a list of recent recalls as published by the FDA /USDA~ Recalls, Market Withdrawals and Safety Alerts
Some companies are marketing untested, unproven, and possibly dangerous products that claim to prevent, treat, or cure concussions and other traumatic brain injuries.
Learn why dietary supplements can’t treat concussions and why using them for this purpose can be dangerous. Read the Consumer Update to learn more.
In the U.S. and abroad, many will celebrate Cinco de Mayo by hosting large parties, cooking delicious traditional Mexican foods and drinking margaritas.
Among the most popular Cinco de Mayo dishes are Chimichangas, Fajitas and tacos. These dishes usually contain shredded beef, chicken and pork cooked in delicious sauces and spices. If you are thinking of making one of these dishes, then this blog is for you!
While there are many excellent recipes, below is the most basic way to handle and prepare shredded meat and poultry safely.
Before heading to the store, check your slow cooker manual to find out how much meat the pot can hold. Some smaller cookers can only hold three pounds of meat, while others may fit up to ten pounds.
At the grocery store, buy the meat of your choice (beef, chicken or pork), place it in a plastic bag and bring it home within two hours; or one hour when the room temperature is above 90 °F. Use chicken within two days and cuts of red meat cuts, such as beef and pork within 3-5 days.
Always start with a clean cooker, clean utensils and a clean work area. Wash hands for 20 seconds with warm water and soap before food preparation.
Add thawed meat and desired amount of liquid and spices suggested in your recipe, such as broth, water or barbecue sauce. Keep the lid in place, removing only to stir the food.
When you’re ready to shred the meat, use either a clean large, shallow bowl or platter and two clean forks to pull the meat apart. This meat can be used for any of the Cinco de Mayo recipes we mentioned, so get creative!
For more information on slow cookers: Slow Cookers and Food Safety
For more information on cooking for large groups: Cooking for Large Groups
by The Daily Meal |
The United States government has set several rules and guidelines in place to protect us from eating potentially harmful foods. Several dishes considered real delicacies in other parts of the world, like haggis in Scotland or fugu (puffer fish) in Japan, are banned from the U.S. food market because of potential health risks. But looking at the issue from a reversed angle, there are actually several common foods eaten in America that are banned in other parts of the world.
RELATED: 11 Banned Ingredients We Eat In the U.S.
The shocking truth is that many of our favorite foods, like boxed mac and cheese and yogurt, include ingredients that other countries have established as potentially harmful for health, and therefore are banned. Clearly, mac and cheese on its own isn’t poisonous in any way, but the yellow food colorings #5 and #6 have been shown to cause hypersensitivity in children, and are therefore banned in countries including Norway, Finland, and Australia. For yogurt and other milk products, it is the rBGH and rBST that some countries are concerned with – these growth hormones are banned in several regions including the European Union, Canada, and Japan because of their potentially dangerous impacts on the health of both humans and cows.
RELATED: 10 Foods and Drinks Banned in America
Though the studies and investigations showing the possible dangers of these ingredients are not to be taken lightly, food manufactures in America surely are not trying to poison the American people. Different countries have different policies and politics when it comes to food, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) assures that it is monitoring the safety of all ingredients available for American consumers. The varying food-safety laws around the world are good reminders for all of us to be aware of what ingredients are in our foods, and not to panic, but to use common sense and mild precaution when choosing what foods we eat.
RELATED: 150 Foods Worth Traveling For
1. Olestra (aka Olean)
Olestra is a zero-calorie fat substitute created to make healthier snacks such as fat-free potato chips. But olestra has been shown to cause side effects in the form of gastrointestinal problems, as well as weight gain – instead of weight loss – on lab rats. The U.K. and Canada are two places that have banned this fat substitute from their food markets.
Brominated vegetable oil (BVO), is vegetable oil, derived from corn or soy, bonded with the element bromine. It’s added to many sodas and sports drinks prevent the flavoring from separating and floating to the surface. But bromine has also been shown to alter the central nervous and endocrine systems, causing skin rashes, acne, loss of appetite, fatigue, and cardiac arrhythmia. The chemical is banned both in Europe and Japan.
RELATED: 101 Best Hotel Restaurants Around the World 2013
3. Synthetic Hormones rBGH & rBST
These two growth hormones can be found in dairy products such as yogurt and milk. The controversy with cows injected with these hormones is that several studies cite rBGH as a cause of cancer. Due to these reports, many consumers in the U.S. choose to buy organic milk and dairy products, as well as those labeled “rBGH free,” and the hormone is totally banned at milk and dairy farms and in dairy products in the European Union, Australia, Canada, Israel, and New Zeeland.
RELATED: 13 Breakfast Plates Around the World
4. Azodicarbonamide
This chemical azodicarbonamide can be found in boxed pasta mixes, breads, frozen dinners, and packaged baked goods, and is added as an instant bleaching agent for flour. In Singapore, Australia, and most European countries, this chemical is banned due to reports of it causing asthma. Azodicarbonamide is also a chemical used in foamed plastics, like yoga mats.
5. BHA and BHT
Found in cereals, nut mixes, chewing gum, butter spreads, and many other foods in need of preservation, BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole) and BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene) are commonly used preservatives. The National Toxicology Program’s 2011 report on carcinogens states that BHA can trigger allergic reactions and hyperactivity and “is reasonably anticipated to be a human hazard.” The preservatives are both banned in parts of the European Union and Japan, and the U.K. doesn’t allow BHA in infant foods.
Click here to see more Foods Americans Eat That Are Banned Around the World
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This article is from 2016. I am not sure if things have changed or the list updated… please let me know
Whatever your complexion, it’s important to use products that will help your skin and not damage it. But as you wade through the beauty aisles, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration cautions that you should avoid skin creams, beauty and antiseptic soaps, and lotions that contain mercury.
How will you know if mercury’s in the cosmetic, especially one that’s marketed as “anti-aging” or “skin lightening”? Check the label.
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