How Now Flu?

According to the enters for Disease Control and Protection we’re just at the beginning of what could be a fairly rough flu season. For starters, the dominant flu strain this fall has been a tough bug (called H3N2) that, in previous years, has caused increased hospitalization and death rates -- especially among the elderly, very young children and people with chronic medical conditions. Worse, this year’s flu vaccine doesn’t fully cover that nasty strain. Long story short, the virus mutated after the vaccine was already in production -- so the vaccine will be less effective this year than in other years.

If for some strange reason you haven't had your shot this year then do so as it will protect you from the other strains that are out there.

Second, add extra Vitamin C and some Zinc to your vitamin regimen. It will boost your immune system (C) and help lessen the symptoms(Zinc).

Wash your hands like a crazy person.

Food Safety Bill - Finally

While the House easily passed this important overhaul of the nation's food safety regulations well over a year ago the Senate finally beat down the ass holes that were holding it up and passed their version today. Even though it had bipartisan sponsorship -- three Democrats and three Republicans it still took over a year to bring it to a vote even in a year that saw  at least 1,300 salmonella-related illnesses spanning 22 states over the summer. The only issue will be how it can be reconciled with the different House bill in the short time remaining before the end of the year adjournment. One possibility is the House holding their noses and just passing the Senate version which could then go to the President.


While it is not a done deal at least there is something positive for a change.

The Senate on Tuesday passed a sweeping overhaul of the nation's food-safety system, after recalls of tainted eggs, peanut butter and spinach sickened thousands and led major food makers to join consumer advocates in demanding stronger government oversight.
The legislation, which passed by a vote of 73 to 25, would greatly strengthen the Food and Drug Administration, an agency that in recent decades focused more on policing medical products than ensuring the safety of foods. The bill is intended to get the government to crack down on unsafe foods before they harm people rather than after outbreaks occur.

While the bill is far from perfect it's a big step in the right direction.

Part of the problem is the growing industrialization and globalization of the nation's food supply. Nearly a fifth of the nation's food supply and as much as three-quarters of its seafood are imported, but the F.D.A. inspects less than one pound in a million of such imported foods. The bill gives the F.D.A. more control over food imports, including increased inspection of foreign processing plants and the ability to set standards for how fruits and vegetables are grown abroad.
And as food suppliers grow in size, problems at one facility can sicken thousands all over the country. The Peanut Corporation of America's contaminated paste was included in scores of cookies and snacks made by big and small companies. The legislation would raise standards at such plants by demanding that food companies write plans to manufacture foods safely and conduct routine tests to ensure that the plans are adequate.
The bill would give the F.D.A. the power to demand food recalls.... The legislation greatly increases the number of inspections the F.D.A. must conduct of food processing plants, with an emphasis on foods that are considered most high risk -- although figuring out which ones are riskiest is an uncertain science.

The Lowdown On Organic Cage Free Eggs

The Cornucopia Institute has just come out with the results of a research project on organic free range eggs that, if you eat eggs and buy organic cage free eggs, you should study carefully. Included in the report is a scorecard by producer on how well they meet the standards. Of  course, the right answer is to get your eggs from a local producer that treats its chickens properly. You may be able to find one using one of these two links:

• www.eatwild.com
• www.localharvest.org

Eggs are a really good food and can be a part of everyone's healthy diet but it is important know the quality of the eggs you buy and eat. An egg-testing project performed by Mother Earth News in 2007 found there were significant differences in nutrition between factory-farmed and organically raised eggs.
Compared to official U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) nutrient data for commercial eggs, eggs from hens raised on pasture may contain:

• 1/3 less cholesterol
• 1/4 less saturated fat
• 2/3 more vitamin A
• 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids
• 3 times more vitamin E
• 7 times more beta carotene 

If you have ever been to Europe and eaten the eggs there, which are typically from small local producers you have seen the brilliant orange of the yolks compared to the pale yellow we see here in the states from the factory produced ones. Enough said.

P.S. As a bonus there is a report and scorecard on organic dairies at the Cornucopia website. You can also subscribe to their email newsletter if you are so inclined.

Food Safety Bill Is Held Hostage By An Idiot

As I said in an earlier post....the news is getting more insane every day. A good example is the latest on the food safety bill (HR 2749). Even after over 1,300 people  have suffered salmonella-related illnesses in the past couple of months due to eggs that should have never been on the market the Senate is getting ready to send the food safety bill to the toilet. The bill passed the House easily over a year ago with support from several dozen Republicans. It is sponsored in the Senate by three Democrats and three Republicans.
These egg related illnesses span across 22 states and all of them could have been prevented had the "holes in the country's food safety net." been plugged by this bill. One would think that passing a food safety bill would be a "Duh" thing. It would be insane for the Senate to leave in October without following up on the House bill and enacting some tighter food safety measures wouldn't you think?

And yet, there is a good chance it will die. The far-right idiot senator from Oklahoma would like you to believe that he thinks spending offsets are more important than the salmonella poisoning of thousands of Americans.

Majority Leader Harry Reid said Thursday the Senate will not take up long-pending food safety legislation before the Nov. 2 elections, citing a Republican senator's objections.
Reid announced on the Senate floor that "we're not going to be able to get this done before we go home for the elections." Reid and Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin have been trying to move the bill quickly, but Tom Coburn, R-Okla., who has a long list of concerns about the legislation, has blocked them.
Reid said Coburn's objections mean that the bill (HR 2749) will not be completed before the Senate departs Oct. 8 for the midterm election campaign. "It's just a shame that we can't get this done," Reid said.
Reid, D-Nev., could push the bill through the Senate by filing procedural motions to advance the legislation over Coburn's objections, but doing so would require days of the Senate's time.

So Tom Coburn wants you to believe that a measly $1.4 billion cost over 5 years for this bill is way too high to make our food safer when that same Tom Coburn doesn't have the least bit of a problem supporting extending tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans at a cost of $700 billion over the next 10 years. This is probably the cheapest bill the Senate will undertake this year but it is way, way too much for Tom.

Why is this not headline news? The poison eggs sure got plenty of ink yet Tom Coburn willing to poison thousand more Americans is not newsworthy. People better figure out pretty soon that the ongoing GOP obstruction and failure to govern  is hurting the country fiscally and in reality.

Egg Recall

There is an egg recall in effect. 

If you buy eggs from any of the following stores or brands..Lucerne, Albertson, Mountain Dairy, Ralph's, Boomsma's, Sunshine, Hillandale, Trafficanda, Farm Fresh, Shoreland, Lund, Dutch Farms and Kemps. and live in California, Colorado Nebraska, Illinois  or Missouri then you should check the cartons for plant numbers P1026, P1413 and P1946 followed by a date code ranging from 136 to 225. These eggs may be contaminated with Salmonella. Don't eat them but return them to the store for a refund.

Latest Food Recalls

Just in case you are not paying attention. There are two new food recalls. One for bagged spinach and one for frozen bison meat. If you use such products pay attention.

Ready Pac Foods Inc. is recalling bagged spinach sold under "Ready Pack Baby Spinach" and "Spinach Temptations" in California, Washington and Arizona because of possible E. coli contamination, although no illnesses have been reported. The recalled products have a use-by date of July 4 (product code I1707B or IR127121) and July 8 (product code I2007B or IR130373).

Rocky Mountain Natural Meats is recalling 66,000 pounds of ground and tenderized steak bison products after an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak was linked to the products. Five cases in Colorado and one case in New York have been attributed to the bison products. E. coli O157:H7 can cause bloody diarrhea, dehydration and, in severe cases, kidney failure.

Dirty Dozen

Before you put that stalk of celery in your Bloody Mary make sure it's organic. The Environmental Working Group has issued its latest 'dirty dozen' list. It's a list of those vegetables and fruits most likely to be contaminated with pesticides. Celery is the worst offender and based on reports from the USDA reviewed by the EWG and can have residues of as many as 67 different pesticides. The list is really not any different than last year's.

Granted organic foods are more expensive than regular but you really should consider buying organic if you buy and consume any of the 'dirty dozen'. I mean really, pesticides are designed to kill things...think about it.

Here are the 'dirty dozen'. Those fruits and vegetables most likely to have significant pesticide residue(in order of risk) if not organic:

Celery
Peaches
Strawberries
Apples
Domestic blueberries
Nectarines
Sweet bell peppers
Spinach, kale and collard greens
Cherries
Potatoes
Imported grapes
Lettuce

Romaine Lettuce Recall

Just in case your not paying attention to the news...if you live in Alabama, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia or Wisconsin then you should be aware that there is a big recall of romaine lettuce due to infection with E. Coli. This is not the usual strain 0157 but 0145 but just as serious. Read the link for the details.

Labels, Labels- Don't Believe the Labels

Thanks to Marion Nestle

Finally, the FDA is beginning to crack down on food labels. The FDA issued a press release today targeting some food companies for their misguiding labeling with respect to health claims. Here are some excerpts from today’s FDA press release, “FDA Calls on Food Companies to Correct Labeling Violations; FDA Commissioner Issues an Open Letter to the Industry.”

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has notified 17 food manufacturers that the labeling for 22 of their food products violates the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act…In an open letter to Industry dated March 3, 2010, Dr. Hamburg underscored the importance of providing nutrition information that consumers could rely on.
…The violations cited in the warning letters include unauthorized health claims, unauthorized nutrient content claims, and the unauthorized use of terms such as “healthy,” and others that have strict, regulatory definitions.  Companies that received warning letters have 15 business days to inform the FDA of the steps they will take to correct their labeling.

Included in the press release is a nifty chart of the affected companies, their products, and the ways their claims violate FDA regulations. Also included in the report:

• Front-of-package labeling information
• Copies of the warning letters
• The letter from Dr. Hamburg to the industry
• Q and A, and
• Link to terms with strict, regulatory definitions

According to Marion the recent report by the  Center for Science in the Public Interest on violations of FDA regulations on food package labels, Food Labeling Chaos is the impetus.

The Bush administration's FDA was very lax, need I say negligent, in keeping the food companies honest with their package labeling and this is a much needed reversal for the FDA. Of course, if you follow Michael Pollan's rules for buying and consuming food you wouldn't by buying these products anyway. If you haven't already picked up a copy of Michael's latest Food Rules then you should. Simple, straight forward rules for buying and eating food. If you read In Defense of Food there won't be any surprises but it is a handy little guide for those that don't want to wade through the larger book.

Remember "Eat food, mostly plants, not too much." and if it comes in a package it is suspect. If it has more than 5 or 6 ingredients then skip it and finally if your great grandma wouldn't recognize it as food then it probably isn't.

Not A Joking Matter

It is really hard not to make some crack about sudden impulses to buy a purse or adding more color to your wardrobe but the matter is really serious. Unless you pay attention to the farm/garden organic food world you probably never heard of atrazine. It's a herbicide that has been banned in Europe but is still used widely in the American Midwest, primarily for corn. Some 60 MILLION pounds of it 2008. New research shows that it is having a big affect on amphibians, most notably frogs. Researchers found that long-term exposure to low levels of atrazine -- 2.5 parts per billion of water -- emasculated three-quarters of laboratory frogs and turned one in 10 into females. Scientists believe the pesticide interferes with endocrine hormones, such as estrogen and testosterone.  If the two hormones in question look familiar then you may know why spraying so much of this crap on a good portion of the Midwest might be a problem for us humans as well. A 2006 study by the U.S. Geological Survey found atrazine in approximately 75 percent of stream water and about 40 percent of all groundwater samples from agricultural areas tested between 1992 and 2001.

(CNN) -- Atrazine, a weed killer widely used in the Midwestern United States and other agricultural areas of the world, can chemically "castrate" male frogs and turn some into females, according to a new study.
New research suggests the herbicide may be a cause of amphibian declines around the globe, said biologists at the University of California-Berkeley, who conducted the study. The findings are being published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Researchers found that long-term exposure to low levels of atrazine -- 2.5 parts per billion of water -- emasculated three-quarters of laboratory frogs and turned one in 10 into females. Scientists believe the pesticide interferes with endocrine hormones, such as estrogen and testosterone.
"The effects of atrazine in the long term have been shown to demasculinize or chemically castrate [frogs], combined with complete feminization of some animals," said lead researcher Tyrone B. Hayes, a biologist and herpetologist at the University of Berkeley.

Another Reason to Think Twice About Processed Foods

Thanks to Marion Nestle for pointing out this article in the New York Times.

If you needed another reason to think twice about buying and feed processed foods to your family then here is another. It seems that one of the major ingredients in the processed food business is bribery.  The New York Times (print edition) calls its report of the latest scandal, “Hidden Ingredient: The Sweetener.”  and they aren't talking about sugar or even high fructose corn syrup.

This is isn't some fly by night business either...we are talking the big boys...the ones responsible for most of the stuff on your grocery shelves. Big companies like Nabisco, Kraft, Frito-Lay,  and B&G(Ortega) and Safeway.

It turns out that, in this particular case, B&K Foods, a now bankrupt tomato processor, was paying bribes to the purchasing managers of these big companies to accept shipments and pay premium prices for processed tomatoes that were molded or otherwise not suitable for use in food. How about some salsa with those chips or maybe a little ketchup for those fries? Granted mold is not typically harmful in food but when I want mold I'll buy blue cheese and not a jar of salsa.

The thing is that if these guys were caught then the probably of it going on elsewhere is pretty darn high. It should also tell you that the big food companies, by not fully inspecting their raw materials, are fully demonstrating that they really don't care about the quality of their product just their profit. If they really cared about their customers then they would be inspecting all of the raw materials that go into the food they produce for wholesomeness. Remember last year how many products were recalled because of bad peanuts? Incoming quality testing by the producers would have prevented it from happening. Yes you should be able to trust your suppliers but verify.

About That Pork, Beef or Turkey for Dinner

Thanks to Cookie Jill for pointing us to this article on Alternet about the use of several drugs in food animals in the U.S. that is banned in 160 countries.

As much as twenty percent of Paylean, given to pigs for their last 28 days, Optaflexx, given to cattle their last 28 to 42 days and Tomax, given to turkeys their last 7 to 14 days, remains in consumer meat says author and well known veterinarian Michael W. Fox.

Though banned in Europe, Taiwan and China--more than 1,700 people were "poisoned" from eating Paylean-fed pigs since 1998 says the Sichuan Pork Trade Chamber of Commerce-- ractopamine is used in 45 percent of US pigs and 30 percent of ration-fed cattle says Elanco Animal Health which manufactures all three products.

You have to ask: "How does a drug marked, "Not for use in humans. Individuals with cardiovascular disease should exercise special caution to avoid exposure. Use protective clothing, impervious gloves, protective eye wear, and a NIOSH-approved dust mask" become "safe" in human food? With no washout period?"

While the meat consumption in my house has been drastically reduced, it is not gone completely. I do however try and buy locally produced and grass fed beef when I can and naturally raised chickens. Naturally raised local pork is a lot harder to come by however.
This is just one more reason to hesitate before buying beef, pork or turkey. Chicken, of course, has its own issues. The thing is that with a lot of us on restricted budgets and looking for bargains in the grocery it is really hard to pass up some of the low priced products being offered. For example, last week Kroger was offering Tyson split chicken breasts for an unbelievable 99 cents a pound. When you are trying to feed a family cheaply that is hard to ignore. The only thing to do is restrict meat in the diet and when you just have it try and find "non industrial" meat. Of course, there is always the vegan route.

Careful With that Bag o' Salad

Consumer Reports found that 39 percent of samples exceeded this level for total coliform, and 23 percent for Enterococcus. The tests did not find E. coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes or Salmonella--sometimes deadly pathogens which can be found in greens, although it was not expected given the small sample size. According to Consumers Union, the goal was to investigate other markers of poor sanitation that should be used in the food safety management of produce.

This is from  the March 2010 issue of Consumer Reports and is available free online.

They are convenient and a good buy when you don't eat enough greens to justify whole heads of lettuce or bunches of spinach but they do have a risk. None of these greens found contaminated would have made you sick but it does show that they are not properly cleaned and protected from environmental contamination. The article goes on to recommend how you can reduce your risk when using these packaged greens.

• Buy packages far from their use-by date.
• Wash the greens even if the packages say "prewashed" or "triplewashed." Rinsing won't remove all bacteria but may remove residual soil.
• Prevent cross contamination of greens by keeping them away from raw meat and poultry. 

If you are going to use them then be smart about it. I buy the clam shells of spinach(when on sale) but I cook them and even then I wash them and spin them dry. I wash anything I buy from the store even if it says it is pre-washed.  At Whole Foods the 'spring mix' is often loose so that you can bag it yourself but know that I have seen them just opening the bagged variety and dumping it on the pile of loose greens so buying it 'loose' is not avoiding the danger.

NO Good For You

Here I go talking about 'Franken foods' again. Since about a billion pounds of potato and corn chips are about to be consumed on Super Bowl day I figured it would be a good time to remind everyone that the simple fact is that about 75 percent of all processed foods in this country contain some GM ingredients. I will almost guarantee that that chip you dip during the game is at least partially GM unless it is organic. No matter how hard you try you are going to get some GM food in your diet in the U.S. It's in just about everything.

New research shows that when GM corn is fed to mice and pigs they show organ and blood abnormalities, as well as immune dysfunction. Scientists have discovered reproductive problems in pigs and cows with GM food in their diets.  There is a reason one of the main rules in Michael Pollan's new book Food Rules is 'Don't eat anything advertised on TV'. and I still try and live by the rule 'If your grandmother wouldn't recognize it as food, it probably isn't.'

Since there are no laws requiring GM labeling it's tough to know what's has GM ingredients and what doesn't?  The most prevalent GM crops are corn, soy, cottonseed and canola. You definitely want to look for organic food that contain those ingredients. By definition, an organic food or crop cannot be genetically modified or contain GM ingredients. It is not just the 'Big 4' though. Things that you might pick up in the store such as sugar, zucchini or yellow squash have a good chance of being GM as well.

Like I said, you are not going to be able to avoid 100% of the GM stuff, it's just too prevalent, but you can reduce the amount you eat by growing your own food and shopping wisely. The Institute for Responsible Technology has compiled an excellent Non-GMO Shopping Guide that you can download for free.

Poison Chickens

There is a two part interview with Michael Greger.M.D. over at Huffpo that I encourage everyone to read concerning the risk we all face as a result of factory farming. The article blames E. coli and salmonella on factory farms. Here is just a sample from it;

When medical researchers at the University of Minnesota took more than 1,000 food samples from multiple retail markets, they found evidence of fecal contamination in 69% of the pork and beef and 92% of the poultry samples. Nine out of ten chicken carcasses in the store may be contaminated with fecal matter. And half of the poultry samples were contaminated with the UTI-causing E. coli bacteria.

And what are you having for dinner......

Monsanto's GM Corn Safety Is In Question

I haven't read the study but it calls into question the long term safety of consuming GM corn. Rats consuming the corn show kidney, liver and spleen damage. Knowing that a huge percentage of the corn consumed in the U.S. nowadays is GM one might give pause before eating any corn that is not organic or certified non GM.

Have A Burger With That Soda

I was just thinking... maybe the ammonia in the burger will counteract the E.Coli in the soda and everything will be fine.

Nearly half of the 90 beverages from soda fountain machines in one area in Virginia tested positive for coliform bacteria -- which could indicate possible fecal contamination, according to a study published in the January issue of International Journal of Food Microbiology.

Officials at the United States Department of Agriculture endorsed the company’s ammonia treatment, and have said it destroys E. coli “to an undetectable level.” They decided it was so effective that in 2007, when the department began routine testing of meat used in hamburger sold to the general public, they exempted Beef Products.
With the U.S.D.A.’s stamp of approval, the company’s processed beef has become a mainstay in America’s hamburgers. McDonald’s, Burger King and other fast-food giants use it as a component in ground beef, as do grocery chains. The federal school lunch program used an estimated 5.5 million pounds of the processed beef last year alone.

 Just another reason not to eat ground beef or drink fountain sodas.

Watch Your Soy Milk

I don't use soy milk as I am a cow juice guy but I have a lot of friends that do. If you use soy milk and especially the Silk brand you should be aware of something that you might not have noticed. Dean Foods the owner of Silk has pulled a typical big ag dirty trick.

Until early 2009, Silk brand soy milk was made using organic soybeans. But earlier this year, Dean Foods (owner of the Silk brand) quietly switched to conventional soybeans, which are often grown with pesticides. But they kept the same UPC barcodes on their products, and they kept the product label virtually the same, only replacing the word "organic" with "natural" in a way that was barely noticeable. They also kept the price the same, charging consumers "organic" prices for a product that was now suddenly made with conventionally-grown soybeans.

Many retailers and consumers never noticed the bait-and-switch tactic, so they kept buying Silk, thinking it was still organic. The shift on the product label from "organic" to "natural" wasn't well understood by consumers, either. Many consumers continue to think that the term "natural" is basically the same as "organic," when in fact they are almost opposites. The term "natural" is entirely unregulated, and almost anything can be claimed to be "natural" even when it's sprayed with pesticides or treated with other chemicals.

Slim 'Really' Fast

If you having a slow day and need a little excitement...not only do they taste really bad but now Slim-Fast diet drinks can cause diarrhea and possibly nausea and/or vomiting due to possible contamination with Bacillus cereus. Sounds serious. Seriously!

Unilever Conducts Nationwide Voluntary Recall of Slim-Fast® Ready-to-Drink Products in Cans Due to Possible Health Risk

Englewood Cliffs, NJ, December 3, 2009 – Unilever United States, Inc., in cooperation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), is conducting a nationwide voluntary recall of all Slim-Fast® ready-to-drink (RTD) products in cans, due to the possibility of contamination with Bacillus cereus, a micro-organism, which may cause diarrhea and possibly nausea and/or vomiting. The probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote.

The products were sold in stores nationwide.

Worried About GMO Foods?

Whether you realize it or not GMO(genetically modified organisms) or 'franken food' is everywhere in the marketplace and it is getting harder and harder to avoid. You can avoid them by buying organic everything but that is pretty much impossible and definitely impractical. You can also avoid them by looking at ingredients lists and skipping things with corn, soy, canola or cottonseed oils which, again, is darn near impossible.
The Institute for Responsible Technology and the Center for Food Safety have put out a Non GMO Shopping Guide that can help as well. You can download it here.