Coke and Pepsi change manufacturing process to avoid cancer warning

 

Coca-Cola and Pepsi are changing how they make an ingredient in their drinks to avoid being legally obliged to put a cancer warning label on the bottle.

The new recipe for caramel colouring in the drinks has less 4-methylimidazole (4-MEI) - a chemical which California has added to its list of carcinogens.

The change to the recipe has already been introduced in California but will be rolled out across the US.

Coca-Cola says there is no health risk to justify the change.

 

'No risk'

Spokeswoman Diana Garza-Ciarlante told the Associated Press news agency they wanted to ensure their products "would not be subject to the requirement of a scientifically unfounded warning.

The chemical has been linked to cancer in mice and rats, according to one study, but there is no evidence that it poses a health risk to humans, said the American Beverage Association, which represents the wider industry.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) claims a person would need to drink more than 1,000 cans of Coke or Pepsi a day to take in the same dose of the chemical that was given to the animals in the lab test.

Coca-Cola and PepsiCo account for nearly 90% of the US fizzy drink market, according to one industry tracker, Beverage Digest.

The companies say changing their recipes across the whole of the US, not just in California, makes the drinks more efficient to manufacture.

In a statement Coca-Cola added that the manufacturing process across Europe would not change.

It said that apart from California "not one single regulatory agency around the world considers the exposure of the public to 4-MEI as present in caramels as an issue".

CLARIFICATION: This story was changed on 10 March to make it clear that it was a manufacturing process that had changed, not the recipe of the drinks themselves.

India reverses cotton export ban after farmers outrage

India has reversed a ban on cotton exports, less than a week after imposing it.

There was an angry reaction from farmers when the government announced the policy last Monday.

The government justified the ban by saying that India needed to protect supplies for its own cotton mills.

But farming groups were outraged and China, which is the world's biggest cotton buyer, said the ban was "irresponsible".

Trade Minister, Anand Sharma, announced Sunday's change, saying a formal order would be made on Monday.

Reacting to the news, Nayan Mirani, vice-president of the Cotton Association of India which represents exporters and traders, said: "We must realise that we are a cotton surplus country and our surplus needs to be exported. These are short-sighted views that [the textile] industry sometimes takes by asking to ban cotton exports."

India is the world's second biggest producer of cotton and its exporters had outstanding orders for 2.5m bales of cotton when the ban, which took immediate effect, was imposed.

Exports had been running well above government targets and, at the time, officials at the textile ministry said the ban was needed due to "the trend of domestic consumption and depletion of domestic availability".

Cotton prices jumped 5% on New York's commodity market after the ban was announced but fell back later in the week.

The reversal of the ban is the latest policy mishap for the government. Last December a major reform of the retail industry was abandoned due to public opposition.

Chelsea turned on the style in the second half to ease past Bolton and end a winless run of five games. 

3                        -                          0 

Bolton  frustrated the Blues before the break but David Luiz's fine curled shot put the hosts ahead in the second half.

Didier Drogba's close-range header made it 2-0 and Frank Lampard volleyed a third from Juan Mata's cross.

The visitors, whose best chance saw Nigel Roe-Coker fire wide after the break, remain 19th in the table but are only above Wigan on goal difference.

     Nelson Mandela in hospital but 'not in danger'

Former South Africa President Nelson Mandela has undergone a "diagnostic procedure" in hospital, but his life is not in danger, officials say.

Mr Mandela was treated for a long-standing abdominal complaint and is expected to be released from hospital by Monday, a government statement said.

The anti-apartheid icon, 93, is comfortable and "fully conscious", the statement said.

His health has declined in recent years and he rarely appears in public.

As the country's first black president after a history of white minority rule, the BBC's Andrew Harding in Johannesburg says Mr Mandela occupies a special place in the hearts of South Africans.

The statement from President Jacob Zuma's office said: "The doctors are satisfied with his [Mr Mandela's] condition, which they say is consistent with his age.

"He was in good health before admission in hospital but doctors felt the complaint needed a thorough investigation."

The presidency asked for his family to be given privacy.

The statement did not say which hospital he had been admitted to but there are suggestions it was a military hospital in the capital, Pretoria.

Journalists waiting outside one hospital were earlier told to move away or face arrest.

'Epitome of health'

Mr Mandela had returned to Johannesburg last month from his rural home in the Eastern Cape and in January last year, he received treatment in the city's Milpark hospital for a serious chest infection.
"I can assure you that the former president is in good spirits and well," said Mac Maharaj, a spokesman for Mr Zuma.
"This was a long-standing complaint - nothing that cropped up suddenly and needed emergency attention," said Mr Maharaj, who was in prison in Robben Island with Mr Mandela.
"But it is an issue that the doctors treating him felt needed specialist attention, and so arrangements were made accordingly."
He would not confirm reports that Mr Mandela had undergone overnight surgery for a hernia, and appealed for "co-operation from the public and the media so we manage this thing properly".
The statesman's eldest granddaughter said she was not immediately concerned about his health.
"I don't see it as a big thing. When I saw him on Wednesday, he was in good spirits, in perfect health, and the epitome of health really for a man of his age," Ndileka Mandela told the AFP news agency.
"Grandad rebounded from his illness last year. I don't see any reason why this should be any different."

Bobby Brown Explains Why He Left Whitney Houston’s Funeral

 

Bobby Brown left Whitney Houston’s funeral at Newark, N.J.’s New Hope Baptist Church shortly after the service began.

In a statement put out by his representative, he explained, “My children and I were invited to the funeral of my ex-wife Whitney Houston.  We were seated by security and then subsequently asked to move on three separate occasions.

“I fail to understand why security treated my family this way and continue to ask us and no one else to move,” he said.  “Security then prevented me from attempting to see my daughter Bobbi-Kristina. In light of the events, I gave a kiss to the casket of my ex-wife and departed as I refused to create a scene. My children are completely distraught over the events. This was a day to honor Whitney. I doubt Whitney would have wanted this to occur. I will continue to pay my respects to my ex-wife the best way I know how.”

Link: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/entertainment/2012/02/bobby-brown-explains-why-he-left-whitney-houstons-funeral/

Mexico's president to U.S.: 'No more weapons'

Mexico President Felipe Calderon has sought the help of the United States to stop the brutal drug violence in his country.

(CNN) -- Mexico's president called on U.S. officials to stop gun trafficking across the border Thursday, saying the move would be the best thing Americans could do to stop brutal drug violence.
"The criminals have become more and more vicious in their eagerness to spark fear and anxiety in society," President Felipe Calderon said. "One of the main factors that allows criminals to strengthen themselves is the unlimited access to high-powered weapons, which are sold freely, and also indiscriminately, in the United States of America."
Speaking in Ciudad Juarez, the border city across from El Paso, Texas, that has become Mexico's murder capital, Calderon said a dramatic increase in violence in Mexico was directly connected with the 2004 expiration of the U.S. assault weapons ban.
The message was familiar. The Mexican president has asked U.S. lawmakers to renew the ban on assault weapons before, most notably in a 2010 speech to the U.S. Congress.
But the backdrop Thursday was dramatically different. Calderon stood in front of a massive new sign, constructed with tons of decommissioned arms. "NO MORE WEAPONS," the sign said -- in English. Americans on the other side of the border are the intended audience, Calderon said.
"From here, from Ciudad Juarez, on the border of Mexico and the United States, we say, 'No more weapons. No more weapons to Mexico,'" he said.
Thursday's speech came as a U.S. Congressional inquiry continues into "Operation Fast and Furious," an operation run by U.S. federal agents. Authorities have said the operation was intended to track the flow of illegally purchased American guns to the Mexican cartels -- but in practice, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives allowed so-called straw buyers to take weapons across the border without being intercepted.
Calderon praised U.S. President Barack Obama's efforts to deal with the "very sensitive issue" of assault weapons, noting that officials in his administration had done more than previous leaders to investigate and block illegal weapons trafficking to Mexico.
"They have taken positive steps, but we all know that unfortunately it is not enough, and we cannot stop here," he said.
Out of 140,000 weapons Mexican authorities have seized since Calderon declared a crackdown on cartels at the beginning of his presidency, 84,000 were high-powered assault weapons, Calderon said.
More than 47,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence in Mexico since December 2006, according to government statistics.
During his Thursday speech, Calderon looked toward the border and said he had a message for Americans.
"We need your help to stop this violence. We need you to reduce your consumption of drugs and to dramatically reduce the flow of money to criminal organizations in Mexico," he said. "But beyond the topic of drugs, the best way that you, the American people, can help reduce the violence in Mexico is through legislation that has already been in force in the United States, blocking the inhumane weapons trafficking into our country."

Bollywood's Amitabh Bachchan may undergo more surgery

Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan, who had successful abdominal surgery last week, has tweeted that he may have to undergo a second operation.

The 69-year-old actor, who has a history of abdominal ailments, was operated on at a hospital in the western city of Mumbai last week.

He was expected to be released his week. But Bachchan now says it is "going to be a long stay".

Bachchan has acted in more than 180 Indian films over 40 years.

He remains India's most popular actor.

Bachchan's family had said that last week's surgery had gone well and "everything was normal".

But late on Thursday, the star tweeted: "Some more tests... more unpronounceable medication... and... another visit to the OT... operation theater! Going to be a long stay."

"I have no idea now how long this will take, but it does look as though it will be long... thank you for your prayers and love...!!"

Bachchan tweeted he was refraining from giving "greater details about my condition," and said he would inform people "whenever there is some important procedure".

Bachchan had surgery for an intestinal condition at the same hospital in 2005. Three years later, he was admitted to a hospital with abdominal pains.

The actor suffered a near fatal injury during the shooting of an action scene on the set of a film in 1982 and was critically ill for several months.

Last year Bachchan returned as the celebrity host of Kaun Banega Crorepati, the Indian version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire - one of the most watched shows on Indian television.
He is also to make his Hollywood debut in a new film adaptation of The Great Gatsby, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, due to be released late this year.