Study Finds Most Pork Contaminated

Label:

Nov 27, 2012 6:24pm








A sample of raw pork products from supermarkets around the United States found that yersinia enterocolitica, a lesser-known food-borne pathogen, was present in 69 percent of the products tested, according to a study released today by Consumer Reports.


The  bacteria  infects more than 100,000 Americans a year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but  for every case that is confirmed with a laboratory test, about 120 more cases escape diagnosis. Symptoms can include fever, cramps and bloody diarrhea.


For its sample, Consumer Reports included the same pork products millions of Americans buy every day at their supermarkets. The study included 148 pork chops and 50 ground pork samples from around the United States.


In the samples tested, 69 percent tested positive for yersinia and 11 percent for enterococcus, which can indicate fecal contamination that can lead to urinary-tract infections. Salmonella and listeria, the more well-known bacterium, registered at 4 percent and 3 percent, respectively.


“The results were concerning,”  Urvashi Rangan, one of the authors of the report, told ABCNews.com. “It’s hard to say that there was no problem.  It shows that there needs to be better hygiene at animal plants. Yersinia wasn’t even being monitored for.”


In a written statement, the Pork Producer’s Council questioned the methods used by Consumer Reports, saying the number of samples tested, 198, did  ”not provide a nationally informative estimate of the true prevalence of the cited bacteria on meat.”


Despite the findings, Rangan said  it’s good to know that the bacteria can be killed by cooking the pork properly and by being vigilant about cross-contamination.


Pork cuts should be cooked to 145 degrees, while ground pork needs to reach a temperature of 160 degrees to kill the bacteria.


“Anything that touches raw meat should go into the dishwasher before touching anything else,” Rangan said. ”Juices from raw meat that touch the counter should be washed with hot soapy water.”


The U.S. Department of Agriculture  said the findings “affirm that companies are meeting the established guidelines for protecting the public’s health.


“USDA will remain vigilant against emerging and evolving threats to the safety of America’s supply of meat, poultry and processed egg products, and we will continue to work with the industry to ensure companies are following food safety procedures in addition to looking for new ways to strengthen the protection of public health,” the department said in a statement.


ABC News’ Dr. Anita Chu contributed reporting. 



SHOWS: Good Morning America World News







Read More..

Keeping the financial regulators on their toes

Label:

When members of Congress need factual information and insights into the effectiveness of the financial laws put in place after the 2008 economic crisis, they regularly turn to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and Orice Williams Brown.


Initially as director and now as managing director of the GAO’s financial markets and community investment section, Brown and her staff have issued dozens of reports examining the flaws and offering recommendations to improve the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) bailout fund, the Wall Street regulatory reform law and the initiatives to prevent housing foreclosures.

Read More..

My Waterway@Punggol wins another award

Label:





SINGAPORE: HDB's My Waterway@Punggol project has won an international gold award.

It clinched the honour under the Project Built section in the 2012 International Award for Liveable Communities conferred by the LivCom Management Company.

The award recognizes International Best Practices in the management of the local environment and is endorsed by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

My Waterway@Punggol was chosen as the winner by an independent panel of environmental and landscape management experts.

All project entries were judged based on the following criteria: Enhancement of the natural and Built Landscape, arts, culture and heritage, environmental best practices, community participation and empowerment, healthy lifestyle and strategic planning.

The Livcom Awards are given out annually since 1997 and over 50 countries have been represented at the Awards.

Besides winning the LivCom Awards 2012, My Waterway@Punggol's most recent accolades include the FIABCI Singapore Property Award in October 2012 and the Global Superior Achievement Award by the International Water Association in August 2012.

The LivCom Awards 2012 winners were announced at the award ceremony held in Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates on Monday.

- CNA/ir



Read More..

Parliament again disrupted over retail FDI

Label:
NEW DELHI: Parliament was disrupted for the fourth day on Tuesday as the opposition continued its protests against the government's policy on allowing foreign investment in multi-brand retail.

The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha could not carry on with question hour as members of the opposition raised a din inside the two houses over the foreign direct investment (FDI) policy that they claim will hit small traders.

Within minutes of proceedings beginning, opposition MPs were on their feet raising slogans against the FDI policy.

In the Lok Sabha, Speaker Meira Kumar said, "The first question is on crime against women and you are not allowing it."

Despite her request to take their seats, the MPs continued with their sloganeering, resulting in Meira Kumar adjourning the house till 12 noon.

Similar scenes were witnessed in the Rajya Sabha with Hamid Ansari asking the MPs, who trooped near his podium carrying placards that had slogans against the FDI policy, to return to their seats.

As the MPs continued to raise slogans, Ansari adjourned the house till 12 noon.

Read More..

Space Pictures This Week: Space "Horse," Mars Rover, More

Label:




































































































');



































































































































































 $'+ doc.ngstore_price_t +'';
html += ' $'+ doc.ngstore_saleprice_t +'';
} else {
html += ' $'+ doc.ngstore_price_t +'';
}
html += '
';

$("#ecom_43331 ul.ecommerce_all_img").append(html);




o.totItems++;

}// end for loop
} // end if data.response.numFound != 0

if(o.totItems != o.maxItems){
if(o.defaultItems.length > 0){
o.getItemByID(o.defaultItems.shift());
} else if(o.isSearchPage && !o.searchComplete){
o.doSearchPage();
} else if(!o.searchComplete) {
o.byID = false;
o.doSearch();
}
}// end if
}// end parseResults function

o.trim = function(str) {
return str.replace(/^\s\s*/, '').replace(/\s\s*$/, '');
}

o.doSearchPage = function(){
o.byID = false;

var tempSearch = window.location.search;
var searchTerms ="default";
var temp;

if( tempSearch.substr(0,7) == "?search"){
temp = tempSearch.substr(7).split("&");
searchTerms = temp[0];
} else {
temp = tempSearch.split("&");
for(var j=0;j 0){
o.getItemByID(o.defaultItems.shift());
} else if(o.isSearchPage){
o.doSearchPage();
} else {
o.doSearch();
}

}// end init function

}// end ecommerce object

var store_43331 = new ecommerce_43331();





store_43331.init();









































































































































































Read More..

Co. Paying Just $1,200 for Each Factory Fire Life

Label:












A company that makes clothes for Sean Combs' clothing brand ENYCE and other U.S. labels reassured investors that a factory fire that killed 112 people over the weekend would not harm its balance sheet, and also pledged to pay the families of the dead $1,200 per victim.


In an announcement Monday, Li & Fung Ltd., a middleman company that supplies clothes from Bangladesh factories to U.S. brands, said "it wishes to clarify" that the deadly Saturday night blaze at the high-rise Tazreen Fashions factory outside Dhaka "will not have any material impact on the financial performance" of the firm.


The fire broke out on the ground floor of the nine-floor building as hundreds of workers were upstairs on a late-night shift producing fleece jackets and trousers for the holiday rush at American stores, including Wal-Mart, according to labor rights groups. Fire officials said the only way out was down open staircases that fed right into the flames. Some workers died as they jumped from higher floors.


PHOTOS from the factory fire.


After reassuring investors about its financial health, Li & Fung's statement went on to express "deepest condolences" to the families of the dead, and pledge the equivalent of $1,200 to each family. The company also said it would set up an educational fund for the victims' children.








Bangladesh Garment Factory Fire Leaves 112 Dead Watch Video









As reported on "ABC World News with Diane Sawyer" earlier this year, Bangladesh has become a favorite of many American retailers, drawn by the cheapest labor in the world, as low as 21 cents an hour, producing clothes in crowded conditions that would be illegal in the U.S. In the past five years, more than 700 Bangladeshi garment workers have died in factory fires.


READ the original ABC News report.


WATCH the original 'World News' report on deadly factories.


"[It's] the cheapest place, the worst conditions, the most dangerous conditions for workers and yet orders continue to pour in," said Scott Nova, executive director of Worker Rights Consortium, an American group working to improve conditions at factories abroad that make clothes for U.S. companies. Nova said the fire was the most deadly in the history of the Bangladesh apparel industry, and "one of the worst in any country."


Today, U.S. companies extended condolences to the families of the victims, and scrambled to answer questions about the dangerous factory that had been making their clothes.


Wal-Mart inspectors had warned last year that "the factory had violations or conditions which were deemed to be high risk," according to a document posted on-line.


Yet Wal-mart clothing continued to be made at the factory, according to workers groups who found clothing with Wal-Mart's private label, Faded Glory, in the burned out remains along with clothing for a number of other U.S. labels, including ENYCE, Dickies and a brand associated with Sears.


Wal-Mart confirmed Monday that its clothes were being made at the Tazreen factory. Even though Wal-Mart is famed for maintaining tight control over its supply chain, the company said its clothes were being made at the plant without its knowledge.






Read More..

Bangladesh garment factory fire under control

Label:





DHAKA: Bangladesh firefighters on Monday quelled a blaze at a 12-storey building housing four different garment factories in Dhaka, days after a fire killed 110 textile workers in a different facility.

Some workers had been trapped on the roof by the new fire, but authorities said that although they were still searching the building, they believed most had escaped and there were no reported deaths.

"We don't have any casualties but the firefighters will search the building and see whether anyone has been suffocated," Dhaka deputy commissioner of police Nisharul Arif told AFP.

"Most workers broke grills in the upper floors and escaped to a safe location at an adjacent building."

Thousands of garment workers staged protests on Monday demanding better protection after the deadly inferno on Saturday night that trapped more than 1,000 workers and forced many to jump from windows and roofs.

- AFP/ck



Read More..

Government open to debate on FDI in retail: Kamal Nath

Label:
NEW DELHI: The government was open to discussions on foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail, parliamentary affairs minister Kamal Nath said on Monday ahead of an all-party meeting on the ongoing logjam in parliament.

"Government is open for a discussion on the issue of FDI in multi-brand retail. The primary concern is that the house must be allowed to function," Kamal Nath told reporters in the Parliament House complex.

He said the government would try to strike an agreement in the all-party meet. However, he remained noncommittal on whether the government would allow a debate under rules that entail voting.

Major opposition parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Left, have been demanding a debate in the Lok Sabha on the issue under rule 184, which entails voting.

Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha adjourned till noon

Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned till 12 noon on Monday as differences continued over the issue of foreign investment in multi-brand retail and the cap on subsidised LPG cylinders.

Trinamool Congress members rushed towards the speaker's podium to noisily voice their protest, forcing the house to adjourn soon after it began.

Read More..

Distant Dwarf Planet Secrets Revealed

Label:

Orbiting at the frozen edges of our solar system, the mysterious dwarf planet Makemake is finally coming out of the shadows as astronomers get their best view yet of Pluto's little sibling.

Discovered in 2005, Makemake—pronounced MAH-keh MAH-keh after a Polynesian creation god—is one of five Pluto-like objects that prompted a redefining of the term "planet" and the creation of a new group of dwarf planets in 2006. (Related: "Pluto Not a Planet, Astronomers Rule.")

Just like the slightly larger Pluto, this icy world circles our sun beyond Neptune. Researchers expected Makemake to also have a global atmosphere—but new evidence reveals that isn't the case.

Staring at a Star

An international team of astronomers was able for the first time to probe Makemake's physical characteristics using the European Southern Observatory's three most powerful telescopes in Chile. The researchers observed the change in light given off by a distant star as the dwarf planet passed in front of it. (Learn how scientists found Makemake.)

"These events are extremely difficult to predict and observe, but they are the only means of obtaining accurate knowledge of important properties of dwarf planets," said Jose Luis Ortiz, lead author of this new study and an astronomer at the Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia, in Spain.

It's like trying to study a coin from a distance of 30 miles (48 kilometers) or more, Ortiz added.

Ortiz and his team knew Makemake didn't have an atmosphere when light from the background star abruptly dimmed and brightened as the chilly world drifted across its face.

"The light went off very abruptly from all the sites we observed the event so this means this world cannot have a substantial and global atmosphere like that of its sibling Pluto," Ortiz said.

If Makemake had an atmosphere, light from the star would gradually decrease and increase as the dwarf planet passed in front.

Coming Into Focus

The team's new observations add much more detail to our view of Makemake—not only limiting the possibility of an atmosphere but also determining the planet's size and surface more accurately.

"We think Makemake is a sphere flattened slightly at both poles and mostly covered with very white ices—mainly of methane," said Ortiz.

"But there are also indications for some organic material at least at some places; this material is usually very red and we think in a small percentage of the surface, the terrain is quite dark," he added.

Why Makemake lacks a global atmosphere remains a big mystery, but Ortiz does have a theory. Pluto is covered in nitrogen ice. When the sun heats this volatile material, it turns straight into a gas, creating Pluto's atmosphere.

Makemake lacks nitrogen ice on its surface, so there is nothing for the sun to heat into a gas to provide an atmosphere.

The dwarf planet has less mass, and a weaker gravitational field, than Pluto, said Ortiz. This means that over eons of time, Makemake may not have been able to hang on to its nitrogen.

Methane ice will also transform into a gas when heated. But since the dwarf planet is nearly at its furthest distance from the sun, Ortiz believes that Makemake's surface methane is still frozen. (Learn about orbital planes.)

And even if the methane were to transform into a gas, any resulting atmosphere would cover, at most, only ten percent of the planet, said Ortiz.

The new results are detailed today in the journal Nature.


Read More..

GOP Starting to Rebel Against No-Tax-Hikes Pledge

Label:












With the fiscal cliff looming for the United States, some Republican members of Congress said today they are ready to break a long standing pledge not to raise taxes.


"The only pledge we should be making to each other is to avoid becoming Greece. And Republicans should put revenue on the table," South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham said on ABC's "This Week."


Read more of the discussion of the fiscal on "This Week" today.


Graham's comments followed those by another Republican senator, Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, who said last week he'll no longer abide by the pledge.


"I care more about my country than I do about a 20-year-old pledge," he said in a local interview.


He got support today from House member Peter King, another Republican from New York.


"I agree entirely with Saxby Chambliss -- a pledge he signed 20 years ago, 18 years ago is for that Congress," King said on NBC's "Meet the Press." He added, "The world is changed and the economic situation is different."






JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images











Sen. Lindsey Graham and Sen. Dick Durbin on 'This Week' Watch Video











Loathed and Loved: What We Never Knew About J.R. Ewing Watch Video





Read Matthew Dowd's analysis of the efforts to avoid the fiscal cliff.


This growing chorus is about the pledge that Americans for Tax Reform president Grover Norquist has gotten hundreds of Republicans to sign. But in an interview with ABC News, Norquist says it's just a few deserters.


"The people who have made a commitment to their constituents are largely keeping it," he said. "The fact is there is more support for both protecting the rates, you saw the Republican leader in the house say rates are non-negotiable, and he also talked about revenue coming from growth."


But President Obama has said rates will go up for the wealthy. There could be some political cover for Republicans if the country actually goes over the cliff. All the Bush era tax cuts would expire, including those for the wealthy. Congress could then vote to actually reduce taxes for everyone expect the rich. Therefore, they wouldn't technically raise taxes and violate Norquist's pledge.


But Nordquist said he doesn't think the public would buy those political moves, and he also doesn't think the country will actually go over the cliff.


"I think we'll continue the tax cuts. Not raise taxes $500 billion. Obama made the correct decision (by extending the Bush tax cuts) two years ago," Norquist told us.


Leading Democratic Sen. Richard Durbin also said he believes a deal is possible now that the Thanksgiving holiday break is over.


"We can solve this problem," he said on "This Week," adding: "There's no excuse. We're back in town."



Read More..

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)