sugar

Led by sugar growers and processors, farm groups in Idaho are considering whether to push for a state law against labeling food made with genetically modified organisms, says Capital Press.

The upcoming edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, due later this year, could propose "real limits on sugar," says an Associated Press story that lists "five things to watch for as the government begins writing the new guidelines."

A research team led by Florida State University identified four-stranded elements of DNA in corn that could affect thousands of genes, says an FSU release.

World sugar consumption is forecast to set a record of 171 million tonnes this marketing year, sas USDA in a semi-annual report. At that volume, it will nearly catch up with sugar production, which has peaked at 177.6 million tonnes two years ago, creating...

Researchers at the University of Buffalo say babies given foods high in sugar, fat and protein in their early months of life are more likely to eat less nutritious foods later in life.

The American Bakers Association says a tentative U.S.-Mexico agreement to control imports of sugar from Mexico "is not good for bakers or all other users of sugar," says Baking Business.

The Environmental Working Group unveiled its Food Scores database that rates 80,000 foods on a scale of 1 to 10 based on nutrition, ingredients and how much processing it received.

Researchers at a Boston Hospital discovered a hormone that could be the basis for a "fructose tolerance test," says Harvard University, which could identify people at risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

The government does not expect to sell surplus sugar at a discount to ethanol makers during the new fiscal year. Sugar supplies are forecast to be fairly tight during fiscal 2015, shrinking to a carryover of 837 million short tons, compared to a surplus of 2.16 million tons in fiscal 2013.

The Commerce Department says it will impose countervailing duties of 3-17 percent on sugar imported from Mexico following a preliminary ruling that Mexico unfairly subsidized its producers, said the Financial Times.

People consume more calories, sugar, fat, and salt when they go to a restaurant, whether it's full service or a fast-food outlet, says a study in the journal Public Health Nutrition.

A "soda tax" of 1 cent per teaspoon of sweetener would be levied under a bill unveiled by Rep Rosa DeLauro, Connecticut Democrat, with the revenue used in programs to reduce obesity, diabetes and other health losses due to sugar-sweetened beverages. "There is a clear relationship between sugar-sweetened beverages and a host of other health conditions, including diabetes, heart disease, obesity and tooth decay," said DeLauro in a statement.

Besides overhauling the Nutrition Fact label on food packages, the FDA should mandate a summary of nutritional information on the front of the box, said former FDA commissioner David Kessler. Writing in the New England Journal of Medicine, Kessler says such a label would list "the top three ingredients, the calorie count, and the number of additional ingredients...in bold, easy-to-read type."

A per-calorie tax on sugary beverages would be more effective than a tax per ounce, says a study based on the size of the bottle, says a study published in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics.

Children's cereals contain so much sugar that "someone eating an average serving...would consume more than 10 pounds of sugar a year from that source alone," says the Environmental Working Group in a new report. Two-thirds of the cereals aimed at children contain enough the equivalent of one-third of the recommended daily amount of sugar.

The leaders of the United States and Japan say "they have made significant progress on the agriculture and auto issues that have blocked a huge Asia-Pacific trade deal following intense talks," says Politico.

President Obama will meet the leaders of four nations - Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines - during a trip through Asia that begins on Tuesday.

The amount of land used for agriculture in Hawaii has declined 68 percent since 1980, primarily because of the end of pineapple and sugar cultivation, said the Washington Post.