What's In That Honey Jar?

Siona Karen via Flickr

Last year, Food Safety News reported that 1/3 or more of all honey consumed in the U.S. is likely smuggled in from China. Why should that concern us? Because the honey may be contaminated with lead and illegal antibiotics.  

Millions of pounds of Chinese honey is shipped to the U.S. through India, flooding grocery store shelves and ending up in hundreds of different processed foods. This honey has been banned as unsafe in dozens of countries; the European Union banned all shipments of honey from India beginning in June of 2010 because of the presence of lead and illegal animal antibiotics.

What's more, as reported in this article, more than 3/4 of the honey sold in major grocery chain stores (including Giant Eagle) and big box chain stores isn't honey at all.  It has been "ultra-filtered" so that it no longer contains pollen. Most of the world's food safety agencies, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, have ruled that any product that no longer contains pollen isn't honey. However, the FDA does not inspect honey sold in the U.S. to determine whether in fact it does contain pollen.

Why would pollen be removed from honey? Pollen is the only foolproof way to identify the source of honey. Without it, there is no way to determine whether the honey came from legitimate and safe sources. 

The California advocacy group, Center for Environmental Health, found high levels of lead in honey purchased from 3 different grocery stores in the Bay Area and Southern California. The honey had between 1.5 to over 2 times the legal limit of lead. On May 2, the group filed lawsuits against two grocery store chains, alleging violations of a California law which limits lead in consumer products.

I take all this as a very strong argument to stay away from any honey unless you can verify its source. The best way to do that is to buy local honey from one of the growing number of local beekeepers. I have purchased local honey from beekeepers at the Mt. Lebanon Farmer's Market, which opened for the season last Saturday, as well as the Farmers@Firehouse market in the Strip District, which opens later this month. Other places to look for local honey: Whole Foods in East Liberty, the Pittsburgh Public Market in the Strip, the East End Food Co-op and Sunny Bridge Natural Foods in McMurray.

This article published last fall in Pittsburgh Magazine lists some other sources of local honey.

Tide Free and Gentle (Except for Probable Carcinogen)

Proctor & Gamble markets Tide Free and Gentle laundry detergent to moms as a safer choice for their children's laundry. However, as reported here by the New York Times, testing by the environmental group Women's Voices for the Earth found problematic levels of 1,4 dioxane in Tide Free and Gentle. 1,4 dioxane is a solvent most commonly found in products that create suds, such as detergent, shampoo, and liquid soaps. It is a contaminant created during manufacturing, as the result of a process in which harsh and irritating ingredients are converted into less-harsh chemicals.  Because it is a contaminant, you will not find it listed on any product label.  The EPA considers 1,4 dioxane a probable human carcinogen.

It is possible to remove 1,4 dioxane from products, or manufacturers could simply forgo the process that creates it by using purer, less-harsh ingredients to begin with. However, Proctor & Gamble, has no plans to reformulate Tide Free and Gentle to remove this dangerous chemical.

A 2010 study by the Organic Consumers Association found 1,4 dioxane in nearly two-thirds of the laundry detergents sold in America.  Only a few brands were found to be free of the chemical.  Those brands included Seventh Generation Free and Clear (which I use and can highly recommend), as well as ECOS Free & Clear by Earth Friendly Products.

NYT Column on Endocrine Disruptors

Nicholas Kristof has a nice, succinct column in the New York Times about endocrine disruptors and their links to breast cancer, infertility, precocious puberty, and even diabetes and obesity. These chemicals are everywhere: in food packaging, plastics, cosmetics and widely used pesticides and herbicides. Kristof notes that new research is constantly being published about the long-term effects of these chemicals on our health, yet their use remains virtually unregulated.

Recent Article on Chemicals in Everyday Food Packaging

The Washington Post recently published an informative article entitled "If the Food's in Plastic, What's in the Food?"

The author discusses studies showing that plastic food packaging is a major source of the BPA and phthalates (chemicals used to make plastics flexible) which are found in the bodies of most Americans.  Other studies show that phthalates pass into food during food processing, some of it from the PVC found in the tubing in food processing equipment, conveyer belts and food prep gloves.

In an earlier post on plastic food packaging, I discussed how the FDA regulates as "indirect food additives" chemicals that migrate from packaging into food. The FDA has approved more that 3,000 of these chemicals for use in food packaging, including known or suspected reproductive toxins and carcinogens, including BPA, formaldehyde, some phthalates, styrene and various forms of PVC. A Swiss researcher quoted in the Post article found that at least 50 compounds with known or suspected endocrine-disrupting activity have been approved as food-contact materials.

The FDA approves these potentially hazardous substances for food packaging on the premise that "the dose makes the poison" and that the amounts of these chemicals that migrate into food are too small to be harmful. However, as the author of the Post article points out, that premise does not take into account the emerging science on endocrine disruptors. The science shows that these chemicals might be harmful at much lower doses than have previously been suspected of causing health problems.

The director of a Pew Charitable Trusts initiative examining FDA regulation of food additives explains that some of the chemicals approved by the FDA were approved back in the 1960's:  "Unless someone in the FDA goes back and looks at those decisions in light of the scientific developments in the past 30 years, it’s pretty hard to say what is and isn’t safe in the food supply."


Another criticism of the FDA is that it does not consider the effects of cumulative exposure.  We come into contact with an untold number of chemical-leaching products everyday. As a scientist notes in the article, "a variety of chemicals ingested separately in very small doses may act on certain organ systems or tissues as if they were a single cumulative dose." In other words, continued and repeated exposure to even trace amounts of different hazardous chemicals can have adverse health effects.


Finally, the article points out that we as consumers have no way to know what chemicals, and in what amounts, we are ingesting or serving to our families every day. Disturbingly, the FDA gets its migration data and preliminary safety information from packaging manufacturers and protects the information as confidential.


The information in this article reinforces the importance of choosing whole, fresh food (and foregoing packaged, processed food) whenever you can.  Farmers' markets will be opening in our area in the next few weeks. I can't wait to take advantage of these sources of fresh, local food.

Clearing Drains Safely

Chemical drain cleaners are among the most dangerous cleaning products. Most conventional drain cleaners contain corrosive ingredients like lye and bleach that can severely burn your eyes and skin; some contain dangerous acids. Hundreds of people are seriously injured every year by drain cleaners. You don't need these extremely hazardous products to clear your drains; there is no reason to have them in your home. (If you do, you can dispose of them at one of the Household Chemical Collection events held by the Pennsylvania Resources Council.)

To keep your drains clear, prevention is important. My bathtub drains are prone to frequent clogging. However, I can keep them running freely for a long time if I am diligent about some preventative measures.

Every week or so I pour a cup of baking soda down the drain, and then a few cups of boiling water. I follow that with a cup of white vinegar. This bubbles up in a fun way, usually dislodging yucky black bits. I sometimes then use a plunger to dislodge more gunk.

I have also used natural enzyme drain cleaners, such as CitraDrain, for maintenance. These are easy to use and are effective as a preventative measure. However, I find they don't work any better than the baking soda and vinegar method, and they cost a lot more.

If, as sometimes happens, I fail to keep up with the above measures, after a couple of months my bathtub will begin to drain very slowly, backing up water into the tub. In that case, it is time to reach for our plumber's snake. We have a hand-operated one that is 100 percent effective at cleaning out our sink and tub drains. It cost about $15 at the hardware store. (There are motorized models, but these can be dangerous.)

You won't have to call a plumber for a run-of-the-mill clogged drain if you get and learn how to use a snake.

Nontoxic Dishwasher Detergent

Not too long ago, eco-friendly automatic dishwasher detergents just didn't work very well.  They either didn't clean well or left residue on dishes.  Thankfully, there are now options that do the job and are not toxic to us or the environment.

One thing we don't have to worry about avoiding in dishwasher detergents are phosphates. Phosphates pollute freshwater, creating algae blooms that consume all the oxygen in the water and kill fish and plants. Two years ago several states banned the use of phosphates and the major detergent makers stopped using them.

Things we still have to be concerned about avoiding include chlorine bleach, synthetic fragrances and artificial dyes. These ingredients are volatilized, or vaporized, by the heat of the dishwasher and released in the steam that vents from the machine during use. Even more of these chemicals are released into the air if you release a burst of steam by opening your dishwasher before it has cooled.

In fact, dishwashers can be a significant source of indoor air pollution. A 1999 study showed that dishwashers are very effective at stripping harmful chemicals from detergents, as well as from public water supplies, and releasing them into the air.

To protect your indoor air:

• Ventilate your kitchen as much as you can during and after running the dishwasher.
• Don't open your dishwasher until it has had time to cool down following a cleaning cycle; this  will avoid that chemical-laden burst of steam that escapes if you were to open it immediately after it stops running.
• Use a "green," chlorine-free dishwasher detergent.

I use these Seventh Generation Automatic Dishwasher Pacs.  They contain no chlorine or synthetic fragrances and clean my dishes really well without leaving any residue behind. The Whole Foods in East Liberty stocks these.  They are also available from Amazon, and are eligible for free shipping with Amazon Prime.

Do you use an eco-friendly detergent that works well for you?

Toxic Chemicals in Food Packaging

I have been working on a post about the potential dangers of conventional nonstick cookware. The chemicals of concern associated with nonstick cookware are a family of chemicals called perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) and, specifically, one form of PFC, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA).

But after researching PFCs and PFOA, it appears that other sources of exposure to these toxic chemicals are likely as much, or more, of a threat to our health than exposure to conventional nonstick cookware. In particular, certain food packaging materials made of PFCs appear to migrate into food, enter into the bloodstream and break down into PFOA and other toxic chemicals.

Some background about these chemicals: PFCs have a unique ability to repel oil and water; they are used to make materials stain- and stick-resistant.  These chemicals are used in the manufacture of greaseproof food packaging including microwave popcorn bags, fast food wrappings, pizza boxes and candy bar wrappers. They are also used to make stain-resistant clothing, carpets and soft furnishings. 

PFCs are dangerous because they accumulate in our bodies and remain there for a very long time.  A 2009 report by the CDC found PFOA in the blood of nearly every one of over 2000 participants, indicating that PFOA exposure is widespread in the U.S. population.  PFCs persist in the environment and do not break down. And they are toxic--PFOA was deemed a likely human carcinogen by an EPA Science Advisory Board; it is also suspected of causing reduced fertility, poor birth outcomes and problems with the thyroid gland.

In addition, a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in January found that exposure to PFCs may weaken children's responses to vaccines, reducing the effectiveness of the vaccines. The study suggests that these chemicals are toxic to the immune system.

In 2006 Dupont, the manufacturer of Teflon, and 7 other companies entered into an agreement with the EPA to reduce the content of PFOA in consumer products by 95 percent by 2010, and to work toward eliminating it from consumer products by 2015. Dupont says that as of January 2012, it no longer uses PFOA to manufacture nonstick coatings for cookware. 

However, many experts agree that the crux of the PFOA problem is not nonstick cookware, but a class of chemicals called fluorotelomers which are used to impart stain and grease resistance to food packaging, carpets and textiles. Nena Baker, in her book The Body Toxic, suggests that DuPont, the manufacturer of Teflon, allowed nonstick cookware to take the public relations heat and serve as a distraction from fluorotelomers and their potentially central role in PFOA exposure. DuPont manufactures a whole host of fluorotelomer products.

The fluorotelomers used in food packaging are not made with PFOA, however, PFOA is an unintended byproduct of the manufacturing process.  But of even more concern, the fluorotelomers migrate into food and once they are in our bodies metabolize and break down into PFCs, including PFOA. And as noted above, once in our bodies these chemicals remain there for a very long time.

In 2005, the FDA published a study of the migration of fluorotelomers from food packaging to food. The study investigated microwave popcorn bags, which have the most grease-repelling fluorotelomer coatings of any food wrappings. The study found that a significant percentage of the fluorotelomers migrated from the bags to the popcorn oil. Once in the body, the fluorotelomers metabolize directly into PFOA and also metabolize into intermediate compounds that then also break down into PFOA.

A more recent study, published in 2010 found that dangerous chemicals in fast food wrappers and microwave popcorn bags (fluorotelomer-based products called PAPs) are a  potentially significant source of PFOA exposure in humans.

To reduce your exposure to dangerous PFCs:

• Stay away from microwave popcorn.  Pop your popcorn on your stove.
• Avoid greasy packaged and fast food. Packages such as pizza boxes, french fry boxes and fast food wrappers can contain PFCs.
• Don't use paper plates; they can be coated with PFCs.
• Avoid stain-resistant treatments on new carpets or furniture. According to the CDC, the presence of PFCs in carpet treatments could be an important source of exposure to these dangerous chemicals, especially for children.
• Avoid nonstick cookware. If you do use it, be careful not to heat to above 450 degrees and discard any pans if the coating starts to flake or deteriorate.

I'm still looking into the new non-PFOA nonstick cookware and alternatives to nonstick, so stay tuned for a post about that.