Indiana has the most toxic ash pits in the country. Companies dump coal ash into landfills and this ash is high in heavy metals like arsenic. After decades of allowing toxins from coal dust to leach into the water supply for the residence of Indiana, the EPA has said that they must clean it up. One company, the Northern Indiana Public Service Co. or NIPSCO is in the process of cleaning up the contaminated soil in the Town of Pines. Arsenic and other heavy metals can cause a wide range of health issues including neurological disorders and various forms of cancer. Only time and testing with tell how this poor business practice has impacted the long-term health of Indiana’s residence.
In the News: Microsplastics in Seafood
The global seafood supply is struggling under the weight of yet another class of contaminants. Not only are we struggling with the realization that our seafoods might be filled with micro and nanoplastics but that challenge is now complicated by the reality that even fish as remote are those in the artic sea are contaminated with PFAS. Between nanoplastics and PFAS, what is the seafood industry facing as it seek to provide clean food?
In the News: Pentagon Shutdown Leaking Fuel Tank Facility
An old fuel storage facility that served the military in the mid and early 90s is being shutdown by the Pentagon after contaminating the tap water of nearly 6,000 people, mostly military families living near Pearl Harbor. About 4,000 people have been relocated to hotels while the matter is managed. The water caused many to sicken, developing dermatitis and gastrointestinal issues. Removing and draining the tanks without doing further damage to the environment and surrounding water supply is going to be a challenge!
The EPA also inspected this facility prior to its closure and that article is here.
In the News: Corruption in the EPA
In this featured article by The Intercept, Sharon Lerner takes a look at how several EPA officials who have routinely pushed through approvals for dangerous chemicals, have not been held accountable or even disciplined for their actions. They still hold the same level of authority and EPA administrative assistant Michal Freedhoff declined to comment of whether they would be held accountable in the future.
In the News: EPA's role in climate change challenged
A case before the Supreme Court makes an effort to curtail the activity of the EPA to draft future rules controlling environmental protections, dipping into the theoretical to prevent actions by the EPA that might occur. This is an overreach of the understood role of the Supreme Court and there is significant push back.
In the News: Pine Needles & PFAS
In North Carolina, researchers have found that pine needles, a readily available and consistent resource, is an excellent measure of PFAS exposure and airborne contamination. Pine needles are now used to compare the contaminant level of different geographical areas within North Carolina and serve as a reliable way to measure and gain an understanding of the historical PFAS presence of the last 50 or so years. The hope is that this method will pave the way for other researchers to monitor and understand the timeline of PFAS contamination beyond North Carolina with their efforts as a blueprint and baseline.
In the News: Food Activist and Philly's Golden Dragon
We get to feature some good news this morning as three activists, Jeremiah Jordan, Heidi Ratanavanich and Rachelle Faroul redefine what it means to be a food security supporting restaurant amid the current pandemic. The Golden Dragon, which closed near the beginning of the pandemic, reopened recently with these three activists as the new owners. The restaurant provides a fusion of flavors from classic Chinese dishes to American, Haitian and Thai food. From quick bites, and burgers to curry bowls and kimchi, this new spot for affordable eats keeps every meal under $10 and those who rely on food stamps are particularly welcome! The have also partnered with local business like the West Philly Bunny Hop to make sure that food is distributed even beyond the walls of their restaurant. They plan to open a food pantry as well and the restaurant has overall been a resounding success.
In the News: Goodbye to American's Favorite Good Fat?
You might remember when buying an Avocado didn’t require taking out a personal loan. You could pick up an avocado for well under a dollar and a bag of four or five for a few dollars more. Now, you can count yourself lucky if you manage to get one for less than a $1.50 or even $2. This is pretty bad but it’s probably about to get a whole lot worse. The U.S. just banned avocado trade with Mexico due to uncomfortable pressure on product inspectors. Michoacán is the only Mexican state allowed to export avocados to the U.S. and apparently a number of other states tried to illegally export their own fruit to the States. This cause border inspectors to investigate and ultimately to shut down the trade completely when they found the illegal shipments and faced negative push back from the states responsible. We hope this ban will be temporary as Michoacán provides more than 80% of our avocados!
In the News: Taiwan and US pork imports
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: EPA sued for approving glyphosate herbicide
The EPA is being sued by the Center for Food Safety and allies for approving the use of the Monsanto herbicide Roundup’s famously toxic active ingredient. Embarrassingly, the EPA is claiming that glyphosate is safe and is ignoring the overwhelming evidence of a link between the active ingredient and cancer. WHO says that it “probably” causes cancer and Monsanto has been paying paying out quite a bit to cancer victims for a product that the EPA would have us believe has no link to the cancer developed.
In the News: PFAS Update
PFAS sites may be added to Superfund Site List:
Additional Update:
In the News: E. Coli outbreak recalls over 28,000 lbs of ground beef
The USDA has recalled over 28,000 pounds of ground beef due to a multistate outbreak of E. Coli. Tested first by a third party lab and then confirmed but the FSIS.
FSIS Announcement (Original Post Here)
WASHINGTON, Jan. 6, 2022 – Interstate Meat Dist. Inc., a Clackamas, Ore., establishment, is recalling approximately 28,356 pounds of ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.
The raw, ground beef items were produced on Dec. 20, 2021. The products subject to recall and the labels can be viewed here.
The products subject to recall bear establishment number “EST. 965” inside the USDA mark of inspection or printed next to the time stamp and use or freeze by date. These items were shipped to retail locations in Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
The issue was reported to FSIS after a retail package of ground beef was purchased and submitted to a third-party laboratory for microbiological analysis and the sample tested positive for E. coli O157:H7. FSIS conducted an assessment of the third-party laboratory’s accreditation and methodologies and determined the results were actionable.
Anyone concerned about an illness should contact a healthcare provider. E. coli O157:H7 is a potentially deadly bacterium that can cause dehydration, bloody diarrhea and abdominal cramps 2–8 days (3–4 days, on average) after exposure the organism. While most people recover within a week, some develop a type of kidney failure called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). This condition can occur among persons of any age but is most common in children under 5-years old and older adults. It is marked by easy bruising, pallor, and decreased urine output. Persons who experience these symptoms should seek emergency medical care immediately.
FSIS is concerned that some product may be in consumers’ refrigerators or freezers. Consumers who have purchased these products are urged not to consume them. These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase.
FSIS routinely conducts recall effectiveness checks to verify recalling firms notify their customers of the recall and that steps are taken to make certain that the product is no longer available to consumers. When available, the retail distribution list(s) will be posted on the FSIS website at www.fsis.usda.gov/recalls.
FSIS advises all consumers to safely prepare their raw meat products, including fresh and frozen, and only consume ground beef that has been cooked to a temperature of 160 °F. The only way to confirm that ground beef is cooked to a temperature high enough to kill harmful bacteria is to use a food thermometer that measures internal temperature, https://www.fsis.usda.gov/safetempchart.
Consumers and members of the media with questions about the recall can contact Sales Manager Mike Sinner and Quality Assurance Manager Rodolfo Mendoza, Interstate Meat Dist., Inc., at (503) 656-6168.
Consumers with food safety questions can call the toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854) or live chat via Ask USDA from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Eastern Time) Monday through Friday. Consumers can also browse food safety messages at Ask USDA or send a question via email to MPHotline@usda.gov. For consumers that need to report a problem with a meat, poultry, or egg product, the online Electronic Consumer Complaint Monitoring System can be accessed 24 hours a day at https://foodcomplaint.fsis.usda.gov/eCCF/.
In the News: PFAS Update
PFAS is in the news almost everyday now as the EPA incorporates the managing and cleaning up of PFAS into its new policy plans.
Additionally, California is adding PFAS to Prop 65 as a set of chemicals linked to cancer and birth defects.
Here are the articles we’d like to feature today:
UK: PFAS: The New Asbestos?
USGS Releases Strategy for Addressing PFAS
EPA announces nationwide PFAS monitoring in drinking water
A quick summary video:
Last but not least, this article regarding food packaging:
In the News: E. Coli for Christmas
There’s been a recall of Josie’s Organics Baby Spinach for E. Coli.
The recommendation if you’ve purchased this spinach is to throw it away and thoroughly clean anything that might have come into contact with the spinach.
This and other current outbreaks can be found of the CDC website.
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: Everybody liked That
A New Jersey nonprofit program is helping struggling restaurants stay on their feet while combatting food insecurity at the same time. Check out this New York Times story about Sustain and Serve and the work they are doing. It’s a win for everyone involved! Click HERE or the picture below to read the full story.
