Pounding away at obesity

Congress has already introduced seven obesity related bills, says this story The growing recognition about the health implications of obesity, though political pundits don't necessarily see success for some of these bills, which include nutrition labeling at restaurants and regulations to curb junk food marketing to kids.

Here is a treatment of the E. coli issue called "Defensive dining." Overall, this piece encourages consumption of fruits and veggies, but with a dose of caution and common sense. One expert was quoted about why Taco Bell had E. Coli. From the story:

Sandra Marin, a Los Angeles-based certified food safety and sanitation expert, believes there is a logical explanation as to how the produce became infected.
"My suspicion is that E.coli O157:H7 outbreaks are due to the cross-contamination of meats and vegetables in the factories," said Marin, who works as a registered dietician for the Pharmavite vitamin company.


Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think there is cross contamination of "meats" and "vegetables" at fresh cut plants. Unfortunately, no industry spokesman quoted in this piece.


I was in a Dillons grocery store the other day and saw about six self-checkout lanes but just one cashier to check customers out. I kind of like the interaction of chatting with a cashier, and self-check stations seem like too much work. However, the flip side is that it might reduce wait time. Here is a link to research from NCR that highlights how much consumers hate to wait. The answer...automated check out stations, of course.