New ARS Food & Nutrition Research Briefs Posted on Web

The Agricultural Research Service has posted the newest edition of the ARS Food & Nutrition Research Briefs on the World Wide Web at:
/is/np/fnrb/fnrb0405.htm

The issue includes short updates on ARS research from coast-to-coast about human nutrition, new foods and food safety. For instance, the Briefs report that:

• The potential cholesterol-lowering effects of a citrus compound called limonin will be examined in a one-of-its-kind study.
• Vitamin B12 deficiency, already linked to low bone density in women, also correlates to poor bone health in men.
• Gulfking and Gulfcrest, two delicious new peaches from ARS plant breeders and their university colleagues, may begin showing up in the some supermarkets this year.
• Secrets that scientists are uncovering about a novel protein in many Vibrio species may reduce the incidence of shellfish-related food poisonings.
• An optical method called surface plasmon resonance, or SPR, may be put to work helping food-safety inspectors ensure that products such as ham, whole liquid eggs and milk are free of harmful microorganisms.

ARS is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific research agency.

For further information contact Marcia Wood, Editor, ARS ARS Food & Nutrition Research Briefs, (301) 504-1662.