European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 12, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday August 12, 1989 the stars and stripes Page 3 out for fresh air Are some of the East germans who took Refuge in the West German Mission in East Berlin. E. Germany won t punish refugees Budapest Hungary a East Germany has pledged not to punish hundreds of its citizens who have gone underground in Hungary or Are seeking Asylum on West German diplomatic prop erty hungarian officials said thursday. The Interior ministry officials also said Hungary was examining about 10 petitions for political Asylum but none of them were from East germans. We have been authorized to announce by East Germany. That those East German citizens now at the West German embassy As Well As those East German citizens residing Here illegally will not be subject to punitive measures if they return to East Germany within a Short Lime said police col. Karoly Nagy. They can then submit their emigration  competing firm attacks Benefit As just a drug in Cereal clothing Minneapolis a general Mills inc. Says its new Benefit meets All the requirements of a breakfast Cereal you pour milk Over the flakes in a bowl and cat them with a  Procter & Gamble co. Contends that Benefit which general Mills says has been shown to reduce cholesterol when used in a Low fat diet is actually a drug and should meet drug testing requirements. Pm which Sells Over the counter medicines has asked the food and drug administration to pull Bene fit Oft the Market something general Mills says it has no intention of doing. It s a Cereal that s made from Grain. It s consumed like a Cereal. It s no different from any other Cerea that s on the marketplace that contains soluble fiber and has the ability to lower cholesterol general Mills spokesman Craig Shulstad  Fra is reviewing Procter & Gamble s june 8 request and is expected to respond soon said Chris Lecos press officer for the Agency. Benefit contains oat bran Rice and is allium a Grain grown mainly in India. The outer Husk of is allium contains soluble fiber which has been shown to reduce  also is an ingredient m Cincinnati based Procter & Gamble s metamucil a fiber laxative. Pm had asked the Fra to allow the company to make cholesterol lowering claims for metamucil but the Agency said More tests were needed company spokes Man Bui Dobson  to general Mills which is based in the Minneapolis suburb of Golden Valley tests conduct Din 1987 on men with average and above average cholesterol Levels found that Benefit reduced cholesterol Levels an average of 9 percent when 2 ounces were eaten daily As part of a Low fat diet. Benefit accounted for about two thirds of the reduction the company said. The Benefit package touts the Cereal s claims of reducing cholesterol a fatty substance that can build up in inner artery Walls. The deposits can narrow blood vessels decrease the blood flow and May Lead to a heart attack or  co. Made a similar claim in 1984 when it linked consumption of All bran a High fiber Cereal with reduction of cancer risks. The Fra could have declared the Cereal a drug forcing Kellogg to undergo lengthy procedures for drug approval. But Fra commissioner or. Frank Youn said such action which could have entailed seizing All bran would have been ridiculous. Instead the Agency decided to come up with a regu lation that would allow health claims on labels a process that is still under Way. Pm which also makes toiletries soap deter gents and other household and food products claims general Mills is playing by a different set of rules from drug manufacturers in being allowed to make health claims without Fra approval. Pm s Dobson said the company recently submitted to the Fra the results of additional tests on the Choles Terol lowering effects of metamucil and More tests May be required. An earlier study found metamucil reduced cholesterol about 15 percent he  said it s unfair for pm of have to substantiate its cholesterol lowering claims for metamucil. While general Mills can make the same claims for a food product without getting Fra approval. General Mills which also makes cheerios and wheaties cereals began distributing Benefit in Minne Apolis St. Paul and Milwaukee in ate april and Early  company has expanded distribution to 28 per cent of the country primarily in the Midwest but has announced no plans for further expansion nationally Shulstad said. Prices recorded largest drop in 3 years in july Washington a wholesale prices driven Down by declining costs for gasoline and new cars fell 0.4 percent in july for their biggest decline in three years the government reported Friday. The drop last month in the labor department s producer Price Index followed a  percent dip in june As the wholesale inflation gauge registered its first Back to Back monthly declines since Early 1986. The july improvement was even better than expected and bolstered the arguments of economists that inflation will be Well behaved in the second half of the year giving the Federal Reserve More room to lower interest rates in an Effort to keep the Economy out of a recession. Despite the consecutive monthly declines wholesale inflation through the first half of 1989 Rose at an an Nual rate of 5.7 percent up significantly from last year s 4 percent Rise. The inflation spurt in the Early part of the year was caused by a Sharp jump in crude Oil prices and higher food costs caused by the lingering effects of last sum Mer s drought. But with both Energy costs and food prices moderating economists arc looking for inflation to slow substantially in the last half of the year. The 0.4 percent july drop in wholesale prices reflected the second monthly drop in gasoline prices which fell 7.2 percent after declining 4 percent in june. A favourable Price development came from a 1.9 per cent decline in new car prices. Labor department analysts said this decrease reflected Carlier than usual end of the Model year discounting by automakers try ing to Clear out a Large inventory of unsold cars. Food costs which had fallen a giant 0.8 percent injure edged up by 0.1 percent in july. In another favourable sign for the Economy the com Merce department reported Friday that retail sales paced by renewed spending on automobiles re bounded 0.9 percent in july after declining  percent in june. Sales increased to a seasonally adjusted .$143.7 Bil lion in july from a revised $142.4 billion in june. Retail sales Are viewed As a measure of economic health since they account for about one third of the nation s economic activity. Inflation excluding the food and Energy categories fell As Well in july dropping 0.2 percent. Because food and Energy prices vary widely from month to month economists look to the inflation rate of other goods As an indication of underlying inflationary pressures. The slight increase in food costs was attributed to a 2.5 percent Rise in beef prices which had fallen in  also turned up after june declines for fish pasta soft drinks Coffee and Rice. Fresh fruit prices continued to Rise climbing 1.3 percent in july after a 1.4 percent jump a month ear Lier. Vegetable costs however took another big drop falling 9 percent after an 8 percent june decline. The gasoline Price decline helped to mask increases of 1.5 percent in the Cost of natural Gas and a 0.3 percent Rise in Home heating Oil costs. The Overall 0.4 percent july decline in the producer Price Index for finished goods one Stop Short of retail was the biggest one month drop since a 0.8 percent fall in july 1986.the june july drops marked the first consecutive monthly declines since a four month period of falling wholesale prices from january through april in 1986. The improvement in july left the producer Price Index at 114, meaning that a hypothetical selection of goods costing $100 in 1982 would have Cost $114.00 last month. Economists worried at the beginning of the year that higher food and Energy costs were threatening to be come imbedded in permanently higher inflation rates As workers demanded higher wage increases to make up for the ground lost to rising prices. That was a top concern at the Federal Reserve which began moving in March 1988 to push interest rates up in an Effort to Dampen inflationary pressures. The fed s goal was to slow economic growth enough to allow inflation to moderate without pushing the country into a recession. In Early june of this year the Central Bank switched course from worrying. About inflation to worrying about an economic slump and conducted three modest moves since that time to lower interest rates. Many economists Are looking for further credit Cas i on the part of the fed As the Economy sends out ing further signals that inflation is slowing