Three months after scores of young women across the country began to fall ill with a particularly nasty strain of e-coli, Federal health officials manged to piece together the puzzle and discover that the root is Nestle’s refrigerated cookie dough products, eaten raw.

Nestle issued a recall yesterday, but managed to confuse more than elucidate. On the one hand Nestle is asking people to return products to the store, but on the other hand it says that as long as you bake the product it should be safe. What’s a consumer to do?

The FDA is more clear cut in its instructions: Cooking the dough is not recommended because consumers might get the bacteria on their hands and on other cooking surfaces.

Meanwhile, consumer groups are calling for improved food safety measures by the FDA, so that these contaminations are discovered before people get sick. Nestle is actually known for stringent safety protocols, so it will be interesting to see what else it could have done to prevent this recall.

What you need to know:

The contaminant casuing the problem is E. coli O157:H7. It causes abdominal cramping, vomiting and a diarrheal illness, often with bloody stools. Most healthy adults can recover completely within a week. Young children and the elderly are at highest risk for developing HUS, which can lead to serious kidney damage and even death.

What to do at the supermarket:

Folks, you knwo the drill. Remember the recall is just for cookie dough, although if past behavior is any indicator, sales all  Tool House cookies are going to slump in the next few weeks.

Get Fooducated: RSS Subscription or Email Subscription

Follow us on twitter: twitter.com/fooducate

Help us test our new food comparison tool: alpha.fooducate.com

In a brave move, state legislators in Maryland have started a process to ban and/or label several artificial food colorings linked with ADHD and hyperactivity in children:

Two bills are scheduled to be considered at hearings in Annapolis on Wednesday, including one that would require food manufacturers to add a warning label prior to an outright ban in 2012, and another that would prohibit the use of the colors in school foods.

If the legislation is approved, food products containing the colors would be required to carry the label: “Warning: The color additives in this food may cause hyperactivity and behavior problems in some children” effective from January 1, 2010, and be phased out by December 31, 2011.

The colors affected are Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1, Blue 2, Green 3, Orange B, and Red 3.

Read the article…

The ban / labeling acts are considered after studies have shown the direct relationship between these food colors and behavioral problems in children.

What you need to know:

Food coloring provides little or no nutritional benefits, but many marketing ones. It makes food look better, fresher, tastier, and ultimately may sway a consumer to make a purchasing decision.

Some food colorings are made from natural ingredients, such as paprika, turmeric, and saffron. However, these are expensive, and sometimes interact with a food.

Enter chemistry. Artificial food colorings have been around for decades, and so, it seems have the problems they created. They are cheap and effective in achieving their marketing goals. In the late 60’s and early 70’s many artificial food coloring such as  Red #1 and Yellow #3 were banned due to cancer and heart disease risks. In the mid 70’s research into behavioral consequences of usage pointed to disturbing data.

The current list of primary colors approved by the FDA includes:

Blue #1 – Brilliant Blue FCF, E133 (Blue shade)
Blue #2 – Indigotine, E132 (Dark Blue shade)
Red # 3 – Erythrosine, E127 (Pink shade)
Green # 3 – Fast Green FCF, E143 (Bluish green shade) – rarely used
Yellow #5 – Tartrazine, E102 (Yellow shade) – very widely used, especially in candy and junk food
Yellow  #6 – Sunset Yellow FCF, E110 (Orange shade) – very widely used in beverages and candy
Red #40 – Allura Red AC, E129 (Red shade) – most widely used, especially in junk food

Some of these food colorings are banned in Europe. Blue #1, is banned in Belgium, France, Germany, Sweden, Austria, Norway and Switzerland. Green #3 was banned after it was linked to bladder tumors.

What to do at the supermarket:

Artificial Food colorings appear in THOUSANDS OF FOODS.

Examine the ingredient label carefully. The food coloring will appear towards the end of the list, as only a tiny amount is required to create the required effect. Try to avoid foods with colorings that are questionable:

Remember, the less processed a food product is, the less chances of finding artificial anything in it.

sources: FDA, CSPI, Wikipedia

Get Fooducated: RSS Subscription or Email Subscription

Help us test our new food comparison tool: alpha.fooducate.com