Posts filed under 'Food Safety'
Behind the facade: Monsanto, the giant of Genetically Modified Organisms, and its “green” claims
Here’s an interesting article from the UK Guardian about the business practices of Monsanto.
As many of you probably know, Monsanto is the giant among developers and producers of Genetically Modified seed crops. Corn, soy beans, and other staple crops have been genetically engineered in Monsanto labs.
GMOs, or genenetically modified organisms, are organisms whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. These techniques, generally known as recombinant DNA technology, use DNA molecules from different sources, which are combined into one molecule to create a new set of genes. This DNA is then transferred into an organism, giving it modified or novel genes.
GMOs have been banned in many countries outside the USA. Safety concerns are uppermost. Another issue is that many GMO crops have been modified so that the seeds from this year’s crops cannot be saved and used to plant the fields for next year’s crops. Since the seeds are patented, farmers are forced to buy new seeds every year from companies like Monsanto.
But the point of this article is different. This article points out that Monsanto has made huge efforts to jump on the “green” bandwagon. Their website and PR efforts focus on the ways they are helping to “save the planet.” In this case, their “green” efforts involve developing corn that requires less water. However, as the article points out, Monsanto develops and tests most of its genetically engineered products on the Hawaiian island of Molokai. While doing that, they consume an extraordinary amount of water. So much that local farmers have been forced to institute a law suit, in order to get their fair share of the water resources from the island.
Once again, it’s a case of looking beyond the claims and the hype.
I should mention, of course, that Dog-Wa products do not include any GMOs. From the point of view of health, safety, and sustainability, we do not believe that genetically modified organisms have the evidence to back up the health and safety claims.
Add comment September 5, 2009
Non-GMO foods will get a new seal
You’ve probably heard that genetically modified organisms are being included in more and more American foods. This is because seeds used to grow corn, soybeans, canola and sugar have all been genetically modified. And ingredients made from those four staples show up in an incredible array of American foods.
That’s why we’re glad to see increased coverage of the issues. Today’s New York Times reports that an industry group called the Non-GMO Project is conducting independent testing and will award a seal to those foods that do not contain genetically modified organisms. The Non-GMO Project has been up and running for a while, but it’s good to see they’re getting the attention they deserve.
Dog-Wa contains no genetically modified organisms. We have always opposed GMOs, based on our belief that real, natural foods will always be the safest and best sources of nutrition. It’s good to see that more Americans are agreeing with us, as they find out how many of the foods they consume regularly have been genetically modified.
Add comment August 31, 2009
Update on the pet food recalls – defendants plead guilty
One of the major United States importers of ingredients that were at the center of the 2007 pet food recalls has pleaded guilty to distributing a tainted ingredient used to make pet food that killed many animals.
The federal indictment, dated Feb. 6, 2008, accuses Sally Qing Miller and Stephen Miller, and ChemNutra (the company they own), along with two Chinese companies, of bringing wheat gluten tainted with the chemical melamine into the United States. The tainted wheat gluten was then sold to makers of pet food, and many animals became sick or died.
Wheat gluten is exported from China mainly for use as a protein in food manufacturing. As a result of the March 2007 pet food recalls, it was found that some Chinese food and feed ingredients contained unacceptable levels of inexpensive melamine and other compounds such as cyanuric acid. These ingredients can be used to inflate the apparent protein content of the product, so that inexpensive ingredients can pass for more expensive, concentrated vegetable proteins.
Melamine by itself is not very toxic to animals or humans, but the combination of melamine and cyanuric acid has been implicated in kidney failure. Reports that cyanuric acid may be an independently and potentially widely-used adulterant in China have heightened concerns for both pet and human health.
Although it is difficult to know with certainty, the recalled foods are thought to be responsible for thousands of pet deaths.
Here’s a link to the Associated Press release.
Update of June 23, 2009: Turns out that the test the FDA used in the past to detect melamine contamination, a liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry technique, is time-consuming. So several research groups have been looking for quicker and less elaborate methods to detect melamine in powdered formula.
A group at Purdue University is reporting in The Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry that they have successfully used infrared spectroscopy for the task. The new tests require little sample preparation beyond putting some powder into a vial, and results are obtained within a few minutes.
So hopefully something good will come of all of this.
Here’s a link to the New York Times article reporting the new tests.
Add comment June 22, 2009
Another plug for Food, Inc. movie
If you’re following the blogs and internet, you may know all about Food, Inc. The movie is already out in select theaters.
However, we can’t resist helping to spread the word.
Being a small manufacturer of a food product, we ran into a lot of these kinds of issues when we set up manufacturing for Dog-Wa. It’s just so much easier to do things the fast, cheap and easy way. It can be a hard temptation to resist because everything is reflected on the bottom line – price. As we’ve said before, it is not impossible to make high quality, safe and nutritious food products. It just takes more time and effort.
That said, check out the trailer for Food, Inc. and help get the word out. We think this is an important film.
Add comment June 13, 2009
Saving and restoring fish populations – a step forward?
If you’re a sushi fan or a fish lover, then you should know that bluefin tuna has reached a critical threshold.
Some fish conservationists claim the bluefin is now as endangered as the panda and the tiger.
We just read that one of the UK’s sandwich chain restaurants, Pret A Manger, has removed bluefin from their menu. This came as a result of the owner of Pret A Manger seeing the film “The End of the Line,” which chronicles the plight of the bluefin tuna and describes how modern fishing is destroying the oceans’ ecosystems. This is a small step in the right direction, and we applaud Pret A Manger.
Still, we’ve all heard about overfishing and depletion of fish stocks for years. But the fishing goes on.
But it seems like there may be some change coming.
On Friday, President Barack Obama launched a plan to protect the oceans, U.S. coasts and Great Lakes from the threats of climate change, pollution and overfishing. This is the launch of a task force to recommend a national policy to protect and restore “the health of ocean, coastal and Great Lakes ecosystems and resources” within 90 days.
Here’s part of what President Obama had to say:
“To succeed in protecting the oceans, coasts, and Great Lakes, the United States needs to act within a unifying framework under a clear national policy, including a comprehensive, ecosystem-based framework for the longterm conservation and use of our resources.
In order to better meet our Nation’s stewardship responsibilities for the oceans, coasts, and Great Lakes, there is established an Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force (Task Force), to be led by the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality.”
From what we can tell, the plan isn’t in place yet. So now is the time to become involved. It’s clear that the health and safety of the oceans, and the maintenance of biodiversity, is critical for all of us.
Get involved
Send an email, fax, or letter, or place a call to your lawmaker. Let them know that now is the time to bring together a coherent, cohesive plan and get to work.
If you wish to submit your comments directly to the Council of Environmental Quality, the address is:
Council on Environmental Quality
722 Jackson Place, NW
Washington, DC 20503
Nancy Sutley is President Barack Obama’s appointment to lead the White House Council on Environmental Quality.
Here’s the website for The End of the Line.
Here’s the trailer for The End of the Line:
1 comment June 13, 2009
Chicken is the number 1 cause of food-borne illness: What you and your pets need to know
According to a report released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, chicken (poultry) is the number one cause of food poisoning in the United States.
Fruits, nuts and leafy vegetables followed poultry on the list.
Food processing and handling is the most critical component in food safety
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that two-thirds of all food-related illnesses traced to a lone ingredient were caused by viruses, which are often added to food by restaurant workers who fail to wash their hands. Another potential source of contamination would be the handling process for foods that are sold in non-restaurant locations like grocery stores and farmers markets.
What about food poisoning that isn’t caused by viruses spread in the handling of food? The second leading cause of food poisoning is Salmonella.
What does this mean for the health of your dog?
You need to be aware of leading causes of food-borne illness, and develop a strategy for providing necessary nutrients that takes the dangers of food-borne illness into account. This is particularly true if you have committed to a raw diet for your pet.
At Dog-Wa, we are committed to providing the nutritional and digestive benefits of fresh, raw leafy greens to dogs. So we watch all of these studies very closely. Our own health and safety is important to us. But the health and safety of our dog customers is our top priority.
Since our mission is to provide the nutritional and digestive benefits of fresh, leafy greens to dogs, we have to be extremely careful.
So how do we, as food manufacturers, deal with food safety?
In the first place, we test every batch of Dog-Wa in bulk for 4 days. This testing happens before the product is bottled, so that the tests come from the entire batch of product. We test for Salmonella, E. coli, microorganisms, safety, stability, and purity. After bottling, we randomly select samples and test again for 4 days, running the same tests to ensure that no contamination has occurred during the bottling process.
Second, we manufacture in facilities that are GMP compliant. GMP means “Good Manufacturing Practice.” Good Manufacturing Practice or GMP is a term that is recognized worldwide for the control and management of manufacturing and quality control testing of foods, pharmaceutical products, and medical devices.
Since sampling product will statistically only ensure that the samples themselves (and perhaps the areas adjacent to where the samples were taken) are suitable for use, and end-point testing relies on sampling, GMP takes the holistic approach of regulating the manufacturing and laboratory testing environment itself.
Third, we manufacture in facilities that are FDA registered and pharmaceutically licensed to make products for human consumption. This means all of our ingredients must meet the highest standards for pure, human-food-grade products. Pharmaceutical licensing adds another layer of obligations to us as manufacturers. It means that our facilities must meet the highest standards established by the laws and regulations of the FDA.
That is how we have found a way to provide safe and effective fresh, raw greens for dogs everywhere. By limiting our product’s ingredients and manufacturing with unsurpassed quality standards, we have created a way for our customers to integrate indispensable fresh vegetable nutrients into their dogs’ diets. That’s why Dog-Wa is the perfect mix-in for all raw, dehydrated, canned, dry, and homemade diets.
Food safety is not impossible
It’s just more difficult and expensive. But we believe that the difficulty and expense are justified by providing a product that we and our customers know is safe and effective.
Add comment June 13, 2009
