Food labeling news

I’ve noticed some recent discussion and news coverage of the idea of labeling foods with red, amber or green labels, based on how healthy they are. It’s known as the ‘traffic light’ system. This isn’t actually a new idea. It was proposed in 2006 in the UK, but didn’t happen then because of objections from the processed food industry. Studies had examined the effect of the traffic light labels on people’s eating, compared to US-style ‘recommended daily intake‘ labels.

AIDS awareness week

I’m not sure if it got much publicity during World AIDS Week, but there’s now a simple oral HIV test available for around $15, FDA approved. Takes 20 minutes, doesn’t require any lab facilities, 99.6% accurate.