A new study has found that babies that are breastfed for longer than six months have significantly better mental health in childhood. The findings are based on data from the ground-breaking Raine Study at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, that has tracked the growth and development of more than 2500 West Australian children over the past 16 years.
Trans fatty acid contents must be declared if a nutrition claim is made in respect of cholesterol or saturated, trans, polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fatty acids; or omega-3, omega-6 or omega-9 fatty acids. Some food manufacturers voluntarily list the amount of trans fatty acids in their products.
The Ministerial Council has agreed to a Policy Guideline on Regulation of Low Level Residues from Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals in Food. This Policy Guideline will be forwarded to Food Standards Australia New Zealand for considering alternative approaches to the current zero tolerance approach to the regulation of residues of agricultural and veterinary chemicals in food.
All Ministerial Council members reinforced their commitment to reduce the number of neural tube defects through mandatory fortification with folic acid as quickly as possible. The Ministerial Council discussed the Final Assessment Report from Food Standards Australia New Zealand on a proposal for consideration of mandatory fortification of food with folic acid.
The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Ageing, Christopher Pyne, announced today the establishment of a National Collaboration on Trans Fats that will propose initiatives aimed at reducing the amount of trans fatty acids in food sold in Australia. Mr Pyne said that the National Heart Foundation of Australia, the Dietitians Association of Australia, the Australian Food and Grocery Council and Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) would lead the initiative.
Investigators say wild pigs were very likely the source of a spinach E. Coli outbreak that caused the death of three people and made over 200 people ill in the USA and Canada. Six new samples of toxic E. coli bacteria have been found, a state health official said.
Adolescents who experience persistent depression appear to be at greater risk of abnormal psychosocial and mental functioning in young adulthood than those who have episodic depression, research reveals.
Researchers have found altered neural synchronization in people who smoke cannabis, providing evidence to support the link between the use of this drug and schizophrenia.
Study findings have suggested that rumination may be a risk factor for depression in adolescents, possibly mediating, at least in part, the relationship between neuroticism and the psychiatric disorder.
Scientists in Hong Kong have identified a protein that can help suppress the growth of prostate cancer cells, the third most common cancer in men worldwide, and the finding might pave the way for the making of a new drug but not so soon.