Posted on 01/12/2011 8:47:40 AM PST by decimon
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will have you seeing red this year, but this time it's a good thing.
Since Jan. 5, the FDA has required food manufactures to disclose whether red cochineal beetles are among their products' ingredients. These beetles are farmed, harvested, dried and crushed to produce a red dye called carmine that, until this year, had been disguised in the ingredient list as "artificial color," "color added" or the all-encompassing "natural and artificial coloring."
Carmine provides pink, red and purple coloring to foods such as ice cream, yogurt, candy, and fruit drinks (should you permit that last one to be categorized as a food). Because of lax labeling laws, the extent of carmine in foods and drinks is not known.
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And, really, God knows what crawfish are.
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Some people are highly allergic to cochineal extract and its primary chemical ingredient, carminic acid. The coloring has been tied to dozens of cases of anaphylactic shock and near-death, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), which petitioned the FDA way back in 1998 to require clearer labeling for cochineal-infused foods.
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(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Bump & an immunology/anaphylactic shock ping
Especially if you’re an extremely HAPPY motorcyclist!
;^)
Once the snivellers and their lawyers are accepted on any level, the next move is banning. Doubt me? Check what happened to peanut products in schools.
I had a strong alergic reaction to carminic acid from a lobster dinner about ten years ago (swollen lips, burning) but it has not repeated again.
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>> “The FDA does some good things” <<
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Not deliberately!
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Um, I was thinking of their canning guidelines. Oh, that was the Dept. of Agriculture. Nevermind.
I trust that you know that foods heated to the temps they suggest are really not ‘food’ anymore?
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What are they?
The coloring has been tied to dozens of cases of anaphylactic shock and near-death, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), which petitioned the FDA way back in 1998 to require clearer labeling for cochineal-infused foods.
The CSPI are known anti-capitalists and heavy duty leftists. So we should expect a lie.
It's Jan, 2011 and in over twelve years (1998-present) we get only "dozens of cases". Is that 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, 84, or 96 cases? You can bet if it were over 100 or even near the article would have said, "over 100" or "nearly 100".
So at best they have 24-72 cases over 12 years. At 72 total cases that's .016438 incidents a day. How much of this stuff is consumed every day and by how many people?
This is typical mission creep. If you're allergic stay away from dyed red products. If you're Jewish, Muslim or vegetarian stay away from dyed red products. If in doubt it's up to you.
If it's that critical use tort law to handle it. Problem solved.
That's the free market solution. Shut these bureaucrats down. They do more harm than good.
How can you not be in doubt? This isn't 1900. Food is processed in many ways including with dyes to enhance color.
If it's that critical use tort law to handle it.
How? I become ill and suspect that is for ingesting this red dye. So I ask my physician if that's it and he tells me I couldn't afford the testing to try to find out. And that the results of the testing would be ambiguous, anyway. I try again and tell him I think the dye was used on the tomatoes. He says it could as well have been the steak or the strawberries.
So I go see a lawyer who tells me I have no way to prove my case and that this consultation is $300.00.
Now what?
Food poisoning occurs at a much higher rate, but is rarely prosecuted unless it is a large outbreak or real harm occurs.
So if you're strict vegetarian (vegan), Jewish or Muslim avoid products not explicitly marked for your consumption habits. Case closed for those groups.
If you're allergic to it and know it whose fault is that?
If you're allergic to it and don't know it whose fault is that?
Here's a commentary on vegan issues from this website -
http://www.vegan.com/articles/faq/#really%20vegan
Finally, its worth learning the following innocuous-sounding ingredients that often show up in processed food and cosmetics. Depending on the ingredient, the following items are either often or always non-vegan:
Carmine, Cochineal, or Carminic Acid
Casein, Caseinate, or Sodium Caseinate
Collagen
Gelatin
Glycerin, Glycerol (or anything with glyc in its name)
Keratin
Lactose
Lard
Lanolin
Lecithin (usually made from soy but may come from eggs)
Lipids, Lipoids
Monoglycerides or Diglycerides
Palmitate, Palmitic Acid
Silk or Silk Protein
Stearic Acid (or anything with stear in its name)
Tallow, Sodium Tallowate
Whey
So vegans have their information sources, Jews who keep Kosher have theirs, and Muslims who observe Halal have theirs.
Imagine the case where you explicitly ask, "does this contain Carminic Acid." There are only three answers - Yes, No, I don't know.
Two out of three answers would indicate you shouldn't eat the product. Only under one would you have a case - moral, ethical or legal and that's "No" when the answer really is one of the other two.
Your recourse is if the injury is slight - complain; don't go there again; don't eat that brand again; make your information public; and or get your money back (potentially some additional compensation as well).
If your injury is severe, permanent or deadly - tort law is the key. No need to grow government to solve a problem that mature adults can manage on their own. We're FReepers not sheeple, no?
Think of all the things you ate this week. Who could you have asked about each item? Some store clerk?
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>> “That’s the free market solution. Shut these bureaucrats down. They do more harm than good.” <<
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Amen!
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Sodium tallowate is a hyped up name for common soap: Tallow and Lye (sodium hydroxide) as in Ivory soap.
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Excellent observation, but I have no food allergies and never have. But if I did I'd be more cautious tempered only by the seriousness of my reaction.
Imagine if today the FDA removed all food labeling requirements. What would the response be? Chaos or order?
Fifty years ago, prepared food was in cans or was a Swanson TV Dinner. That was pretty much it and there wasn't some endless, incomprehensible list of additives in foods.
I'd be happy to shut down the FDA but not without some free-market mechanism providing some degree of safety to the consumer.
That's the great thing. You are the free market solution.
Caveat emptor is a Natural Law.
We don't have to wait for somebody to "create" a free market mechanism. It's happening wherever people take responsibility for their own lives and reject government intervention.
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