Salt

  • Poland pulls food suspected of having road salt

    Posted: March 10th, 2012 - 6:50am by Doug Powell

    What’s not to like about the Polskie Okorki?

    And what about those cabbage rolls?

    But with lorry salt?

    Polish health authorities have ordered the withdrawal from the market of more than 230,000 kilograms (500,000 pounds) of pickles, bread and other food suspected of containing industrial salt, the latest development in a scandal raising fears about food safety.

    Revelations that industrial salt was sold to food producers has prompted authorities to open a criminal investigation and arrest five people. More than 600 tests have also been carried out on food samples. The industrial salt was intended for deicing roads in winter.

    With much of its territory devoted to agriculture, Poland produces everything from apples and beets to eggs and meat that gets sold to Germany and other neighboring countries.

    Laboratory tests so far have found that the amounts of dioxins and heavy metals in the salt are minimal and unlikely to harm human health. Nonetheless, the Chief Sanitary Inspectorate ordered the withdrawal of suspect food as a precaution, its spokesman, Jan Bondar, said Friday.

    The foods include vegetables that are preserved in salts, likes pickles and sauerkraut and beets, but also sausages and breads and other baked goods.

    Even if the salt used does not contain anything harmful, it still is not enriched with iodine, as the law requires for food, said the inspectorate, which is a state body responsible for food safety and other public health matters.

    The food producers that used the questionable salt have been told not to let the foods leave their warehouses.

    Agriculture Minister Marek Sawicki said he was worried that the scandal — which has received a lot of media coverage in Poland — is unfairly hurting the image of Poland's food.

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    food safety, Poland, recall, road, salt
  • What’s in a label? Is chicken injected with salt and water ‘all-natural’

    Posted: July 30th, 2010 - 11:53am by Doug Powell

    Food is 21st century snake oil.

    And shopping for food can be so confusing.

    Natural, organic, local, antioxidants, welfare-friendly, whole wheat made predominantly with white flour, hormone-free, hucksterism of whatever kind.

    Juliana Barbassa of Associated Press reports today that a disagreement among poultry producers about whether chicken injected with salt, water and other ingredients can be promoted as "natural" has prompted federal officials to consider changing labeling guidelines.

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture had maintained that if chicken wasn't flavored artificially or preserved with chemicals, it could carry the word "natural" on the package.

    But the agency agreed to take another look at its policy after some producers, politicians and health advocates noted that about one-third of chicken sold in the U.S. was injected with additives that could represent up to 15 percent of the meat's weight, doubling or tripling its sodium content. Some argue that could mislead or potentially harm consumers who must limit their salt intake.

    The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service plans to issue new proposed rules this fall.

    Perdue, the nation's third largest poultry producer, is among those pushing for a change. The company has joined a group called the Truthful Labeling Coalition, which has hired a lobbyist and launched an advertising campaign.

    The two largest chicken processors, Pilgrim's Pride and Tyson Foods, are among those that affix "natural" labels to chicken injected with extra salt and water.

    A buyer perusing the chicken counter at a San Francisco supermarket agreed.

    Muembo Muanza, 30, said he read the label and considered the price but never thought to check the salt content when buying fresh chicken.

    "If it says natural, I expect it to be all natural - nothing but chicken," he said.

    I’d be more interested if food-types would start marketing based on microbial food safety.

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    label, Marketing, Poultry, salt, Usda