Reading Labels!

More foods getting labeled as US or foreign-grown




Until now, shoppers have had little clue where many everyday foods — meats, fresh fruits and vegetables, certain nuts — originate. That's what the so-called COOL law, for country-of-origin labeling, changes.


"We do see it as an important step on the road to a more comprehensive system for tracing food items" during outbreaks, says Caroline Smith DeWaal of the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

"It will be a very good thing because we'll have a lot more information," adds Jean Halloran of Consumers Union. But, "you can still be fooled by the COOL label."


Here are some common questions as shoppers navigate the change:

Q: What does the new law require?


Q: Where will I see the country of origin?

A: Anywhere it fits. The rubber band around asparagus; the plastic wrap on ground beef; the little sticker that says "Gala" on an apple. If a food isn't normally sold in any packaging — such as a bin of fresh green beans or mushrooms — then the store must post a sign.

Q: Aren't many foods already labeled?

A: Some fresh produce already uses origin labeling as advertising. "Fresh from Florida" or "Jersey Grown" or "Vidalia Onion" tags don't have to be changed under the new rules; the shopper should realize they're all U.S. products.


Q: What's the biggest exception?


Q: What if the foods are merely mixed together?


Q: Must all stores comply?



A: That's a bone of contention between large U.S. meat producers and smaller ranchers that produce exclusively U.S. animals. Tyson Fresh Meats, for instance, says it's too expensive to separate which of its cattle came from which country. So in a July letter to customers, Tyson said it would label all beef "Product of the U.S., Canada or Mexico." The National Farmers Union is protesting; USDA is considering the complaints.

Q: Aren't country labels on some processed foods?

A: Yes, tariff regulations have long required that a food put into consumer-ready packaging abroad be labeled as an import; that doesn't apply to bulk ingredients.

Q: When does the change take effect?

A: The law goes into effect Tuesday, although USDA won't begin fining laggards until spring. Violations can bring a $1,000 penalty.




FDA will not require labeling of genetically engineered animals that are sold as food

Statement of Consumers Union

WASHINGTON - September 18 - Consumers Union finds it "incomprehensible" that the FDA will not require labeling of genetically engineered animals that are sold as food. Genetically engineered animals may contain genetic material from entirely different species. For example mouse genes have been put into pigs to help them metabolize phosphorous more efficiently, and spider genes have been put into goats so that they produce spider silk in their milk.

FDA proposed today that they will only review genetically engineered animals for their safety as food, and will not require any labeling. "It is incomprehensible to us that FDA does not view these animals as different from their conventional counterparts, and therefore something that under law is required to be labeled," stated Jean Halloran, Director of Food Policy Initiatives at Consumers Union, nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports. "In our view, consumers have a right to know if the ham, bacon or pork chops they are buying come from pigs that have been engineered with mouse genes."

Consumers Union is also concerned that cows engineered to produce antibiotics in their milk, which can help the cow avoid udder infections, also will not be labeled. "Unlike conventional antibiotics, which must be cleared from the cow before it can be used to produce milk or meat, the antibiotic that is genetically engineered into the animal will always be present. We are concerned both about the potential safety and lack of labeling on such food products," stated Michael Hansen, Ph.D., Senior Scientist at Consumers Union.




Very good article in the NY times about eggs labels :

Published: September 16, 2008

IT used to be, an egg was an egg.

WHAT’S IN AN EGG? The array of labels on egg cartons can be bewildering. Some provide reliable information about audited claims (like “U.S.D.A. organic” and “certified humane raised and handled”). Others are unregulated and unverified.



So, what do these terms mean?




How Birds Are Raised








The “American humane certified” label was created by the American Humane Association. Its standards, similar to those of “certified humane raised and handled,” prohibit forced molting (reducing feed to increase egg production) and require that hens have at least 1.25 square feet of space (225 square inches).


What Birds Are Fed





Ever thought about all the preservatives and the synthetic ingredients that make the processed foods we eat?

Twin Oaks Farm the place "where real food is grown" will show you how to demystify food labels!


A couple years ago, due to ongoing food allergies, I started to read every label of everything I was buying and I started to research every ingredient that I could not understand  .... SCARY !!!!!! since then I stopped buying anything that has more than one line in the ingredient's list ... try it next time you go to the super market .... your shopping list will be very short ...

Remember if you can not pronounce it there is a good chance it is not healthy


we are not supposed to eat food that glow in the dark !!!

here are a few that you want to avoid :

Sodium nitrite -- causes cancer and is found in processed meats like hot dogs, bacon, sausage etc ...

To most people, sodium nitrite simply sounds like a form of salt, but, in fact, this ingredient is extremely carcinogenic. When combined with your saliva and digestive enzymes, sodium nitrite creates cancer-causing compounds known as nitrosamines. These nitrosamines are so toxic to biological systems that they are actually used to give lab rats cancer in laboratory tests. In humans, the consumption of sodium nitrite has been strongly correlated with brain tumors, leukemia, and cancers of the digestive tract. Yet this ingredient carries absolutely no warning on food labels, and in fact, seems to sound like a perfectly safe ingredient, like sodium.  



 A great movie to watch for those using aspartame is "Sweet misery" (instant download at Netflix) and for those of you that do not use aspartame : watch it ... just to make sure you will never use it !!!


Many so-called "healthy" or vegetarian foods also contain the very same "scarry" ingredients as conventional groceries ... once again read the label !!!!

While MSG is sometimes listed directly on the label, it is more frequently hidden in other ingredients, such as yeast extract, autolyzed vegetable protein, or hydrolyzed vegetable protein. All three of these ingredients contain monosodium glutamate, and yet they are designed to mislead consumers by avoiding mentioning MSG directly on the label ...


more to come .... :):)