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Us ice cream makers say they'll stop using artificial dyes by 2028

Us ice cream makers say they'll stop using artificial dyes by 2028

Al Arabiya14-07-2025
Ice cream makers representing about 90 percent of the US supply of the frozen treat have pledged to remove artificial dyes from their products in less than three years, federal health officials said Monday. The move is the latest voluntary effort by food manufacturers to heed calls from the Trump administration to remove synthetic dyes over concerns about potential health effects. In recent weeks, companies including Nestle, Kraft Heinz, and General Mills said they would pull artificial colors from their foods, too.
'This is a Renaissance moment for health in America,' US Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary said at a news conference. About 40 makers of ice cream and frozen dairy desserts said they would remove seven petroleum-based dyes from their products by 2028, according to Michael Dykes, president of the International Dairy Foods Association. The colors are Red 3, Red 40, Green 3, Blue 1, Blue 2, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6. The trade group wouldn't identify the firms, although Turkey Hill Dairy chief executive Andy Jacobs joined the gathering.
'The national focus on artificial food dyes is a good step to take, but officials should not ignore larger known contributors to chronic disease, including the added sugars and saturated fat commonly found in ice cream,' said Deanna Hoelscher, a University of Texas nutrition expert. 'Just taking out or changing the food dye source is not necessarily going to make it a healthy option,' she said. 'It still is a food that should be consumed in moderation.' However, Makary also hinted that new federal dietary guidelines expected later this year would challenge established links between saturated fat and heart disease, ending what he called a 70-year demonization of natural saturated fat. The average American eats about 4 gallons of ice cream a year, the IDFA said.
Health advocates have long called for the removal of artificial dyes from foods, citing mixed studies showing that they may cause some neurobehavioral problems, such as hyperactivity and attention problems in some children. The Food and Drug Administration has maintained that approved dyes are safe and that most children have no adverse effects when consuming foods made with them. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has criticized the dyes and pressured manufacturers to remove them from foods. In their place, manufacturers should use dyes made from fruit juices, plant extracts, and other sources, federal officials said. The FDA has approved new natural color additives in recent months, including a new blue color made from the fruit of the gardenia, announced Monday. 'Gardenia (genipin) blue is approved for use in sports drinks, candies, and certain other products,' the agency said.
Makary also sent a letter to food manufacturers on Monday that encourages them to speed up removal of the dye known as Red 3, which was banned in January. Food makers have until 2027 to remove the dye, which was found to cause cancer in laboratory rats but not humans. Some food companies have said they will stop using artificial dyes, but relying on voluntary action rather than regulatory requirements won't guarantee compliance, said Thomas Galligan, a scientist with the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a consumer advocacy group. 'Talk is cheap,' Galligan said. 'It's easy for companies to make promises to look like they're being compliant and generate goodwill among consumers and the Trump administration, but it remains to be seen if they will actually follow through.'
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Nih cuts spotlight a hidden crisis facing patients with experimental brain implants
Nih cuts spotlight a hidden crisis facing patients with experimental brain implants

Al Arabiya

time2 hours ago

  • Al Arabiya

Nih cuts spotlight a hidden crisis facing patients with experimental brain implants

Carol Seeger finally escaped her debilitating depression with an experimental treatment that placed electrodes in her brain and a pacemaker-like device in her chest. But when its batteries stopped working, insurance wouldn't pay to fix the problem, and she sank back into a dangerous darkness. She worried for her life, asking herself: 'Why am I putting myself through this?' Seeger's predicament highlights a growing problem for hundreds of people with experimental neural implants, including those for depression, quadriplegia, and other conditions. Although these patients take big risks to advance science, there's no guarantee that their devices will be maintained – particularly after they finish participating in clinical trials – and no mechanism requiring companies or insurers to do so. 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'While companies stand to profit from research, there's really nothing that helps ensure that device manufacturers have to provide any of these parts or cover any kind of maintenance,' said Lázaro-Muñoz. Some companies also move on to newer versions of devices or abandon the research altogether, which can leave patients in an uncertain place. Medtronic, the company that made the deep brain stimulation or DBS technology Seeger used, said in a statement that every study is different and that the company puts patient safety first when considering care after studies end. 'People consider various possibilities when they join a clinical trial.' The Food and Drug Administration requires the informed consent process to include a description of reasonably foreseeable risks and discomforts to the participant, a spokesperson said. However, the FDA doesn't require trial plans to include procedures for long-term device follow-up and maintenance, although the spokesperson stated that the agency has requested those in the past. While some informed consent forms say devices will be removed at a study's end, Lázaro-Muñoz said removal is ethically problematic when a device is helping a patient. Plus, he said some trial participants told him and his colleagues that they didn't remember everything discussed during the consent process, partly because they were so focused on getting better. Brandy Ellis, a 49-year-old in Boynton Beach, Florida, said she was desperate for healing when she joined a trial testing the same treatment Seeger got, which delivers an electrical current into the brain to treat severe depression. She was willing to sign whatever forms were necessary to get help after nothing else had worked. 'I was facing death,' she said. 'So it was most definitely consent at the barrel of a gun, which is true for a lot of people who are in a terminal condition.' Patients risk losing a treatment of last resort – Ellis and Seeger, 64, both turned to DBS as a last resort after trying many approved medications and treatments. 'I got in the trial fully expecting it not to work because nothing else had. So I was kind of surprised when it did,' said Ellis, whose device was implanted in 2011 at Emory University in Atlanta. 'I am celebrating every single milestone because I'm like: 'This is all bonus life for me.'' She's now on her third battery. She needed surgery to replace two single-use ones, and the one she has now is rechargeable. She's lucky her insurance has covered the procedures, she said, but she worries it may not in the future. 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'This is a treatment that absolutely works but only as long as I've got a working device.'

Pakistan reports three fresh polio cases, taking 2025 tally to 17
Pakistan reports three fresh polio cases, taking 2025 tally to 17

Arab News

time9 hours ago

  • Arab News

Pakistan reports three fresh polio cases, taking 2025 tally to 17

KARACHI: Pakistani authorities on Sunday reported three new polio cases across the country, taking the 2025 tally to 17 amid Islamabad's efforts to eliminate the disease. Polio is a highly infectious viral disease that primarily affects young children and can cause permanent paralysis. There is no cure, but it can be prevented through multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and a complete routine immunization schedule, experts say. Pakistan, one of only two countries in the world where polio remains endemic, the other being neighboring Afghanistan, has made significant gains in recent decades. Annual cases have fallen dramatically from an estimated 20,000 in the early 1990s to single digits by 2018. However, the country has witnessed a worrying resurgence recently. Pakistan reported 74 cases in 2024, raising alarms among health officials and global partners supporting the eradication campaign. In contrast, only six cases were recorded in 2023 and just one in 2021. 'The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad, has confirmed three new polio cases— two from the districts of Lakki Marwat and North Waziristan in South Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one from District Umerkot in Sindh,' Pakistan's National Emergencies Operation Center said. The new cases include a 15-month-old girl from District Lakki Marwat, a six-month-old girl from North Waziristan district and a 60-month-old boy from District Umerkot, the statement said. Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province has reported the highest number of polio cases this year, 10, followed by five from Sindh and one each from Punjab and northern Gilgit-Baltistan region. The NEOC noted that despite 'substantial progress' in polio eradication efforts, the new polio cases underscore the persistent risk to children, especially in areas where vaccine acceptance remains low. 'It is crucial for communities to understand that poliovirus can resurface wherever immunity gaps exist,' it said. 'Every unvaccinated child is at risk and can also pose a risk to others.' The NEOC said an anti-polio vaccination campaign is currently underway, which was launched from July21-27 in Pakistan's union councils bordering Afghanistan. It added that a polio vaccination campaign using doses of the IPV (Inactivated Polio Vaccine) and OPV (Oral Polio Vaccine) was started in southwestern Balochistan's Chaman District on July 21, adding that the same campaign will expand to six more districts in the province starting from July 28. The NEOC urged parents to cooperate with frontline polio workers in getting children vaccinated. 'Communities can protect themselves by actively supporting vaccination efforts, addressing misinformation, and encouraging others to vaccinate their children,' it added. Despite decades of effort, Pakistan's polio eradication drive has faced persistent challenges, including misinformation about vaccines and resistance from conservative religious and militant groups who view immunization campaigns with suspicion. Some clerics have claimed the vaccines are a Western conspiracy to sterilize Muslim children or part of intelligence operations. Vaccination teams and police providing security have also been targeted in militant attacks, particularly in remote and conflict-affected areas of KP and Balochistan. These threats have at times forced the suspension of campaigns and restricted access to vulnerable populations.

Saudization for pharmacy professions in Saudi Arabia to start on July 27
Saudization for pharmacy professions in Saudi Arabia to start on July 27

Argaam

timea day ago

  • Argaam

Saudization for pharmacy professions in Saudi Arabia to start on July 27

The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (HRSD), in partnership with the Ministry of Health, will begin enforcing the decision to raise Saudization rates for pharmacy-related professions on July 27. According to a HRSD statement, the decision includes 35% Saudization of community pharmacies and medical centers, 65% in hospitals, and 55% in other pharmacy-related activities. It will be enforced based on Ministerial Decision No. 103111 dated 26/01/2025, which approved the updated procedural guide for pharmacy professions, including the enforcement of Saudization rates and a minimum wage, in line with the definitions, job titles, and requirements specified in the guide. The decision aims to provide motivating and stable job opportunities for Saudis across the Kingdom, increase their participation in the labor market, and aligns with the Ministry's strategy to localize sectors and target activities and professions in line with the goals of Vision 2030. According to data available on Argaam, HRSD announced in January decisions to raise Saudization rates in 269 professions across various sectors, in collaboration with several supervisory bodies including the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Commerce, and the Ministry of Municipal, Rural Affairs, and Housing.

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