Health Highlights: April 27, 2015

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Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:

Puppy Chews Recalled Over Salmonella Risk

One lot of Nylabone Puppy Starter Kit dog chews are being recalled by the company due to fears of contamination with the salmonella germ that could harm dogs, or the dog’s owner if he or she touches the chew.

In a corporate news release from TFH Publications Inc./Nylabone Products, of Neptune, N.J., the company says the chews were distributed across the United States and Canada, and through a domestic mail order facility. The recall includes 1.69 oz. packages marked Lot 21935, UPC 0-18214-81291-3, located on the back of the package, and with an expiration date of 3/22/18 also stamped on the back of the package.

While no illnesses have yet been reported, the “potential for contamination” with salmonella in the puppy starter kits was found after routine testing, the company said.

Consumers are advised not to use the chews under recall, and they can return the item to wherever it was purchased for a full refund.

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Genetically Altered Foods Removed From Chipotle Menu

Chipotle Mexican Grill Restaurant Inc. announced on Monday that it will start serving its Mexican fare without any genetically modified ingredients.

Although Chipotle is the first major restaurant chain to eliminate these ingredients, known as GMO products, it was a relatively easy task for the company to complete, Steve Ells, founder and co-chief executive of Chipotle, told the New York Times.

“The vast majority of our ingredients don’t come in a GMO variety, and we use lots of whole, unprocessed foods, so it was easier for us to do,” Ells explained.

This is not the first time the Denver-based company has led the way in this arena, the Times reported. In 2013, Chipotle began to indicate which items on its menu contained genetically modified ingredients. Some finer dining restaurants have since followed suit, according to the newspaper.

Grocers are also taking similar steps. Whole Foods stores are to have no GMO products by 2018, and Walmart is rapidly expanding its selection of organic foods, which cannot contain GMO ingredients by law, according to the Times.

Whether other major restaurant chains will do the same as Chipotle is unclear, the newspaper reported, because it is more expensive to use products that do not have GMO ingredients in them.

Finding oils for cooking was somewhat tricky for the Chipotle chain, Ells said, because more than 90 percent of corn and soy grown in the United States is genetically modified. Also, canola oil comes from rapeseed, another large GMO crop.

Chipotle restaurants will now use sunflower oil to fry its chips and tortillas, while fajita vegetables and rice will be cooked with a non-GMO rice bran oil, the Times reported.

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