FDA’s move to establish action levels on lead in juice – and eventually other foods that young children eat or drink – is an important step forward. While we believe that the action levels need to be tougher, any action level has a limited value if labs that analyze samples for contamination provide results that buyers, regulators, or consumers cannot trust.
Expectant mothers exposed to certain chemicals are more likely to deliver their children prematurely, according to a recent study published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics — the largest on the topic to date.
Frozen pizza is a favorite of children and adults alike – and for good reason. It’s quick and easy to make, with enough varieties to satisfy almost any dietary preferences or restraints.
If you’ve been paying attention to nutrition headlines lately, you may have noticed a recent lawsuit that claimed that Skittles — the colorful candies of “taste the rainbow” fame — were “unfit for human consumption” because of the presence of a “known toxin” called titanium dioxide.
A California man, who claims Skittles candy contains a “known toxin” that makes it “unfit for human consumption,” is suing the manufacturer, Mars.
In a lawsuit filed last week, a consumer alleged that Skittles were “unfit for human consumption” because the rainbow candy contained a “known toxin” – an artificial color additive called titanium dioxide.
Until more information is made available to the public, Consumer Reports’ food safety and policy experts recommend that consumers stop eating products that contain an additive called tara flour. This advice comes after a popular plant-based meal delivery service, Daily Harvest, named tara flour as the culprit behind a recent outbreak of illness related to its French Lentil and Leek Crumbles frozen product. The recalled product is known to have sickened almost 500 people so far.
Consumer groups continue to call for faster and more efficient work from FDA on a variety of topics including heavy metals in baby food and the recent outbreak of cronobacter from infant formula.
The President’s appointment of Jose Emilio Esteban, of California, to be Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food Safety has gone for eight months without Senate confirmation. And a capital media investigation into the deficiencies of FDA’s major food safety unit goes largely ignored by all but a handful in Congress.
Our food should be nourishing and safe to eat. But more than 10,000 chemicals are allowed in food sold in the U.S. Some are direct additives, such as preservatives like butylated hydroxyanisole, or BHA, and butylated hydroxytoluene, or BHT, which are intentionally added to processed food. Others are so-called indirect additives, like heavy metals, which contaminate food during processing, storage and packaging.
But more than 10,000 chemicals are allowed in food sold in the U.S. Some are direct additives, such as preservatives like butylated hydroxyanisole, or BHA, and butylated hydroxytoluene, or BHT, which are intentionally added to processed food. Others are so-called indirect additives, like heavy metals, which contaminate food during processing, storage and packaging.