American Heart Association reports FDA Expands Health Claim for More Fruits, Vegetables

American Heart Association Can Now Certify These Foods as Heart-Healthy

Dallas, TX – The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released an interim final rule removing the low fat and positive nutrient requirements which will apply to nearly all fresh fruits and vegetables, allowing them to make a heart health claim and be eligible for food certification programs like the American Heart Association’s Heart-Check mark program.

The ruling was in response to a petition submitted by the Association in September 2012.

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Tennessee Department of Agriculture says it’s time for Local Honey and Sorghum

Nashville, TN – Autumn is generally regarded as a sweet season, the year’s peak harvest time. You could say Tennessee’s sweetest harvest is contained in the jars of honey and sorghum syrup now lining shelves at farms, orchards and farmers markets across the state.

Honey is often harvested twice per year, in spring and fall. Flavor is determined solely by the nectar source, giving some honeys stronger flavor than others. As a rule, the lighter the honey’s color the milder its flavor, but buying directly from the beekeeper is the best way to learn the characteristics of a particular honey.

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Consumer Reports lays down the facts about Gluten

CR survey finds 63% of Americans believe a gluten-free diet would improve physical or mental health—but cutting gluten isn’t always more nutritious or better for most people

Yonkers, NY – Gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye, has become the latest dietary villain, blamed for everything from forgetfulness to joint pain to weight gain. But Consumer Reports (CR) is shedding light on common misconceptions about going gluten-free.

The report points out that a gluten-free claim doesn’t mean the product is necessarily more nutritious, it may actually be less so; that consumers may increase their exposure to arsenic by going gluten-free, and a gluten-free diet might cause weight gain—not weight loss. And, most gluten-free foods cost more than their regular counterparts. [Read more]

Tennessee Department of Agriculture says State received plenty of Rain making Sorghum Crop a Sweet Success

Nashville, TN – Sorghum is one of several crops in Tennessee that seems to have benefited from a rainy summer. Some highly anticipated fall crops, like pumpkins, have suffered in some parts of the state due to excess moisture and lack of sun. Others, like corn and sorghum, are on track for record harvests if current patterns of sunny, less-humid weather hold.

Sorghum syrup is a treasured traditional Tennessee food produced when the extracted juice from the sorghum plant is boiled down. Tennessee is one of the nation’s leading states in sorghum syrup production.

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