Urgent Report: Bad Chemicals Countries Ban Are Still Permitted in US Foods:
Recent investigations point out the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) preference for the Food Industry and expose the frequent use of dangerous and cheap additives into the U.S. Food supply!
The Chicago Tribune performed an investigation about chemical ingredients the U. S. Government hand-in-hand with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are permitting to be added into the U.S. Food supply despite frequent bans of these bad chemicals in other countries!
The Change.org petition was launched online after Sarah Kavanagh, only 15 years old, from Mississippi, learned her favorite drink-Gatorade contained an emulsifier, brominated vegetable oil (or BVO), which is deemed illegal to use for a food additive in Canada, Nepal, India, the European Union, Japan and Brazil because of it's known connection to "reproductive and behavior problems."
Brominated vegetable oil - or BVO - is a food additive in the U.S. used to keep citrus flavoring from separating out in sports drinks and sodas, such as Gatorade, Fanta and Mountain Dew.
Controversy has surrounded the use of BVO a long time. As a food additive It's banned in Europe and Japan, but not in the U.S.
The FDA/U.S. agency claimed BVO as "generally recognized as safe," years ago, then the FDA reversed that ruling later. For now, pending more ongoing research, the FDA allows BVO to be used as a food additive in the U.S.
BVO contains bromine which is what prompts the Health concerns about it, as Bromine is an element found in brominated flame retardants. Only a few studies have been done on Bromine's safety issues. They support that bromine builds up in the body. (Pieces of it Add up & Add up in our bodies, and even worse-in our kid's bodies!)
BVO is not just an ingredient used in drinks; it's also a flame retardant, in a class of chemicals banned in the European Union and under close scrutiny even in the United States for building up in human tissue and breast milk.
Brominated flame retardants (BFRs), are also allowed in foam furniture cushions, some children's clothing, electronics, and quite a few other products. There have been many public calls for their removal from these products, particularly the ones that come in contact with children.
Additionally, there have been reports of people suffering skin and nerve problems as well as memory loss after drinking excessive amounts (more than 2 liters a day) of soda with BVO in it.
But wait a minute! Is Bromine the only nasty chemical in soda drinks? NO!
Aspartame is in most of them as well, and thousands of pages of research by medical doctors proved Aspartame in combination with Bromine are causing serious side effects in our nation's youth.
"In the U.S. money rules and industry wields a lot of influence and that's how it has been for a while," Michael Hansen states, senior scientist at the Consumers Union," But in Europe they pay attention to what their population wants. As you know the population should be concerned about new chemicals put into their food?"
Even though international food authorities decide on the side of caution when they evaluate food additives, new food products in the USA "simply need an OK from (supposed) experts hired by the manufacturers", as such are the skewed rules of the FDA. The FDA won't investigate most new additives until later, only "[if] health issues emerge."
The FDA's stated mission is supposedly "to protect public health by ensuring that foods are safe and properly labeled", but a report released by the non-profit food watchdog, the U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (USP), showed the amount of food fraud and mislabeled ingredients is up by 60 percent this year.
When compared to their original Food Fraud Database they published in April 2012, the group found a worrisome surge in adulterated ingredients in most household products.
ABC News reports:
What are the most popular targets for unscrupulous food suppliers? Pomegranate juice is their favorite, which they often dilute with pear juice, grape or... added sugar, or just a weaker water and sugar combination.
Markus Lipp, senior director for Food Standards at an independent lab stated: "There have also been reports of completely "synthetic pomegranate juice" that didn't contain any traces of the real juice."
ABC News reported USP stated that ground foods and liquids are the easiest to tamper with:
• Olive oil: often diluted with cheaper oils
• Lemon juice: cheapened with water and sugar
• Tea: diluted with fillers like fern leaves and lawn grass
• Spices: like paprika or saffron adulterated with dangerous food colorings that mimic the colors
Syrup, coffee, honey, and Milk are listed by the USP as also being highly adulterated products.
Seafood is high on the list: Escolar is the number one fake as it's an oily fish that can cause stomach problems, which is frequently mislabeled as white tuna on purpose to deceive the buying public, and is usually found on sushi menus.
Kavanagh, who created the Online-Gatorade petition and following investigation, stated it "shows intense greed" when companies use 'chemical additives' and cheaper ingredients to dilute food products that could cause health problems.
Gatorade publicly stated "no changes are planned to its US drink formulation" irregardless of the over 200,000 signatures gathered calling for the ban.
What is a better way? Don't drink large amounts of beverages like soda pops that contain these chemicals. Better still, go one one step further and cut out all sugary drinks with these nasty, artificial chemicals in them!. Instead, make healthier choices, such as low-fat milk, water or glasses of 100-percent fruit juice. Read the labels!
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