Finally, a wine that has medicinal properties!

Source: Zee News

Sunday, January 20, 2013

A biochemist-turned- winemaker in Queensland, Australia has claimed to have created what drinkers had only dreamed of - wine that is beneficial to your health.

Greg Jardine, founder of Mt Nebo-based company Dr Red Nutraceuticals, filed a patent for Modified Polyphenol Technology in Wines late last year and said the creation would "finally give wine a real medicinal edge," the Courier Mail reported.

The process involved ageing red wine for a certain period of time, which enhanced the number of antioxidants within it, made them fat-soluble, rather than water-soluble, and easier to absorb into the bloodstream.

Some studies have shown antioxidants are effective at fighting a multitude of different diseases.

Jardine said that he had been working on the process for 10 years but had only recently discovered a way to retain the taste while enhancing antioxidants.

"Wine has got massive amounts of antioxidants but they are quite tannic so if you put more in people would not drink it because of the taste," he told the Sunday Mail.

"What we discovered was if we allowed them to age and stop it at the right point of time the tannic taste goes and we make it taste good," he said.

Biomedical Sciences Professor Lindsay Brown, from the University of Southern Queensland, found the non-alcoholic dried crystal used to make the wine successfully treated rats with arthritis.

Jardine said that the wine could help treat a "range of ageing conditions" from chronic fatigue and gout to stiff joints after a visit to the gym.

Stressing the wine is "not medicine," Jardine said that it should be consumed in moderation as it has the same alcoholic content as regular wine.

Suit pits Mardi Gras group against liquor seller

Source: AP

January 18, 2013

A New Orleans Mardi Gras organization has filed suit against a California liquor distributor over alleged trademark infringement.

The Rex Organization, which stages one of the city's premier Mardi Gras parades, says businessman Sal Ortiz of Rex Spirits Inc. is unlawfully combining the Rex name with Mardi Gras images to market products under the name "King REX Spirits." The lawsuit filed Thursday in U.S. District Court claims the images violate trademarks of the Rex Organization.

It asks the court to block the manufacture, sale and advertising of the products and seeks an undetermined amount of monetary damages.

An email request for comment was left with the company Friday.

The Rex parade is a signature event on Mardi Gras, which this year is Feb. 12. The organization was founded in 1872.

News From TTB

Source: TTB

Jan 18th

Alcohol Beverage Products Affected by Hurricanes and Flooding

In the aftermath of recent natural disasters, we have received questions about the safety of alcohol beverage products exposed to flood waters.

FDA Notice Advises that Certain Food Products Exposed to Flood Waters are Adulterated

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) offers guidance on its website about the safety of foods, including alcohol beverage products, adversely affected by hurricanes, flooding, and power outages. The FDA notice states that food products submerged in flood waters may pose a health hazard because of possible exposure to sewage, chemicals, heavy metals, pathogenic microorganisms, or other contaminants. The notice advises that certain food products that have been exposed to flood waters are adulterated and should not enter the human food supply.

Read the FDA notice for more information: Safety of Food Affected by Hurricanes, Flooding, and Power Outages: A Notice from the FDA to Growers, Food Manufacturers, Food Warehouse Managers, and Transporters of Food Products.  http://www.fda.gov/food/fooddefense/emergencies/floodshurricanespoweroutages/ucm112723.htm

Adulterated Alcohol Beverage Products are Mislabeled

It is TTB's position that adulterated distilled spirits, wines, and malt beverages are mislabeled within the meaning of the Federal Alcohol Administration Act (FAA Act). Subject to the jurisdictional requirements of the FAA Act, mislabeled distilled spirits, wines, and malt beverages, including adulterated products, may not be sold or shipped, delivered for sale or shipment, or otherwise introduced or received in interstate or foreign commerce, or removed from customs custody for consumption, by a producer, importer, or wholesaler, or other industry member subject to 27 U.S.C. 205(e).

If you have any questions about whether an adulterated alcohol beverage product can be reconditioned or whether it should be destroyed, please contact TTB's Market Compliance Office at 202-453-2250, or toll free at 866-927-2533, and select option 5.

ACTING DIRECTORS NAMED FOR THE ADVERTISING, LABELING AND FORMULATION DIVISION

Effective January 4, Teresa Knapp, Gracie Joy, and Donna Smith will alternate serving as Advertising, Labeling and Formulation Division (ALFD) acting director until the position is filled permanently. Knapp will begin the 30-day rotation cycle, followed by Joy in February, and Smith in March. They will continue the 30-day rotation cycle, in this order, until further notice.

The ice cubes that know when you're drunk

A high-tech way to maintain a healthy buzz and avoid a massive blackout

Source: The week

By Jessica Hullinger

January 18, 2013

 

We've all had nights when we drank too much, and mornings when we woke up wishing someone had stopped us after our second drink, rather than our fifth. Dhairya Dand, an inventive MIT Media Labs researcher, has taken that wish and made it a reality by creating aprototype for ice cubes that monitor how much you drink.

The inspiration for Cheers, the "alcohol-aware glowing ice-cubes" came after Dand attended an MIT party that ended badly. "11:30 pm: I remember having three drinks. 7 hours later: I wake up at the hospital. I had an alcohol-induced blackout," the video about the prototype describes. In comes his genius invention: The ice cubes, which are actually waterproof jelly made to look like cubes, are stuffed with LEDs and a device that measures movement. With each sip of your drink, the cubes keep track of your intake, and go from green to orange to red based on how much you imbibe. Bonus: The cubes are sensitive to vibration, so they flash with the music, "making you look extra cool in the club," and making it awfully hard for you to forget the cubes are there. The cherry on top? They can be programmed to send a text message to the party animal's close friends if he or she has gone over the limit.

Definitely a cool idea, but it's not without potential drawbacks: What if you're drinking really dark beer out of a non-see-through cup? What if you accidentally swallow the cube? What if you're 5'2 and drinking Scotch? Certainly you'd want to stop before your third Laphroaig on the rocks. "The smart cubes are more of a considerate, novelty reminder than an exhaustive solution," says Nic Halverson at Discovery News. But even so, you've gotta hand it to Dand for using his hangover as inspiration. "What did you accomplish after your last drunken blackout?" Halverson asks. I don't remember, but it wasn't nearly as productive.

Alabama: Alabama is not in the 'liquor business' but in the 'control business' (opinion from Joe Godfrey)

Source: AL.com

By Special to AL.com

January 18, 2013

A reported plan to introduce legislation that would privatize the Alcohol Beverage Control stores in Alabama fails to consider several important facts.

Legislators are to be commended for their desire to cut spending on the state level, especially during these difficult economic times, but cutting time-tested controls on alcohol use and abuse may end up costing the state more money, not less. After the repeal of Prohibition, states were given the authority to regulate, control and limit the flow of alcoholic beverages due to the mind-altering and addictive nature of the drug.

Alabama's leaders at the time wisely decided to establish the Alcohol Beverage Control Board in order to implement such regulations for the benefit and safety of Alabama's citizens.

The most significant result of the ABC Board's work has been that Alabama ranks 48th in per capita consumption of alcohol per adult, and first in total revenue per gallon sold according to published reports from the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States. As citizens of Alabama do not drink as much, the agency receives more revenue per gallon of spirits sold. In this and several similar reports, control states (as opposed to licensure, or privatized, states) consistently rank highest in revenues and lowest in consumption among the 50 United States.

Alcohol is not an ordinary commodity; it is the number one abused drug in the nation.

On average, consumption rates in control states are 14 percent less for spirits and 7 percent less for all alcohol products than privatized states. ["The Effects of Privatization of Alcohol Control Systems," William Kerr, PhD, Alcohol Research Group for the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association]

Other factors to consider include the following: In non-control states with privatized alcohol sales:

. There is an increase in outlet density. Even if the proposed law limited outlet density, there would be an annual battle in the state Legislature with attempts to expand those outlet limitations. "Big Alcohol" would be continually pushing for fewer restrictions and seeking to get legislators elected who would sympathize with their position.

. There are increased hours of sale. ABC stores have fixed hours of operation and are staffed by well-trained employees. Once liquor sales are controlled by private retailers, you can expect them to remain open for longer hours. However, according to a published report in the December 2010 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, longer hours of liquor sales results in an increase in motor vehicle crashes, as well as other related harmful results.

. There is an increase in advertising and promotion. Studies have shown that youth are especially susceptible to alcohol ads. According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, "the degree of youth alcohol advertising exposure is strongly and directly associated with intentions to drink, age of drinking onset, prevalence of drinking and the amount consumed." ["Alcohol Advertising and Youth," ©2012, www.aafp.org, American Academy of Family Physicians]

. Studies have consistently concluded that a state-controlled alcohol distribution system such as the system Alabama has in place reduces the harms associated with alcohol abuse by promoting responsible distribution and consumption of alcohol.

Some legislators have argued that Alabama "needs to get out of the liquor business." What the citizens of Alabama need to understand is that the state is not in the liquor business, but it is in the alcohol beverage control business.

Alcohol is not an ordinary commodity; it is the number one abused drug in the nation. Controlling an addictive drug, as alcohol is, has economic and social benefits that far outweigh any perceived financial savings that may or may not come to the state.

Joe Godfrey is executive director of the Alabama Citizens Action Program.  

Washington: Bill would regulate liquor purchases at self-checkouts

Source: The Olympian

Melissa Santos

January 17, 2013

The sale of liquor in grocery stores may be giving minors access to alcohol in an unexpected way: through self-checkout machines, an Olympia legislator says.

Sam Hunt, D-Olympia, is sponsoring a bill to prohibit grocery stores from selling liquor through self-checkout machines "with limited or no assistance" from an employee.  The bill received a hearing Thursday before the House Government Accountability and Oversight Committee.

"The intent of it is to make sure that there is a human person there to check that ID," Hunt said at the bill hearing.

The bill is supported by grocery employee unions, who say that employees are held liable if minors buy alcohol, even if it is through a self-checkout machine.

"If a minor does get out with alcohol, or they don't check the ID properly, it's a criminal offense for our members," said union lobbyist Sharon Ness, adding that employees could receive up to a $5,000 fine and a year in jail for such an offense.

While some self-checkout machines ask for an ID check when scanning alcohol products, the machines can be easily fooled, Ness added.

"These machines are easy to bypass and often don't work," said Joe Mizrahi, lobbyist for United Food and Commercial Workers 21. "Ultimately, it is grocery store workers who are held accountable."

Grocery industry associations say they would oppose the bill if it means they couldn't use self-checkout machines for liquor, period -but they would be OK with a law that would require self-checkout machines to have a live cashier checking IDs. Many grocers have already spent a good deal of money on machines that halt a transaction if alcohol is involved, requiring employee assistance to proceed, said Charlie Brown, who spoke on behalf of Fred Meyer grocery stores.

"The way this bill is drafted, it is unclear if we could continue to use self-checkout and have someone stand there, or if we would have to move someone into a (staffed checkout) lane," said Holly Chisa, lobbyist for the Northwest Grocery Association.

Rep. Chris Hurst, an Enumclaw Democrat who chairs the House Government Accountability & Oversight Committee, said he wasn't previously aware that there was a problem with minors being able to sneak alcohol through self-checkout machines, but if it is happening, he thinks it need to be addressed.

"I was surprised to hear a couple of committee members say they had gone through self-checkout and had been able to get alcohol without being checked for their ID," Hurst said Thursday. "At a minimum, there must be some kind of system that requires a physical check anytime alcohol is being purchased at a self-checkout to make sure that underage people are not drinking."

The committee also heard a bill that would allow cider to be sold in growlers, a practice that is legal for beer but not for cider, which is classified like wine. No one testified against the cider-growler bill.

Another bill heard by the committee Thursday morning would create a beer and wine theater license that would allow theaters to serve beer and wine.

We'll have more on that bill later in the week.

Australia: Health curbs on alcohol mooted

Source: The Australian

by: Christian Kerr

January 21, 2013

HEALTH activists are seeking public funds to lay the groundwork for bans on alcohol advertising, minimum pricing of alcoholic drinks, restrictions on certain foods and to push the case that alcohol causes cancer.

A freedom of information document reveals the Australian National Preventive Health Agency was approached for grants last year to fund projects that examined "What is the public support for regulating the food supply", "Understanding and engaging community and policymaker support for alcohol supply control policies and practices", and "Preparing the public interest case for minimum pricing of alcohol", among others.

The document does not specify if the applications were approved.

Tim Wilson, a policy director at the Institute of Public Affairs think tank, who lodged the request, said the list betrayed a bias towards taxing and regulating away personal choice rather than promoting responsible behaviour.

"Public health activists seem intent on reinventing every policy used against smoking to now target food and alcohol choices because they can casually be linked to cancer," he said.

"When activists want to test the public's preparedness for wartime rationing policies, you've got to wonder whether they understand that we live in a free society that respects individual choice."

Opposition preventive health spokesman Andrew Southcott echoed his remarks.

"We know that quitting smoking, drinking within recommended guidelines and maintaining a healthy weight and lifestyle are important," he said, "but the opposition's first response is always to encourage personal responsibility."

Dr Southcott praised the efforts of private health insurance funds to encourage healthy lifestyles.

"We prefer voluntary codes of conduct over more nanny state regulation," he added.

Michael Keane, an adjunct lecturer in public health at Monash University and an adjunct associate professor at Swinburne University, warned against what he called the established ideology in public health.

"I would be concerned by the potential focus on bureaucratic edict and prohibition," Dr Keane said. "An attempt should be made to engage the widespread community concern at the lack of personal responsibility that appears to dominate contemporary public health thought.

"As a matter of urgency, further research grants should be targeted to investigate what effect the public-health-promoted mass abrogation of personal responsibility is having on the equilibrium of forces which affect behaviour and the effect that this potentially has on the fabric of our society."

The Australian was unable to contact ANPHA for a comment.