With more than 30 million shipments of food from foreign countries, almost 80% of the U.S. seafood and two-thirds of its produce is foreign-sourced revealing that food safety is a global challenge.

A recent analysis of international food sources by the watchdog organization Food Sentry reveals the most frequent food safety violators as well as the nature of the problems found.  

For the study, the researchers examined nearly 1,000 incident reports from 73 countries over a one-year period.

Worst Offenders:

According to the data, the top ten most frequent offenders were:

1. China
2. United States
3. India
4. Vietnam
5. Japan
6. Dominican Republic
7. Thailand
8. Turkey
9. Brazil and France (tied)
10. Indonesia and Spain (tied)

It is important to note that the top five countries export significant amounts of food to other countries. Therefore their food products get tested more, leading to their place in the top five.

Biggest Problems:

In most countries, except the U.S., pesticide residue was the number one safety problem. Over 32 distinct pesticides were found in Chinese foods, mostly in produce, fruit and spices. One cumin sample had six different pesticides.

Among U.S. exports, Listeria monocytogenes contamination, followed by the presence of various types of mycotoxin were most prevalent.

Other frequent problems included:

• Heavy metal contamination (cadmium, lead or mercury). Examples included kelp, cinnamon, crab, and infant formula.
• Excessive use of antibiotics was common in exports from China and Vietnam, particularly seafood products.
• Overuse of chemical additives such as preservatives and dyes. Examples including sulfur dioxide, formaldehyde, and sodium hydroxide.

While not necessarily a safety risk, the researchers also documented a high rate of economically motivated adulteration, or “food fraud” in Chinese imports. This practice involves substituting a cheaper ingredient for the real thing.

Foodborne Illness Risks

Currently one out of six Americans will experience food poisoning this year. In recent years, audits of FDA inspection rates indicated that 56% of domestic food manufacturers have not been inspected in five or more years. Furthermore the overall number of inspections and citations has declined.

As for food imports, the FDA only inspects about 2% of all incoming foods.

Sources:

Food Navigator

Food Sentry

Dallas News

Three new studies released in as many months add to increasing evidence that exposure to certain toxic metals can increase the risk and spread of breast cancer and infertility in women and men.

Cadmium and Breast Cancer

A Swedish study of over 56,000 women found that consuming the toxic metal cadmium in the foods you eat may raise your risk for breast cancer by as much as 27%. Researchers believe that cadmium may mimic the effects of the female hormone estrogen, which can fuel the growth of certain breast cancers.

The 12-year study had women fill out food intake questionnaires that researchers used to estimate how much cadmium they consumed in their diets. There were 2,112 cases of breast cancer reported during the follow-up period of which 1,626 were estrogen receptor-positive and 290 estrogen receptor-negative cancers. Women with the highest amounts of cadmium in their diets were 21% more likely to develop breast cancer than women who had the least. The risk increased to 27% among women who were also lean or normal-weight.

Interestingly, the cadmium source was a contributing factor in increasing cancer risk. Women who consumed higher amounts of whole grain and vegetables had a lower risk of breast cancer compared to women that consumed dietary cadmium through other foods.

"It's possible that this healthy diet to some extent can counteract the negative effect of cadmium, but our findings need to be confirmed with further studies," study author Agneta Akesson, an associate professor at Karolinska Institute in Sweden.

Another study found that exposure to low levels of cadmium over your lifetime may spur the growth and spread of some breast cancer cells.

According to their research, breast cancer cells can pass through the outer barrier of the breast after prolonged cadmium exposure. It appears that cadmium may affect levels of SDF-1, a protein associated with tumor invasion and cancer spread.

Cadmium, Lead and Fertility

Researchers studying the effects of serum levels of heavy metals on fertility in couples trying to conceive found that, in the women, the probability of pregnancy was reduced by 22 percent with each increase in the blood cadmium concentration. In men, the probability of conceiving was reduced by 15 percent for each increase in their blood lead concentration.

Based on their findings, the researches recommended that men and women planning to have children should minimize their exposure to lead and cadmium.

Avoiding Cadmium

Cadmium is released into the environment from mining and metal processing operations, burning fuels, making and using phosphate fertilizers, and disposing of metal products. Cadmium can enter the body from eating and drinking food and water containing cadmium, and inhaling it from the air. The skin does not easily absorb cadmium.

• Smoking is the most important single source of cadmium exposure so not smoking and avoiding second- and third-hand smoke is a good place to start.
• As most dietary exposure to cadmium is due to soil contamination from fertilizers, choose organic foods whenever possible.
• Some of the main sources of cadmium in the diet are bread and other cereals, potatoes, root crops and vegetables.
• Avoid shellfish and organ meats like liver or kidney which also contain more cadmium than other foods.
• Cadmium is also used in batteries, metal coatings, paints and plastics. People living near plants that manufacture these products may be exposed to cadmium in the air, water and soil.
• If your drinking water comes from a private well near a source of cadmium, you may want to have the water tested. Public water systems test for cadmium on a regular basis. If you live near a source of cadmium, you may want to have your garden soil tested for cadmium before eating home-grown produce.
• Cadmium and other toxic substances are often found in cosmetics and personal products.

Avoiding Lead

Common sources of exposure to lead in the United States include lead-based paints in older homes, lead-glazed pottery, and contaminated soil and water. Learn how protect your family in our post about the continuing problem of lead exposure.

Sources:

Health Finder

Health Day News

Health Finder

Illinois Department of Health

We just celebrated Earth Day last weekend, but it seems a little underwhelming when you consider the size of the planet and the size of the environmental problems we face.

And, if you follow health news like we do, you can’t help but see the interconnectedness of the plant’s health and your health. The same toxins and pollutants that harm the planet are hurting—and killing us too.

Health Hazards

In this space we’ve covered many examples of the health consequences of a tainted environment:

• The Many Hazardous Chemicals Hiding in Your Perfume/Cologne
• How Many Toxic Chemicals Are In Your Pregnant Body?
• Toxic Chemicals Linked to Clogged Arteries
• Heavy Traffic, Exhaust Fumes May Trigger Heart Attack
• The Weed Killer Hiding in Your Drinking Water
• Household Cleaners: What You Don’t Know May Be Harming You
• Toxins May Be Hiding in Your Floor, Wallpaper
• Mercury in Fish Raises New Health Concerns
• Toxic Mercury Taints EVERY Fish
• Traces of Lead May Be Poisoning Your Kids' Cosmetics, Jewelry
• Why is Cadmium Showing Up Everywhere?
• How Does the EPA Regulate the Toxic Chemicals You Know Nothing About?

What You Can Do

In addition to highlighting the impact of chemicals and toxins on our bodies and the environment, we’ve also passed on expert advice on what you can do about it:

• “Green” Your Indoor Air: Freshen Your Home Without Harming Your Health
• 10 Reasons to Think “Green” Spring Cleaning
• An Easy Lifestyle Change: Limit Your Exposure to BPA, DEHP
• Avoid the “Dirty Dozen” at the Farmer’s Market
• Seven More Non-Organic Foods to Avoid
• Getting in Touch with the Earth May Reduce Chronic Pain, Aid Sleep
• Want to Avoid GMO Foods? Just Label It!
• Spring Cleaning: Don’t Forget Your Liver

Affecting Change

Yet, despite these realities, we only have one day set aside to ponder our impact on the planet. Of course many people strive to live green year-round, but are we moving the needle on repairing decades of environmental damage or preventing future problems?

We hope you’ll stay tuned to our blog for future posts on these important issues. To be sure you don’t miss a post, consider subscribing to our blog and get it delivered to you via email, XML or your favorite news reader.

After finding arsenic and lead in fruit juice that exceeded the FDA limits for drinking water, the consumer’s advocacy organization, Consumers Union, is urging the FDA to set a more protective standard for these contaminants in fruit juice. While the FDA has set limits for arsenic and lead levels in drinking water, no limits are defined for fruit juices.

Carcinogens in Juice

In testing 88 samples of apple juice and grape juice, Consumer Reports found that 10 percent of juice samples had total arsenic levels exceeding federal drinking-water standards of 10 parts per billion (ppb), and 25 percent had lead levels higher than the 5 ppb limit for bottled water set by the Food and Drug Administration.

These tests measured “total” levels of arsenic which includes organic and inorganic arsenic. Organic arsenic is considers safe by some but the jury is still out. Most of the arsenic detected in these tests was inorganic, which is a human carcinogen.

In addition to testing juices, Consumer Reports also analyzed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's data on arsenic in the urine of men and women who were willing to report their food and drink consumption for 24 hours prior. Analysis showed that people who reported drinking apple or grape juice had, on average, about 20 percent higher levels of total urinary arsenic than those subjects who did not.

A Call for Lower Limits

Consumers Union is urging the FDA to set a more protective standard of 3 ppb for total arsenic and 5 ppb for lead in juice. The FDA’s current “level of concern”— the point at which they might consider taking action is 23 ppb. Consumer Reports says this level is way too high and does not consider the risks of skin, lung and bladder cancer that arsenic exposure poses to the public.

The FDA has responded saying that it is considering setting guidance for the level of inorganic arsenic permissible in apple juice. But before they do so, they want to continue collecting and analyzing up to 90 samples of apple juice from retailers across the U.S. by the end of 2011 and analyzing levels of organic and inorganic arsenic in other types of juice as well.

Consumers Union says that the FDA already has the data it needs to set juice standards, and that a guidance level must be followed by the establishment of a legally binding standard.

We’ll continue to follow this issue and update you on any new developments.

Sources:

Consumer Reports

ABC News

Food Safety

What could possibly be WORSE than those reusable grocery bags you bought to save trees possibly being infected with E.coli bacteria? Think lead, sitting at number 82 on the Periodic Table, that has contaminated a lot of jewelry and cosmetics marketed for kids.

Current U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission rules on kids products allow 300 parts per million (ppm) of lead. That number will drop next summer to 90 ppm. Also, to the good, packaging regulations in 19 states already regulate lead. Unfortunately, Florida has no laws on the books governing lead in packaging at the moment, save for conflicting federal rules, hence the problem.

According to independent testing funded by The Tampa Tribune, some of these otherwise cute and benign reusable grocery bags sold by local grocers (Winn Dixie, Publix) exceeded the 100 ppm limit. The amount of lead contained in bags sold by national retailers (Target, Walmart), however, was incremental, not exceeding 5.5 ppm. The possible difference-maker: Bags with more designs or artwork covering them contained the highest amounts of lead. Conversely, bags with few illustrations had little lead.

A suggestion: Check with the local grocers in your neighborhood -- especially if you're making deliberate decisions to buy as many organic, pesticide-free foods as you can -- about the potential lead content in those reusable bags.

Your health will thank you for it.

The Tampa Tribune November 14, 2010

USA Today November 14, 2010

You may have gotten rid of all those toxic toys and cosmetic products that may be harming the health of your son or daughter, but don't believe for a second that you're home-free.

Fact is, your home may be the real problem, according to a new report from the Ecology Group that tested some 2,300 kinds of wallpaper and more than 1,000 samples of flooring for chemicals known for their toxicity or ability to build in the environment and humans. Among the harmful chemicals detected in these products: Lead, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), cadmium, phthalates, tin, arsenic and mercury.

By the scary numbers:

* Almost all wallpaper samples that were tested contained PVC, and more than half contained at least one harmful chemical at levels above 40 ppm, including antimony, lead, tin, chromium or cadmium.

* Thirteen percent of the wallpaper samples analyzed had cadmium levels greater than 100 ppm.

* A host of phthalates made up nearly 13 percent of the weight of tested flooring samples. Also, many vinyl flooring samples contained four phthalate plasticizers, chemicals that have been banned recently in children's products.

To the good, HealthyStuff.org listed some safer alternatives, but only on the flooring side. Hardwood, bamboo, linoleum and cork flooring were free of hazardous metals including mercury, lead and cadmium, and non-vinyl flooring was 50 percent less likely to contain harmful chemical additives.

Image source: HealthyStuff.org

HealthyStuff.org/Ecology Group October 19, 2010

MSNBC October 19, 2010

Bloomberg.com October 18, 2010

At the same time cancer rates keep dropping in America, medical experts are beginning to realize what they don't know about this second leading killer of Americans. But they're beginning to catch up, as evidenced by a recent joint report by a group of health agencies, including the International Agency for Research on Cancer and American Cancer Society, identifying 20 "new" causes of cancer, including one you wouldn't expect.

Some of these culprits should be very familiar to you -- formaldehyde, lead, chloroform and PCBs. Then, there's relative newbies, like atrazine and indium phosphide, a binary semiconductor made of indium and phosphorus used in the production of flat-screen TVs.

Probably, the most interesting cancer concern comes straight out of left field, isn't a chemical or substance at all, and it's not the RF energy emitted by mobile phones either.

Think shift work, changing 24/7 schedules that often plays havoc with a patient's circadian rhythms, often leaving them sleep-deprived and vulnerable to a slew of health problems.

International Agency for Research on Cancer Technical Publication No. 42 Free Full Text PDF

Environmental Health Perspectives July 13, 2010 Free PDF Supplement

ScienceDaily July 15, 2010

Chicago Tribune July 15, 2010

The list of contaminants that can potentially harm young folks has grown exponentially with this latest study that found exposure to endocrine disruptors -- common chemicals used to make shampoos, nail polish and other consumer products -- can upset the timing of puberty in young girls, and set the stage for further health problems, among them breast cancer, down the road.

Scientists analyzed urine samples collected from 1,151 young girls (ages 4-9) living in New York, metro Cincinnati and northern California to study the impact of their exposure of phenols, phytoestrogens and phthalates, substances that were very obvious and widely detectable. Some chemicals were linked to later puberty (one subset of phthalates detected in patient samples is used to make plastic tubing), while others used in the production of lotions and shampoos were responsible for earlier physical maturation.

The really serious health problem may not show up until adulthood, however, says Dr, Mary Wolff, a professor of preventative medicine and oncological sciences at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. "We believe that there are certain periods of vulnerability in the development of the mammary gland, and exposure to these chemicals may influence breast cancer risk in adulthood." Larger BMIs may contribute to puberty problems too.

An interesting sidenote: Some endocrine disruptors are used by manufacturers to coat supplements and medications in order to trigger a timed-release mechanism.

Environmental Health Perspectives April 2010 Free Full Text Study

healthfinder.gov April 8, 2010

Mount Sinai School of Medicine April 5, 2010