Birds Eye has announced a recall of three of its beef ready meals after DNA testing revealed the presence of horsemeat in one of its products.

In an announcement today (February 22^nd), the company revealed that a chili con carne product produced by Frigilunch NV and sold in Belgium was found to have contained two per cent horse DNA and would be immediately withdrawn.

As a precaution, it said it would be recalling all beef products from the same supplier in the UK and Ireland, which include its Traditional Spaghetti Bolognese (340g), Shepherd’s Pie (400g) and Beef Lasagne (400g).

“The withdrawn products will not be replaced on supermarket shelves until we have finished our investigations and have complete confidence in this supplier,” said Birds Eye.

However, the company reassured customers that the vast majority of its beef products had emerged clean from DNA testing.

“The quality of our food is of the utmost importance to us. We know that our consumers rely on us to be certain that they are eating only what is labelled on the packaging and that they can always rely on us to act responsibly,” it added.

Birds Eye went on to note that it had introduced an ongoing DNA testing programme, in addition to enhancing its normal quality assurance processes.

The discovery marks the latest development in the horsemeat scandal, which has already seen UK food retailers Findus, Tesco, Asda, Lidl and Iceland uncover traces of horsemeat contamination in their beef products.

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War veterans are set to benefit from an £11 million boost in funding for the NHS.

On Friday (February 15^th), the government announced plans to improve care for those who have been injured in conflicts and providing access to a high level of prosthetics and rehabilitation services.

Nine NHS facilities throughout the UK will receive a share of the fund, with up to £6.7 million available for individual institutions.

Commenting on the scheme, health minister Dr Dan Poulter stated the government’s aim to provide veterans with the “very best” in specialist centres across the country.

“Ex-servicemen and women who have been injured in the line of duty deserve the very best possible care from the NHS,” he said.

“This is why we are making more funding available to improve veterans’ prosthetic limb services – and £22 million in total between 2010 and 2015 to support veterans’ physical and mental health.”

The announcement follows a series of recommendations laid out by Dr Andrew Murrison MP, the Ministry of Defence’s minister for international security strategy in a report on the provision of prosthetics for military amputees.

He suggested instituting a handful of specialist multi-disciplinary centres in England to provide a similar level of care to that offered by the armed forces.

Image used courtesy of gov.uk.

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A skeleton found underneath a car park in Leicester has been confirmed as belonging to king Richard III.

Archaeologists from the University of Leicester have today (February 4^th) revealed that testing has confirmed the bones belong to the ancient English king – with their DNA matching that of his modern descendants.

King Richard, who was immortalised in a Shakespeare play of the same name, died in battle in 1485 at the age of 32 and his burial place was disrupted after the surrounding church was destroyed in the 16^th century.

In a press conference today, it was revealed that the bones had been carbon dated to a period between 1455 and 1540.

Similarly, the skeleton contained evidence of several injuries, including a number of blows to the head, as well as spinal curvature.

University of Leicester lead archaeologist Richard Taylor hailed the discovery as a “historic day” for the region.

“Beyond reasonable doubt it’s Richard,” he said.

It was also revealed that the remains would be reinterred in Leicester Cathedral, near the site of Grey Friars, where it was originally buried.

Alongside England’s last Plantagenet monarch, the excavation also uncovered the original friary beneath the council-run car park.

Image used courtesy of University of Leicester.

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The UK’s armed forces have been warned over the potential threats presented by cyber-attacks.

In a new report released today (January 9^th), the Commons Defence Committee urged the government to take a more “vigorous” approach to the military’s digital security.

James Arbuthnot MP, chair of the body, warned of the constantly-evolving nature of cyberspace and suggested that the field requires more attention from ministers.

“The government needs to put in place – as it has not yet done – mechanisms, people, education, skills, thinking and policies which take into account both the opportunities and the vulnerabilities which cyberspace presents,” he said.

According to the document, the armed forces are at risk of being “fatally compromised” due to their increasing dependence on digital technologies.

However, the committee also acknowledged the opportunities to enhance military capabilities through cyber tools and encouraged the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to explore the field further.

“We support the use of National Cyber Security Programme funding to develop these capabilities, but also wish to be assured that the MoD will maintain its investment in existing defence intelligence services,” Mr Arbuthnot added.

The issue of digital attacks came to prominence in 2012 following a number of high-profile cyber assaults that were allegedly carried out by nation states, such as Israel and Iran.

Similarly, hacker collective Anonymous was responsible for temporarily disabling the websites of several notable companies, including the likes of Sony, Amazon and Paypal, as well as leaking damaging documents from compromised sources.

Image used courtesy of kenny1 / Shutterstock.com

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The UK’s first hand transplant operation has been successfully accomplished at Leeds General Infirmary.

A surgical team on standby at the hospital undertook the procedure on December 27^th last year after a donor limb became available for use.

The complicated operation was carried out on 51-year-old Mark Cahill of Halifax, whose right hand was left non-functioning after being affected by gout.

Doctors performing the procedure utilised a cutting-edge technique that saw the removal and transplant performed at the same time.

“This allowed very accurate restoration of nerve structures and is believed to be the first time this approach has been used,” Leeds General Infirmary said.

Commenting on the procedure’s success, consultant plastic surgeon professor Simon Kay described it as the “culmination of a great deal of planning and preparation”.

“It was extremely challenging to be the first team in the UK to carry out such a procedure,” he said.

Professor Kay went on to hail the donor and his family for their “tremendous gift” and praised organ donation as a way to bring “something positive from tragedy”.

This type of transplant is a relatively new field, developed in France and the US in the late 1990s. And although this operation was the first of its type in the UK, several successful procedures have been already been carried out overseas.

Leeds Teaching Hospitals initially announced its search for potential candidates for the process in 2011, although a great deal of time was taken in assessing prospective recipients from throughout the UK.

Image used courtesy of Clive Chilvers / Shutterstock.com.

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Microsoft has criticised a recent ruling from the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Google’s business practices as “weak”.

Speaking about the issue on the company’s blog, vice president and deputy general counsel Dave Heiner described the agency’s failure to obtain industry input on the matter as “troubling”.

He claimed that despite being a vocal advocate of so-called ‘data portability’, Google had in practice prevented its customers from utilising information on their own advertising campaigns with other companies.

“That made it much more difficult and costly for advertisers (especially small advertisers) to run their ad campaigns on Bing and other ad platforms,” Mr Heiner said.

Earlier in the week, the FTC subjected Google to institute legally-binding changes in its presentation of certain search results, in addition to alterations to the administration of its search-based advertising products.

The company was also forced to address issues concerning the way its Motorola Mobility subsidiary licenses its standard-essential patents to the industry and competitors, with regulators calling for “fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms” to be implemented.

“The changes Google has agreed to make will ensure that consumers continue to reap the benefits of competition in the online marketplace,” said FTC chairman Jon Leibowitz in his response to the ruling.

However, commenting on the issue, Mr Heiner expressed disappointment in the FTC, noting that the regulator’s proposed consent decree on patents is a lengthy document that lists a number of exceptions to Google’s patent licensing commitments.

Image used courtesy of James M Phelps, Jr / Shutterstock.com.

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Even when we are supposed to be switched off and enjoying a relaxing soak, many of us simply have to be connected, the survey found.

A poll showed one in 20 of us keep updated with work and social networking while in the tub – that’s 2.45 million who routinely refuse to let even a bath get in the way of staying in touch with their friends.

Experts have dubbed the new wet-tech craze ‘iBathing’.

The survey also found that due to the demands of modern life, the traditional long hot soak has now given way to a quick shower.

According to the survey of 3,000 men and women, by Original Source shower care, we take a bath just six times a year, which equates to 14.7 million iBaths annually.

The national study of our washing habits revealed Brits shower every other day and spend no more than five minutes under the water.

It showed that one in five of us have a bath just once a year while the majority – 52 per cent – admit they don’t take a daily shower.

The average Brit or 30 per cent prefers to shower every other day, while 22 per cent confess to showering up to three times a week.

When we do finally jump in the shower, we’re out just as quickly as we got in, spending a maximum of five minutes washing away the day’s dirt.

Unsurprisingly men are the dirtier sex, with a massive 84 per cent of those polled admitting they leave a lot to be desired when it comes to personal hygiene.

One in four women say they wished their partners washed more regularly and 10 per cent of those have no qualms about telling them.

A fifth of men say their partners could also do with washing more often and 10 per cent feel their female counterparts are more relaxed than them when it comes to personal hygiene.

It seems our lack of time and worries over utility bills are the main reasons for not taking baths regularly, with 33 per cent and 24 per cent saying this respectively while one in four see the bath as a luxury to be enjoyed as a treat.

And while we may not bathe as often as we like, 69 per cent of Brits say there’s definitely still a place for a bath in the home and wouldn’t consider buying somewhere that didn’t have one.

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The team from the Hershey Center for Health and Nutrition and the Pennsylvania State University have reported that polyphenols from cocoa inhibited various digestive enzymes in a dose-dependent manner, meaning the more consumed, the greater the effect.

“The present study provides the first evidence that cocoa extracts and cocoa procyanidins are potent inhibitors of key enzymes in the digestion of carbohydrates and lipids in vitro, and these inhibitory activities are related to polyphenol content in cocoa extracts,” wrote the authors in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

With 50 per cent of Europeans and 62 per cent of Americans classed as overweight, the suppliment industry is becoming increasingly aware or the potential of food products for weight loss and management.

It has been suggested that if additional research can further support these findings, cocoa polyphenols may find a role in the burgeoning weight management market, already estimated to be worth $7bn (€5.2bn) worldwide.

The health benefits of polyphenols from cocoa have been widely reported in the national media, with studies indicating potential benefits for cardiovascular health, skin health, and even brain health.

cocoa may aid weight management

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The Met Office have recorded the average temperature in Manchester, Bristol and London combined since 1659 and the average between the three cities was 11.8 Celsius – more than four degrees above the normal temperature.

The mean for the UK as a whole was 10.7 degrees up to April 28 – again almost four degrees higher than normal.

A Met office spokesman said: “We are confidently predicting this will have been the hottest April on record.”

The warm, dry weather is set to continue into May, which is good news for sun-lovers and the tourism industry but will see reservoir levels continue to fall.

A high-pressure system in the Atlantic is keeping rains away from the UK.
Jonathan Powell, senior forecaster at Positive Weather Solutions, said:

“There is a very stark and real danger of a drought this summer.

“Some places will inevitably see hosepipe bans at some point as there is no substantial rainfall on the way.”

In 1995, after a wet winter exceptionally dry weather from April through to September saw reservoir levels in some parts of the UK drop to less than 20 per cent and 20 million people living under hosepipe bans.

Some national newspapers are reporting that the situation is worse in rural areas where agriculture requires large amounts of water – and farmers says soils are drier than they would expect in July or August.

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David Lynch was on the verge of losing his arm when the fatal bacteria spread all over his body.

The bug got into a small cut on his finger while he cleaned out the terrapin’s tank at his men’s hairdressers in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.

The 54-year-old said: “At one point they said if the infection didn’t stop spreading and reached my armpit they may have to think about amputating my arm.

“It was frightening, particularly with the nature of my job.”

Doctors later warned him they might need to amputate his finger after it turned black and his arm became swollen and red.

The father-of-three has since had reconstructive surgery and only returned to work last week – more than three months after the terrifying ordeal began.

He described the gory details, saying bits of his index finger on his left hand started falling off when the infection took hold.

The pain was so bad he wanted doctors to cut his finger off, he added.

David cleaned out the tank three days before Christmas but woke during the middle of the night on Christmas Eve to find his finger severely swollen and throbbing.

“The pain was excruciating, I have never known anything like it,” he said.

He rushed to West Suffolk Hospital in Bury, where he was given antibiotics for an infection and painkillers before being sent home.

But later that day his condition worsened.

His finger turned black and his arm became swollen and red.

David was admitted to hospital, where he spent six days on a cocktail of intravenous antibiotics. He was warned if the anitbiotics didn’t work he would die.

A sample of his blood was sent for analysis and he was diagnosed with a potentially lethal bacterial infection known as a Group G streptococcal – and the terrapin, called Cosmo, was identified as the culprit.

On Christmas Day he was taken for an operation, where his hand was opened up to ‘wash-out’ the infection.

He then had a second operation and was faced with the prospect of losing his finger.

But instead, the dead flesh on it was removed and he was referred to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge for reconstructive surgery.

David continued: “Bits of my finger were falling off each day and I wished I had just had it cut off.”

Later the bone in his finger became visible and he has since had three skin grafts to correct it.

The hairdresser has started having occupational therapy to improve the movement in his damaged finger.

Cosmo was originally bought by David for his 15-year-old daughter seven years ago.

But when she lost interest, he took Cosmo to work where he proved a hit with the customers. Now Cosmo has been re-homed through one of David’s customers.

David said: “Any animal that defecates in its own water, like tropical fish, culture these bacteria.

“My advice to anybody who’s got tropical fish, or that type of aquarium, is to wear rubber gloves when you clean them out, feed them or handle them because you never know.”

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