The Emirates News Agency (WAM) has reported that the Emirates Red Crescent (ERC) organisation recently completed three development projects worth more than AED3.8 million in Palestine.
The projects include the construction of a two-storey and two-minaret mosque in Deir Qaddis west of Ramallah, to serve 1,200 worshippers; an additional storey for the girls' school in Deir Istiya town in the Salfit Governorate, to accommodate an additional 500 students; and 100 water wells to serve 100 farming families in villages in Hebron Governorate, southern West Bank.
Showing posts with label ERC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ERC. Show all posts
Wednesday, 22 July 2015
KSA, UAE send help to Yemen
Humanitarian relief has been arriving in Yemen. The third installment of medical relief by King Salman Center for
Relief and Humanitarian Action arrived in Saioon city on board three trucks coming from KSA through the Alwadaia'ah land
border crossing point, the Saudi Press Agency has reported.
Another report from Emirates news agency WAM shared that the Emirates Red Crescent (ERC) handed out Eid al-Fitr gifts to 5,000 displaced children in the southeastern Yemeni province of Hadramaut. ERC teams delivered electronic toys, sweets and painting tools to makeshift shelters in the province.
The Emirati humanitarian agency has on-going operations in Yemen to provide basic educational, health and social services for children.
Another report from Emirates news agency WAM shared that the Emirates Red Crescent (ERC) handed out Eid al-Fitr gifts to 5,000 displaced children in the southeastern Yemeni province of Hadramaut. ERC teams delivered electronic toys, sweets and painting tools to makeshift shelters in the province.
The Emirati humanitarian agency has on-going operations in Yemen to provide basic educational, health and social services for children.
Monday, 1 September 2014
Symbol for plastic to indicate that it is free of animal fat
The majority of plastics packaging products today are made with additives which could contain animal fat, says Premier Group International (PGI). Animal-derived additives, called stearates, are used with packaging for food, beverages, and medicines, the company said.
Plastics which carry PGI's officially registered ERC (ethically and religiously compliant) certification are guaranteed free of animal stearates or byproducts, says the company. There are standards to certify food ingredients, but not for the plastics used to package those foods, notes the company website.
There are indications that additives to plastics can leach out into the surrounding environment*. Additives in plastic food packaging could thus get into the food it is in contact with.
A 2010 study by Dr Dennis Jenke, currently a Baxter Distinguished Scientist in the Technology Resources Division of the Baxter Healthcare Corporation, studied the leaching behaviour of stearic acid, calcium stearate, and zinc stearate and four polymeric (plastic) materials containing these compounds by putting them in contact with liquids of different acidity and alkalinity.
Dr Jenke found that more acidic liquids were able to extract the chemicals for materials that only contained stearic acid, calcium stearate or zinc stearate. Neutral liquids did not cause much reaction, while alkaline liquids extracted stearates from the materials "to a very limited extent". It was not clear what would happen if the material contained stearates as well as other substances, as in the case of today's plastics, and the research did not cover plastic that had been in contact with oil or liquids of different temperatures.
PGI has also launched its own plastic bowls and storage containers with the ERC symbol. According to the PGI website, its subsidiary Premier Classic Products manufactures the only plastic containers that are certified kosher/halal compliant and are made exclusively with ingredients that are acceptable to these religions.
*A 2009 study on Harvard College students found that those who drank cold drinks out of polycarbonate bottles (the clear, hard plastic type sold for sports and used for baby bottles and which can be used for hot drinks) had higher concentrations of bisphenol-A (BPA) in their urine than students who did not. And in 2011, a researcher from the University of Gothenburg soaked newly-purchased plastic items in deionised water for one to three days, then introduced water fleas to the water. One-third of 83 randomly chosen plastic products and synthetic chemicals that were tested released substances that were acutely toxic to the water fleas. According to the report of the research, the toxicity was mainly caused by fat-soluble organic substances.
There are indications that additives to plastics can leach out into the surrounding environment*. Additives in plastic food packaging could thus get into the food it is in contact with.
A 2010 study by Dr Dennis Jenke, currently a Baxter Distinguished Scientist in the Technology Resources Division of the Baxter Healthcare Corporation, studied the leaching behaviour of stearic acid, calcium stearate, and zinc stearate and four polymeric (plastic) materials containing these compounds by putting them in contact with liquids of different acidity and alkalinity.
Dr Jenke found that more acidic liquids were able to extract the chemicals for materials that only contained stearic acid, calcium stearate or zinc stearate. Neutral liquids did not cause much reaction, while alkaline liquids extracted stearates from the materials "to a very limited extent". It was not clear what would happen if the material contained stearates as well as other substances, as in the case of today's plastics, and the research did not cover plastic that had been in contact with oil or liquids of different temperatures.
PGI has also launched its own plastic bowls and storage containers with the ERC symbol. According to the PGI website, its subsidiary Premier Classic Products manufactures the only plastic containers that are certified kosher/halal compliant and are made exclusively with ingredients that are acceptable to these religions.
*A 2009 study on Harvard College students found that those who drank cold drinks out of polycarbonate bottles (the clear, hard plastic type sold for sports and used for baby bottles and which can be used for hot drinks) had higher concentrations of bisphenol-A (BPA) in their urine than students who did not. And in 2011, a researcher from the University of Gothenburg soaked newly-purchased plastic items in deionised water for one to three days, then introduced water fleas to the water. One-third of 83 randomly chosen plastic products and synthetic chemicals that were tested released substances that were acutely toxic to the water fleas. According to the report of the research, the toxicity was mainly caused by fat-soluble organic substances.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)