Mercury in Everyday Foods- How messed up is this?

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=96029

Mercury in High-Fructose Corn Syrup?

Researchers Say 17 Products Tested Had Some Mercury; Industry Group Says Syrup Is Safe
By Miranda Hitti
WebMD Health News
Reviewed By Louise Chang, MD
Jan. 27, 2009 -- Some foods and drinks rich in high-fructose corn syrup may contain detectable levels of mercury, a new report shows.
The report, published on the web site of the Minneapolis-based nonprofit Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP), shows detectable levels of mercury in 17 out of 55 tested products rich in high-fructose corn syrup.
But the researchers aren't telling people to avoid those products or other items containing high-fructose corn syrup, and they aren't sure what form of mercury those products contained.
The Corn Refiners Association stands by high-fructose corn syrup, calling it "safe."

Mercury and High-Fructose Corn Syrup

The new report comes from researchers including David Wallinga, MD, director of the IATP's food and health program. They bought 55 products that list high-fructose corn syrup first or second on their list of ingredients, which means high-fructose corn syrup was a leading ingredient in those products.
Wallinga's team sent samples of those products to a commercial lab, which checked the levels of total mercury in each sample.
"Overall, we found detectable mercury in 17 of 55 samples, or around 31%," write Wallinga and colleagues.
Here is the list of those products:

• Quaker Oatmeal to Go bars
• Jack Daniel's Barbecue Sauce
• Hershey's Chocolate Syrup
• Kraft Original Barbecue Sauce
• Nutri-Grain Strawberry Cereal Bars
• Manwich Gold Sloppy Joe
• Market Pantry Grape Jelly
• Smucker's Strawberry Jelly
• Pop-Tarts Frosted Blueberry
• Hunt's Tomato Ketchup
• Wish-Bone Western Sweet & Smooth Dressing
• Coca-Cola Classic: no mercury found on a second test
• Yoplait Strawberry Yogurt
• Minute Maid Berry Punch
• Yoo-hoo Chocolate Drink
• Nesquik Chocolate Milk
• Kemps Fat Free Chocolate Milk

Wallinga and colleagues caution that their list was "just a snapshot in time; we only tested one sample of each product. That clearly is not sufficient grounds to give definitive advice to consumers."
Mercury exposure at high levels can harm the brain, heart, kidneys, lungs, and immune system. A form of mercury called methylmercury is particularly risky to a baby's developing brain and nervous system, according to background information from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Wallinga points out that the lab only tested for total mercury levels, not methylmercury or other types of mercury. He also notes that the EPA has a "reference dose," or upper limit, for methylmercury intake but not for other forms of mercury.

Where Did the Mercury Come From?

Wallinga's report doesn't prove that the mercury in the tested products came from high-fructose corn syrup, but "I'm hard pressed to say where else it would come from," Wallinga tells WebMD.
Wallinga explains that mercury can be used to make caustic soda, which is one of the products used to make high-fructose corn syrup. That's outdated technology; mercury isn't needed to make caustic soda, notes Audrae Erickson, president of the Corn Refiners Association, in a statement emailed to WebMD.
Erickson didn't comment specifically on Wallinga's study. Instead, her statement focuses on a new study published online in Environmental Health, which shows mercury in some samples of commercial high-fructose corn syrup tested in 2005.
"This study appears to be based on outdated information of dubious significance," Erickson states. "Our industry has used mercury-free versions of the two re-agents mentioned in the study, hydrochloric acid and caustic soda, for several years."
Wallinga agrees about the technological shift away from mercury. "If you just look within the confines of the U.S., yes, about 90% of production now is not using mercury," says Wallinga. "The problem is that we don't actually know where our companies are buying their high-fructose corn syrup from ... it's a global industry."
"For me, the take-home message is really that this is a totally avoidable, unnecessary exposure to mercury," says Wallinga. "We've got a safer, more efficient technology for making these chemicals that are part of the ingredients used to manufacture high-fructose corn syrup."

Mercury's Form Unknown

Like Wallinga's report, the study published in Environmental Health doesn't specify the form of mercury present in the high-fructose corn syrup.
"I would imagine that a good majority of the mercury that is detected would have been in the form of elemental mercury," not methylmercury, toxicologist Carl Winter, PhD, tells WebMD. Winter, who directs the FoodSafe Program at the University of California, Davis, says that methylmercury is "by far the most toxic form of mercury" because methylmercury is better absorbed by the body than other forms of mercury.
"We have a principle in toxicology, which is the dose makes the poison," says Winter. "It's the amount of a chemical, not its presence or absence, that determines the potential for harm, and frankly, I don't see based on their findings that they've made much of a case that this is something that consumers need to worry about."

Besides his academic work, Winter is a volunteer spokesman for the Institute of Food Technologists, a nonprofit scientific society that includes food science and technology professionals in industry, academia, and government. Winter says his work has never been funded by food or chemical industries.

Companies Respond

WebMD contacted the makers of all 17 products that tested positive for mercury in Wallinga's report.
ConAgra Foods, which makes Manwich Bold Sloppy Joe and Hunt's Tomato Ketchup, is "absolutely confident in the safety of our products," ConAgra Foods spokeswoman Stephanie Childs tells WebMD.
Childs notes that "the levels of mercury reported in our ketchup are well below the EPA's safe exposure level. In fact, we estimate that you'd have to eat more than 100 pounds of ketchup per day to even come anywhere near the EPA's safe exposure level in terms of mercury.
A spokeswoman for Kraft Foods, Adrienne Dimopoulos, tells WebMD that Kraft has not had time to review the study's findings. However, "Kraft Foods' highest priority is the safety and quality of our products and the safety of our consumers. All of the ingredients we use are approved and deemed safe for food use by regulatory agencies, including the US FDA."
Amy Reilly, a spokeswoman for Target, which makes Market Pantry Grape Jelly, tells WebMD that Target is carefully evaluating the information and that "Target looks to the Food and Drug Administration to provide guidance on the safety of food additives and ingredients."
An FDA spokesperson wasn't immediately available to comment on Wallinga's report or the study published in Environmental Health.

SOURCES: Dufault, R. Environmental Health, Jan. 26, 2009; online edition. Wallinga, D. "Not So Sweet: Missing Mercury and High Fructose Corn Syrup." David Wallinga, MD, director, Food and Health Program, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. Statement from Audrae Erickson, president, Corn Refiners Association. Carl Winter, PhD, director, FoodSafe Program and Extension Food Toxicologist, department of food science and technology, University of California, Davis. Adrienne Dimopoulos, spokeswoman, Kraft Foods. Amy Reilly, spokeswoman, Target.

WHAT THE HELL ARE THEY LETTING US FEED OUR KIDS?! THIS MAKES ME SO ANGRY!!!

The Story of BugEater

Once long ago there was a girl who had a little cousin and took care of him almost every day because his favorite place to be was at his aunt and uncle's house.
The girls little cousin loved to read books. One of his books was about eating and manners, basically asking, "Do you like to eat _______?" and replying, "Yes/No I do/do not like to eat _____."
Well one day the girl noticed that her cousins hands were dirty and even after making him wash his hands he still had crud under his fingernails. Well when the girl attempted to clean the kids fingernails he wouldn't let her touch them. She told him that he has to let her clean the bugs out from underneath his nails and at that the boy looked up at her w/ a smile on his face and asked, although knowing the answer would be no, "Do you wike to eat bugs?"
And that my readers, is how BugEater came to be. Thank you and good day.

Welcome to my blog!

My name is BugEater and this is my blog. I am the real BugEater and I sell my knitted items online. Check out my store! You won't regret it. http://bugeater.etsy.com

I am an Alaskan native Yupiaq woman. I love to knit and crochet and create things. I have 3 monsters, a monster dog and a husband.
I live near Chicago with my crazy family. I am married to my best friend and we've been together for longer than either of us can remember. He's awesome, lots of fun and very supportive of everything I do and want to do. We have 3 monsters and a dumb dog -- but she's a sweetie!
 
I am originally from Alaska and I miss my family. I have 2 younger brothers and they're lots of fun. We're always laughing when we're together. Being more than 1/2 way across the country from my family I have to say that family is a precious thing. Don't take it for granted. All material things in life can be replaced, except for the people you love.

I hate the cold, but I love the snow. I love to read, but only for pleasure. I need my peace, but love the music. I can't stand chaos, but live with insanity. What do you expect from someone who has 3 monsters and a monster dog? hahaha.

The laughter from my babies is pure and beautiful music to my ears. I never knew true love until I had my children. Loving another human being, totally, unconditionally, no-limits kind of love, happening before I met them. I will always and forever love my husband, but true love was a mystery I refused to admit to until I carried my child, hidden away, under my heart, protected from the destruction of the world through society, humanity, disease.
I enjoy making things with my hands. I believe there is no such thing as a coincidence. Throw a thought out into the world and some way, some how, it's bound to happen if it's meant to be. I love the flowers my babies pick for me. Waking up and having them crawl into bed with me and falling asleep together, especially if it means that I get to sleep in a little bit longer! Being a mom means that I get to blow bubbles, play hide and seek, color, eat kid food like mac-n-cheese, discover pretty rocks on the sidewalk, look for shapes in the clouds, build a tent with sheets, watch cartoons, play games, hold hands, play at the park, laugh for no other reason than the fact that we have each other to hold and love and make funny faces at each other. Being a mother means that I have taken on the responsibilities of other human beings besides myself. That itself makes me want to be a better person, take better care of myself. It's forced me to become more aware of everything, every little thing, that goes on. There are a lot of things we as human beings can not control. But as a wise woman once said, ''Everything comes to pass.'' I like the stars, but not the night. I enjoy rain storms, but not cloudy days. I love my husband. He is my home, my inspiration, my best friend and worst critic. I am amazed by his strength, his ambition, his dependability, his unfailing and never ending love.
 
As a person I am very open minded and accepting of all people. Unless someone ends up being a stupid, lying, two faced, cavilling cretin then I cut the ties and refuse to have anything to do with them. Why waste my time on something like them when I have much better things to do. I am quiet until I get to know you well enough. I don't care what people think about me, the negative thoughts anyway, because they're usually not true and they're just jealous, resenting minions who need to dig deep down into their hearts and figure out wtf is wrong w/ them for them to take it out on me. LMFAO!
I hate looking at dead fish eyes, dreams of flying are amazing, true friends are very rare, I am the luckiest person and am always grateful for everything and everyone i have. Yes, you may add me now to your life. LOL!!!