We often see food imports and exports through the narrow lens of the needs and wants of the American people but how do our own food policies affect international trade when we are providing food for the international market? How do the differences in what is considered safe in the US versus other places impact recipients of trade? In this featured article, Taiwan is dealing with that exact question as they recently began accepting pork from the US. Here, pork is commonly treated with a chemical called ractopamine. The additive is banned in more than 150 countries around the world, including Taiwan. For this reason, the people of Taiwan are protesting the acceptance of US pork. America is one of Taiwan’s most significant allies and Taiwan hopes to join the trans-Pacific trade deal known as Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. Accepting pork from the US was a step in that direction but at what cost? Shops and restaurants in Taiwan are currently showcasing a label or sign indicating that they only use Taiwanese pork in their products for the benefit of consumers but is this enough? Pork holds a very significant role in Taiwanese culture and their usual diet. If the US continues to use this chemical, and Taiwan votes to reverse the acceptance of pork from the US as a result, what becomes of that trade relationship?
In the News: Stain-Proof, Water-Proof, PFAS
PFAS is dominating the News as an analysis of popular brand names claiming to be stain or water resist reveals 75% percent of them contain PFAS. An excerpt from article found in “The Guardian” had this to say:
When you have these products indoors, depending on how many PFAS treated products you have, there will be high levels of PFAS in your indoor air.
The chemicals also can also be absorbed through the skin and are a problem for workers in textile factories, where researchers have found high exposure rates.
This from Erika Schreder, a co-author of this study and the Science Director of Toxic Free Future. Toxic Free Future is based in Seattle and you can check them and the work that they do out here.
In the News: PFAS Update
PFAS sites may be added to Superfund Site List:
Additional Update:
In the News: Warehouses - Supply and Demand
Here in the U.S. we’ve seen a lot of companies struggle to keep certain products in stock as the pandemic put more and more strain on every stage and step of the supply chain. This paired with the growth in ecommerce due to significantly more online shopping has produced a boom in the warehouse market. This is just one change in the market of today and it’s important to keep in mind that online grocery shopping is a major contributor. Check out this video for details:
It is predicted that this issue will only increase as we head into 2022!
In the News: Biosolid Pollutants
Johns Hopkins is involved in the analysis of biosolids and the assessment of the inherent health risks it may cause the public.
Biosolids are created during the wastewater treatment process. When biosolids are spread on agricultural land, they add nutrients, improve soil, and enhance moisture retention. Applying biosolids to land has economic and waste management benefits, since it saves space in landfills, recycles a waste product, and reduces demand for synthetic fertilizers.
Biosolids can also contain a variety of pollutants. Some of the main offenders: per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, which are found in non-stick cookware, carpets, and food packaging; triclosan, an antimicrobial found in personal care products; and unmetabolized pharmaceuticals.
The Johns Hopkins team was granted $1.87 million dollars by the EPA to study sewage and are using toxicology to provide utilities and state with guidelines to ensure that they process and handles biosolids in the least harmful way.
Since the banning of ocean dumping in 1991, biosolids have been increasingly applied to agricultural land, forests, parks, golf courses, home gardens, and lawns.
"We know very little about the organic chemical contaminants in biosolids," Prasse says. "This information is critical to the development of strategies to understand exposure and potential public health risks."
Carsten Prasse, the team lead says that this problem goes beyond biosolids alone and we need to focus on the big picture as well. The best approach may be to try and stop some of these chemicals at the source, before they even research treatment facilities and are incorporated into biosolids.
“We need to think about the chemicals we use in our households and industries that are potentially problematic, why we use them, whether we really need them and can we just take them out”
In the News: Toxicity in Tahoe, NEWS Channel 4
Lawsuit settled over old toxic cables leaking lead into part of Lake Tahoe
RENO, Nev. (AP) — AT&T’s Pac Bell subsidiary has settled a lawsuit conservationists filed under a U.S. law more typically cited in Superfund cases, agreeing to spend up to $1.5 million to remove 8 miles (12.9 kilometers) of toxic telephone cables that were abandoned on the bottom of Lake Tahoe decades ago.
A U.S. judge in Sacramento recently signed the consent decree in the suit the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance filed in January.
The abandoned cables — replaced with fiber optic ones in the 1980s — contain more than 65 tons (59 metric tonnes) of toxic lead that is polluting the alpine lake on the California-Nevada line, the lawsuit said.
In addition to violating state water quality protections, the suit said the more than 3 pounds (1.3 kilograms) of lead per foot (30 centimeters) of cable constitutes solid waste regulated under the U.S. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
Pac Bell knew the cables they owned and operated contained lead that eventually would leak into the 1,644-foot (501-meter) deep lake, the lawsuit said. Lead in both solid and dissolved forms is listed as known to cause cancer and reproductive toxicity, it said.
“All of the cables are damaged and discharging lead into Lake Tahoe,” the lawsuit said.
The settlement agreement with the Stockton-based sportfishing alliance states “the parties agree that defendant makes no admission of liability or of any other issue of law ... whatsoever regarding the claims made by plaintiff.”
Initial cost estimates for cable removal range from $275,000 to $550,000. But Pac Bell agreed to deposit $1.5 million in an account to guard against overruns, according to the settlement U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremy Peterson signed Nov. 4.
The company must obtain all necessary permits and if permitting requirements push costs above $1.5 million, the sides will need to come together to reassess, and go back to litigating if they can’t then agree, it said.
The cables were discovered by divers for the non-profit group Below the Blue as part of an effort to remove foreign debris from the alpine lake that holds enough water to cover the entire state of California more than 14 inches (35 cm) deep.
“As professional divers, we’re all too familiar with the volume of dumping that goes on in Lake Tahoe, but even we were shocked when we came upon these cables and saw how old they looked, and how far they stretched across the Lake,” said Monique Rydel Fortner.
One stretches from the southwestern shore of the lake at Baldwin Beach to the west shore at Rubicon Bay. The other runs past the mouth of Emerald Bay.
The lawsuit said the company was violating both the federal RCRA and the California Health and Safety Code, subject to civil penalties of up to $2,500 a day dating to 2020 and up to $2,500 a day “until Pac Bell stops releasing lead into the waters of Lake Tahoe.”
The Klamath Environmental Law Center based in Eureka, California, sent notice of the alleged violations in August 2020 to Pacific Bell Telephone Co., the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, California regulators, El Dorado County, Placer County and local utilities providing services in the area, including Sierra Pacific Power Co./NV Energy and Liberty Utilities.
The subsequent lawsuit cited alleged violations under both RCRA and protections established under Proposition 65 California voters approved in 1986. It ordered California’s governor to establish a list of cancer-causing and other chemicals, put the burden on businesses to provide clear warnings about the dangers of exposure to them and prohibited their discharge into sources of drinking water, including Lake Tahoe.
David Roe, a longtime lawyer for the Environmental Defense Fund who was the principal author of Proposition 65, said the alliance’s legal team deserved credit for devising a strategy that utilized a combination of the two laws to protect the public.
“Most businesses think Proposition 65 requires only warnings about toxic chemicals, but it has strong extra teeth to protect the waters we drink from,” Roe said. “Local agencies with responsibilities to protect those waters would do well to study this innovative legal approach.”
by Scott Sonner, The Associated Press
In the News: Eco-Products Expands Vanguard
Eco-Products Expands Vanguard, a Groundbreaking Line of Compostable Takeout Containers
Made from sugarcane, the new containers are ideal for food service operators seeking environmentally preferable products
BOULDER, Colo., Nov. 29, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Eco-Products® announced today the addition of seven new items to its Vanguard™ lineup. Made from plant-based sugarcane fiber and certified as compostable, these two-piece compostable take-out containers are perfect for restaurants, supermarkets, convenience stores and snack bars seeking environmentally preferable options.
Eco-Products has added seven new items to its Vanguard lineup. Made from plant-based sugarcane fiber and certified as compostable, Vanguard is an award-winning line that uses a proprietary chemistry to achieve grease resistance without the use of PFAS.
Eco-Products' Vanguard line recently earned the coveted GreenScreen Certified Silver designation for avoiding the use of PFAS and other chemicals of high concern or known regrettable substitutes. Eco-Products is now expanding its Vanguard formulation to other products, including its popular WorldView line of to-go containers.
Vanguard is an award-winning line that uses a proprietary chemistry to achieve grease resistance without the use of PFAS. Vanguard recently earned the coveted GreenScreen Certified™ Silver designation for avoiding the use of PFAS and other chemicals of high concern or known regrettable substitutes.
Eco-Products is now expanding its Vanguard formulation to other products, including its popular WorldView™ line of to-go containers.
The WorldView line includes a variety of bowls and containers in different sizes. Shapes include round, oval, square and rectangle, including some with compartments. They're microwavable and freezable, and their molded construction is designed for strength and style.
The new bases are made from renewable sugarcane fiber and are certified by the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) as compostable in commercial facilities.
"We are excited to expand the Vanguard formulation to our WorldView items," said Ian Jacobson, President at Eco-Products. "Demand for to-go containers skyrocketed over the past year, so this is a much-needed expansion. It offers more choices for our customers and demonstrates our continued leadership and innovation in foodservice packaging."
Eco-Products offers three types of lids to fit the compostable bases:
Sugarcane lids that are also ASTM D6868 compliant for compostability;
PLA lids that are BPI-certified and made from renewable plant-based material;
Lids made with 100% post-consumer recycled PET but are not compostable or recyclable.
GreenScreen is a globally recognized tool designed to assess and benchmark chemicals based on hazard. Companies, governments and organizations use GreenScreen scores to identify chemicals of concern and select safer alternatives. Eco-Products is the first manufacturer to receive this designation in the foodservice ware category.
Eco-Products offers a wide range of plates, cups, utensils and containers made from renewable or post-consumer recycled content. Learn more at www.ecoproducts.com.
SOURCE: PRNewswire
By Mark Pankowski
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/eco-products-expands-vanguard-a-groundbreaking-line-of-compostable-takeout-containers-301432528.html
In the News: The Rising Cost of Groceries
The Cost of food is skyrocketing here in the US and this News report gives a summary of why. Some of the steps needed to alleviate this problem are regulation based but others are up to the individual. Whether you believe in global warming or covid-19, both have had a dramatic impact on the work force and have exacerbated a number of concerns that have been steadily growing over the last decade. It might be time to rethink our plan for the future and decide what changes need to be made.
In the News: Advice for the Careful Consumer from Attorney Mina
Pandemic Advice from Attorney Mina
Why It Is More Important Now, During A Pandemic, Than Ever To Know Your Products.
The Original title of our featured piece is “Why It Is More Important Now, During A Pandemic, Than Ever To Know Your Products, From Attorney Mina, Founder Of The Law Office Of Mohaimina Haque PLLC.”
Check out a short except and link to the full article below!
Living a health-conscious lifestyle is a way of life for many, and there are literally millions of products out there that people use to keep themselves healthy. When COVID-19 hit in early 2020 concern with being healthy became front and center for a large part of the world's population. As more and more information on research was done on the virus, more and more products hit the markets claiming to treat, prevent, or cure COVID-19. Attorney Mina Haque, founder of the Law Office of Mohaimina Haque PLLC wants people to know why it is especially important during the pandemic to know more about the products one is using to stay healthy.
-WASHINGTON, DC / ACCESSWIRE
Attorney Mina Haque is based in Washington, D.C. and works everyday to provide her clients with the legal protection and life advice they need to survive and thrive in today’s new normal.
“During the pandemic, it’s more imperative than ever to have the right dietary supplement as consumers fall into the frenzy of products claiming to prevent or cure COVID. Consumers should be more vigilant now to know the products they are taking.”