First a Canadian Beef Recall - Now an American Pork Problem

Photo courtesy: Flickr/I Believe I Can Fry/CC BY 2.0

A Consumer Reports analysis of pork purchased in American supermarkets and other shops reveals that many samples contained surprisingly high amounts of a bacterium that causes food poisoning. Compounding the concern is that many of the samples of the bacterium, Yersinia enterocolitica, proved to be antibiotic-resistant.

The magazine analyzed 148 samples of pork chops and 50 samples of ground pork for contamination, the meat was selected from a variety of stores in six American cities -- the stores from where the samples were purchased were not named.

Y. enterocolitica was found in 69 percent of the samples. Salmonella, staphylococcus aureus, or listeria monocytogenes, which are all more-common causes of foodborne illness, were found in 3 to 7 percent of samples. And 11 percent of the samples had enterococcus, which suggest fecal contamination and may cause illnesses such as urinary-tract infections.

Although salmonella and E. coli usually steal the spotlight, Y. enterocolitica sickens about 100,000 Americans a year, commonly children.

According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), common symptoms in children infected with Y. enterocolitica include "fever, abdominal pain, and diarrhea, which is often bloody. Symptoms typically develop 4 to 7 days after exposure and may last 1 to 3 weeks or longer. In older children and adults, right-sided abdominal pain and fever may be the predominant symptoms, and may be confused with appendicitis. In a small proportion of cases, complications such as skin rash, joint pains, or spread of bacteria to the bloodstream can occur."

The magazine notes their concern that the majority of the samples it analyzed were resistant to at least one of the medically-prescribed antibiotics they used for testing in the lab. Many factory-farm raised animals are commonly fed antibiotics to keep them 'healthy' -- the practice is widely criticized because of the horror-movie potential for resistant strains of bacteria to dominate, and sure enough ... according to the report:

Some of the bacteria we found in 198 samples proved to be resistant to antibiotics commonly used to treat people. The frequent use of low-dose antibiotics in pork farming may be accelerating the growth of drug-resistant “superbugs” that threaten human health.

Photo courtesy: Flickr/podchef/CC BY 2.0

Also of note, about 20 percent of the 240 pork products analyzed also tested positive for the growth-hormone drug ractopamine. Originally developed as an asthma medication for humans, it was never approved for that use, but was later employed to increase pigs’ growth and lean muscle mass. (God forbid Eli Lilly should let a drug go to waste.) It’s a controversial drug, and is banned in the European Union, China, and Taiwan -- Consumer Reports' food-safety experts posit that no drugs should be used in healthy animals to promote growth.

There are steps consumers can take to avoid Y. enterocolitica in pork. Most importantly, make sure that the pork is cooked to 145 degrees for whole pieces of meat and 160 degrees for ground pork. But the best way to ensure avoiding illness from industrially-raised meat? Avoid it all together.

Two Week Diet of Canned Food Raises Reporter's Bisphenol-A 2000%

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An experiment in Sweden shows eating canned food clearly and drastically raises levels of bisphenol-A (BPA), though not higher than currently recommended safe levels.

Four Swedish reporters faced a savory (or unsavory) assignment: eat nothing but canned food for two days. The intrepid journalists enjoyed meals like canned beans and bacon or a tin of sardines for breakfast, served on plastic plates and accompanied by microwaved coffee in a plastic mug.

For lunch they could have tuna salad assembled from ingredients that all originated in cans, or canned ravioli, washed down with beer from a can, and followed by canned fruit served on top of ice cream made from tinned evaporated milk. Yum.

Svenska Dagbladet, the daily Swedish newspaper that orchestrated this experiment, to see how canned food affects BPA levels, counseled the journalists to follow their normal eating routines in the days leading up to the experiment, though on the final day before the 48 hours of canned food they attempted to eat "BPA-free."

The experiment, though not considered scientifically valid, was designed with the help of researchers from Lund University.

After the two-day experiment, the newspaper team sent urine samples from the four reporters to Lund's lab. The results, showing pre- and post-urinalysis, shocked the team.

All four of the experiment subjects had markedly increased levels of bisphenol A in their urine. The shocking part was that the levels (calculated as nanograms per milliliter) rose between 2,800 and 4,600 percent from the two days of eating nothing but canned.

Even with that huge rise, however, the reporters' BPA still fell below what the Swedish government estimates to be safe levels. Though the reporters basically stuffed themselves with bisphenol-A-laden foods, they didn't manage to raise levels over the government's standard of 50 micrograms per kilo of bodyweight daily.

In Sweden and elsewhere, safe levels of BPA, an estrogen-like chemical widely used in plastic products, are still being debated. The Swedes have (since April this year) outlawed the use of BPA in food packaging for children under three. The Environmental Working Group lists ten studies showing BPA is harmful at current levels.

But the US Food and Drug Administration has denied a recent petition from the Natural Resources Defense Council to have BPA outlawed from food packaging.

The FDA's conclusion: “scientific evidence at this time does not suggest that the very low levels of human exposure to BPA through the diet are unsafe.”

While the debate rages, if the Swedish experiment or an earlier one Lloyd reported on, by Canadian journalists, leaves you feeling conflicted about BPA exposure, here's a list of some companies that have phased BPA from some canned goods.

In addition, you can look to recycling codes on other plastic packaging to help you stay away from BPA. If the code is 3 or 7, BPA could be present. Don't put hot or boiling food in plastic with BPA present, and discard scratched plastic food containers, as BPA may more easily leach from these.

Expiration Dates Being Altered in China

Photo courtesy: the epoch times

It’s no surprise that Chinese perpetually worry about food safety, especially given the drumbeat of news like this: In Beijing and Hunan it was found that the expiration dates on food packaging, including on name-brand foods, are being changed with the help of printing devices and toxic chemicals.

The process of changing the expiration date burned the hands of a female worker in a medium-size food enterprise, reported Netease.

The person in charge at Douqu Food factory in Hunan recently admitted that at the end of May, after factory officials learned that a chemical solution could remove the production date imprinted on packaging, they started changing the dates. They purchased two printers and had two female workers use the corrosive chemical to erase the production dates on expired foods and then apply a new expiration date.

However, the two young women didn’t wear gloves, and within a few days, their skin blistered from the chemical burns. A subsequent dispute with the factory over medical fees exposed the issue to public light.

An investigation into the relabeling practices at the Douqu Food factory revealed the willful change of shelf-life labeling on a range of food packages.

According to an insider, the chemical mix is mainly banana oil (isoamyl acetate) and paint thinner, which can easily remove the expiration date imprinted on plastic bags, tin cans, and cartons. The compound, which is flammable and very toxic, can damage human skin, the lining of the throat, bronchi, lungs, and even the nervous system. It is not meant to be used on food labels.

A staff-member from a well-known food-packaging equipment manufacturer in Beijing stated that many people, from large enterprises to small vendors, are aware of this practice.

Remarking expired foods so they can be sold after their expiration date can lead to a proliferation of bacteria. Once bacteria reach a toxic level, they pose a health threat to humans. Preventing that eventuality is precisely the purpose of expiration dates.