Login
New GMO Alert: They’re Back! The Return of GMO Mustard Greens!
After a brief hiatus, genetically modified mustard greens will soon make a return to the grocery store. In May 2023, we alerted you to the development and launch of Conscious Greens’s genetically modified mustard greens.
The brand, nested under the Conscious Foods label, was established by the biotechnology company Pairwise Plants (Pairwise), which had developed the genetically modified mustard greens using the company’s proprietary Fulcrum CRISPR platform to be less bitter. The goal was to market the mustard greens as a healthier alternative to lettuce salad greens.
However, shortly after launching the product in a limited number of U.S. locations, Pairwise decided that it did not have the expertise necessary to significantly expand the market. So it embarked on a search for a partner that would have the experience and ability to establish and grow the product in the marketplace. It found that partner in Bayer.
In May of this year, Pairwise announced that it had entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with Bayer. The agreement calls for the latter to develop and commercialize 10 genetically modified mustard green products. It is anticipated that the products will re-enter the retail marketplace either in late 2024 or early 2025. Bayer has hinted that the initial U.S. rollout will be followed by expansion into other markets.
46 Organizations Demand Conagra End Use of Bee-Killing Pesticides on Popcorn
Friends of the Earth reported:
Today 46 consumer, health, and environmental organizations sent a letter calling on Conagra Brands (NYSE: CAG) to take immediate steps to end the use of neonicotinoid-coated seeds in its popcorn supply chain. Conagra owns multiple household popcorn brands including Orville Redenbacher’s, Act II, and Angie’s BOOMCHICKAPOP.
Neonicotinoids are among the most ecologically disastrous pesticides since DDT. U.S. agriculture has become nearly 48 times more toxic to insects, including essential pollinators like bees, since the introduction of neonicotinoids. The EPA asserts that continued use will likely push more than 200 threatened and endangered species toward extinction.
The largest use of neonicotinoids in the U.S. is as coatings on corn and soy seeds. However, studies increasingly show that neonic-coated seeds provide little to no yield or economic benefits to farmers, on average, and in some cases may even decrease yield by killing beneficial insects like pollinators and pest predators.
Costco Product Recalled Due to Listeria That Could Be “Fatal” in Children, FDA Says
A corporation has issued a recall due to laboratory testing confirming Listeria monocytogenes, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Acme Smoked Fish Corporation is issuing a recall of 111 cases of Kirkland Signature Smoked Salmon in twin 12oz packages with the following information on the items: UPC 0 96619 25697 6, Lot# 8512801270, Best-by-Date 11/13/2024. This product was distributed between October 9, 2024, to Oct.13, 2024, to the Southeast Costco Distribution Center located in Florida.
The recalled Kirkland Signature Smoked Salmon is vacuum packed in a black bordered plastic package, with a blue name of “Smoked Salmon” and an illustration of a salmon fish on the front.
According to the FDA, Listeria monocytogenes is organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.
Do you have a news tip? We want to hear from you!
McDonald’s Faces Proposed Class Action Lawsuit Over E. Coli Outbreak
A proposed class action lawsuit was filed Tuesday against McDonald’s, the latest litigation over the E. coli outbreak linked to the fast-food chain’s Quarter Pounders.
The complaint, which needs court certification to proceed as a class action, seeks damages exceeding $5 million for customers across the country who purchased contaminated Quarter Pounders. It alleges that McDonald’s failed to properly disclose that there was a risk of E. coli associated with its menu items.
“McDonald’s has a responsibility to source its products that it is going to serve other people from safe facilities,” said Roy Willey, the attorney representing the plaintiffs. “In the event that they cannot guarantee that, then they have a responsibility to warn, ‘perhaps this product may be dangerous.’”
No “reasonable consumer” would pay for Quarter Pounders if they knew they were contaminated with a pathogen, Willey added. “McDonald’s has a responsibility to step up, reimburse people and do better,” he said.
Are Your Spices Filled With Heavy Metals, Lead, Arsenic and Cadmium?
Which spices on the retail shelves are free from dangerous amounts of heavy metals like lead, arsenic, and cadmium? The latest consumer study on spices tested 126 different spice products for heavy metals. We’ve summarized its findings for you and linked up the best products for your purchase.
Frequent exposure to small amounts of heavy metals like lead, arsenic, and cadmium, can be hazardous to your health and can raise your blood lead levels. Consumer Reports found heavy metals in most categories of spices including basil, black pepper, chili powder, coriander, cumin, curry powder, garlic powder, ginger, paprika, saffron, sesame seeds, turmeric, and white pepper.
When the source of lead exposure is in the kitchen, it can increase a child’s risk of health problems. Heavy metals are difficult for the human body, especially children, to break down and excrete. Over time, they build up.
Heavy metals are particularly problematic to young children affecting brain development, increasing the risk of behavior problems, and a lowered IQ. When adults are exposed to concerning amounts of heavy metals it can increase reproductive problems, hypertension, decrease immune function. It’s also linked to kidney damage and central nervous system problems.
Glyphosate Levels Decline in Oats
After years of being detected at alarming levels, the pesticide glyphosate is being found at lower levels, on average, in cereal and other oat-based products that children and adults enjoy, according to tests by the American nonprofit Environmental Working Group (EWG).
EWG believes its calls for an end to the pre-harvest use of glyphosate on oats may have helped drive change. However, EWG reports that this toxic chemical is still showing up in popular brands of cereals and other oat-based products. 30% of items tested showed high amounts of the pesticide.
It’s possible that the decline in glyphosate levels that EWG is seeing is the result of pressure on farmers by grain traders to grow their crops without glyphosate and certain other pesticides of concern. A farmer based in Canada circulated a document that the Canada-based leading agricultural processing and distribution company Adroit is asking its supplier farmers to sign. In signing, the farmer promises not to use certain agrochemicals that, while approved for use in Canada, “may result in residues that are not acceptable in certain export markets”.
The banned chemicals include glyphosate when applied to oats. Other proscribed chemicals include glufosinate ammonium, chlormequat, and several others when applied to a wide variety of crops, namely barley, beans, buckwheat, canola, faba beans, flaxseed, lentils, mustard seed, oats, peas, rapeseed, rye, triticale and wheat.
1st US Case of Bird Flu in a Pig Raises Concerns Over Potential Human Threat
A pig at an Oregon farm was found to have bird flu, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced Wednesday. It’s the first time the virus has been detected in U.S. swine and raises concerns about bird flu’s potential to become a human threat.
The infection happened at a backyard farm in Crook County, in the center of the state, where different animals share water and are housed together. Last week, poultry at the farm were found to have the virus, and testing this week found that one of the farm’s five pigs had become infected.
The farm was put under quarantine and all five pigs were euthanized so additional testing could be done. It’s not a commercial farm, and U.S. agriculture officials said there is no concern about the safety of the nation’s pork supply. “If we’re trying to stay ahead of this virus and prevent it from becoming a threat to the broader public, knowing if it’s in pigs is crucial,” Nuzzo said.
The USDA has conducted genetic tests on the farm’s poultry and has not seen any mutations that suggest the virus is gaining an increased ability to spread to people. That indicates the current risk to the public remains low, officials said.
