Bet You Didn’t Know You’re Sturgeon Caviar Was Mississippi Paddlefish

Since a governmental agency in charge of overseeing the food and drug administration can lead inspections of food manufacturer’s plants yet doesn’t have enough power to actually do anything about the foul play they might encounter (because that’s how a functional governmental organization tends to run), food fraud has unfortunately become commonplace and most people have no idea what it is.

“The expensive “sheep’s milk” cheese in a Manhattan market was really made from cow’s milk. And a jar of “Sturgeon caviar” was, in fact, Mississippi paddlefish.

Some honey makers dilute their honey with sugar beets or corn syrup, their competitors say, but still market it as 100 percent pure at a premium price.

And last year, a Fairfax man was convicted of selling 10 million pounds of cheap, frozen catfish fillets from Vietnam as much more expensive grouper, red snapper and flounder. The fish was bought by national chain retailers, wholesalers and food service companies, and ended up on dinner plates across the country.

‘Food fraud’ has been documented in fruit juice, olive oil, spices, vinegar, wine, spirits and maple syrup, and appears to pose a significant problem in the seafood industry. Victims range from the shopper at the local supermarket to multimillion companies, including E&J Gallo and Heinz USA.”

And you thought it stopped with recession sushi.

The sad thing is, the American consumer is none-the-wiser, and food manufacturers know they can get away with it, especially during a recession. New technology such DNA testing and isotope radio analysis, which can differentiate between things such as farmed and wild fish, can help spot the difference very easily. Not sure what good it will do if the FDA continues to only inspect 2 percent of imported fish.

Apparently the FDA has been too busy dealing with food contamination so testing food for fraud has been put on the back burner.

The FDA, just like every other bloated governmental agency, is sticking to their tried and true excuse—lack of resources.. So how’s that Food Modernization Act moving along, Congress?

Healthcare Reform and Food: A Surprising Love Story

There are plenty of opinions, doubts, and champions for the recently passed healthcare reform bill. Whether you’re for or vehemently against it (and for the sake of not coming off like I’m a champion of the bill, I personally have very mixed feelings on the new laws), the expected reforms to the food and restaurant industry will catapult the nation to adhere to many of the standards our fine city already upholds. Get ready to see calorie counts everywhere.

“As soon as 2011 it will be impossible to chomp down on a Big Mac without knowing that it contains over 500 calories, more than a quarter of the Agriculture Department’s 2,000-calorie daily guideline.

The legislation also requires labels on food items in vending machines, meaning that anybody tempted by a king-size Snickers bar will know up front that it packs 440 calories…

Under the new legislation, restaurants will be required to display calorie information for standard menu items as well as calories for each serving of food at a salad bar or a buffet line. The chains will not have to post calorie information for daily specials and limited-time items.”

There was little public discussion about approving this measure because, surprisingly, restaurant chains are supporting it! Because Mayor Bloomberg rules the world and has the ability (power, greed, and money) to re-write laws for his own personal endeavors.. and because restaurants realized that, after years of disputes, they were slowly losing the battle.

Truth is, if you’re craving two different-parts-of-the-cow-ground-up-into beef patties, special cholesterol sauce, lettuce, heart attack cheese, pickles, onions on a buttered sesame seed bun, displaying the calorie counts doesn’t take away your right to have one, it just pops up that voice in your head of your yenta mother asking, “Are you sure you want to eat that?”

The Non-Believers Were Right

You shopped at Whole Foods and brought along the Sheryl Crow designed reusable bag. You opted for the cage free eggs and the unbleached organic flour. You even stood on that endless line at the Union Square location, kicking yourself for yet again going at 3pm on a Saturday with the rest of Manhattan instead of the far more sane 11am on Sunday. At least I did all that and for nothing. Apparently getting an “organic” label from the USDA simply requires a Staples Easy button.

“The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) oversight of organic food has been lax since the agency’s organic program was launched in 2002, according to a recent Inspector General report. 



The findings, published earlier this month by the USDA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG), confirmed what organic watchdogs had been saying for years–that the enforcement of federal laws governing organics is abysmal.

‘None of the four certifying agents we visited conducted periodic residue testing of the approximately 5,000 certified operations for which they were responsible, and there is no assurance that certifying agents performed regular periodic testing at any of the approximately 28,000 certified organic operations worldwide,” said the report. “Without such testing, the potential exists that an operation’s products may contain substances that are prohibited for use in organic products.’ ”

So apparently oversight standards aren’t just low, they’re “abysmal.” And Americans are overpaying by 20 to 100 percent for organic products, trusting their government regulates food manufacturers well enough that the consumer can believe the organic sticker on the package means the product is actually organic compared to it’s conventional counterpart. Alas, duped again.

Kosher Coke to be Embraced By Shiksas and Shaygets Alike

The air of Passover is upon us and, every year, Coca-Cola and Pepsi bring Kosher Coke/Kosher Pepsi back to the shelves, which is the same product except with real sugar and less the deliciously subsidized high-fructose corn syrup. And it seems other well-known brands such as Hunt’s Ketchup, Wheat Thins, and Gatorade are joining Pepsi with re-introducing real sugar versions of their products.

“ ‘We know moms don’t like it, and they don’t want to feed it to their kids,” said supermarket expert Phil Lempert, who has pushed for HFCS removal for a decade. “As a result, the brands that lead the pack to get rid of it, they’re going to see an uptick in sales.’ He added that the sugar shift is an easier one for consumers than say fat-free cheese. Most consumers either don’t notice a taste difference or prefer the sugar version.”

You might not have heard too much buzz about the reformulations but they’re a direct response to consumer (particularly mothers and health professionals) demand for a shorter, more understandable list of ingredients list that doesn’t look like their 12-year-old’s science lab.

Either we continue to use a chemically produced sweeteners because the government wants us to fuel the subsidized corn industry or we embrace the fact that billion-dollar brands are actually going more natural on their own terms. L’Chaim!

Growing Food Recall Sweeps Nation, Americans Collectively Roll Eyes

In the interest of steering away from media scare tactics, I’ve avoided discussing every minor food recall. Truth is, they happen on a weekly basis so I thought I’d wait for a doozy. Didn’t have to wait long. A Las Vegas based flavor company, Basic Food Flavors, found that one of their flavor enhancers was contaminated with salmonella and (shockingly!) they continued to ship the product to food manufacturers regardless. Because daddy needs to support Strip Club Tuesdays with the boys.

It’s OK though, the flavoring compound found to be contaminated, hydrolyzed vegetable protein or HVP, is only used in products you rarely see on the shelves such as McCormick dips and gravies, Trader Joe’s dressings and dressing mixes, CVS and Safeway snack products. See, nothing to worry about.. if you’re Amish.

For the rest of us, food-borne illnesses cost American a total of $152 billion (with a “B”) each year between lost wages, lost productivity, and medical expenses (and also the small matter of food companies knowing about bacterial contamination and doing squat about them), here are a few tips for my fellow consumers:

“ 1. Clean
• Wash cutting boards, dishes and utensils with hot soapy water. Clean after preparing each food item, before you go on to the next.
• Rinse fresh fruits and vegetables under running tap water, including those with skins that are not eaten.
• Use paper towels to clean kitchen surfaces, or, if you use cloth towels, wash them frequently in the hot cycle of your washing machine.

2. Separate
• Don’t cross-contaminate. Have one cutting board for fresh fruits and vegetables and another one for raw meat, poultry and seafood.
• Separate raw meat, poultry, seafood and eggs from other foods in your grocery cart and bags and in your refrigerator.

3. Cook
• Use a food thermometer to make sure meat, poultry and egg dishes are thoroughly cooked. • Cook eggs until the yolk and white are firm, not runny.
• Bring sauces, soups and gravy to a boil when reheating.

4. Chill
• Keep your refrigerator at 40° F or below; a freezer at 0° F or lower.
• Never let raw meat, poultry, eggs or freshly cut produce sit at room temperature more for than two hours before refrigerating (one hour when the outside temperature is above 90° F). Do the same with cooked foods.
• Never defrost food at room temperature. The safe way to defrost food is in the fridge, under cold water or in the microwave.”

The The Anti-Soda Tax Argument Would Be Stronger with an Endorsement from Lindsay Lohan

The soda tax debate continues to heat up in Albany after being abandoned a year ago by Governor Spitzer-Ruined-NY-State-When-He-Left-Him-In-Charge Patterson. The proposed extra cent per ounce tax on non-diet soda and any juices containing less than 70% juice is expected to raise $1 billion for the state while decreasing consumption of these drinks by 15 percent. 76 percent of New Yorkers support the tax. But that hasn’t stopped opposing lawmakers from continuing with their paltry rebuttal.

“Ladies and gentlemen, today it’s soda and juice, tomorrow it’s lettuce and tomato,” quipped Sen. Martin Golden (R-Brooklyn). “Do you know how much sugar is in a grape or a banana? They are not going to stop there.

The question is whether people will be taxed for things that are clearly legal … [a] product sold in supermarkets,” Silver said. “If we deal with sugar, we might as well deal with the whole gamut of sugar.”

The natural sugars in a banana are absolutely the same as those chemically added into soda and Hawaiian Punch? It’s nice to know that senators are only good for making ridiculous, completely non-scientific and nonsense statements to support their painfully weak arguments.

Then there’s NoBeverageTax.com. The website’s “Facts” tab outlines a sob story describing how many middle and lower class New Yorkers depend on their jobs in the beverage industry and leads the reader to believe that the beverage tax will put all 160,000 good paying jobs out of work.

Let’s be clear. It’s not a beverage tax, it’s a soda tax. Your beloved yogurt shake and 100% fruit juice will not be affected. And using general information to build a platform against this tax is not only misleading but insulting to the middle and lower income families the site uses as a desperate crutch.

Yes, soda provides the most calories for the hard-earned dollar, but should an unhealthy lifestyle, potential for serious chronic illnesses such as high blood pressure, obesity, and diabetes be an occupational hazard for the middle and lower class in our fine city? Even our salt loving mayor would have to disagree.