Now you will know where your food is from – well, sort of. September 30, 2008

Starting today, it will be easier to see where your food is coming from when you walk through your grocery store… and also more confusing. Here’s what will be labeled:

• raw beef
• veal
• lamb
• pork
• chicken
• goat
• wild and farm-raised fish and shellfish
• fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables
• peanuts, pecans, macadamia nuts
• whole ginseng

Here’s what won’t be labeled:

• processed foods – Raw chicken, yes, but breaded chicken fingers, no. Fresh or frozen peas, yes, but canned, no.
• mixed foods – Frozen peas, yes. Frozen peas and carrots, no.
• meat and seafood sold in butcher shops and fish markets

This all comes at a time when we’re getting warnings from the FDA to avoid some milk and candy products from China and have had to worry about contaminated vegetables with e-coli bacteria. This new law will help somewhat if you stick to fresh foods rather than processed and if an e-coli scare returns. Consumers will have been informed when they purchased their fresh vegetables where they came from. This will make it easier to determine if this food is in question when warnings come out and the source has been pinpointed quickly.

Photo from Flickr by C.P. Storm

Crafty, Beautiful and “Green”

Etsy is a place where truly creative people can sell their goods directly to you. There are knitters, jewelers, sewers, quilters, glassware creators, and even those who feel “geekery” describes their goods best! You really need to take a look if you haven’t yet – but fair warning here – if you do, plan on being there for a while. There are so many beautiful things, it’s hard to pull yourself away.

It gets even better, though. Etsy also has an area called EcoEtsy where sellers are “dedicated to reducing, reusing, and recycling.” Who could possibly resist something like this or this? Enjoy!

FDA puts out warning of tainted instant coffee from China September 29, 2008

This past Friday, warnings were put out by regulators to avoid using Mr. Brown instant coffee and milk tea products. These products are made by China’s Shandong Duqing Inc. and could possibly contain melamine, which has been recently found in baby formula and has killed four children in China. It is believed that Melamine may have been used in diluting milk with water to increase the volume.

Melamine has been found in candy, buns and carton milk sold to other countries and regions; however, “As of Thursday, FDA testing of milk-based products imported into the United States from China had not found any melamine contamination,” an FDA agency statement said.

The items that are to be avoided are:

• Mr. Brown Mandheling Blend Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
• Mr. Brown Arabica Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
• Mr. Brown Blue Mountain Blend Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
• Mr. Brown Caramel Macchiato Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
• Mr. Brown French Vanilla Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
• Mr. Brown Mandhling Blend instant Coffee (2-in-1)
• Mr. Brown Milk Tea (3-in-1)

The FDA is also urging consumers to not eat White Rabbit Creamy Candy because New Zealand authorities reported melamine contamination in them to be “at high levels.” These candies were exported to more than 50 countries.

In Hong Kong, Heinz DHA+AA vegetable formula baby cereal has been found to be tainted with melamine. Heinz, which is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has recalled all of the baby cereal as a “precautionary measure”.  After extensive testing, all of the products were found to be melamine free.

UPDATE: Take a look at an updated post since this on Melamine and tainted food that I wrote over at Eco Women: Protectors of the Planet!

ADDITIONAL UPDATE: See a more recent post on melamine found in baby formula manufactured in the United States.

EWG’s Report on Chemicals From Cosmetics Found In Teens September 26, 2008

Eco Child’s Play has written a great summary on the Environmental Working Group’s report of toxic chemicals from cosmetics found in teens. These chemicals include triclosan, phthalates, parabens, and musk, which have been linked to cancer and hormone disruption. Take a look at their site for the full report and suggestions on how to avoid these chemicals.

Hooray for Target!

Have you heard the news? Some Target locations are now carrying Green By Nature products. What’s the big deal, you ask? Green By Nature products are “over 95% natural, and free of parabens, sulfates, DEA, petroleum, propylene glycol, sacchrine, dioxin, and phthalate.” That’s a whole lot of toxic stuff you don’t have to worry about! Their products also contain 6 bio-renewable ingredients consisting of beeswax, aloe leaf extract, shea butter, rosehip oil, pistachio oil, and grapefurit seed extract.

Green By Nature makes products for lips, body, hands and feet. I’d love to get my hands on some but I’m not near a Target that carries them, unfortunately. Maybe you’ll have better luck. Go to their site to see if they’re carried new you. If you’ve tried these products, let us know what you think of them.

Easily available, safer toys for your little ones September 25, 2008

Today I was in a children’s store, looking for something new for my daughter to play with. I try to keep her toys to a minimum and pick out ones that I feel she’ll get a lot of use out of. There comes a point, though, when she just gets bored with what she has and I need to put something else into the rotation.

While I was walking around, I was overwhelmed with the amount of plastic, noisy options that filled the aisles. I couldn’t find anything that I felt would be interesting and safe when it came to what it was made of. When I buy something for my daughter, I usually have some specific toys in mind that I’ve looked into beforehand. I didn’t do that this time and because of this, I felt very uninformed and frustrated.

I’m happy to say that Toys R Us, one of those large stores that almost everyone lives near, came out with an environmentally friendly line of toys. These toys include wooden toys from replenished materials that are chemical-free and plush toys made with natural or water-based dyes and unprocessed, unbleached, and untreated cotton.

It’s good to know that safer toys are easily available now to most parents and you can find them locally, instead of always relying on mail or internet purchases.

Environmental Working Group + Amazon = A Lot Of “Green” September 24, 2008

I mention the Environmental Working Group quite a lot here on my blog. They keep us informed on BPA, toxic ingredients in personal care products at Skin Deep, and work hard on Capitol Hill to help change policies that affect our health.

They recently announced that they are now an “Amazon Associate“, which means next time you do some shopping on Amazon, go through the Environmental Working Group’s web page first to help them earn a percentage of your purchase. You wont spend more by doing this. Instead, you’ll help fund the EWG so they can bring us more of the news that keeps us informed.

How Safe Is Your Toothpaste? September 23, 2008

The Environmental Working Group has a website called Skin Deep. This site is an excellent resource for consumers in that it lists thousands of personal care products in an organized way and rates them on how safe their ingredients are.

“Skin Deep pairs ingredients in more than 25,000 products against 50 definitive toxicity and regulatory databases, making it the largest integrated data resource of its kind.Why did a small nonprofit take on such a big project? Because the FDA doesn’t require companies to test their own products for safety.”

At Skin Deep, you can find hundreds of specific items for hair, skin, eyes, nails, baby, oral care, fragrance, and makeup rated from 0-10, zero being the safest. Each item’s score is explained in detail and safer options are given.

In today’s post I’m listing safer toothpaste choices from Skin Deep’s site that can easily be found at your local drugstore. I’ve also listed some common items with higher (not safe) scores as comparisons. It should be noted that although Skin Deep gives products a “low hazard” or “moderate hazard” score, some of them contain the chemicals below with cautions from testing results of these chemicals:

PEG – 12 (Dioxane)- Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive), Contamination concerns
Propylene Glycol – FDA says is safe for general use but can cause cancer and contains toxins that affect reproduction
Proplyparaben, Methylparaben  (parabens) – hormone mimicking properties; may cause breast cancer
PEG/PPG 38/8 Copolymer, PEG/PPG 116/66 Copolymer (Dioxane)- Organ system toxicity
Flavor - Ingredient not fully labeled – identity unknown
Sodium Fluoride - Cancer, Developmental/reproductive toxicity, Endocrine disruption,
Sodium Hydroxide – Neurotoxicity, Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)
Hydrogen Peroxide – Neurotoxicity, Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)
Triclosan (Dioxane) – Endocrine disruption
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate - Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)
Hydrated Silica – Persistent, bioaccumulative in wildlife and humans
Mentha Piperita (Peppermint Oil) - Enhanced skin absorption, Contamination concerns
Polyethyene (Dioxane) – Cancer, Allergies/immunotoxicity, Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)
Sodium Monofluorophosphate – Developmental/reproductive toxicity

Toothpaste with a score of 1 having a “low hazard”:

Tom’s of Maine Anti-Plaque Plus Whitening Clear Gel Peppermint- Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Hydrated Silica

Tom’s of Maine Natural Toothpaste with Propolis & Myrrh, Fennel- Sodium Lauryl Sulfate

Tom’s of Maine Natural Liquid Toothpaste for Children, Goofy Grape – Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Hydrated Silica

Toothpaste with a score of 3 having a “moderate hazard”:

Crest Sensitivity Protection Toothpaste – Sodium Fluoride, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Hydrated Silica

Sensodyne Maximum Strength Toothpaste for Sensitive Teeth and Cavity Protection – Propylene Glycol, Sodium Monofluorophosphate, Flavor, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate

Colgate Toothpaste, Regular- Sodium Monofluorophosphate, Flavor, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Hydrated Silica

Toothpaste with a score of 4 having a “moderate hazard”:

Crest Tartar Protection Tartar Control Gel Toothpaste- Sodium Fluoride, Flavor, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate

Arm and Hammer Peroxicare Toothpaste Baking Soda and Peroxide Freshmint – Sodium Fluoride, PEG/PPG 38/8 Copolymer, PEG/PPG 116/66 Copolymer (Dioxane), Flavor, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate

Crest Kids Spider-Man Super Action Liquid Gel- Sodium Fluoride, Flavor, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Hydrated Silica

Orajel Toddler Training Toothpaste, Fruit Splash – Flavor, Proplyparaben, Methylparaben  (parabens, Propylene Glycol

Toothpaste with a score of 5 having a “moderate hazard”:

Colgate Kids 2 in 1 Toothpaste & Mouthwash Strawberry – Sodium Fluoride, PEG – 12 (Dioxane)

Toothpaste with a score of 6 having a “moderate hazard”:

Colgate Total Plus Whitening Toothpaste – Sodium Fluoride, Triclosan (Dioxane), Propylene Glycol

Mentadent Toothpaste, Advanced Clean – Sodium Fluoride, Sodium Hydroxide, Flavor, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate

Crest Sensitivity Toothpaste Whitening Plus Scope – Polyethyene (Dioxane), Sodium Fluoride, Flavor

Visit Skin Deep and check out how your own toothpaste rates if it’s not listed above. Then decide if you need to make some changes to one with a lower score.

Take a look at earlier posts of mine on how safe is your deodorant, bar soap, baby shampoo and soap, mascara, and shampoo and conditioner.

Get the lead out of your vitamins September 22, 2008

This past August, the FDA presented its study of the levels of lead in many vitamins for children and women. Out of 324 vitamins tested, only 4 did not contain lead. The Smart Mama explains things best when it comes to the levels detected, what the FDA says is acceptable, and how their numbers compare to what California’s Proposition 64 says is acceptable. It’s very disheartening.

A site that I have been visiting for years is Consumer Lab. Consumer Lab is an independent lab that tests vitamins and supplements to see if they contain what their packaging says they contain, if they properly disintegrate and if they contain lead. Consumer Lab requires a yearly paid membership but if you’re someone who uses different vitamins and gives them to your family, the price of membership seems small when you want find the best quality.

Photo from Flickr by House of Sims

It’s definitely a “Good Thing” September 19, 2008

This past Wednesday, I was an audience member at the Martha Stewart Show on bloggers. It was my first time at a live show and I was fascinated by all the work that goes into behind the scenes. Not only was it a fun experience but Martha, being a true, gracious hostess, gave us all a new printer/scanner/copier. Thanks Martha!

If you go to The Martha Blog, you can send in information about your blog for the chance for it to be featured on her site. Good luck!