What's In My Food? The Valentine's Day Edition

Greetings and welcome back to The Un-Zone, the only known site (that I know of) on the Internet devoted to all things related to Un. Basically, this site is all about the things that I find interesting or floating in my head at the moment. It's all about me. If this is not your cup of tea or you came to this site because you were expecting something different, then try another site. The Internet is an amazing thing. I digress...
Several disclaimers. I am not bashing Valentine's Day. I am not that paranoid about food, though I can get nervous about food safety. Eat, knowing that the United States has food safety laws and you can be sure what is in the box or bag is what is on the label for the most part, like 99.9999%. But then again, sometimes, things fall through the cracks.
Considering I have bought rice and discovered moths and God knows what else in the bag, it might be a good thing. It's my way of telling you about food safety and what might be inside your food. It's a good thing to know what is considered "sanitary" by the United States government. In addition, it might make you think twice about what you are eating. Especially if you diet contains a large amount of processed food. If you are weak of stomach...then this post is not for you. Same if you want to eat something later. Do not read this post with a full stomach...unless there is a convenietly placed bathroom nearby.

Your night of passion may begin with a seafood appetizer. Some raw oysters, some shrimp, some clams. As you may know, seafood is reminiscent of sexual organs. And Venus herself, according to myth, came from a scallop shell. Hence the connection. However, the raw oysters...they're not all that safe. You might get ill and the symptoms are not nice. And the fish might contain mercury (a real downer since mercury causes mental illness) or worms or poisoning. Tabasco sauce will not kill the bacteria. And the peppers used in the sauce could have been moldy, insect infested, or covered in rodent excreta. But not that much...only 3% insect infested. And less than a milligram of rodent excreta per pound. Let's just say that raw or undercooked seafood should be off the menu, no matter where you get it. Expensive restaurants included.
Anyways, let's get to the main course. What do you want? Fish? Probably not. How about some beef? Like the fish, it might have beef tapeworms, which is not so great to have. Sure, you lose weight, but you die of starvation. And it is disgusting. You do have to deal with prions that can cause CJD--the human version of Mad Cow Disease. Nothing like having your brain getting destroyed cell by cell. I almost forgot E-coli, the well-known bacteria that caused death at the Jack in the Box hamburger outlets. And all because you wanted a rare steak. Pork will get you worms as well if you are not careful. Lamb, did I mention suffer from a disease similar to Mad Cow? Chicken, well, salmonella and campylobacter.
OK, let's assume you are a vegetarian. Well, you're no safer than the meat-eating carnivore humans. You all have the same dangers as the rest of the world. Even more so.
E-coli will still get you. Remember the tainted spinach? One of my professors from law school told us a story about salad mixes that made my stomach turn. Apparently, one of his friends went to Mexico, to a farm (supposedly organic), to see if they were following certain sanitary measures. Let's just say that the farm wasn't. They were using the same water that the cows were bathed in to wash and water the lettuce. On top of that, a baby in a diaper full of feces and urine, was sitting on top of the supposedly "clean and organic" lettuce. To make a long story short, he swore never to eat salad again.
And there are other nasty diseases that can strike. All due to unsanitary conditions. Hepatitis. Salmonella. Cross-contamination of bateria that generally affect meat and poultry. Poisonous mushrooms (so be wary of wild mushrooms that didn't come from the supermarket) and aflatoxins (caused by mold). And even the red kidney bean can bring about troubles. Even the canned and frozen foods are not so...edible. Insect parts, dead maggots and larva, aphids, rotten pieces, and other unsavory delights can be found in canned and frozen fruits and vegetables. But in approved amounts.
And I cannot leave without talking about chocolate. This also goes for most processed and prepackaged food as well. If you ever need inspiration to keep away from junk food, this might be helpful. This is from the FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition manual called The Food Defect Action Levels.
WHEAT FLOUR cannot contain 75 or more insect fragments per 50 grams. In addition, it cannot contain an average of 1 or more rodent hairs per 50 grams.
CHOCOLATE cannot contain an average is 60 or more insect fragments per 100 grams when 6 100-gram subsamples are examined OR Any 1 subsample contains 90 or more insect fragments. In addition, it cannot contain an average is 1 or more rodent hairs per 100 grams in 6 100-gram subsamples examined ORAny 1 subsample contains 3 or more rodent hairs. And where does this come from? Insect fragments - post harvest and/or processing insect infestation. Rodent hair - post harvest and/or processing contamination with animal hair or excreta. Yup, unsanitary harvest conditions and unsanitary processing condtions. Never mind that these products are nutritionally unsound due to the chemicals, the excess amount of fat, the salt and sugar, the lack of vitamins. But you also get rodent hair, feces, AND insect parts as well. And to think people eat this every day!

In closing, let me reiterate several things. I'm not against Valentine's Day. I'm not exhorting people to be paranoid about what they eat. Instead, I'm telling people to be more aware of what they eat and what might be inside that can or box. If you realize what might be in there--insect parts, larva, maggots, rodent hair and feces, etc.--you might reconsider buying that. Or you might reconsider how you prepare and clean it. Or you might reconsider where you eat. Even the best places can be unsanitary.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!


That's all for now.