Baking & Snack - April 2005 - 26

NEWSFRONT
SFA opposes Texas
snack tax
By a 78-70 vote, the Texas House of Representatives enacted property tax relief by
replacing lost revenues with a number of
items including a 3% tax on individual
packages of snacks and certain beverages.
Under House Bill 3,
snacks are defined
as any item that is
ordinarily sold for
consumption without further preparation and that is not
generally considered a major component
of a well-balanced meal. The term includes
bakery items including pastries, donuts,
cakes, tortes, pies, tarts, bars and cookies. It
also includes candy, chips, popcorn, pretzels
and roasted nuts.
The Snack Food Association, Alexandria,
VA, sent a letter to Texas House members
arguing that selective taxes are arbitrary,
discriminatory and regressive.

Alpha-linolenic acid
may reduce heart
disease risk
Two new studies suggest that a diet rich in
soybean oil can help reduce the risk of heart
disease. Soybean oil provides a great source
of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), as do leafy
greens, some nuts and flax. Scientists now
believe that ALA decreases c-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of inflammation that
is strongly associated with heart disease.
Penny Kris-Etherton, Ph.D., Penn State
University, State College, PA, conducted a
study on the effects of three experimental
diets: the average American diet, a linoleic
acid (LA) diet and an ALA diet. After six
weeks, she found that CRP declined after
both the LA and ALA diets, but much more
significantly in the ALA diet.
In a second study, Christine Albert, Ph.D.,
Harvard Medical School, Brockton, MA,
examined the diets of women taking part in
the Nurses Health Study. She found a protective association between ALA intake and
coronary heart disease among the women
she observed in the study.
28 / BAKING & SNACK / April 2005

Study finds no links between
acrylamide, breast cancer
In a review of more than 43,000 women, including 667 breast cancer cases, researchers
from the Harvard School of Public Health,
Boston, MA, and the Karolinska Institute,
Stockholm, Sweden, found no association
between acrylamide intake from foods and

the risk of breast cancer.
The women who were assessed were enrolled in the Swedish Women's Lifestyle and
Health Cohort. The foods that contributed
most of their acrylamide intake were coffee,
fried potatoes and crisp bread.

FDA seeks public opinion
on food label changes
Food and Drug Administration is asking
for public comment on two proposals to
improve the appearance and content of the
nutrition label, which would help consumers
make better weight management decisions.
The proposals focus
on providing practical
serving size information and increasing the
prominence of calories
on the label. They are direct responses to
the recommendations contained in FDA's
Obesity Working Group report "Calories
Count." The report's long- and short-term
recommendations are based on the scientific fact that weight control is mainly a

function of caloric balance.
FDA is requesting comments on how
calories appear on packaged foods and how
consumers use that information to make
healthier dietary choices. It is also seeking
comment on the reformulation
of the foods or redesign of
packaging that may occur
if any changes are made to
the food label.
FDA is also asking whether changes
should be made to require pre-packaged
food that could be reasonably consumed in
one sitting to show the caloric count for the
entire package. FDA is accepting opinions at
fdadockets@oc.fda.gov.

Arizona House
bans snacks
in primary schools

Better gluten-free
bread

The Arizona House of Representatives recently voted to prohibit the sale of sugary
and fatty foods in Arizona public schools,
but only in lower grades.
The bill, sent
to the state senate,
would require schools
to replace sugar-and
fat-laden foods such as
candy and soft drinks
with healthier fare.
It would restrict sales at cafeterias, snack
bars and vending machines on school
grounds during school hours. Nutritionists
are supporting the bill, though trade groups
representing soft-drink producers and vending machine operators opposed the idea.

Scientists in Ireland claim to have
dramatically improved the quality of
gluten-free bread. Research team leader
Eimear Gallagher said that a combination of potato starch and rice flour had
been used to improve the taste, texture
and volume of the bread. The research
took place at Ireland's Teagasc National
Food Center.
Two hydrocolloids, xanthan gum and
HPMC, a derivative of cellulose, were also
used to help bind the other ingredients.
The breakthrough is particularly
important for people suffering from
celiac disease, a chronic intolerance
to gluten, which causes damage to the
surface of the small intestine resulting
in the body's inability to absorb vital
nutrients, such as protein.
Baking & Snack - April 2005

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