September 07, 2010

Americans are uncertain about some basic food safety practices in the home, according to a recent survey from NSF International, a not-for-profit public health and safety organization. A phone survey of 1,000 American consumers found that people are in fact doing either too much or too little when it comes to the safe handling and preparation of meals. For example, consumers are taking great caution in the initial food preparation stages, as 78% of respondents knew the right way to defrost meat and poultry safely (such as defrosting in a refrigerator), but only 20% of them bother to use a meat thermometer to ensure food is properly cooked. Similarly, consumers are overly cautious when it comes to discarding leftover food too soon and relying perhaps too heavily on expiration dates on food packages. Full release.

HCD Research and Muhlenberg College announced today that they will conduct on-going social media research to track and measure voter sentiment for some of the most highly contested political races in the upcoming fall elections. The two organizations will focus on several key races including the Pennsylvania senatorial and gubernatorial races featuring Toomey vs. Sestak and Corbett vs. Onorato respectively; the Nevada senatorial race with Reid vs. Angle; the Florida senatorial race with Rubio, Crist, Greene and Meek; the Missouri senatorial race with Blunt vs. Carnahan; and the California senatorial race with Boxer vs. Fiorina. Full release.

The following is a statement of Matthew L. Myers, President, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids: Two new reports released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that while the United States has made dramatic progress in the fight against tobacco, too many Americans still smoke and too many non-smokers-including more than half of all young children-are still exposed to secondhand smoke. Along with recent surveys showing that youth smoking declines have slowed, these reports sound loud and clear warnings that the battle against tobacco use-the nation's number one cause of preventable death-is far from over. Rather than declaring premature victory, elected officials at all levels must resist complacency and step up efforts to implement proven measures to reduce tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke. Full release.

Scholastic, the global children's publishing, education and media company, today announced that continued progress has been made toward the company-wide goal of strengthening its sustainable paper procurement practices and increasing the percentage of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified and post-consumer waste (PCW) recycled paper purchased. In January of 2008, Scholastic announced goals for 2012 to increase its purchase of FSC-certified paper for its publications to 30% and its use of recycled paper to 25%, of which 75% would be post-consumer waste. Due to a reduction in the amount of paper purchased in 2009, combined with the loss of an FSC supplier, the amount of FSC-certified paper was slightly reduced from 2008. Scholastic found tonnage to replace the lost source in 2010, and anticipates a steady improvement in the coming year. Full release.

Preventive health services such as daily aspirin use, tobacco cessation screening and alcohol abuse screening can potentially save 2 million lives and nearly $4 billion annually, according to a new paper produced by the National Commission on Prevention Priorities (NCPP). The NCPP is convened by the Partnership for Prevention. Four of the five lead authors perform research with HealthPartners Research Foundation. The paper, "Greater Use Of Preventive Services In U.S. Health Care Could Save Lives At Little Or No Cost," is published in the September issue of Health Affairs. Its authors analyzed the estimated cost of adopting a package of 20 proven preventive services against the savings that could be generated. They also estimated how much in health care costs would have been saved in a given year if 90 percent of the population had used those services. For 2006, the year selected, the savings were estimated at $3.7 billion. Full release.

Gingrich Productions, in partnership with Citizens United Productions and Peace River Company, will premiere their new documentary, America At Risk: The War With No Name, on Saturday, September 11 at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. America At Risk, hosted by Newt and Callista Gingrich, vividly demonstrates the dangers facing America one decade after the attacks on 9/11. According to experts, we are at war with radical Islamists-and it is a war we are losing. Today, Washington refuses to tell the truth about the war we are fighting. The Global War on Terror has been renamed the "Overseas Contingency Operation" by the Obama Administration. They have removed "Islamic extremism" and "jihad" from national security strategy documents, and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has suggested we replace the word "terrorism" with "man-caused disasters." Full release.

Transportation agencies reacted positively to news that President Barack Obama plans to include immediate transportation investment in his recipe for economic recovery. "We are highly supportive of President Obama's proposal to immediately invest $50 billion to rebuild roads, expand high speed rail, and rehabilitate airport runways," said John Horsley, executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. "We have demonstrated that investing in transportation infrastructure is one of the fastest ways to create and sustain jobs. An AASHTO January 2010 survey of states showed 9,800 ready-to-go projects valued at nearly $80 billion. If Congress wants to pass legislation investing in our transportation infrastructure, the states stand ready to put those dollars to work." Full release.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration has launched a Web portal to help job seekers match their current skills to new careers and find out what training is needed to transition from one job to another. This new online tool is called "mySkills myFuture" and can be accessed at http://www.myskillsmyfuture.org. Users will be able to view local job postings and locate training and education providers. They also will be able to find descriptions, salary information and common job tasks associated with a new occupation. Full release.

A $2 million initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is bringing together five civil rights organizations with the prominence and strength to help reverse childhood obesity, especially in African-American and Latino communities where the epidemic continues to hit hardest. Over the next 16 months, the groups will aim individually and collaboratively to advance the public advocacy and policy changes critical to creating healthier communities. The initiative recognizes the power of their work to solve systemic issues of racial and social injustice, which underlie many neighborhoods' limited access to affordable, nutritious food or safe places for children to be physically active. Full release.

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