Does Red Mean Fresh? Maybe Not!

Did you know that your supermarket may be selling ground beef and steaks packaged with gas that keeps it looking red for a month or longer? Tests found that meat packaged using this method stayed red even after it was spoiled.

The procedure replaces most of the oxygen in the package with other gases including small amounts of carbon monoxide (used in factory-wrapped or case-ready) meat. Those gases, which react with the color in meat, generate a red color. The shelf life for ground beef sealed in that mix of gases can be extended from about 14 days to 28 days, and about 10 days to 35 days for whole cuts.

This ground beef, treated with carbon monoxide, was still red 8 weeks after its stamped sell by date.

Some supermarket chains, including Kroger and Publix, decline to carry meat packaged with carbon-monoxide, because of concerns as regards to appearance and quality.

Bacterial counts that point to spoilage in meat may make it taste and smell bad, but food safety experts say that it is generally not a health hazard. Thorough cooking will kill bacteria that cause food borne illness, though it won’t necessarily undo spoilage odors or bad taste.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration determined as recently as July 2004 that it had no objections to the use of carbon-monoxide packaging for fresh meat.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

• Ask whether your grocer sells meat packed with carbon monoxide.
• If so, don’t use color as the only guide to freshness.
• Buy meat whose stamped date is a couple of weeks away.
• With all meat, check for signs of spoilage, such as surface slime.
• Always throw away meat that smells bad.

Still Drinking Bottled Water?

German researchers have found that the longer a bottle of water sits on a store shelf or in a household pantry, the higher the dose of antimony it contains. Amounts of this potentially toxic trace element were measured for 15 brands of Canadian bottled water and 48 European brands. Concentrations reached more than 100 times the average level of antimony in pristine groundwaters (2 parts per trillion).

However, the concentration was even higher after the bottles were left to sit at room temperature for six months. Antimony concentrations in the Canadian bottled waters increased by 19 percent, concentrations in the European brands increased by 90 percent.

Most of the water tested was packaged in bottles made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Antimony trioxide is used as a catalyst in the manufacture of PET. The different concentrations of antimony in the various brands might have been caused by differing temperatures, water pHs, or exposure to sunlight.

Alternative Containers:
Klean Kanteen Stainless Steel Water Bottles - Choice of 3 Sizes and Cap Styles!

Is Your Rice Contaminated With Human Genes?

RiceThe first GM food crop containing human genes will likely be approved for commercial production shortly. It is a strain of rice that produces some of the human proteins found in breast milk and saliva, which manufacturer Ventria Biosciences believes could be used to treat children with diarrhea.

Ventria has already been given preliminary approval to grow the rice on more than 3,000 acres in Kansas.

Until now, pharmaceutical plants with human-origin genes, which present possible health risks if they become mixed with regular food crops, have been restricted to small test plots.

Many are particularly worried about its use in light of the recent discovery of unapproved genetically engineered traits in the supposedly conventional rice Clearfield CL131. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has told farmers to avoid planting this common variety of rice.

The discovery is of particular concern because the CL131 seeds appear to have taken on the GM traits themselves, rather than having GM seeds from other strains accidentally mixed into the batch.
Twenty-two suppliers were sent emergency action notices in an attempt to block planting and distribution of the seed. Planting generally begins in mid to late March, and some farmers may have to plow under just-planted fields. Clearfield CL131 accounts for more than 16 percent of the United States' long-grain rice.

USA Today March 7, 2007

Do You Know How Many Toxins are in Potato Chips?

Acrylamide is a dangerous chemical present in foods such as french fries, potato chips, breakfast cereals, cookies and crackers.

But it's difficult to determine exactly how much of the chemical, which is a natural byproduct of cooking starchy food at high temperature, is present in any given food.

High levels of acrylamide in food were first reported in 2002, and, currently, little is known about how acrylamide forms, exactly how it affects people or what to do about it.

No manufacturers provide information on how much acrylamide is present in their products, and the most recent FDA data is more than two years old.
Studies have shown that acrylamide causes cancer in lab mice and rats. The federal limit for acrylamide in drinking water is .5 parts per billion, or about .12 micrograms in an eight-ounce glass of water. However, a six-ounce serving of french fries can contain 60 micrograms of acrylamide.

The Worst Offenders:

* Cape Cod Robust Russet: 910 times
* Kettle Chips (lightly salted): 505 times
* Kettle Chips (honey dijon): 495 times
* Pringles Snack Stacks (pizza-flavored): 170 times
* Lay's Baked: 150 times

For a Healthier Alternative try these:
These new extraordinary sprouted flax crackers are a great source of bio-available enzymes and nutrients, and are rich in Omega-3's

Soylent Green Is People!

Soylent Green; a movie put out in 1973 with a plot summary that follows: A tale of Earth in despair in 2022. Natural food like fruits, vegetables, and meat among others are now extinct. Earth is overpopulated and New York City has 40 million starving, poverty stricken people. The only way they survive is with water rations and eating a mysterious food called Soylent. A detective investigates the murder of the president of the Soylent company. The truth he uncovers is more disturbing than the Earth in turmoil when he learns the secret ingredient of Soylent Green.

I bring this up in lieu of this recent story:

Peanut butter suspected in salmonella cases
100 cases in 37 states prompt FDA, CDC to probe Peter Pan brand

ATLANTA - A salmonella outbreak that has slowly grown to nearly 300 cases in 39 states since August has been linked to tainted peanut butter, federal health officials said Wednesday.

It is believed to be the first salmonella outbreak associated with peanut butter in U.S. history...

This as we all know is not the first time a processed food as been contaminated with risk to the public.

Following is a list of food recalls for 2006 alone!

• Beef Jerky (potential contamination) Nov 17, 2006


• Ground Beef, Omaha Beef Company (E. coli O157:H7) Oct 23, 2006


• Pork Products (Listeria) Oct 12, 2006


• Chicken Salad Product (undeclared allergen) Aug 31, 2006


• Beef Products (E. coli O157:H7) Aug 18, 2006


• Ground Beef Products (E. coli O157:H7) Aug 5, 2006


• Ground Beef (E. coli O157:H7) Aug 4, 2006


• Ground Beef (E. coli O157:H7) Jul 31, 2006


• Hot Dogs (Listeria) Jul 25, 2006


• Frozen Meat Loaf Entrees (Pieces of metal) Jul 25, 2006


• Ground Beef (E. coli O157:H7) Jul 17, 2006


• Jumbo Franks (undeclared allergen) Jul 13, 2006


• Beef Sticks (Mislabeling) Jun 30, 2006


• Ham Products (Staphylococcus aureus) Jun 13, 2006


• Advance Food Co. Frozen Meat Products (foreign material) (PDF only) May 26, 2006


• Canned Chicken Soup Product (undeclared allergen) May 25, 2006


• Ground Meat Products (E. coli O157:H7) (PDF only) May 5, 2006


• Chicken Fillets (underprocessed) Apr 20, 2006


• Chicken Toddler Food (pieces of bone) Apr 18, 2006


• Ham Salad (Listeria) Apr 5, 2006


• Dried Beef (Listeria) Mar 23, 2006


• LIPTON® Chicken Noodle Soup Product (undeclared allergen) Mar 14, 2006


• Frozen Stuffed Chicken Entrees (Salmonella)Mar 10, 2006


• Meatball Products (undeclared allergen) Mar 7, 2006


• Griffin's, Pork BAR-B-Q, UNSKINNED PORK WITH SAUCE" (Listeria) Feb 18, 2006


• Beef Sausage (potential contamination) Feb 18, 2006


• Chicken Egg Rolls (undeclared allergen) Feb 16, 2006


• Sausages (undeclared allergen) Jan 27, 2006


• Sirloin Beef and Asian Style Vegetables (undeclared allergen) Jan 23, 2006


• Asian Style Pot Stickers (foreign material) Jan 23, 2006


• Lancaster and Hatfield Brand Beef Franks (undeclared allergen) Jan 5, 2006
  
  
  

The Hundred-Year Lie: How Food and Medicine Are Destroying Your Health
Over the past one hundred years, we have been guinea pigs in a vast chemistry experiment that uses our bodies, our health, and our good will to test the proposition that modern science can improve upon nature.

In The Hundred-Year Lie, investigative journalist RandallFitzgerald shatters dozens of myths being perpetuated by the chemical, pharmaceutical and processed food industries.

Find out why you would never be FDA-approved—and why humans are becoming one of the most polluted species on the planet:

• The average American now carries a “body burden” of 700 or more synthetic chemicals, including Teflon, plastics, and dozens of pesticides.
• Musk fragrances used in detergents and air fresheners are not filtered out by our current water treatment facilities, ending up in our drinking water.
• The artificial sweetener aspartame, an ingredient in 1,200 food products from diet drinks to chewing gum, has been linked to eighty-eight toxic symptoms.

Fitzgerald not only sheds light on the problems we face from the unprecedented chemical onslaught, he presents suggestions for what we can to do to turn the tide.