Import Alert Issued on Chinese Food Products

It seems that the Chinese food problems are far from being solved. The F.D.A has issued an “import alert” on all food products imported from China that contain protein.

The FDA said it would test “a range of protein-containing products beyond just dairy and dairy-containing products” for contamination and would “take appropriate regulatory action” if needed.

The import alert covers a range of products including beverages, candy, baby food and pet foods.

The problem for you and me is that we don’t know the country of origin when we buy any sort of packaged foods. It’s an issue that I’ve written about before.

If you look in your cabinet right now, you’ll see statements like “distributed by…” But that doesn’t tell you anything about where it’s made. And even if it’s made here, where did the ingredients come from? Who knows?

Even I still use some canned products. The chili we just had contained canned tomatoes, canned tomato paste, and canned kidney beans. Between the can liners leaching chemicals into our food, the corn syrup, added chemicals, and now poisons, it makes me really uncomfortable to use anything packaged at all.

Most of the time we don’t. We eat mostly grilled or sautéed meats, and fresh fruits and vegetables. 

Best I can tell you is don’t buy any food at the dollar store. Period.

A friend of mine – Mary’s husband actually, works in the food manufacturing industry. He said he won’t touch any commercial bakery at all. He also said that if you’re using canned goods, stick with Del Monte- they have high standards.

If you haven’t kicked the packaged food habit yet, I really encourage you to pick up High Energy Eating, or at a minimum, get my cookbook and see how easy it is to make fresh foods. They taste so much better, and they’re so much better for you.

Please take care of yourselves, and your families –

Carole

Tainted Candy

Yep, here we go again - except this time it isn’t razor blades or some other psycho things… yet.

Here is the email I received from MomsRising.org -

Dear MomsRising.org Member,

We want to give you a heads up about some Halloween candy that could be bad for kids: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers not to consume White Rabbit Creamy Candy or Koala’s March Crème filled Cookies because they may contain melamine. (1)  And, the Canadian government is warning the public not to consume Sherwood Brands Pirate’s Gold Milk Chocolate Coins, which may also have reached the U.S. (2)

What’s wrong with these candies? You’ve likely heard about the dangerous chemical, melamine, which was recently found in the Chinese milk supply and sickened thousands of children in China.  We’ve now seen reports that melamine tainted milk has been used in some Chinese candy products that have been shipped to the United States. (3)

The good news is that Chinese candy makes up only 0.7% of the candy sold in the U.S. (4) and the risk of serious harm from minor exposure to melamine is considered low by the World Health Organization (5). That said, we wanted to send this out to you because we don’t want our kids eating candy with any toxic ingredients.

*Please forward this email to friends, family, and your school email list so all can be on the lookout for this tainted candy on Halloween.  (And, if you’re not already a member of MomsRising, please sign on now so we can keep you informed: http://www.momsrising.org/fighttoxins)

MomsRising has created a page where you can easily share this information with friends, as well as see pictures of the tainted candies, get more information, and download a flyer that you can post on your school or other community bulletin boards.  

See the Tainted Candy Pictures, Get the Flyer & Tell Friends Here: http://www.momsrising.org/melamine

Enjoy a safe and happy Halloween,

–Joan, Kristin, Katie and the MomsRising.org Team

1. http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/melamine.html

2. Here’s the Canadian government’s warning: http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/corpaffr/recarapp/2008/20081008e.shtml The Vancouver Globe and Mail: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081028.wlhalloween28/BNStory/lifeFamily/home  And an article in the Chicago Tribune: http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/features_julieshealthclub/2008/10/chocolate-coins.html

3. From Consumer Reports: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2008/10/chinese_formula07.html, and Candy problem verified on Snopes: http://www.snopes.com/food/warnings/coins.asp

4. http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-09-24-melamine-china_N.htm

5. “Consumers exposed to tiny amounts of melamine shouldn’t worry, says Angelika Tritscher of the World Health Organization. ‘Melamine at low doses is actually not considered to be very toxic.’” Quote from: http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-09-24-melamine-china_N.htm

And some recent press coverage:

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/story.html?id=868904

http://www.sltrib.com/sports/ci_10626959

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My personal take on this is – don’t buy cheap candy! Which reminds me, I’d better get out and get some. Don’t want my house shaving creamed or something!

I really only get one or 2 kids. You can’t see my house from the road and it’s pretty dark down here. But the year you’re not prepared is the year you’ll be surprised, right?

Remind your kids, even your teenagers, that the candy needs to be checked before they eat it!

Make sure your Halloween is full of treats, not tricks!

Carole

How much is that food really costing you?

I’ve often said that the food industries are killing people for profit. They will use any ingredient they can get away with that lowers their cost.

Inside High Energy Eating, there’s a link to a video where the President of Ocean Spray talks about how corn syrup is a cheap ingredient that makes food taste good, and reduces their costs.

It’s just a business decision.

Your health means nothing to them. OK, that’s not true. Keeping you sick means tons more profits for pharmaceutical companies, medical care, insurance…

Today I received my newsletter from Dr. Mercola talking about chemicals in the lining of canned goods and in plastics. You can read the article here –

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/10/11/what-the-chemical-industry-doesn-t-want-you-to-know-about-everyday-products.aspx?source=nl

There’s also a link to an article about Monsanto’s seed police. If you haven’t heard about this, you should read up on that too.

And he includes resources to find safer alternatives.

But the safest alternative is to drastically cut your dependence on packaged foods, don’t you think?

Eat fresh = live longer.

To your health,

Carole

What’s the best way to cut your medical expenses? Don’t get sick in the first place!

No matter what your healthy eating goals are – lose weight, reduce blood pressure, avoid diabetes, or heart disease, or cancer, or just stay young and full of energy – you’ll find all the information you need to succeed!

More Poisoned Food From China

In yet another reason to avoid packaged foods – over 50,000 children have been hospitalized in the latest China food safety scandal. The same ingredient that killed pets not too long ago is now found in powder milk products made in China.

The problem here is – we cannot tell the country of origin on most packaged foods. Some packages say; others simply give a statement saying something like imported by such and such company.

Does your baking mix contain powdered milk from China? Who knows? Who will tell if it does?

I think it’s become painfully obvious that profits come before people.

If you’re ready to take your diet and health into your own hands, I’m here to help.

Seriously, it’s not that hard – and it doesn’t have to be torture. We sure eat well.

Isn’t it time you quit poisoning yourself?   

Carole

Pet food recall

Yep, another pet food recall.

See this article for more info -

http://www.nbc5.com/family/17467825/detail.html