"Novel" foods

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300 Research by Dr Paola Bollini, of the Geneva-based International Organisation for Migration, showed that most rich European countries have no decent structure for coping with long-term foreign migrants. Britain, Canada, and Sweden were magnets because they provided free health care for migrants. France had a million uninsured migrants, and the USA 35 million. Dr Harald Siem, director of the IOM and conference convenor, pointed out that illegal immigrants often did not approach health services for fear of discovery by the authorities. Lead poisoning was also a hazard that migrants faced, said Dr Esmerelda Luciolli of Medecins Sans Frontieres and Dr Francois Bourdillon of Migration Sante in Paris. The extent of childhood poisoning in France from lead-based paint had not been appreciated until two children died of acute lead poisoning in Paris. The lead had come from deteriorating paint peeling off walls and banisters in run-down housing. Subsequent screening in three Paris districts has identified 1500 children, mostly immigrants, with high blood lead concentrations. Prof Shah Ebrahim of the Royal London Hospital said that migrants, especially the elderly, whose tuberculosis had been controlled in their country of origin, often experience relapses brought on by poor social conditions in their host countries. More disturbing is the spread of drug-resistant TB-for example, that which Dr Robyn McDermott of Australia, working out of IOM’s Philippines office, has noted among Vietnamese migrants. Migrants in the pre-departure camps are comparatively well serviced medically by the IOM, the main governmental body since the 1939-45 war for assisting refugee placement. "Novel" foods Genetically modified mushrooms and potatoes, developed to improve resistance to viruses, are among the examples of "novel foods" justifying introduction of new Community legislation on food health checks. The Commission is suggesting that it should be notified of any "novel" food or ingredient. It would then be open for the Commission or any one member state to initiate studies by the Commission’s Scientific Committee on Food. The reasoning is that it is illogical for the Community to have extensive legislation on food additives, without similar rules on food ingredients likely to be present in food in much larger proportions than additives. But the Greens claim that the safety of genetically modified foods cannot be determined by current methods. They point to the admission by the US Food and Drug Administration, which promulgated similar regulations in May, that there is no adequate means by which to predict what effect such foods might have on people with certain allergies_ The UK’s Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes (ACNFP) published its 1991 annual report last week.’ The Committee is satisfied that sterilisation by ohmic heating should cause no adverse effects on health provided that certain guidelines are followed. The report also contains draft guidelines on the conduct of taste trials of novel foods. The Committee points out that, if the conditions of the guidelines are met, there is no need for taste trials to be referred to it for consideration. 1. Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes, annual report, 1991. Available from ACNFP Secretariat, Rm 604, Department of Health, Eileen House, 80-94 Newington Causeway, London SE1 6EF. Organ transplantation Islamic rules on the obligation to bury the whole or any part of a deceased person’s body has been a stumbling block to obtaining sufficient organs for transplantation in Moslem countries. The National Committee of Transplantation in Iran, which has been looking into ways of encouraging organ donation, has taken advantage of Shi’ite rules that allow clarification on ambiguous religious’issues to be sought from a senior religious leader. The Committee has obtained written confirmation from the late and the present Ayatollahs that any organ from a brain-dead person may be used for transplantation. , The global increase in demand for transplantable human organs has been paralleled by worrying reports of commercial enterprise and the use of living donors. The WHO response to the moral and ethical difficulties raised by organ transplantation are set out in a new two-part booklet. The first part contains a set of nine guidelines for the regulation of procurement and transplantation of human organs-preferably from the bodies of deceased persons. The second half summarises the results of a WHO study into the responses of more than fifty countries to trade in human organs. 1. Human Organ Transplantation. A report on the developments under the auspices of WHO (1987-1991) Geneva: World Health Organisation. 1991 Pp 28 Sw Fr 8 (5 60 for developing countries). ISBN 92 4 1693045. Medical school damaged by fire A fire has caused substantial damage to the library and teaching facilities at the United Arab Emirates University’s medical school. The medical faculty, the only one in the emirates, was set up in 1986, and is based essentially -on the British system. There is now an enrolment of 194, with a female to male sex ratio of 2:1. Only males are allowed to study abroad, and there are separate classrooms for the two sexes. Even the library facilities have to be duplicated. No effort is being spared to restore the facilities by September, the start of the next academic year, which will be the final year for the faculty’s first batch of students. Restoration is expected to cost about ,C1.2 million. End of the line for Tommy’s? Hot on the heels of news of the planned merger between King’s College London and the United Medical and Dental Schools of Guy’s and St Thomas’s Hospitals (UMDS) (Lancet July 11, p 111) comes a leak on a recommendation that either Guy’s or St Thomas’s should close down. The leaked draft submission from the South East Thames Health Authority to Sir Bernard Tomlinson, who is heading an inquiry into London’s health services, recommended a critical look at the split in services between Guy’s and St Thomas’s. Although the official response from Guy’s concluded that ."Any speculation as to which hospitals may be closed at this stage is premature", the report has been widely interpreted as the beginning of the end for St Thomas’s. - Rational choices in health care in English The report of the Dunning committee (Lancet, July 25, p 228), which contains recommendations for effective and cost-effective health-care choices, is now available in English.l Although the report deals with health care in the Netherlands, the conclusions should be applicable to other countries. The authors welcome comments from readers in any country. 1. Choices in health care. Available from Ministry of Welfare, Health, and Cultural Affairs, PO Box 5406, 2280 HK Rijswijk, Netherlands. 1992. Pp 160. ISBN 90 346 2840X Close encounter of the owl kind Outdoor-loving Kojak lookalikes beware, lest the great homed owl takes a fancy to your shiny pate. A midnight encounter with one such winged creature left an unfortunate diabetic man with lacerations to his scalp.’ (Although he did not see the assailant, which had knocked his 100 kg frame from his lawn chair, he "saw feathers fly" and was adamant that the culprit was an owl.) The lesions turned septic, so the man was given ciprofloxacin since he was allergic to penicillin and sulphonamides, but treatment was unsuccessful. Eventually foul-smelling pus yielded two unidentified Bacteroides spp, for which clil1damycin did the trick. Future attacks might best be avoided by head protection. When an attack has occurred, empirical treatment with antibiotics effective against anaerobes is justified because a wound inflicted by an owl’s talons may be seeded with enteric organisms from a recent kill. 1. Davis B, Wenzel RP. Striges scalp Bacteroides infection after an owl attack J Infect Dis 1992, 165: 975-76

Transcript of "Novel" foods

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Research by Dr Paola Bollini, of the Geneva-based InternationalOrganisation for Migration, showed that most rich Europeancountries have no decent structure for coping with long-termforeign migrants. Britain, Canada, and Sweden were magnetsbecause they provided free health care for migrants. France had amillion uninsured migrants, and the USA 35 million. Dr HaraldSiem, director of the IOM and conference convenor, pointed outthat illegal immigrants often did not approach health services forfear of discovery by the authorities. Lead poisoning was also ahazard that migrants faced, said Dr Esmerelda Luciolli of MedecinsSans Frontieres and Dr Francois Bourdillon of Migration Sante inParis. The extent of childhood poisoning in France from lead-basedpaint had not been appreciated until two children died of acute leadpoisoning in Paris. The lead had come from deteriorating paintpeeling off walls and banisters in run-down housing. Subsequentscreening in three Paris districts has identified 1500 children,mostly immigrants, with high blood lead concentrations.

Prof Shah Ebrahim of the Royal London Hospital said thatmigrants, especially the elderly, whose tuberculosis had beencontrolled in their country of origin, often experience relapsesbrought on by poor social conditions in their host countries. Moredisturbing is the spread of drug-resistant TB-for example, thatwhich Dr Robyn McDermott of Australia, working out of IOM’sPhilippines office, has noted among Vietnamese migrants.Migrants in the pre-departure camps are comparatively wellserviced medically by the IOM, the main governmental body sincethe 1939-45 war for assisting refugee placement.

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"Novel" foods

Genetically modified mushrooms and potatoes, developed toimprove resistance to viruses, are among the examples of "novelfoods" justifying introduction of new Community legislation onfood health checks. The Commission is suggesting that it should benotified of any "novel" food or ingredient. It would then be open forthe Commission or any one member state to initiate studies by theCommission’s Scientific Committee on Food. The reasoning is thatit is illogical for the Community to have extensive legislation on foodadditives, without similar rules on food ingredients likely to bepresent in food in much larger proportions than additives. But theGreens claim that the safety of genetically modified foods cannot bedetermined by current methods. They point to the admission by theUS Food and Drug Administration, which promulgated similarregulations in May, that there is no adequate means by which topredict what effect such foods might have on people with certainallergies_ ‘

The UK’s Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes(ACNFP) published its 1991 annual report last week.’ TheCommittee is satisfied that sterilisation by ohmic heating shouldcause no adverse effects on health provided that certain guidelinesare followed. The report also contains draft guidelines on theconduct of taste trials of novel foods. The Committee points outthat, if the conditions of the guidelines are met, there is no need fortaste trials to be referred to it for consideration.

1. Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes, annual report, 1991. Availablefrom ACNFP Secretariat, Rm 604, Department of Health, Eileen House, 80-94Newington Causeway, London SE1 6EF.

Organ transplantationIslamic rules on the obligation to bury the whole or any part of a

deceased person’s body has been a stumbling block to obtainingsufficient organs for transplantation in Moslem countries. TheNational Committee of Transplantation in Iran, which has beenlooking into ways of encouraging organ donation, has takenadvantage of Shi’ite rules that allow clarification on ambiguousreligious’issues to be sought from a senior religious leader. TheCommittee has obtained written confirmation from the late and thepresent Ayatollahs that any organ from a brain-dead person may beused for transplantation. ,

The global increase in demand for transplantable human organshas been paralleled by worrying reports of commercial enterprise

and the use of living donors. The WHO response to the moral andethical difficulties raised by organ transplantation are set out in anew two-part booklet. The first part contains a set of nine

guidelines for the regulation of procurement and transplantation ofhuman organs-preferably from the bodies of deceased persons.The second half summarises the results of a WHO study into theresponses of more than fifty countries to trade in human organs.

1. Human Organ Transplantation. A report on the developments under the auspices ofWHO (1987-1991) Geneva: World Health Organisation. 1991 Pp 28 Sw Fr 8(5 60 for developing countries). ISBN 92 4 1693045.

Medical school damaged by fire

A fire has caused substantial damage to the library and teachingfacilities at the United Arab Emirates University’s medical school.The medical faculty, the only one in the emirates, was set up in 1986,and is based essentially -on the British system. There is now anenrolment of 194, with a female to male sex ratio of 2:1. Only malesare allowed to study abroad, and there are separate classrooms forthe two sexes. Even the library facilities have to be duplicated. Noeffort is being spared to restore the facilities by September, the startof the next academic year, which will be the final year for thefaculty’s first batch of students. Restoration is expected to costabout ,C1.2 million.

End of the line for Tommy’s?Hot on the heels of news of the planned merger between King’s

College London and the United Medical and Dental Schools ofGuy’s and St Thomas’s Hospitals (UMDS) (Lancet July 11, p 111)comes a leak on a recommendation that either Guy’s or St Thomas’sshould close down. The leaked draft submission from the SouthEast Thames Health Authority to Sir Bernard Tomlinson, who isheading an inquiry into London’s health services, recommended acritical look at the split in services between Guy’s and St Thomas’s.Although the official response from Guy’s concluded that ."Anyspeculation as to which hospitals may be closed at this stage ispremature", the report has been widely interpreted as the beginningof the end for St Thomas’s.

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Rational choices in health care in EnglishThe report of the Dunning committee (Lancet, July 25, p 228),

which contains recommendations for effective and cost-effectivehealth-care choices, is now available in English.l Although thereport deals with health care in the Netherlands, the conclusionsshould be applicable to other countries. The authors welcomecomments from readers in any country.

1. Choices in health care. Available from Ministry of Welfare, Health, and CulturalAffairs, PO Box 5406, 2280 HK Rijswijk, Netherlands. 1992. Pp 160. ISBN90 346 2840X

Close encounter of the owl kind

Outdoor-loving Kojak lookalikes beware, lest the great homedowl takes a fancy to your shiny pate. A midnight encounter with onesuch winged creature left an unfortunate diabetic man withlacerations to his scalp.’ (Although he did not see the assailant,which had knocked his 100 kg frame from his lawn chair, he "sawfeathers fly" and was adamant that the culprit was an owl.) Thelesions turned septic, so the man was given ciprofloxacin since hewas allergic to penicillin and sulphonamides, but treatment wasunsuccessful. Eventually foul-smelling pus yielded two

unidentified Bacteroides spp, for which clil1damycin did the trick.Future attacks might best be avoided by head protection. When anattack has occurred, empirical treatment with antibiotics effectiveagainst anaerobes is justified because a wound inflicted by an owl’stalons may be seeded with enteric organisms from a recent kill.

1. Davis B, Wenzel RP. Striges scalp Bacteroides infection after an owl attack J Infect Dis1992, 165: 975-76