The Washington Post reports, “In a direct response to Michelle Obama's declared war on childhood obesity, an alliance of major food manufacturers on Monday pledged to introduce new, more healthful options, cut portion sizes and trim calories in existing products.”

The WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer completed a decade-long analysis of over 10,000 cell phone users and could not find a clear link between cell phone use and brain cancer risk.
“This is the largest cell phone study of its kind ever done, and the researchers said we still can’t be sure whether or not using a cell phone increases the risk of brain cancer,” says Stier. “How many studies that show no such link do we need before we can be sure? It’s a health scare that just won’t die.”

Dr. Whelan took to the airwaves last night to discuss fluoride on the international Manchester Radio Online.
“Manchester Radio Online is aired all over the world,” says Dr. Whelan, “so the show has a lot of exposure. I offered a sound defense of water fluoridation to prevent tooth decay, and also to reduce the risk of osteoporosis. Water fluoridation is not only safe, it is probably one of the top three public health measures of the last century. Still, you should have seen some of the hateful emails that came in response to this discussion.”

The President's Cancer Panel's recent report linking cancer to environmental chemicals is a scientific travesty based on a number of false premises, ACSH's Dr. Elizabeth Whelan argues in an article for NRO's Critical Condition blog.

New York City officials will be investigating claims that the soil of Brooklyn’s Red Hook Park is contaminated with 110 times the EPA-established limit for the concentration of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which the state claims is a result of effluvia from the nearby, now-defunct manufacturing plant of plastics-additive maker Chemtura Corp.

ACSH staffers can’t help but notice that the list of reviewers enumerated in appendix A of the President’s Cancer Panel’s recent report seems unbalanced.

Reuters Health reports, “Everyday exposure to perchlorate, an industrial chemical found in drinking water and a range of foods, may not impair thyroid function in pregnant women, a new study suggests.” The CDC study found perchlorate in the urine of all 2,820 subjects tested.

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick’s proposal to ban BPA from baby bottles and plastic sippy cups was met with doubt from a member of the state Public Health Council, which would have to approve the prohibition. Dr. Alan Woodward told The Boston Globe, “My concern is that we may find out five to 10 years down the line that compounds in the replacement are more toxic.”

A year ago, a Texas State University professor wrote for The New York Times that meat from free-range pigs had caused a surge in food-borne illness. Dr. James McWilliams neglected to mention that the basis of his article was research funded by the National Pork Board, and he was excoriated as an industry shill.

Walgreen Co. yesterday reversed its decision to sell a home genetic-testing kit that is not approved by the FDA after the agency pursued the test’s manufacturer to determine why they assumed they do not require approval.
“I was surprised that Walgreens had the audacity to even try to sell these,” says Dr. Whelan. “I would think the FDA would be right on their heels. I don’t see what good could possibly come of a home genetic test.”