Food is not always what it appears (Fish, olive oil, honey are most often faked)

[DainBramaged]

Foods masquerading as something else -- a more nutritious something else -- have been big news the past two years. Chinese food companies in particular have been blamed for making deadly alterations to dairy, baby and pet foods by adding melamine. The chemical makes it appear that the food or beverage has the required level of protein.

But what about food producers in this country? What fraudulent foods do U.S. consumers have to fear from American companies?

Experts say dangerous U.S.-produced foods are few, but producers have been known to practice "economic adulteration" -- adding a little to their bottom line by padding, thinning or substituting something cheap for something expensive.

So in a caveat emptor world, what should consumers look out for?

Seafood: Keep an eye on that salmon
Fish is the most frequently faked food Americans buy. In the business, it's called "species adulteration" -- selling a cheaper fish such as pen-raised Atlantic salmon as wild Alaska salmon.

When Consumer Reports tested 23 supposedly wild-caught salmon fillets bought nationwide in 2005-2006, only 10 were wild salmon. The rest were farmed. In 2004, University of North Carolina scientists found that 77% of fish labeled red snapper was actually something else.

"It's really just fraud, plain and simple," says Gavin Gibbons of the National Fisheries Institute, an industry group.

Salmon is tricky. Here's a tip, though. Farmed salmon get their coloring from dyes added to food pellets the fish are fed, while wild salmon get it from the plankton they eat.

When you cook it, the wild salmon retains its color; in the aquaculture salmon, the color tends to leak out. Suspicious consumers can call the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Nutrition hotline at 888-732-3663.

(more at link)

http://www.freep.com/article/20090202/FEATURES02/902020304

[NNN0LHI]

1. I would like to know how much of that "organic" food people pay a premium for is ...

... actually grown organically?

My guess is not very much without any controls or inspectors in place to check.

Don

[natrat]

3. yea but odds are better at a farmers market for truthfullness one would think

[NNN0LHI]

7. I used to know a guy who drove up to Michigan and buy stuff he knew wasn't grown organically

Then he brings it to the farmers markets around Chicago and sells it as organic. He told me the people hold the veggies up to their noses and take a long deep smell and say out loud ummm, organic.

He laughs his ass off at them.

Don

[old mark]

8. We have local "farmers markets", and much of their produce

arrives in the same boxes as the stuff in the supermarkets. Unless local Farmer Bob has a big spread in Chile, it's coming from the same place - it just costs more.

Usually real locally grown fruits and veggies are so labeled and cost even more at the larger "farmers' markets". Even some roadside "farmer" stands are selling you imported or at least transported stuff.

FWIW, we live in a township right outside of a small city, but in a North Eastern row house area. One of our neighbors makes his living running a produce stand at a "farmers market", and the only th9ing in his yard is grass and dog shit.

mark

[kath]

12. our "farmers' market" here is a big joke, too. Same stuff as the supermarkets (mostly), just at

jacked-up prices.
Sucks.

[Gormy Cuss]

17. That's especially true in states with certified farmers' markets.

More than once I've seen a new vendor put up a sign claiming the produce was organic only to have the sign come down the next week because they couldn't demonstrate that it was grown organically.

The other common stipulation in certified farmers' markets is a declaration at the beginning of the season of the crops to be grown and the size and location of the acreage used, and most states also stipulation that all or most of the product must be grown on that farm.

[NNN0LHI]

18. Which states have certified organic farmers' markets?

Is there a list available?

Don

[Gormy Cuss]

19. Ceritification and certified organic are two different qualifiers.

California is one state with a category called "certified farmers' markets." If I recall correctly both Mass. and Maine have a similar designation. Beyond that I don't know which states do this. Certified markets in those areas mean that you can only sell what you grow with modest exceptions.

In CA you must display a certification with acreage, crops, and location of the fields and agree to inspection by an ag agent to verify that info.

Certified organic is actually regulated at the Federal level since the 2003 or so and if a vendor misrepresents produce as organic he/she may be subject to a pretty steep fine.

Most certified markets have both conventional and certified organic vendors.

There is no national standard on farmers' markets and in some areas any green grocer can throw those words on the sign.

[patriotvoice]

4. Everything grown requires water. All natural water sources on Earth are contaminated. Ergo:

Everything grown is contaminated. Unless the items are grown hydroponically, in filtered water, totally cut off from all sources of outside water -- including morning mists -- then it's never going to be 100% organic.

IMO, as close to "organic" as you're going to get is to grow it yourself or buy it from a local farmer. Both of which feel really good.

On edit: spelling.

[baldguy]

5. On packaged products the term "organic" is meaningless.

Bush made sure of that.

natrat is right - buy local from someone you can trust.

[Blue_Tires]

2. ewwwwwww

k+r

[TechBear_Seattle]

6. The Seattle P-I recently did an expose on "honey laundering"

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/specials/honey/

[Blue_Tires]

9. what the shit?

that's fucking sick!

why do we even bother to have an FDA? do they do anything to earn their goddamned money?

[TechBear_Seattle]

10. The FDA once had teeth

But that power has been slowly eroded away by lobbyists. Case in point: the 1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, which deregulated the suppliment industry and reinvigorated the snake oil business in the US.

[Kansas Wyatt]

13. They get lucrative after retirement jobs and kickbacks from food and drug companies.

They are working hard in the FDA to improve THEIR personal health, welfare, and monetary position. *

* I'm sure there are many honest people in the FDA that do take their jobs seriously and who are not corrupt... But they are never the ones who are placed in charge.

[SmileyRose]

11. Pretty much all fresh meat is altered.

I've looked at every grocery store in my area, even at the organic meat, and all of them say "this product has been enhanced with 12% salt, water and sulfite solution to enhance flavor and preserve the product" - or something similar.

Following an extremely low sodium diet, gets really tricky when they start adding it to food that does not require a label stating sodium content per serving.

[deaniac21]

14. I prefer synthetic meats.

[DainBramaged]

15. Mystery meat

Chicken lips, Beef toes, pork thumbs.

[DainBramaged]

16. Tilapia

Your best choice is tilapia grown in the U.S. in environmentally-friendly systems. Avoid farmed tilapia from China and Taiwan, where pollution and weak management are common.

Consumer Note
A mild, white fish, tilapia is available year-round, whole -fresh, frozen and live in some Asian restaurants - and as fresh or frozen fillets. Tilapia is known as izumidai when prepared for sushi.

Summary
Tilapia is an important source of protein, especially in developing countries. Tilapia make good candidates for farming, as they provide more protein than it takes to raise them. This is in stark contrast to some other fish raised in farms, such as salmon or tuna.

Native to North Africa, tilapia are hardy, freshwater fish that tolerate a wide range of water conditions. This means they’re easy to farm, but it also means they can easily invade many habitats and threaten native fish populations.

In the U.S., most tilapia are farmed in closed inland systems that guard against escapes and pollution. However, in many other countries, tilapia are often farmed in open systems where escapes and pollution are a bigger threat. However, tilapia farming methods do vary widely within any given country.

U.S. farmed tilapia is the best choice.
http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/SeafoodWatch/web/sfw_factsheet.aspx?gid=27