The toxins in our food supply
March 15, 2005 | 12:00am
These days, we can’t be too careful – especially when it comes to the food that we put into our mouths. Our heartfelt condolences go to the parents of pupils at San Jose Elementary School in Mabini, Bohol who died of food poisoning after eating contaminated cassava peddled outside the school. Which brings us to this biting realization: How safe is the food our children eat in school?
For that matter, how safe is the food we eat?
Our fish and seafood often contain pesticide residues, as do our fruits, vegetables, and grains. Among the foods that harbor the most bacteria, viruses, toxic metals, lead, pesticides, or aflatoxin, according to the authors of Safe Food: Eating in a Risky World, are: raw shellfish (oysters, mussels, clams), undercooked poultry and meat, raw milk, raw eggs and dishes containing raw eggs, certain large fish (like large salmon), overdone grilled fatty meats, food stored in lead-soldered cans, crystal or ceramics that leach lead, moldy peanuts and corn.
And then there are the suspected cancer-causing chemicals (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons or PAHs and heterocyclic amines or HAs) in food. PAHs are produced when fatty foods are smoked or grilled. HAs are created mostly when meat, poultry, or fish is pan-fried or boiled until overdone (overcooking can be as unsafe as undercooking). Some fish contain toxins such as ciguatoxin while shellfish may contain toxins like paralytic shellfish toxin. Some foods, like comfrey tea and false morels (a type of wild mushroom), contain naturally occurring substances that could cause cancer. Other foods may develop toxins if they’re not stored properly.
What about raw fish? Sushi is sooo good and sushi lovers will be so delighted to know that the fish used for sushi very rarely harbor parasites. Like tuna (bluefin, yellowfin, etc.), Japanese yellowtail (young, hamachi), fish roe (other than herring roe), octopus, shrimp, scallops.
Eat, drink, but be wary, says author Dr. Michael Jacobson and co. When it comes to eating, it pays to be defensive. They share these tips to safer food:
• Buy food fresh and store it properly. Observe expiration ("use by" or "sell by") dates on foods such as dairy products, eggs, meat, and poulty. Buy fish with bright, shiny flesh and skin. And keep food properly refrigerated. Assume that milk, eggs, cheese, fish, meat, and poultry are contaminated with harmful bacteria. Keeping these foods cold stops most types of bacteria from multiplying to possibly dangerous levels. Don’t leave these foods out for more than two hours. Thaw food overnight in your refrigerator, instead of at room temperature, which allows bacteria to thrive.
• Handle and prepare food safely. Wash fruits and vegetables thoroughly. This can help remove some (though not all) of the pesticide residues, as well as harmful bacteria that might be present on the food. Remove outer leaves from leafy vegetables, and peel produce when appropriate.
Cook eggs, meat, fish, and poultry thoroughly to kill harmful bacteria that may be present. Use care with these foods to avoid cross-contamination or spreading bacteria to other foods. When handling raw eggs, meat, fish, and poultry, wash your hands, utensils, and kitchen surfaces with hot, soapy water.
• Avoid foods that are mostly likely to contain natural toxins. Never eat moldy nuts and grains. Avoid comfrey and false morels. Cut out or throw away green or damaged spots on potatoes.
Happy and safe eating to all!
Dear Consumerline,
I want to call attention to the gel pack that’s put inside prepacked cut meat. I do my groceries in a supermarket at Marikina Riverbanks. I buy everything there for my family’s weeklong meal requirements, including soap, milk, and my kids’ "baon." Once, I bought this prepacked meat with a gel pack inside. I placed it in the freezer for a few days before I decided to cook the meat. I just dumped everything in a big pan, not knowing there’s still a gel pack in it. I boiled the meat for two hours. We had our lunch and when we finished eating, I decided to transfer the leftover meat to a bowl. To my shock, I saw the gel pad in the soup. Is that gelpack safe? I think we ate some of it.
Can you call the attention of those responsible for this prepacked meat to put a sticker on top of the product to warn consumers that there’s a gelpack inside?
A concerned mother,
Grace Roxas
We forwarded Grace Roxas’ e-mail to DTI and this is their reply:
Based on Article 77, Chapter IV of the Consumer Act of the Philippines, specifically on the provision of labeling and fair packaging, all consumer products domestically sold, whether manufactured locally or imported, shall indicate the following in their respective labels of packaging:
• Its correct and registered trade name or brand name.
• Its duly registered trademark.
• Its duly registered business name.
• The address of the manufacturer, importer, repacker of the consumer product in the Philippines.
• Its general make or active ingredients.
• The net quantity of contents, in terms of weight, measure or numerical count.
• Country of manufacture, if imported.
• If a consumer product is manufactured, refilled or repacked under license from a principal, the label must indicate such information.
There are also additional labeling requirements for:
• Expiry or expiration date, where applicable.
• Whether the consumer product is semi-processed, fully processed, ready to cook, ready to eat, prepared food or just plain mixture.
• Nutritive value, if any.
• Whether the ingredients used are natural or synthetic, as the case may be.
• Such other labeling requirements as the concerned department may deem necessary and reasonable.
There are government agencies assigned to give attention to specific products. With respect to the implementation of meat consumer information, protection, and assistance, the National Meat Inspection Services (NMIS) is mandated with the task.
In line with this, we have endorsed Ms. Roxas’ complaint to the NMIS for appropriate action.
Sincerely,
Victorio Mario Dimagiba
DTI director
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