Question about fruit (food safety in general)

MommyToAshley wrote: Before we had all these recalls, I never really paid attention to the "Made in China" stamp on items. I saw it, knew it was there, but never really thought about WHY it was there. Now, I am glad that it is on all products. After doing some research about lead poisoning, we are changing some things in our house in addtion to the product recalls --- we are getting rid of candle wicks that have lead in them, getting rid of dishwear and china that are made in China (the biggest cause of lead poisoning), and taking away Ashley's lower-end jewelry (a child actually died from swallowing a charm from a bracelet... not because she choked but because of lead poisoning).

Ok, you are probably wondering what this has to do with food safety. Well, I was at the grocery store and bought the same black seedless grapes that I always buy and Ashley loves. And, on the bag, it is stamped "A product of Chile". I had seen that stamp a million times and knew it was there, but never really thought about WHY it is there. So, does anyone know if there is some kind of law that requires there to be a stamp on food imports? If so, why? Is the product considered less safe? If so, shouldn't that stamp also be on fish and meats?

coasterqueen replied: You know I don't know the answers to those questions - good questions btw. This is another reason why buying organic is safer IMO. Sorry, you knew I had to throw that out there.

MommyToAshley replied:
But, does organic necessarily mean grown in the US? And, if the other countries are not following the laws for other imports, why would they follow the laws for organic imports? Just a thought. I also read that organic means grown all natural, and therefor manuer is used... so, if the manuer is infected with ecoli then so will the vegetable grown in it. So, I am not sure what to do.

coasterqueen replied:
Well, again good question, but one thing about organic is a lot of organics you buy are locally grown - at least meats, veggies, fruits, things like that. More of your processed foods aren't, but still a lot of them are grown in the states.

If they are not following laws for imports I would assume they aren't for organic imports as well. This is why a lot of people who buy organic buy locally grown organics and get away from the processed stuff. We are trying more and more to get away from processed foods when we grocery shop - although we still eat out a lot so I know we are getting processed crap then. Organics is about getting back to the basics in many ways. Like a lot of the potatoes, tomatoes, corn, green beans, onions, cantelope and watermelon came straight from our organically grown garden this year. We haven't had to buy those things. Then our meat is all locally organically grown. We were buying goat milk locally too, but that has gone by the side for many reasons right now.

I guess this is why I was saying organics in a lot of ways is the safer way to go, especially the more you grow your self or buy locally - you don't have to fear as much about all the other stuff, kwim?

MommyToAshley replied:
Thanks Karen, that makes sense and your post had a lot of useful information. I think if you live in a rural area like you do, that is the answer. But, I may be doing too much reading because I also read that fruits and vegetables that are grown near streets and highways have high traces of lead from the emissions of cars. But, then you don't really know where the fruit is grown that you buy at the stores either. I should stop reading... I am going to be afraid to eat or drink anything.

punkeemunkee'smom replied: Dee Dee that is a huge debate going on the Cattle (and other meat industries) industry right now. The cattle industry wants all beef to reflect it's origin on the label. Bill was just talking about it the other day. I will ask him if there is a site you could look at or where you may be able to find articles. I don't know about organic being all us grown or produced but I do not believe it has to be. I know there is huge confusion about that in the realm of beef because there are no set standards by the USDA

MommyToAshley replied:
That's intersting. Is there any kind of push for legislation to require proper labeling, that you know of?

And, thanks... if Bill does have any sites or articles, I would be interested in reading them.

coasterqueen replied:
Dee Dee - I get what you are saying, too, but please remember even if you don't live in a rural area you can drive to rural areas to buy those things. What my MIL has taught me is you can establish relationships with people in rural areas - see how they do things - visit them, etc, etc and buy from them. This is what we were doing when we bought goats milk. We drove out to the lady's farm, watched her go through the process, talked to other customers that use her, etc, etc and established a good relationship with her before ever buying her milk. We had to drive an hour each way every time we'd go get it. When my MIL lived in Georgia she drove 2 hours one way to get organically grown items - after establishing a relationship with the person as well as getting recommendations from others who've used them. KWIM?

Our farmer that we buy our meat from - we've gotten to know him well - he has a cook out every year for his customers so they can see the farm, get to know his family, see the process, etc, etc - there are even investment opportunities with his business that is encouraged for his customers. He lives 1.5 hours away from us.

Even though we live in a rural area, we still have to deal with farmers who farm around us and the chemicals they use, etc. We have a lot of issues to deal with as well.

The key is researching the people you want to buy for just as if you were going to use them for daycare for Ashley, kwim? We have to be advocates when it comes to our food as well. It is comforting to know that I know the majority of those I buy organic foods from then it is to go to the store and buy things I have no idea how it was put together, packaged, shipped, etc, etc. KWIM?

I'm not trying to push organics on you, just want you to know that for me it's been more of a peace of mind going with it due to all the recalls. Especially locally grown organics. We still buy a lot of non-organic stuff, don't get me wrong. It does take some effort IMO going organic - establishing relationships, researching, etc.

redchief replied: All food products are required to carry their origin stamped on the package. Loose fruits and vegetables aren't required to prominently display the origin, but retailers must be prepared to disclose this information upon consumer request.

This link is the FDA's link on food origin requirements. It's really hard to read and get anything helpful from, but all the rules are there if you look long enough.

Certified Organic is a rule by law. The origin and whether it can be certified as organic are separate issues, so imports can be organic.

punkeemunkee'smom replied:
He gets a paper called Livestock weekly,one called Texas Agriculture news and a magazine called The Cattleman that he reads front to back and then looks online at more info. I know you can find Livestock weekly online and I believe you can get an online subscription. There is always talk and pushes here for new and better things in the industry...Bill says times are changing and changing fast. I will ask him more and get back with you

BAC'sMom replied: I'll look through my Food and Beverage links and see what I can find Dee Dee

Hillbilly Housewife replied: We go downtown Ottawa (10 - 15 minute drive from home) to the Farmer's market.

It's kind of ironic, really... the market is downtown..like, 3 blocks from the Parliament building... there's sooo many cars ets... kinda defeats the organic's purpose, no? lol

We do grow a lot of our own stuff, so it's all good for us.

luvmykids replied: I haven't done much research Karen, but what do you know about what Dee Dee mentioned....that organics, although grown all natural, use manure therefore the risk of ecoli?

Dee Dee...you may not have to go as far as you might think to find locally grown produce. You can look for food co-ops, we have two that sell fruits and veggies from local farmers...the farms are out of town, but they bring their produce to the co-ops which are really just a specialty grocery store. We buy a lot from our Farmers Market, not for the organic/local factor, but just for fun. Like Karen mentioned, most of the participants open their farm to the public which has been a lot of fun for the kids.

punkeemunkee'smom replied: Dee Dee Bill says the program to label beef is called COOL-Country Of Origin Labeling. It would demand a label on all beef that clearly labeled where it was born. That is not in effect now. The USDA inspects meat now and stamps it USDA approved but that does NOT mean it is grown in the USA.

coasterqueen replied:
Monica - sure there are risks with manure too if not used properly. This article does a great job explaining these things: Organics More Dangerous?. The key is at least with organics you have more control over what is happening, who you are buying from, etc. You can establish relationships with certain farmers, etc and you'll find you are less likely to have the problems that you would with these big companies. Also organics is about growing them yourself as well. When we grow ours we used bagged organic soil, then a lot of compost stuff. I have not used manure yet, but my boss has offered me his horse manure often for my garden. I hear it's great for tomatoes. I, personally, don't have the time to take the safety precautions to use it at this point. My MIL uses it, though. We do not use pesticides, etc on our garden. These are all things all of us can do - grow our own veggies and fruits to ensure safety at least with these foods.

holley79 replied: Isn't it scary for our kids. We didn't have any of these "serious" problems when we were growing up. Label reading has become huge for me.

luvmykids replied: Thanks for that link, Karen!

MommyToAshley replied: Thanks for the link and information Karen. However, I also consider the source. It seems that there are conflicting views but both sides have in interest. I wonder if there is some sort of independent study.

coasterqueen replied:
There is quite a bit of information on it. I will check with my MIL. she printed a bunch of stuff out for us to begin with, but I can't find it. I only had that link on my work computer. I'll talk to her this weekend and see what I can get for you.