How long will eggs last?

How long will fresh chicken eggs keep in the refrigerator?

This is a question we are often asked, so let's discuss it.

If it's something we've learned this past year, it's the importance of using good quality fresh eggs.

Eggs from local farms, Whole Foods and Trader Joe's sell fresh eggs that are high in quality, and the cost may be around the same as the lower quality eggs found elsewhere.

Fresh eggs can remain edible for more than a month, but freshness (egg yolk that sits firm and high, and a healthy looking egg white) will be noticeably less after two weeks.

If eggs start out as Grade AA, they remain AA for only two weeks if properly refrigerated. After that, they'll be Grade A for another 2 weeks.

Here is a way to test the freshness: 

Get a bowl of cold water.

Put the whole egg in the water. If it sinks, it's fresh; if it floats to the top, it is old. It will kind of lay almost on its side. You can see the age of it by how much it floats.

However, by putting the eggs in water, you wash away the bloom from the egg, a protective layering that prevents bacteria from entering the egg. 

Farmers have 30 days from the day an egg is laid to get it to stores. Then, the stores have another 30 days to sell the eggs. The USDA recommends a maximum of 5 weeks in your refrigerator before you discard your eggs.

What does this all boil down to?

On April 1, you could be eating an egg that was laid on Christmas.

Most farmers ship their eggs to stores within a week, and both the "pack date" and "sell by" date are stamped onto the carton. The numbers run from 1-365, depending on the day of the year. Lastly, there is a big difference in taste between farm fresh eggs and week-old eggs. If you want the freshest eggs,  buy from a local farmer.

There is an expiration date on the carton, but if you have doubts, put the egg in water. If it floats, do not use it.

Violence in another McDonalds

The video shows another beating at a Baltimore County McDonald's, and it's gone viral with hundreds of thousands of views on various websites.

The video shows two women – one of them a 14-year-old girl – repeatedly kicking and punching the 22-year-old victim in the head, as an employee and customer try to stop the attack.
Others can be heard laughing, and men are just standing by and watching.

At the end of the video, one of the attackers lands a blow to the victim's head, and she appears to have a seizure.
A man's voice tells the women to run because police are coming.
The 14-year-old girl has been charged as a juvenile, while charges were pending against an 18-year-old woman.
The victim suffered cuts to her mouth and face, and a police report said she was in "fair" condition.
The report classifies the attack as a "second degree assault" – one of the suspects said that the fight was "with a woman over using a bathroom."

State's Attorney Scott D. Shellenberger said the racial dynamics of the incident – the attackers are black, and the victim is white – could result in hate crime charges.
"We just received this case, and the police department is continuing their investigation," Shellenberger said. "If there is evidence that the crime was racially motivated, we will take a look at those charges and see if we meet those elements. We have the ability, if the facts are there, to upgrade the charges at a later date."

As the video begins you see the two women near a bathroom door kicking and hitting a woman who is lying on the ground.
An employee repeatedly tries to separate them, but the attackers continue the attack and kick the victim's head. People yell, "Stop! Stop,"but it does no good, and others can be heard laughing.
About halfway through the video, the attackers rip a wig off the victim and drag her by her hair to the front door.
That is where the victim is sitting before a blow to the head causes an apparent seizure.
Throughout the attack, the employee who is filming believes that the victim may be having a seizure,  yells, "She having a seizure, yo. … Police on their way. Y'all better get out of here."

Police have identified the assault victim as a 22-year-old woman "who appeared to be having a seizure" when officers arrived at the McDonald's.

In a corporate statement, McDonald’s said it was “shocked by the video from a Baltimore franchise,” and called the incident “unacceptable, disturbing and troubling.” The firm added, “We are working with the franchisee and the local authorities to investigate this matter.”

The employee who filmed the attack (but didn't help the victim) says that the woman seen getting beaten in the video was actually a male cross-dresser who got into a confrontation with the two female attackers when he refused to leave the women’s bathroom. He also says that the victim faked a seizure and, when cops arrived at the restaurant, “he got right up.”

You watch and decide for yourself.

Lobster shells are being used as golf balls and tiles

The shells from Maine's lobsters are being used to manufacture decorative tiles, trivets and drinking-glass coasters.

Want Not, Waste Not as lobster shells are being used in counter-tops and tabletops.

Even at the University of Maine, a professor has developed golf balls and plant pots made out of ground-up lobster shells.

"Instead of dumping the shells at landfills, the idea is to add value to the product, which hopefully will funnel back into the industry," said David Neivandt, a professor of chemical and biological engineering who created a biodegradable golf ball with a core made of lobster shells.

Tons of lobster shells are thrown out and industry leaders have long wondered if there might be a way to make money from the shells that are tossed.

Neivandt and one of his students, Alex Caddell have developed a golf ball using ground-up lobster shells mixed with a glue-like substance for its core.

But they wont give out specifics because they don't want to give away any secrets. The ball is the same size and weight as a standard golf ball but is intended for use on cruise ships or at driving ranges that are on lakes or the ocean.

Putting golf balls into the sea is against the international convention rules because they are made of plastic and won't break down, but the lobster golf ball is biodegradable and disintegrates in the water in about three weeks.

EcoSeaTile LLC, a company based in Mount Desert, has been making tiles of reclaimed lobster, mussel, clam, oyster and scallop shells for use in homes and businesses, selling at dozens of high-end tile shops in New England and New York.

Owner Mickey Shattow said the tiles seem to be most popular among customers who live on or near the ocean.

McDonald's "National Day of Hiring" is a McMess

It was McDonald's "National Day of Hiring" in Cleveland Ohio, and three people have been hit by a car and two others were arrested after a fight broke out.

The event was an opportunity to hire thousands of local people, instead, a fight between two women got out of control.

"I was filling out my application when I saw two girls fighting," said an eyewitness. "I don't know their names, but they were fighting over drama, hood stuff."

The fight was over a boy, and it started verbally and escalated into a physical fight that went into the into the crowd.

After that,"One girl was on top of the driver, beating her. Then the driver went forward, somehow it kicked into reverse, and the car went backwards, hitting three people.

Three adults and one 17-year-old juvenile female were taken by the hospital.

Among the injured was the owner of the McDonald's, as well as a manager.

The restaurant was immediately closed and hiring came to a halt, disappointing the people who came looking for work.

Police are still looking for the driver of the car. The passenger, Natasha Grayer, 22, of Cleveland, was arrested for felonious assault.

World's top 50 best restaurants

Noma restaurant in Copenhagen is #1 in the world

Noma restaurant in Copenhagen is the best restaurant in the world, retaining its place at number one for another year.

The list, compiled by Restaurant magazine, awarded the Danish restaurant the coveted prize at an awards ceremony and where we saw Heston Blumenthal's The Fat Duck go from third to fifth place from last year.

The biggest surprise was the missing Spanish El Bulli.
A big winner in years past, the restaurant was removed from the list because chef Ferran Adrià's has chosen to close the restaurant later this year.

World's top 50 best restaurants

Position	Restaurant	Country	2010 Position	change	Special Awards
1	Noma	Denmark	1	-	Best in World & Europe
2	El Celler De Can Roca	Spain	4	2
3	Mugaritz	Spain	5	2
4	Osteria Francescana	Italy	6	2
5	The Fat Duck	UK	3	-2
6	Alinea	USA	7	1	Best In N.America
7	D.O.M	Brazil	18	11
8	Arzak	Spain	9	1
9	Le Chateaubriand	France	11	2
10	Per Se	USA	10	-
11	Daniel	USA	8	-3
	Les Creation De Narisawa	Japan	24	12	Best in Asia
13	L'Astrance	France	16	3
14	L'atelier De Joel Robuchon Paris	France	29	15
15	Hof Van Cleve	Belgium	17	2
16	Pierre Gagnaire	France	13	3
17	Oud Sluis	Holland	19	2
18	Le Bernardin	USA	15	3
19	L'Arpege	France	Re-Entry	-
20	Nihonryori Ryugin	Japan	48	28	Highest Climber
21	Vendome	Germany	22	1
22	Steirereck	Austria	21	-1
23	Schloss Schauenstein	Switzerland	30	7
24	Eleven Madison Park	USA	50	26
25	Aqua	Germany	34	9
26	Quay	Australia	27	1	Best in Australasia
27	Iggy's	Singapore	28	1
28	Combal Zero	Italy	35	7
29	Martin Berasategui	Spain	33	4
30	Bras	France	Re-Entry	-
31	Biko	Mexico	46	15
32	Le Calandre	Italy	20	-12
33	Ristorante Cracco	Italy	Re-Entry	-
34	The Ledbury	UK	New entry	-	Highest New Entry
35	Chez Dominique	Finland	23	-12
36	Le Quartier Francais	South Africa	31	-5	Best in South Africa
37	Amber	China	New entry	-
38	Dal Pescatore	Italy	36	-2
39	Il Canto	Italy	40	1
40	Momofuku Ssam Bar	USA	26	-14
41	St John	UK	43	2
42	Astrid Y Gaston	Peru	New entry	-
43	Hibiscus	UK	49	6
44	La Maison Troisgros	France	44	-
45	Alain Ducasse Au Plaza Athenee	France	41	-4
46	De Librije	Netherlands	37	-9
47	Hotel De Ville	Switzerland	14	-33
48	Varvari	Russia	New entry	-
49	Pujol	Mexico	New entry	-
50	Etxebarri	Spain	Re-Entry	-

Artist jailed for frying eggs on Kiev eternal flame

In the Ukraine we find a young artist was jailed for what some call a performance, but was actually frying eggs over an open flame.

But the open flame happen to be the eternal flame honoring fallen soldiers and commemorating the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany.

The video of the cookout shows Sin'kova apparently explaining her performance to nearby police officers, who do nothing to stop her.

But now more than three months after the "performance", Anna Sin'kova has been arrested and charged with "desecrating a grave". She faces up to five years in prison. On April 11, the Kiev court of appeals refused to release her on bail.

Anna Sin’kova, 20, is a leader of the Ukrainian art group “Brotherhood of Saint Luke”. She sent this written comment from jail through her lawyer:

"I do not regret my performance for a single second, even after being interrogated for four hours without my lawyer, and despite the pressure I have been subjected to while in jail. The accusations against me are absurd and ridiculous.

The media distorted the original message behind my performance.

They say I desecrated a grave, but it’s quite the opposite. The eternal flame is not a grave, it’s a propaganda memorial for a totalitarian communist regime [the former USSR]. It is the biggest desecration of the memory of the victims of a terrible war, many of whom, including my grand-grandfather, were dedicated orthodox Christians. The cult of “The Great Victory”, invented by the Kremlin [Sin'kova believes that the Russian government uses Soviet-era wartime symbols to project national greatness], has nothing to do with the real veterans and victims of the war. That's why I made this performance. If it was a desecration, it was a desecration of a Soviet propaganda object, not soldiers' graves.

Like a spy from a Hollywood movie, I was arrested as I exited a supermarket by men in black balaclavas. I was interrogated without my lawyer by three plainclothes policemen, who threatened me and told me I was a traitor. I have been kept in a cell with 20 other people, and was denied medical care when I came down with a very high fever.

My lawyers are preparing an appeal with the European Court of Human Rights. I hope for a favorable decision.

When I am set free I will continue to fight for this just cause. The authorities want to scare us patriots, or put us in jail. But we're not going to stand aside watching as Ukrainian sovereignty is sold to the Kremlin in return for natural gas and favours for local oligarchs.”

Man Cuts Off Finger and Eats It

This is the first cannibalism story of the year and it brings us to New Zealand.

A depressed man decided to cut off a finger, cooked it with vegetables and eat it.

After the 28-year-old man ate the finger he planned to dine on two more before deciding instead to seek medical treatment where he was diagnosed with moderate symptoms of depression. The patient was said to suffer 'episodes of low mood' and once while depressed he was assaulted by two men.

He felt extreme anger and for the first time fantasied about not only killing his assailants, but of eating them too.

At the end of 2008, following another personal crisis, he experienced significant insomnia and suicidal thoughts, along with ideas about cutting off his fingers.

It was then he tied a shoelace around his (little) finger to act as a tourniquet and cut the finger off with a jigsaw. He then cooked it in a pan with some vegetables and ate its flesh. His plan was to amputate another two fingers the following day. After eating one finger he instead decided to seek medical treatment where he was diagnosed with moderate symptoms of depression.

Germ resistant to antibiotics in meat sold in U.S.

Here's some news that will have vegetarians and vegans rejoicing evereywhere.

There is a type of germ that is resistant to antibiotics and is very common in meat sold in U.S. grocery stores.

Almost half of 136 samples of beef, chicken, pork and turkey collected from 26 grocery stores across five U.S. cities tested positive for antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, according to a study published  in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.

Some of antibiotic-resistant staph germs found included forms of the superbug resistant to methicillin known as MRSA, and about half of those bacteria were resistant to multiple forms of antibiotics.

"When the average consumer purchases fresh meat or poultry, they have a 1 in 4 chance of bringing multidrug-resistant staph aureus into the kitchen," said Lance Price, senior author of the study and the director of Center for Food Microbiology and Environmental Health at the Translational Genomics Research Institute in Flagstaff, Ariz.

No one really knows the health risks Dr. Price said. "The main issue isn't ingesting the germs—staph can be killed by cooking meat thoroughly—but rather becoming infected during the handling of food. Staph can cause wound and skin infections through contact and can also be transferred to kitchen surfaces from meat during food preparation. How many people get infected by drug-resistant staph through contact or ingestion with meat isn't known."

Bacterial resistance to drugs is a major concern because it limits the medications that could be used to kill the bugs. Staph can cause skin infection as well as more serious conditions such as pneumonia or sepsis, which is blood poisoning.

Some other types of antibiotic-resistant bacteria are not new and have been commonly detected in meat and poultry, but the presence of staph is something new and hasn't been previously measured.

Researchers found that the bacteria contaminated the meat because it was present on the skin and in the guts of the animal, not through human contact during processing of the animal. That suggests that the common use of steady doses of antibiotics in healthy animals is to blame, according to Dr. Price.

Using antibiotics in healthy animals "is so counterlogical," Dr. Price said. "We should be doing all that we can to protect the antibiotics," by saving them for cases of illness and even then using them sparingly.

Italian butcher arrested for his shop of horrors

Italian police have arrested a Naples butcher after worm-infested meat for was for sale in his store. the meat was 10 years past its expiry date.

This guy had pasta and biscuits crawling with parasites, rotting meats and dairy products, and olives covered in mold.

The butcher changed the expiration dates on the food in order to keep on selling the items, it didn't matter that the meat was a decade old.

The Holiday Food Poll

We love holidays and we know many of you do to, but we want to know which are your favorites.

We just happen to think that most great holidays are food related, so tell us, which are your favorite food holidays?

Before you email us, yes, we know we probably left out a favorite holiday for someone, in that case, vote other.

You can vote daily because we realize you may have more than just one favorite.

You'll find the poll on the right side of the blog, you can't miss it.

We will keep this going for a month...

Two Arrested Robbing Lemonade Stand

As we visit Warner Robins Georgia we find Thirteen-year-old Chelsea Edwards who just wanted to make some money selling lemonade at her lemonade stand.

The seventh-grader at Feagin Mill Middle School said a a man and woman came up to the stand and started asking questions about the price of lemonade.

It was then "the man bent down and seen the money jar, and he grabbed it."

"He flew in the car, and the girl was running after the car," Chelsea Edwards says.

Police identified the couple (above photo) as 20-year-old Gage Allen Turner and 21-year-old Amber Umbarger, both of Warner Robins.

Turner managed a getaway leaving Amber Umbarger behind, as a result she arrested her on the scene.

But Gage Allen Turner wasn't on the loose for long, he arrested around 3 a.m. 

Chelsea Edwards says the pair made off with $130, but what's worse, she says the money wasn't for her.

She was raising the money for her cousin, a 2-years-old, developmentally disabled,with a rare intestinal disorder.

Since the robbery, Edwards says neighbors have pitched in to fill a new money jar, but she says the experience has left a bitter taste.

"Why would he go up and rob three girls?" Chelsea Edwards asks.

Chicago school bans homemade lunches

Did you hear about the Little Village Academy, a small school in Chicago that no longer allows students to bring food from home to eat for lunch.

So, you either eat the cafeteria food or go hungry.

Elsa Carmona, the Little Village's principal said the intention of the policy is to protect students from the potential for unhealthy homemade lunches.

"Nutrition wise, it is better for the children to eat at the school," Carmona said.

"It's about the nutrition and the excellent quality food that they are able to serve (in the lunchroom). It's milk versus a Coke. But with allergies and any medical issue, of course, we would make an exception."

Carmona says she made the decision after seeing kids bringing bottles of soda and bags of chips on field trips.

There's a very big reason why Carmona's plan will fail, if the kids don't like it, the kids aren't going to eat it. Right now many students accept the lunch offered at Little Village, but throw most of it in the garbage uneaten.

Here's a question for the principle, what happens when kids decide to skip lunch only to go home and eat what they want?

We find these policies just another way to restrict personal freedoms and consider it an assault on basic rights.

But soon, school cafeteria food across the country will all be "healthier", whether students like it or not.

Remember last year's Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, promoted by First Lady Michelle Obama?

Her calls for higher nutritional standards to serve the 32 million kids who eat lunch every day at school would set calorie limits for school lunches.

The bill also calls for stricter food safety checks on cafeteria food and would recommend serving more vegetables and whole grains, and less salt, French fries should be replaced by vegetables and fruit.

“This is such a fundamental infringement on parental responsibility,” said J. Justin Wilson, a senior researcher at the Washington-based Center for Consumer Freedom, which is partially funded by the food industry.

“Would the school balk if the parent wanted to prepare a healthier meal?” Wilson said. “This is the perfect illustration of how the government’s one-size-fits-all mandate on nutrition fails time and time again."

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Hey Kids, it's Happy Hour at Applebee's

Back in 2007 Applebee's had an incident in the Bay Area where a year a two-year-old boy became sick after drinking a margarita, complete with tequila and triple sec, his parents thought it was apple juice.

At the time the restaurant said the juice and margarita mix were stored in similar containers, and that was the reason for the mistake. After that the restaurant kept alcohol and juices in containers that no longer looked alike.

But this past Friday just last week a 15-month-old boy had the same thing happen to him at another Applebee's near Detroit.

The boy's parents said they ordered him an apple juice. He took several drinks then put his head on the table and fell asleep.

They say he woke up a short time later and was very happy, saying "hi" and "bye" to people as they passed their table and talking to the walls.

The mother took her son to a hospital and found that his blood alcohol level was .01. That's over the legal limit for an adult driver.

The drink again turned out to be a margarita.

The local Applebee's manager apologized, and the national office could only say the incident unacceptable.

Applebee’s corporate spokeswoman Nancy Mays said that the restaurant chain is conducting an independent review of the situation.

“Obviously any situation like this is unacceptable,” she said in an e-mailed statement. “We are cooperating with local authorities and conducting our own investigation to assess exactly what happened.”

Waiter, there's a fly in my soup

Over at the Oxford museum of natural history you find the Banquet of Insects, which hopes to promote bugs as your meat-based diet.

The argument for insects is that they are high in protein, low in calories, and, oh yes, here it comes, they cause much less environmental damage than cattle.

It's claimed that a meal made from silkworms (photo below) is just as nutritious as a beef steak, but farming the worms would require seven times less feed, less water, and creates no methane footprint.

Chef Thomasina Miers created this three course meal, starting with worm crisps, followed u[ by grasshopper salsa tacos and cricket tostados topped with pecorino, radish and orange, and if that wasn't enough, the meal ended with chocolate-coated locusts for pudding.

So, if you are deeply concerned with carbon footprints, your future may include crunchy crickets, silkworms and grasshoppers.

New Delhi says, "there's nothing to worry about"

We find ourselves in New Delhi where the Delhi government has pleaded with the people of the city not to worry about the presence of drug-resistant bacteria in the capital's tap water.

Officials say they have reviewed the issue of the superbug bacteria and its implications for human health and there is no cause of any worry.

Gee, where have we heard that before?

They went on to say:

"The chlorination of water makes it safe for drinking purposes. The water being supplied through DJB and other similar sources meets the prescribed standards of testing and safety. The chlorination process and its monitoring is further being strengthened."

So, everyone can relax and stop worrying because officials have dismissed concerns about thee drug-resistant bacteria in tap water, saying the water being supplied by the agency was "safe" for drinking.

Time will tell...

This is Nuts

Nuts are known to most of us as a dry fruit where the casing becomes very hard at maturity and we eat them.
But there is more to this nut business than meets the eye.
We know that pecans, sweet chestnuts,  acorns, hazel, hornbeam and alder are true nuts.
But, peanuts, almonds, pistachios, cashews, horse chestnuts and pine nuts are not really nuts at all. 

Peanuts
Peanuts, also known as groundnuts, earthnuts, goobers, pinders, Manila nuts and monkey nuts, aren’t nuts, instead they are a type of pea which grows underground. They are native to South America but now widely cultivated, notably in Georgia, in the United States.

Brazil nuts
Brazil nuts aren’t nuts either.
They are seeds contained in a pod, which splits apart. Real nuts don’t split – the seed and the fruit are one and the same. Brazil nuts mostly come from Bolivia and grow at the very top of really tall trees.
When the pods fall feom the tree the seeds are released.

WalnutsWalnuts aren’t nuts. Their name in Old English, walhnutu, meant “foreign nut”, from wealh, “foreign” (also the root for Wales). This was because they were introduced from Gaul and needed to be distinguished from the native hazelnut.
Because walnuts resemble the brain, they were believed in medieval times to be able to cure headaches.

Cashews aren’t nuts. They are the seeds of the cashew drupe which is a member of the poison-ivy family. The cashew’s seed lining contains a powerful irritant called anacardic acid (which explains why they are never served or sold in their skins).
The botanical name Anacardium refers to the shape of the fruit, which looks like an inverted heart (ana “upwards” + kardion “heart”).
Unlike Brazil nuts, cashews really do come from Brazil. The Portuguese planted them in Goa in the late 1500s and from there they spread through Asia and Africa.

What are Pringles anyway?

We always thought Pringles were some kind of a tasty potato chip?
That's what the can reads anyway.
Who were we to argue?

But lawyers for Pringles claim that the crispy chips don’t have enough actual potato – just 42% potato flour, to be labled “potato crisps, potato sticks or potato puffs.”
Instead, they say, let us call Pringles, “savory snacks.”

The reason for all this is because Proctor and Gamble wants to avoid paying U.K.’s value-added tax on potato snacks.
In a 2008 ruling by Britain’s High Court Pringles were regarded more like a cake or bread,which allowed P&G to escape the potato tax

But an appeals court in 2009 said that Pringles are definitively potato chips, and are subject to the U.K.’s tax.
Procter and Gamble was ordered liable for £100 million of past taxes and £20 million in annual taxes going forward.

In a news release which announced a merger of Pringles into Diamond Foods, Pringles is now being called “potato crisp, defined as an extruded snack.

So, pay no attention to the words on the can, just enjoy your extruded snack.

New York Health Department is going on a diet

New York has always been a cutting edge kind of place.

And now the city's Health Department is going to experience some cutting of its own by going on a diet.

That means, no deep-fried foods,and no cookies and cakes served at the same time. 

And of course, no beverages over 25 calories per ounce.

This is all part of the new and exciting health mandate issued to department employees in a cute little brightly-colored brochure.

The mandate also requires that tap water be on the menu when food or drinks are served and suggests bagels or muffins be cut into halves or quarters to reduce the number of calories employees intake, and thinly sliced, whole-grain bread is a suggested offering at work events.

Besides the dietary rules, employees are now required to adopt good personal and office hygiene habits, like wearing smelly products, eavesdropping and putting up signs co-workers may deem offensive, according to the new set of guidelines for "Life in the Cubicle Village."

These guidelines are part of the massive city campaign to improve public health and to make changes related to diet, exercise and non-smoking.

While some health department employees complain the new rules verge on "micro-managing," the agency says the updated guidelines reflect the department's effort to practice what it preaches.

"The Health Department is leading by example by updating its guidelines for food and beverages served at agency meetings and events," said a Health Department spokeswoman.

The Battle Against Fast Food Calories Continues

As the battle against what some call the epidemic of obesity, the Food and Drug Administration has proposed rules that will require restaurant and fast food chains to post the calorie amounts on their menus.

These rules, by the way, also apply to vending machines, coffee shops and convenience and grocery stores but not to movie theaters, bowling alleys or airliners.

Despite all the efforts of Michelle Obama, Jamie Oliver, nutritionists and many politicians who have been trying to make us see the light, the truth is, there has been little or no progress against this obesity issue.

While the proponents of these new rules may be thrilled, most of us don't care.

"Nobody thinks that calorie information by itself solves the problem, but it's part of the tool kit," FDA deputy commissioner for foods Michael Taylor said in a brief interview. "We see this as part of the overall effort to fight obesity."

The exemption of movie theater refreshment stands is a big win for the National Association of Theater Owners.

But that came about because of  fierce lobbying, and really, who is counting calories while asking for extra butter on their popcorn?

Public health officials pulled soda pop out of school vending machines and come up with healthier school lunches, and we've seen what a disaster that's turned out to be. menus.

The new rules, would apply to food chains with 20 or more locations, like, McDonalds, Burger King, Taco Bell, Wendy's just to name a few.

With this, customers will see calorie counts next to the burgers, fries and shakes they are about to order, hoping to warn us, scare us or simply make us feel guilty.

The FDA hopes to have this done by the end of the year.

These calorie counts would have to be displayed prominently on all menus and menu boards, including at drive-through locations.

Fast- food companies say they may have to shrink the number of items they put up on menu boards in order to make room for the calorie counts and that will hurt sales.

The menu provision was part of last year's health care law, which intended to have a tax on sugared beverages but that ended after lobbying from the soft drink industry.

EPA Says Low Levels of Radiation Found in U.S. Milk

It seems radiation has been found in everything from drinking water to blades of grass, nowt the U.S. government is saying that traces of radiation have been found in milk in Washington state.

But right after saying things like this, they always say, "there's nothing to worry about because  the amounts are well below levels of public health concern.

The Environmental Protection Agency says that the screening sample taken March 25 from Spokane, Wash., detected 0.8 pCi/L of iodine-131. That would be more than 5,000 times lower than the number they have decided is okay.

The EPA also says it expects more findings of radiation "in the coming days" but added that they are "far below levels of public health concern, including for infants and children."

Iodine-131 has a half life of approximately eight days, and the level detected in milk and milk products is  expected to drop quickly, the agency said.

In order to calm nerves and make people feel better, the EPA said in a written statement:

"Radiation is all around us in our daily lives, and these findings are a minuscule amount compared to what people experience every day.
For example, a person would be exposed to low levels of radiation on a round trip cross country flight, watching television, and even from construction materials."

 Last week the FDA said it was going block imports of Japanese milk products and certain other foods produced in the area around the Fukushima nuclear facility because of radiation contamination.