Another Food Contamination Scandal?
On September 11, 2008, USA Today (online) alerted the nation to yet another food contamination scandal. It was discovered that Chinese baby formula had been found to be tainted with melamine. (Remember the dog food scandal?) We breathed a sigh of relief when we heard that it was found in Chinese baby formula from a Chinese company, and not in American baby formula. We felt sympathy for the parents of what was, at the time, more than 1,200 babies that had been sickened and some that had been killed by this formula, but we also felt far away from the problem, believing that it had not reached our domestic shores. Then, a September 17, 2008 Wall Street Journal article (online) alerted the world to a much more extensive scandal. Earlier news releases had informed us that only the company Sanlu had produced the tainted formula with domestic supplies of tainted milk. (Fonterra, a New Zealand company, had bought a 107 million dollar stake in the Sanlu company in 2005.) The Wall Street Journal article revealed that now Beijing authorities have declared the tainted milk present in the baby formula of 22 major Chinese producers of baby formula. It became evident that the milk used in the formula had been purchased from small rural suppliers in China who had added the industrial chemical to falsely increase measurements of the protein level in the milk sold. The Wall Street Journal article increased the toll of sickened babies to 6,244 and those babies with acute kidney failure to 158.
Are Products Bought in the US Safe?
The earlier USA Today article quoted Janice Oliver, deputy of operations at the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, assuring us that none of the United States’ infant formula manufacturers receive ingredients from China. We later learned from the Wall Street Journal that this baby formula had been sold to more than 120 international markets. Authorities assured consumers that the baby formula that was sold to international markets contained only milk from New Zealand. First, only one company was blamed for the scandal which only affected domestic Chinese markets, then, later, 22 major producers of formula were held responsible for tainted formula supplied to a vast number of international markets.
As a vegan, I long ago learned that I must be a careful reader of ingredients. Many ingredients with elusive names end up being substances extracted from milk and dairy products, or worse, processed animal derivatives. To truly understand this, one must read a book such as, The World Peace Diet, by Will Tuttle, or Skinny Bitch, by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin. ( In spite of the distractingly gross metaphors and expletives, Skinny Bitch is an amazingly informative book on food ingredients.) Basically, what is left over in a meat processing plant is boiled into a “soup” and sold cheaply for additives to the ingredient list. This “soup” (along with a long list of other additives) makes processed food cheaper to produce, thus more profitable. But when you read ingredient lists and then see reports on the mysterious ingredients in “American” processed foods, you discover that many of the food processing plants are not even aware of the origin of all of their ingredients. Careful reading of long lists of chemical names and other ingredients on packages may not be enough to understand the danger you are in. Laws do not require the exact listing of certain ingredients. Some ingredients are neatly tucked under an umbrella term such as “natural flavors.”
Many years ago, when I began searching for products that would provide a comfortable transition to vegetarianism for my husband, I came upon a vegetarian substitute for chicken bites. At the time, he was a “flexitarian,” eating vegetarian at home and occasionally chicken and fish when he ate out. He loved my vegetarian cooking, but missed the texture, “mouth feel”, as well as the sauces and spices used in cooking animal flesh. Because I cooked only vegetarian, I felt a good compromise would be to find sources of vegetarian protein that mimicked these properties, so he felt he was losing nothing in the transition. One day, when removing the inner bag from a box of vegetarian chicken bites, I noticed that there was an extra bag outside of the usual clear plastic bag. Although I had checked the product for its description of ingredients on the box, I had not compared the location of the distributor (located in the U.S.) with the producer (located in Taiwan). The outer bag, written mostly in Chinese, told me that neither this product nor its ingredients originated in the U.S. The only thing manufactured in the U.S. was probably the box. After finding this outside bag in the box one more time, I was determined to find the product in its original packaging. I went to a local Oriental market and found several freezers full of similar products, imitating every imaginable kind of animal flesh: tuna, ham, swan, shrimp, etc. My theory that it might also be less expensive was also proven true. I discovered that many of the products were identical in taste and texture, but , unlike the box of vegetarian chicken bites, were also totally vegan -- free of whey protein, sodium caseinate, egg whites, etc., according to the label. In the beginning of my quest to make vegetarian food even more inviting to my husband, I would occasionally buy these products. But, I had long ago decided to eat high on the unprocessed food ladder and, afraid of what there might be in processed versions of vegetarian protein produced in Taiwan, I soon learned to make my own versions of protein patties, nut loaves, seitan cutlets, tofu scramble, etc. I had long ago pledged to avoid being a “bottom feeder” on the unprocessed food ladder and felt uncomfortable eating products with ingredients of unknown origins, and uncertain “handling.” Many years ago, I had become a vegetarian (vegan), first, for the health benefits, but only a year or two had passed when one day, I realized I was even more motivated by the compassion aspect of vegetarianism/veganism. Now I realize that even a list of ingredients on a “health food” processed product does not give the consumer the real picture as far as benefits of, or dangers to, health.
Bottom Feeder?
A “ bottom feeder” is “an aquatic animal that feeds on or near the bottom of a body of water,“ (Wikipedia) “a scavenger that feeds low on the food chain,” or a “fish that feeds on the bottom of a body of water.” (Webster’s online) What is at the bottom of a body of water for a bottom feeder to eat? Anyone who owns an aquarium with a plecostomus , affectionately known as an "algae eater" or “janitor fish,” will know the answer to this question. Many bottom feeders have an evolutionary advantage with a mouth that opens under the head, so it may reach every morsel on the floor of the tank (or body of water.) They look like little aquatic vacuum cleaners. In a less polluted world, the bottom feeder would have consumed such substances as: bacteria, left-over and disintegrated/ spoiled food that makes its way to the floor, excrement and other waste from other fish. In today’s levels of polluted oceans, lakes and rivers, the bottom feeders also consume a great deal of pesticides, diesel oil, antibiotics and other chemical pollutants. Essentially, bottom feeders are consumers of “processed foods.”
Truth in Labeling?
But, what could this possibly have to do with baby formula, dog food, and reading a list of ingredients on a package of Taiwanese vegetarian protein bites in an American supermarket? They are all related to one thing: the consequences of being a bottom feeder in the food market, in other words, eating low on the unprocessed food ladder. For the consumer who wants to eat healthy (and stay healthy), two mysteries prevail: how to ascertain the identity and also track the origin of processed food ingredients. Many names of ingredients are elusive as to their true, complete content, their true origin, and their true nutritive quality. We simply don’t know, and it is VERY difficult to find out. We are bombarded by chemical names that would baffle a chemist. (Did you know that those chewy cookies that have a tremendous shelf-life actually contain a plastic that maintains their chewiness? It has a chemical name that doesn’t look at all like a name for a plastic.) Veg News, December 2007, featured an article entitled, “Code Red: Deciphering the Discombobulating Language of Food Labels,” by Jonathan Hermann, in which several food ingredients are demystified. It seems that certain animal products are allowed to pass unidentified, and without a specific name. For example, “castoreum,” which is extracted from the anal glands of beavers, is not required to be identified as such. It hides under the name “natural flavors.” If it is in your food, you may have no idea. Other ingredients are listed, but are elusive. “Isinglass” is a gelatin that comes from sturgeon bladders. “Lipase” is an enzyme extracted from the glands of calve tongues. They get “musk” from the genitals of a deer (Northern Asian Hornless). Anybody up for some “cochineal extract,” or some “carmine”? If you are, you will be eating ground beetles used to add purple coloring to food and drink. If you see the exotic sounding word “ambergris” in a list of ingredients, you may not be aware that it is a wax-like substance that originates in the intestines of a sperm whale, used as a flavoring. “Pepsin” comes from a pig’s stomach, “whey” from cow’s milk, and “lanolin” from sheep’s wool. “L-Cysteine Hydrochloride” is an extract from duck feathers. Other terms confuse because they could be either from animal or non-animal sources. (For an extensive list of ingredients to avoid, see The Vegan Wolf website list at: http://www.veganwolf.com/animal_ingredients.htm ). Even if you know the ingredient names, it may be impossible to truly find out their origin. It is presently impossible to know where all of the ingredients in processed foods come from. Even the new labeling law (Country of Origin Labeling Law) that will come into effect soon is deceptive and minimally helpful because it does not cover processed food. Legally, peas alone would have to be labeled, but peas with carrots added, would be considered a processed food. This will not help carnivores much either. Meat that originates in one country and has been added to in other countries will list multiple countries of origin. Why is knowledge of a food’s origin so important? Ingredients --not-so-healthy ingredients – can be hidden in the food ingredients. As frightening as the baby formula scandal has been, the earlier pet food scandal is more frightening when the consumer understands how the melamine got into the pet food: it came from “food grade” wheat gluten, not “feed grade” wheat gluten. “While the FDA focused on pet food, it was left to persistent bloggers and journalists to slowly tease out the full scope of this potential public health disaster. Wheat gluten is not an obscure feed stock, but rather a common ingredient widely used in a large number of processed foods and baked goods. And while federal regulations distinguish between "food grade" and "feed grade," the overwhelming majority of wheat gluten distributed in this country is sold as the former. MGP Ingredients, the largest U.S. manufacturer of wheat gluten, only produced and distributed "food grade" product, shipping to Menu Foods the same high quality wheat gluten meant for human consumption until 18-months ago, when they lost the business to cheaper, Asian imports. And responding to an e-mail query, a spokesperson for Del Monte Foods quickly confirmed that it was "food grade" gluten that led to its own recall.” By: Nicole Belle on Wednesday, April 4th, 2007 at 10:35 AM - PDT (http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/04/04/wheat-gluten-distributor-identified-fda-response-questioned/)
Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid
What , exactly, is“processed food” and why should we all be afraid of it? If it is packaged, or has a list of more than one ingredient, it is processed. Anything in a box, bag, can or jar, is processed. Why would producers of food want to process it in the first place? Processing of food brings several advantages to the supplier. Processing food can make it more appealing to the eye (color), better to the tongue (mouth feel: stable, emulsified, texturized, softened); taste(flavored, sweetened); more attractive to the nose (odors hidden); and, safety (disinfected, preserved). It seems that we are able to fool the brain into thinking that the food is tasty and healthy -- but we can’t fool the body. There are inevitable consequences.
So, what are the consequences of being a bottom feeder? There are many. Among them:
Cancer: (Processed foods are full of synthetic chemicals that have carcinogenic properties.) A 7-year study conducted at the University of Hawaii of nearly 200,000 participants showed that those who ate the most processed meats (lunchmeats, hot dogs, bacon, and sausages) had a 67% higher risk for pancreatic cancer. “The 6 Most Unhealthy Foods You Should Avoid at All Costs,” by www.SixWise.com (http://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/05/07/20/the_6_most_unhealthy_foods_you_should_avoid_at_all_costs.htm ) Feeding a child hot dogs can increase his or her chance of brain cancer by 300%. (http://www.dirtdoctor.com/view_question.php?id=1500 )
Obesity: Processed foods are full of ingredients (salt,sugar, and fat) that pack on the pounds and inhibit the body’s ability to burn fat, cause weight to spin out of control, and water to be retained.
Heart Disease: Trans fatty acids play dirty tricks on the body’s balance of good and bad cholesterol levels (HDL’s and LDL’s).
Diabetes, a Compromised Liver : processed foods with refined carbohydrates lead to both of these.
These are only a few from a long list of consequences.
How to Safeguard Your Family
So, how can we protect ourselves and our loved ones from these consequences? We must try to avoid processed foods. Try never to be a bottom feeder. Buy local. Buy fresh. Keep it simple. Prepare and cook your own food. Be a good ingredient reader if you have to buy any processed foods. Beware of labeling tricks used to deceive consumers. Some food producers use “ingredient stacking” as a way to deceive the public. A food may not list sugar as its number one ingredient because the ingredients list breaks up the sugar into four or five different forms or sources of sugar so they are “stacked” as individual ingredients – for example: sugar, sucrose, fructose, high-fructose corn syrup, corn syrup solids, dextrose, etc. are all sugars of one form or another. Keep your eyes open -- watch for high levels of dangerous ingredients, such as sodium, nitrites, sugar, fat, hydrogenated oils, aspartame, monosodium glutamate (The last two are excitotoxins – they “directly harm nerve cells, overexciting them to the point of cell death.” (Mike Adams, The Health Ranger, http://www.dirtdoctor.com/view_question.php?id=1500 ) If possible, choose foods that have been cooked by low temperature methods. Avoid foods that are fried. Acrylamide, a carcinogenic substance that forms when foods are heated at high temperatures during baking or frying causes several thousand cancers every year in Americans, according to Clark University research professor Dale Hattis. French fries and potato chips test high for this substance. Many foods that are traditionally fried can be baked in an oven at low temperatures. Many foods can be dehydrated in a dehydrator, and they retain a much fuller, more satisfying flavor. Watch out for ingredient names that once identified as dangerous have been “morphed” into other terms in an effort to confuse consumers . Monosodium glutamate once hidden in the name, “ yeast extract,” was quickly morphed into “torula yeast,” or hidden behind the names “autolyzed vegetable protein,” or “hydrolyzed vegetable protein.” (Mike Adams, The Health Ranger, http://www.dirtdoctor.com/view_question.php?id=1500 )
As I continue my search for what is healthy to eat, and as hard as I try to stay at the top of the unprocessed food ladder, I still read more and more reports of food with hidden ingredients, or food tainted with a deadly carcinogen after the public was assured that there was absolutely no danger. On April 1, 2007, David Goldstein of the Huffington Post posted a blog entitled, “Tainted Wheat Gluten Sold as “Food Grade.” (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-goldstein/tainted-wheat-gluten-sold_b_44743.html ) I quote from his blog, “Del Monte Foods has confirmed that the melamine-tainted wheat gluten used in several of its recalled pet food products was supplied as a "food grade" additive, raising the likelihood that contaminated wheat gluten might have entered the human food supply.” “Wheat gluten is sold in both "food grade" and "feed grade" varieties. Either may be used in pet food, but only "food grade" gluten may be used in the manufacture of products meant for human consumption. Published reports have thus far focused on tainted pet food, but if the gluten in question entered the human food supply through a major food products supplier and processor, it could potentially contaminate thousands of products and hundreds of millions of units nationwide. Stephen F. Sundlof, director of the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Veterinary Medicine said the FDA is not aware of any contaminated gluten that went into human food but said he could not confirm this "with 100 percent certainty." Wheat gluten is a common food additive used as a thickener, dough conditioner, and meat substitute. It is widely used as an additive in commercial bakery items and special purpose flours.” Does that frighten you a little bit? It frightens me a lot. Words such as “the FDA is not aware” and “could not confirm this with 100% certainty,” frighten me. These words appear deceptive and evasive to me. In “Contaminated Food - What is melamine doing in my Wonton Soup?”,
a September 16, 2008 online newsletter posting from InjuryBoard.com, Steve Lombardi writes: “The U.S. Government and federal scientists have concluded that melamine in food poses ‘very low risk to humans.’ See Gastroenterology and Hepatology News. But that conclusion was based either on a false assumption or a very limited premise. The assumption was that melamine would contaminate the food supply through animals that had ingested feeds contaminated with melamine. Probably because it was unthinkable that someone would add melamine to human foods, like baby milk. It was and it’s caused acute kidney failure in the Chinese babies. So it’s now realistic to assume melamine contamination of human consumed foods is plausible. . . .So what happened to the animals that ingested melamine? Well it’s killed dogs and cats when added to their food. Those animals died of acute kidney failure. “ His response to the question of its connection to human food: “State and federal investigators are looking at hog farms in at least six states that were supplied with salvaged pet food distributed before it was known to be contaminated with melamine. It wasn't immediately clear which farms had hogs that actually ate the contaminated pet food, though the urine of animals has tested positive for the chemical in California, North Carolina and South Carolina. Some hog farms have been placed under quarantine. A poultry farm in Missouri also may have received some tainted food.” User name “Debbie” added some poignant remarks that I would like to quote: “(Cyanuric acid plus melamine equals stones...stones or calcifications anywhere the two components meet. There is a HUGE INCREASE in kidney stones, kidney impairment, gallSTONES, goutSTONES, supposed cancer that turns out to be calcifications something like STONES, again. Why is the government trying to make this out to be nothing. This is ENORMOUS! This is like war without knowing where our enemy is hiding. How can we protect ourselves. Some NEW COMPANIES need to come into existence. GRASSROOT COMPANIES like those who seek to find products MADE IN THE USA, and sell them to those of us that are interested in paying a little bit more for BETTER, SAFER homemade products. We have to do something or we will be crying the cry of the parents in China someday soon. Genocide is something I never thought would come to America, but I'm thinking again. SOMEBODY DO SOMETHING! STOP THE IMPORTATION OF INFERIOR PRODUCTS!! I have heard recently that flights have been interrupted in California and up north in Ohio and West Virginia due to passengers having kidney stones and kidney illness and they have had to be taken down and taxied to the nearest ambulance for a trip to the hospital emergency room. This is happening way too much people!! Alert yourself to this - ask around...it is what it is!! Cyanuric Acid was within the past used exclusively in outdoor swimming pools but it just recently was FDA approved for drinking water across the U.S. and many other countries abroad. Could this be the reason that there are so many STONES popping up...the new and improved drinking water now comes with isocyanurates that when combined with our new CHINA MELAMINE DIET create stones in all kinds of places?” Posted by Debbie, Sunday, September 28, 2008 3:26 PM EST
http://desmoines.injuryboard.com/defective-and-dangerous-products/contaminated-food-what-is-melamine-doing-in-my-wonan-soup.aspx?googleid=247544)
Update: Who's To Blame?
In an October 4, 2008 article in the International Herald Tribune, the Chinese dairy farmers blame the government for the scandal, explaining that there was no way that the farmers could have added the melamine to the milk. Chinese dairy farmers bring their cows to a government controlled milking station to be milked. They do not have control of the milk after it leaves the cow. They bring their dows to be milked, go home, and wait to see what they will be paid for the quantity of milk that the cow produces. "'We have no way to adulterate our milk,' said Shi Shangcun, a 38-year-old dairy farmer in Nantongyi, noting that village cows go directly to the milk station, where they are machine-milked. 'I think it's Sanlu and the milking station that blend.' 'We've lost everything, but look at the nice car you have,' one dairy farmer said, pointing at a government official they called Mr. Wang, who stood uncomfortably by a shiny Volkswagen in Nantongyi Village. 'You know everything but you won't talk. You have no conscience!' another man shouted."("China's farmers say they're victims in milk scandal"
By David Barboza Published: October 4, 2008, International Herald Tribune online) The Chinese government blames the baby formula companies, and the baby formula companies accuse the dairy farmers who accuse the milking stations and the baby formula companies. While they fight over who is responsible, the toll of known affected babies has climbed to 53,000. China is wrestling with antiquated laws and regulations: "The problem was and still is that anyone can become a dairy supplier, and anyone can own or invest in third party dairy stations," said Xiang Zhikong, an agricultural economist at Renmin University in Beijing. "There are no licensing requirements or any other sort of quality regulatory standards." (Barbosa, Oct. 4, 2008, International Herald Tribune) Meanwhile, countries across the planet are grappling with an adjustment of what is considered to be allowable levels of melamine in food products. Allowable levels? How about no level of melamine at all?
Navigating the Maelstrom
Thus, a third mystery presents itself: As we learn more about purposeful, deceptive tactics used to mask unhealthy contents and processing of foods, how can we find a way to assert enough influence towards truthful practices in food labeling: both content, origin, and processing? The melamine that was found in pet food, was from “food grade” wheat gluten. We’re having homemade seitan cutlets , made from vital wheat gluten flour, for dinner tonight. If an American supplier buys tainted high gluten wheat from a supplier in China, and then sells it to an American food supplier or processor who grinds it into flour, or puts it in a food product, can this American enterprise mark this food, “made in the USA” or “American product?” I sent an email to Bob’s Red Mill Natural Foods, the company that provides the vital wheat gluten flour that I use to make my seitan cutlets. My question was, “What is the country of origin of your vital wheat gluten flour?” I was happy to receive the answer, “Kansas USA,” from a customer service representative of the company. That is one product that I’m guessing I can feel safer about when eating.
What about all the other products out there in supermarkets that say, “product of the United States”? If it has more than one ingredient, potentially from more than one country of origin, can I trust that it is safe to eat? Should I look for a product that says, “Grown in the USA,” as well as “Made in the USA”? Do I need to email every company of every product that I put on my table asking about the source, and true contents, of every ingredient on its list? The Chinese government has promised to take care of all those Chinese babies with renal problems. Can they afford dialysis for every affected child? A failed kidney cannot be brought back to life. I know many people are leery of government regulation. Personally, I wouldn’t mind more regulation on the quality of my food. I’d like to know what my food is, what has been put in it, how it was processed and handled, and where the ingredients came from. That’s not too much to ask. For now, I’ll avoid being a bottom feeder as if it means my life. . . . it does.
