Carrageenan in organic foods

Cornucopia Institute has just published a Shopping Guide to Avoiding Organic Foods with Carrageenan , recently approved for use certified organic foods. According to Cornucopia:

Carrageenan, a seaweed derivative used as a stabilizer and thickener in foods, has been found to be contaminated with a substance (degraded carrageenan) that is classified by the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer as a “possible human carcinogen.” Research funded by the National Institutes of Health raises serious concerns about harmful effects of carrageenan as an inflammatory agent on the human gastrointestinal tract.

The shopping guide lists products that do contain carrageenan side by side with similar products that do not.

In addition to the shopping guide, Cornucopia has published a detailed report of the recent National Organic Standards Board held in Albuquerque, NM, earlier this month (May 2012).  The report describes conflicts of interest and a strong role for corporate organics. 

Wildfires Rage at New Mexican Organic Meetings

 ALBUQUERQUE, NM: Passions flared at the semiannual meeting of the USDA’s National Organic Standards Board (NOSB), last week in Albuquerque, New Mexico, as the federal advisory panel approved a number of synthetic ingredients for use in organics, over the objection of the majority of industry participants. 

The meeting came on the heels of the release of a report by an organic industry watchdog, The Cornucopia Institute, outlining corrupt practices in the constitution of the board and their past approval processes. The NOSB, created by Congress, is legally mandated to ensure that no substances are allowed in organic foods that pose a threat to human health or the environment.

keep reading

Posted by Donna M. Byrne, William Mitchell College of Law

NYC proposes to ban super size drinks

The headline reads: NYC proposes ban on sale of oversize sodas.  Naturally, my first thought was, "uh oh.  Will this apply to beer too?" (I often refer to light beer as "barley pop" so making this connection was quite reasonable.)

According to the Associated Press article by Samantha Gross, New York City's "proposal would impose a 16-ounce limit on sugary drinks sold at restaurants, movie theaters, sports venues and street carts. It would apply to bottled drinks — many plastic soda bottles contains 20 ounces — as well as fountain sodas. "

The thinking is that people consume the serving amount handed to them.  There is some validity to this assumption.  In his book Mindless Eating, Brian Wansink describes food psychology research showing that the size of the container affects the amount one consumes.  We really cannot tell when we've had enough without someone telling us. (Aside: Mindless Eating is a fascinating and entertaining read!)

The New York City proposal has exceptions for grocery stores and will not apply to alcoholic beverages, so I guess my beer is OK.  (And now I am wondering about those non-alcoholic beers . . . )

Here is the New York Times article on this proposal: New York Plans to Ban Sale of Big Sizes of Sugary Drinks

Posted by Donna M. Byrne, William Mitchell College of Law

"Natural" Orange Juice

I drink orange juice every day, but I am not a fresh-squeezed connoisseur.  So it was with some interest that I read reports that those "Not-from-concentrate" orange juices are not so close to fresh squeezed after all. But does that mean they're not "natural"?
According to Alissa Hamilton, author of Squeezed: What You Don't Know About Orange Juice, that fresh orange juice is de-oxygenated for long term storage.  This process deprives the OJ of its flavor, so flavor packets are added when it is reassembled.  The flavor is made from real oranges.  According to a short article also by Hamilton,

"When the juice is stripped of oxygen it is also stripped of flavor providing chemicals. Juice companies therefore hire flavor and fragrance companies, the same ones that formulate perfumes for Dior and Calvin Klein, to engineer flavor packs to add back to the juice to make it taste fresh. Flavor packs aren’t listed as an ingredient on the label because technically they are derived from orange essence and oil." 

So the question I started with -- is this natural? There is no definition of "natural" for food labels, but there IS litigation about it.   From the Associated Press:

Lawsuits slam 'natural' claims from OJ to chips, by Jessica Gresko

WASHINGTON — Orange juice maker Tropicana markets its brand as fresh from the grove, but a series of lawsuits nationwide claim the company's juice is so heavily processed it shouldn't be called "natural."

In approximately 20 lawsuits, the first one filed in New Jersey, lawyers claim the company adds chemically engineered "flavor packs" to its juice, making it taste the same year-round. On Thursday, lawyers came together in Washington to argue before a panel of judges about where the lawsuits should be heard as a group. . . .
keep reading 

Posted by Donna M. Byrne, William Mitchell College of Law