Stuart Coverley's News Round-up
Dangerous free-range - Being a free-range hen is not without its dangers. It seems that they have to compete for their food with wild birds which can leave behind the bacteria that cause infectious diarrhoea. Every few years new infective agents are found to add to the well-known salmonella, E.Coli and Campylobacter organisms. The latest is Yersiniosis which is carried by many birds as part of the normal gut flora. Following faecal contamination of the food it can cause severe forms of gastro-enteritis which can easily be mistaken for appendicitis. One outbreak in the USA involved 200 school children of whom nine had their appendices removed before the cause was traced to contaminated chocolate milk.
Have your genes been patented? - One of the controversial arguments is whether commercial firms that have spent millions of pounds on research involving the use of human genes should be allowed to patent them: or should such research be freely reproducible for the good of humanity? The European Parliament has just approved an EU biotechnology invention law that will allow patents to be granted which are based on the genes of humans, animals and plants.
What is in the bundle? - The Independent Television Commission has been consulting on the bundles of TV channels that can be sold together. Should you have to buy the basic package from Sky if all you want is their sports channel? The downside is that some of the smaller channel providers could go out of business if they are not included in a main bundle.
Consumers first - A green paper from the EC is criticised by the National Consumer Council as typifying all that is wrong with the current debate on the future of communications technology. In their report Communications Regulation in Europe the NCC says the debate is mainly about technological developments themselves and business opportunities but little about the interests of consumers. The big danger is that those on low incomes will be barred from benefiting because of the high cost of the original equipment, such as a digital box, and the subscriptions needed. Analogue services must be allowed to continue as long as each individual country requires them.
Testing our food - 176,000 tests were carried out on 60,000 food samples by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. They looked at undeclared irradiation of foodstuffs, dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls in foods, nutrient analyses of milk, whiskey substitution in pubs, toxins, and nitrites in cured meats. In addition 90.000 residue tests were carried out on foods such as oranges, mushrooms, wine and cakes. Meanwhile a new centre to advise on organic agriculture has been set up at Aberdeen University.
Knowing fibre content - New regulations will add cashgora (hair of a special breed of goat) and the synthetic fibres Aramid, Polimide and Lyocell to the 39 names already included in the Textile products (Indication of Fibre Content) Regulations 1986. Manufacturers are obliged to provide accurate information on fibre content using only the recognised generic names of fibres rather than their own trademarks.
Unfair terms - One of the country's largest double glazing firms has been forced to drop unfair terms from its consumer contracts. The Office of Fair Trading served an injunction on Staybrite. They will no longer require customers who cancel contracts to reimburse all Staybrite's expenses together with their estimated profit. They will not require customers to pay the full contract price if installation is not started within six weeks of the end of the delivery period and will carry out surveys within a reasonable time of the contract being signed and will give reasons if they cannot carry out work at the original price quoted or the specification agreed.
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