.
While small amounts of melamine can leech into milk from plastic packaging, deliberately adding the substance is strictly forbidden under rules announced last week. - source
The lawsuit against Shijiazhuang Sanlu Group Co. was filed over the May 1 death of 6-month-old Yi Kaixuan in the northwestern city of Lanzhou, the family's lawyer said.
It is the first to be filed over a child who died from drinking the tainted milk and asks for almost 1.1 million yuan ($160,000) in damages.
Milk collection stations and individual farmers have been accused of watering down milk to increase volume, then adding the industrial chemical melamine to increase protein levels. Melamine, used mainly in plastics and fertilizer, is high in nitrogen and can make milk appear to contain more protein, which is what quality tests measure.
The practice has been blamed for causing the deaths of four infants and sickening 54,000 others, with 10,000 still hospitalized.
Speaking on a television talk show late Sunday, the president of Bright Dairy said his company had been "too nice" toward milk collection stations that bought milk from farmers. The comments appeared aimed at restoring consumer confidence in the wake of the scandal that has dinged the reputation of some of China's best-known food companies.
"We thought they were operating in good conscience," Guo Benheng said on state television's economics channel.
"I'd say we made an innocent mistake, although an innocent mistake is still a mistake. We are definitely making corrections," Guo said, according to a transcript of his remarks posted on official Web sites Monday.
Appearing on the same show, the vice president of Mengniu Dairy, one of the country's largest, said the scandal had affected the company profoundly.
"This sort of thing just tears your heart apart," Zhao Yuanhua said.
The Yi family's lawyer, Dong Junming, said he turned the lawsuit in at Lanzhou's No. 2 Intermediate People's Court where clerks told him they would notify him Tuesday as to whether it would be accepted.
At least two other lawsuits have been filed against Sanlu — the company at the center of the uproar — in recent weeks by parents of children suffering from kidney stones. It is not clear if courts will allow these suits to progress.
Product liability lawsuits are still relatively rare in China, and lawyers have complained of government pressure to withdraw from the cases.
The scandal has struck a blow to China's efforts to build global brand names and establish healthy business practices. Chinese milk powder and other food products have been banned from more than a dozen countries, worsening an increasingly painful downturn in China's crucial export sector and threatening household incomes in the vast, mostly poor countryside.
In a sign of the scandal's rising financial toll, newspapers on Monday reported said Chinese beverage-maker Hangzhou Wahaha Group was considering buying dairy assets from Sanlu.
Sanlu is 43 percent owned by New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra Group, which has already slashed the value of its investment. China's government took over and suspended Sanlu's operations last month, and company heads have been detained for investigation.
China's dairy industry has sped ahead in recent years, far outpacing regulatory structures aimed at ensuring safety and quality. Since the tainting scandal broke last month, strict standards for allowable melamine levels in food have been set and 5,000 government inspectors dispatched to provide 24-hour supervision over the industry.
Last week, police arrested a dairy farmer accused of producing 600 tons of melamine-spiked protein powder. Eight dairy farm owners and milk buyers were also arrested for purchasing the powder.
Latest tests on 172 batches of milk powder from 55 different brands showed them to be safe for melamine content, according to the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, the government's chief food quality inspector said Monday. So far, 1,300 batches of milk powder from 195 different brands produced after Sept. 14 have turned up safe, the administration said in a report posted on its Web site.
While small amounts of melamine can leech into milk from plastic packaging, deliberately adding the substance is strictly forbidden under rules announced last week. - source
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Burn more calories--even while you're sleeping!
The word metabolism is thrown around a lot when it comes to weight loss--so much so that most of us don't even know what it means anymore. Simply put, metabolism is the process of converting calories from food into fuel. Your body is always burning calories--when you're eating, walking, working out or just sitting around breathing. Want to get more calorie-zapping power from all of these activities, 24/7? Our experts tell you how.
Eat Several Times a Day: Your metabolism is your body's furnace. Let it go too long without fuel and the fire will start dying down: You'll burn fewer calories all day long. Stoke it regularly with the right food, though, and it will burn happily away. British researchers learned that women who ate the same amount of food as usual but divided it into six mini meals got a small but notable metabolic boost compared to those who ate more irregularly. Why? Metabolism climbs during digestion, explains Roberta Anding, R.D., director of sports nutrition for Texas Children's Hospital in Houston. (Eat this food for breakfast if you want to lose weight!)
Munch on Protein: You may be able to maximize the calorie burn you get during digestion by eating proteins like lean meat, cottage cheese or eggs with each meal. A study of college women found that their metabolism jumped twice as high after eating a high-protein meal than one packed with carbs.
Strength-train: "Lean muscle tissue uses up more calories than fat tissue--even when you're just sitting around," says Wayne Westcott, Ph.D., fitness research director at the South Shore YMCA in Quincy, Massachusetts. "So the more muscle you have, the more you'll burn." The average woman can replace two to three pounds of fat with the same amount of muscle in just two months by lifting weights twice a week, research has shown. "That increases metabolism by 6 to 8 percent, which translates to burning about 100 extra calories a day," says Westcott. Nutritionist Anding is proof: She had her resting metabolic rate (the number of calories you burn in a day doing absolutely nothing) measured before and after she started strength-training two to three times a week. It jumped from 1,200 calories a day to 1,600 a day over the course of one year. (Get the body you were born to have with these workout tips from our celebrity trainer!)
Rev Up Your Cardio: The more intensely you exercise, the higher your metabolism climbs during your workout--and afterward, says Westcott. Since most of us would keel over if we sprinted for an entire 30- to 45-minute cardio session, your best bet is intervals: alternating one to two minutes of as-fast-as-you-can-go activity with three to four minutes at a more moderate pace. Work out like that and your body will continue to burn calories at a higher level for well over an hour after you finish, says Westcott. A Canadian study found that intervals helped women burn 36 percent more fat during their workouts compared with less intense sessions.
source
Eat Several Times a Day: Your metabolism is your body's furnace. Let it go too long without fuel and the fire will start dying down: You'll burn fewer calories all day long. Stoke it regularly with the right food, though, and it will burn happily away. British researchers learned that women who ate the same amount of food as usual but divided it into six mini meals got a small but notable metabolic boost compared to those who ate more irregularly. Why? Metabolism climbs during digestion, explains Roberta Anding, R.D., director of sports nutrition for Texas Children's Hospital in Houston. (Eat this food for breakfast if you want to lose weight!)
Munch on Protein: You may be able to maximize the calorie burn you get during digestion by eating proteins like lean meat, cottage cheese or eggs with each meal. A study of college women found that their metabolism jumped twice as high after eating a high-protein meal than one packed with carbs.
Strength-train: "Lean muscle tissue uses up more calories than fat tissue--even when you're just sitting around," says Wayne Westcott, Ph.D., fitness research director at the South Shore YMCA in Quincy, Massachusetts. "So the more muscle you have, the more you'll burn." The average woman can replace two to three pounds of fat with the same amount of muscle in just two months by lifting weights twice a week, research has shown. "That increases metabolism by 6 to 8 percent, which translates to burning about 100 extra calories a day," says Westcott. Nutritionist Anding is proof: She had her resting metabolic rate (the number of calories you burn in a day doing absolutely nothing) measured before and after she started strength-training two to three times a week. It jumped from 1,200 calories a day to 1,600 a day over the course of one year. (Get the body you were born to have with these workout tips from our celebrity trainer!)
Rev Up Your Cardio: The more intensely you exercise, the higher your metabolism climbs during your workout--and afterward, says Westcott. Since most of us would keel over if we sprinted for an entire 30- to 45-minute cardio session, your best bet is intervals: alternating one to two minutes of as-fast-as-you-can-go activity with three to four minutes at a more moderate pace. Work out like that and your body will continue to burn calories at a higher level for well over an hour after you finish, says Westcott. A Canadian study found that intervals helped women burn 36 percent more fat during their workouts compared with less intense sessions.
source
Friday, October 10, 2008
A-1-Derful Mini Pizzas Recipe
Ingredients:
3/4 pound ground beef
1/4 cup minced onion
1 can (6 oz. size) tomato paste
3 tablespoons A.1. Steak sauce
1 teaspoon Italian herb seasonings
6 English muffins, split and toasted
2 cups sliced mozzarella cheese
grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup sliced green onion
Directions:
In med. skillet, cook and crumble meat until no longer pink; drain. Add onion and cook until soft. Mix in tomato paste, steak sauce and Italian herb seasoning; cook until mixture simmers.
Spread muffin halves with meat mixture. Top with cheeses and green onion. Place on baking sheet. Broil 2 to 4 minutes or until cheese is melted.
*
« Previous Entries
Bertucci's Nolio Pizza Recipe
Ingredients:
* 1 medium yellow onion
* 1 teaspoon white pepper
* 1 cup heavy cream
* 1/2 lemon
* 1 1/2 cup shredded prosciutto
* 1 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
* 1 pack[...]
Posted in Pizza Recipes bertucci pizza
Bite-Size Pizzas
Ingredients:
* 4 English Muffins -- halved
* 1 cup Pizza Sauce
* 1/2 cup Ham, extra lean -- chopped
* 1/3 cup Onions -- finely chopped
* 1 1/2 cup Mozzarella Cheese, part skim milk -- shredded[...]
Posted in Pizza Recipes Muffin pizza
BLT Pizza
Ingredients:
* 1 Italian bread shell (12 in. size)
* 1/3 cup Mayonnaise
* 4 plum tomatoes sliced
* 1/2 cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
* 8 slices Bacon, cut into quarters, cooked
* 1 c[...]
Posted in Pizza Recipes blt pizza
Breakfast Pizza Recipe
Ingredients:
* 1 pound pork sausage
* 1 cup hash browns
* 1 cup shredded cheese
* 5 eggs with milk to scramble
* 1 (8 ounce) package of crescent rolls
Directions:
[...]
Posted in Pizza Recipes breakfast pizza
Breakfast Pizza Recipe 2
Ingredients:
* 1 (8 oz.) can refrigerator crescent dinner rolls
* 6 eggs beaten
* 1 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled
* 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Spread rolls onto a lightly greased 12 inch pizza pan; firmly pressing perforations to seal. Combine eggs, bacon and cheese. Pour over crust. Bake at 375'F for 12-15 minutes. Cut like pizza and serve.
History and Recipes
Certain words stick out in the food industry - these words notify us how the food is presumably cooked, they hail in comparison to the words hand tossed. This phrase gets more and more popularity, as it is used more and more times by the owners of pizza shops.
The words “ History and Recipes” carries the users into an ancient times when the things were good enough and simple at the same time. This phrase also says the buyers that the food is not just processed by machines, but rather made by hand.
Repeatedly, when people ask pizzeria owner why they mark the “Hand Tossed” variety with featured, they will answer that it is better than the most other pizzas, how delicious their tastes are.
Classic hand tossed pizza gives us a feeling that we are eating pizza similar to the Italian pizza of the good ol’ days. In fact, this kind of pizzas - hand tossing pizza - requires much more work, but the quality of such pizza generally makes it worth this work.
The point is that hand tossed pizza is just better than pizza we used to eat. Dough preparation just has a huge effect on the overall taste of the pizza.
Digressing from the tastefully appealing side of classic hand tossed pizza, most everyone acclaims to its wonderful taste. The pizza is much less falsified when it is shaped by human hands. In this case, pizza that is was made by our hands will be more gently than a pizza made using machines, and so has more offbeat crust. Really, tossing in the air gives more gas to the dough for pizza, which makes its crust wonderful.
Most pizza shop owners has their own dough recipe but keeps it in a secret.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Vietnam finds tainted products from China
HANOI, Vietnam - Vietnam's health ministry has discovered the industrial chemical melamine in 18 dairy and biscuit products imported from China and three other countries and has ordered them recalled and destroyed, officials said Friday.
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Meanwhile, Russian news agencies reported that food inspectors found nearly two tons of Chinese dry milk believed to be contaminated with melamine. And Philippines health officials found melamine in two of 30 milk products from China that were tested for the chemical.
Recent tests in Vietnam found melamine in dairy products and biscuits imported from China, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, according to a statement on the Ministry of Health's Web site.
Milk containing melamine has been blamed for killing four babies and sickening more than 54,000 others in China, sparking global concerns about food products made with Chinese milk or milk powder.
The Vietnamese statement did not list all the brand names that tested positive for melamine, but among them were five different varieties of Yili milk from China.
"We will intensify our inspections for melamine contamination to ensure the safety of consumers," said Nguyen Thi Khanh Tram, vice director of Vietnam's food safety administration.
Most of the contaminated items were milk and dairy products from China, the ministry said.
However, they also included biscuits imported from Malaysia and Indonesia as well as a powdered dairy creamer imported from Thailand. It was not clear whether the products had been produced in those countries or simply shipped to Vietnam from warehouses there.
Even before the test results were announced, retailers across Vietnam had begun removing tons of Chinese dairy products from their shelves and importers have been destroying them, according to Vietnamese media reports.
Vietnamese authorities have also said they will require all milk products to be tested before they can be imported into the country.
The milk scandal has sparked global concern about Chinese food imports and recalls in several countries of Chinese-made products.
Philippine Health Secretary Francisco Duque III identified the two tainted brands Friday as Mengniu and Yili, which have already been found to be contaminated in tests in China.
Duque said 28 other products, including M&M chocolate candies, powdered milk and yogurt have been cleared for sale and 200 more were being tested. Additional results may be released early next week.
The Philippine government halted the importation and sale of Chinese milk products pending inspections last week after melamine-tainted milk was blamed for four deaths and kidney stones and other illnesses in 54,000 children in China.
Russia's ITAR-Tass quoted Russia's chief epidemiologist Gennady Onishchenko as saying that the 2 tons of dry milk was seized in the Far Eastern city of Khabarovsk, on the Chinese border.
ADVERTISEMENT
Meanwhile, Russian news agencies reported that food inspectors found nearly two tons of Chinese dry milk believed to be contaminated with melamine. And Philippines health officials found melamine in two of 30 milk products from China that were tested for the chemical.
Recent tests in Vietnam found melamine in dairy products and biscuits imported from China, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, according to a statement on the Ministry of Health's Web site.
Milk containing melamine has been blamed for killing four babies and sickening more than 54,000 others in China, sparking global concerns about food products made with Chinese milk or milk powder.
The Vietnamese statement did not list all the brand names that tested positive for melamine, but among them were five different varieties of Yili milk from China.
"We will intensify our inspections for melamine contamination to ensure the safety of consumers," said Nguyen Thi Khanh Tram, vice director of Vietnam's food safety administration.
Most of the contaminated items were milk and dairy products from China, the ministry said.
However, they also included biscuits imported from Malaysia and Indonesia as well as a powdered dairy creamer imported from Thailand. It was not clear whether the products had been produced in those countries or simply shipped to Vietnam from warehouses there.
Even before the test results were announced, retailers across Vietnam had begun removing tons of Chinese dairy products from their shelves and importers have been destroying them, according to Vietnamese media reports.
Vietnamese authorities have also said they will require all milk products to be tested before they can be imported into the country.
The milk scandal has sparked global concern about Chinese food imports and recalls in several countries of Chinese-made products.
Philippine Health Secretary Francisco Duque III identified the two tainted brands Friday as Mengniu and Yili, which have already been found to be contaminated in tests in China.
Duque said 28 other products, including M&M chocolate candies, powdered milk and yogurt have been cleared for sale and 200 more were being tested. Additional results may be released early next week.
The Philippine government halted the importation and sale of Chinese milk products pending inspections last week after melamine-tainted milk was blamed for four deaths and kidney stones and other illnesses in 54,000 children in China.
Russia's ITAR-Tass quoted Russia's chief epidemiologist Gennady Onishchenko as saying that the 2 tons of dry milk was seized in the Far Eastern city of Khabarovsk, on the Chinese border.
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