posted
Let me start by saying I am SUPER paranoid as it is and worse now with this H1N1 Flu.
I went grocery shopping today and noticed that everything from Mexico is firmly stated on whatever it is.
Now am I just noticing it more because of whats going on and its really always been that way or are they showing it more?
My other question is should I be worried about eating the stuff? Now I know they are saying you can't get it from eating pork, BUT who's to say that the person that picked or handled the fruits/veggies didn't have swine flu and maybe coughed on the fruit???
posted
The virus cannot last that long on a surface. If it were a problem, most people in the U.S.
would be sick by now.
Posts: 311 | From CA | Registered: Jul 2008
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Abxnomore
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posted
The U.S. has been importing fruits and veggies from Mexico and other third world countries for years. The American public has just been mostly unaware.
We grow mostly corn and soy beans these days for industry to poison us by putting it in processed foods and feeding it to live stock.
And the same people who harvest the crops in Mexico harvest the crops in the U.S. That's why the cross the border and there are no bathrooms in those fields!
The U.S. food chain has already been destroyed and about 1% of what comes into the U.S. is inspected.
All you can do is try to buy local and organic as best you can and any foods that are to be eaten raw should be soaked in a solution of either bleach or grapefruit seed extract for about 15 minutes and then sufficiently rinsed.
As far as eating pork, if you are not eating organic local meat it doesn't matter whether it's pork, chicken, beef or what have you. It's loaded with antibiotics, hormones, soy in the
feed (and most organic companies use soy in its meal) and the animals are raised in filthy, crowed conditions. That is why these diseases
are continuing to develop. Our farming practices, used by big industry are deplorable.
Live stock are supposed to eat grasses and worms, not corn and soy. Nature never intended for them to eat grains. The way we raise our live stock in the U.S. is contributing to many of todays modern days diseases.
Posts: 5191 | From Lyme Zone | Registered: Jan 2009
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'Kete-tracker
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posted
"No, no... no me-hee-ko tomato or pe-per for meee, senior! Mucho gracias."
(I never took Spanish... does it show? )
Actually, Janice, H1N1 viruses have been known to be "viable" for days on surfaces, under certain conditions (moist/warm).
Posts: 1233 | From Dover, NH | Registered: Sep 2008
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charlie
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Member # 25
posted
...It also has quite a lot to do with what part of the country you're in.
we're so close to Mexico that we're likely immune to most of the bugs in the veggies...in fact we lunch in Mexico when we do a 'pill run' and fearlessly eat the salads ect with never even a mild tummy upset.
in other words forget the borders or the regulations pertaining to them...the pathogens cross as easily as Bb does. And the locals on either side of the border develop immunity to the gastric irritants at least.
I'd prolly get the squirts if I ate in Boston..
Charlie
Posts: 2804 | From Texas | Registered: Oct 2000
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
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posted
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I don't think the food supply from any country is in any way affected by this virus panic that the media is fueling. Still, there are basic guidelines that you should always practice. WASH produce.
It's best to buy organic (regardless of the country of origin). If you wash your produce well with a grapefruit seed extract produce rinse, it will be fine.
You could also put ONE drop of iodine in the last rinse water for kale, chard, collards, etc.
It's far better than all the GMO produce that is loaded with farm chemicals from right here in the U.S.
Remember to wash all produce - use a veggie brush that is dedicated just to veggies, too. Even for oranges and melons, and bananas. Even if organic, even if you peel them or don't eat the peel, they should first be washed before cutting open or eating.
Put on a clean plate or cutting board after washing, do not put back on a counter top or plate where the unwashed produce had been.
(Just as you would not put cooked meat back onto a plate where the raw meat had been.)
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[ 05-01-2009, 04:34 PM: Message edited by: Keebler ]
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Ocean
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posted
But the hep B virus can last dry on a surface for up to 2 weeks!
posted
It's always been that way.. for as long as I've been shopping in Texas anyways lol. 4 years.
Honestly, I use to think it was better than USA veggies and fruit because in Mexico I think they have less pests so they dont spray pesticides all over their food as much as the USA does. But now.. knowing the environment there and how bad it is, not sure I want to buy food from there either.
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posted
I have lived in various parts of both Mexico and the U.S.
I really think that the U.S. has a whole lot of nerve, pretending that our food supply is "safer" than that of other countries!
What a fraud and a hoax both the FDA and the CDC are!
If I personally had to choose, I would trust most fruit and veggies from Mexico over most U.S. produced food.
Odds are, they are less chemically contaminated, they are less likely to be genetically engineered, and most crops are still raised by small farmers who sell their harvest to brokers.
I was just a few months away from setting up organic production in one of Mexico's very fertile farming areas.
A very unfortunate chain of events interrupted those plans and to date, they haven't been realized.
I have(and still do) mostly shop in markets that import from Latin America and Asia for my produce.
I get many spices and herbs from them too.
I am in complete agreement that it is far better to buy organic for all the obvious reasons.
I was growing my own supply of veggies and some fruits until I was uprooted, (no pun intended) and a whole lot of medicinal herbs and flowers; 100% organic. I got really great yields, grew at least 60% of my diet.
That is really when I felt like I was getting the better of this Hellish illness. I was doing really well physically with my wild crafted, home grown, food and herbal medicines.
I was really interested to hear about the iodine rinse for kale etc. thanks for that info. I didn't know that.
I have used food grade H202 diluted to 3% to rinse and wash my fruits and veggies and my understanding is that will kill off all the bad stuff and is actually helpful to us.
Does anyone else do this? I've had really good results using the H202 in different applications.
I really would never use bleach though. It is so toxic and produces devastating effects on our health in various ways.
Well, I hope this post is useful to some of you and if not at least interesting.
by the way, 'Kete-tracker, what was that post of yours? I hope you don't take offense, but your post was jiberish, and seemed pretty demeaning to Spanish speaking cultures.
What were you trying to say, anyway, because I didn't even understand.
If it was that you don't want any fruit from Mexico, etc. unless you buy only local, fresh, in season and organic you have most likely already and often eaten your fruits and veg's from parts afar.
Take care everyone.
Posts: 6 | From Memphis, Tn. | Registered: Apr 2009
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
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posted
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While also using a bit of grapefruit seed extract in the first rinse waters for most of my produce,
The one drop of iodine in the last wash came to me a dozen years ago from a friend who had traveled the world - her doctor had suggested it to her. I do a final rinse with water (otherwise the iodine taste will ruin the taste of the food).
And, it's best to open a window if you are washing a lot of produce at once as too much of iodine's smell is not a good thing to breathe.
The iodine I happen to use is Atomidine from www.caycecures.com - my ND gave me this one.
delete the SWINE FLU please? to edit, click on pencil, 3rd box to right of your name to open up subject line and text area.
my reason for asking is this...
IOWA IS NO. 1 PORK PRODUCERS; this has given all our farmers a bad name, and SALES ARE DOWN CONSIDERABLY; hurting their $$ livelyhood.
NC i believe i heard in wee am hours is no. 2 state of pork producers.
thanks for your consideration; i'll be asking others this also big thanks
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Keebler
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posted
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Betty,
Great idea. I had just come back here to suggest that.
DeafFromLyme,
It would really be helpful to clarify the heading with "Fruits and Veggies -due to H1N1 virus?" It is much more specific to your question and this time.
And, it does not so much target food from a particular country. Food from anywhere has the potential to have stuff that we'd not want to put right into our mouths without first washing.
I would not eat an apple or a tomato from my neighbor's yard without first washing - not just because he may have sneezed on them, but birds and squirrels, too, play in gardens.
posted
I'm sorry if I started something here I was just curious. I know that the media may be blowing it out of proportion but it is scary none the less.
I have a son with extreme respiratory issues as it is and am very worried about the possibility of him getting it.
Son's blog born at 24 weeks. Posts: 356 | From massachusetts | Registered: Jan 2009
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
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Erika,
I understand your concern for your son. I do think that the government and the media have blown this way out of proportion. However, if your son has lung issues, the same tools he uses every day for wellness will work here.
It's not the flu that is the problem, anyway but secondary infections that can develop. If you keep a watch on your son and address whatever symptoms might come along, I'm sure he will be fine.
But, I think it's also important for people to be out and about with others so as to have that important human interaction. That connection HELPS the immune system. (All these masks, I think, can send our psyche and our immune system into shock and do not do much good, anyway).
As for the labeling of the produce at your market, they have been doing that for a while now. Every thing I buy has a label, telling me where is is from (but, still, anyone can come along and sneeze on it). Still, since I wash it well, I am confident that my food sources are safe regardless of the country in which they are grown.
While I prefer to purchase organic and local foods, when I can, I like to acknowledge the hard work of farm workers across the world for making it possible for me to enjoy such good food from the earth.
I'm too tired to even plant flowers on my apt. deck. I could never work as hard as they do for so little money and I truly thank them for their efforts. I think they all deserve much better support but that is another topic altogether.
posted
Thanks Keebler and I agree with you on the farmers... I couldn't do it either.
I definitely think I am over paranoid, and am trying very hard not to be. I'm a nervous nelly in general, probably thanks to Lyme and so when something like this is happening I tend to go overboard.
I suppose just washing things carefully is all I can do. I can't afford organic right now, but do hope to be able to someday!
posted
Also I just want to clarify the reason I put Mexico is just simply because that's what has been pointed out the most. If it were the US I would question that as well.
Son's blog born at 24 weeks. Posts: 356 | From massachusetts | Registered: Jan 2009
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heiwalove
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posted
keebler, how many times do you rinse/wash your produce? and do you make an actual rinse out of GSE, or do you just add a couple drops to the vegetable/fruit, scrub it in, and rinse it from there?
Abxnomore
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
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posted
You fill the sink or a basin with water and the GFS extract and let it soak. The you rinse it well.
Posts: 5191 | From Lyme Zone | Registered: Jan 2009
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Hoosiers51
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posted
There was recently some kind of law passed that the place of origin of fruits and vegetables now has to be clearly labeled.
I'm not sure if it was just in my home state, or if it was nation-wide. Even if it was just in my state, it makes sense big distributors would then just have to start labeling everything.
So it is probably NOT that you are noticing it more....I think they really are changing how they label this stuff.
Posts: 4590 | From Midwest | Registered: Jun 2008
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'Kete-tracker
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 17189
posted
"demeaning to Spanish speaking cultures"?? I was trying to "type" out a Mexican accent, for what was admittedly a weak attempt at humour (about someone paranoid about Mexican veggies). That's all. Speaking in an accent in no way demeans the culture to which it is associated. (If so, I know a "Live" late night show that Tramples the Spanish culture)
As far as eating produce, I always try to buy local as I myself work seasonally on a local, organic garden & I know how important it is to support family farms.
Unlike the salmonella scare, I agree this new flu virus is essentially spreading from person to person rather than thru produce. But still, I would always wash any & all produce, as hand contact- in Any country- can leave a trace of many types of bugs, not just influenza. Of course, residual pesticides are reduced as well.
Posts: 1233 | From Dover, NH | Registered: Sep 2008
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bettyg
Unregistered
posted
deaf,
i wasn't picking on you specifically ... i went back to 6-8 posts with the former name.
in the WEE am hours, i was watching cspan with the same ENERGY/COMMERCE sub-committee who has our lyme bill there.
they had cdc there discussing N1HI or vice versa, iowa's house rep bruce braley, sp, made wonderful comments about getting the name to CORRECT name they came up with this virus.
he cornered CDC director over infectious diseases about this twice. she informed him it was a LOW PRIORITY; other things need to be done first.
he explained about iowa's pork farmers and how it was hurting their economy. again, he tried to pinpoint her and she was starch. something like i'll see what i can do.
but after his turn was over she was writing herself a note and i think she was going to show person to side of her when cameras left her!
but he did a great job on his wordage and insistence to call it what it is; not what they named it.
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posted
Mexican produce not always safe. We have no knowledge of the safety of the water supply used to irrigate produce in Mexico.
Some Mexican Produce Sent to U.S. Grown in Unsanitary Conditions Saturday, September 13, 2008 | FoxNews.com
E-Mail Print Share ALLENDE, Mexico -- At the end of a dirt road in northern Mexico, the conveyer belts processing hundreds of tons of vegetables a year for U.S. and Mexican markets are open to the elements, protected only by a corrugated metal roof.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration suspects this packing plant, its warehouse in McAllen, Texas, and a farm in Mexico are among the sources of the United States' largest outbreak of food-borne illness in a decade, which infected at least 1,440 people with a rare form of salmonella.
A plant manager confirmed to The Associated Press that workers handling chili peppers aren't required to separate them according to the sanitary conditions in which they were grown, offering a possible explanation for how such a rare strain of salmonella could have caused such a large outbreak.
The AP has found that while some Mexican producers grow fruits and vegetables under strict sanitary conditions for export to the U.S., many don't -- and they can still send their produce across the border easily.
Neither the U.S. nor the Mexican governments impose any safety requirements on farms and processing plants. That includes those using unsanitary conditions -- like those at Agricola Zaragoza -- and brokers or packing plants that mix export-grade fruits and vegetables with lower-quality produce.
In fact, the only thing a Mexican company needs to do to sell produce to the United States is to register online.
Some Mexican farms and processing plants have high standards of sanitation -- and get private companies to certify those standards -- so they can sell to U.S. supermarket chains that wouldn't buy from uncertified ones.
But there is no public list of the chains that require sanitary practices, meaning there's no way to know whether the fruit and vegetables in any particular store is certified or not.
The only U.S. government enforcement consists of 625 FDA inspectors who conduct spot checks of both U.S. and foreign produce, reviewing less than 1 percent of all imports. Beyond that, it is entirely up to the supermarkets and restaurants to police their produce.
The best Mexican producers grow crops in fenced-off fields, irrigate them with fresh water and pack them in spotless plants where workers dress in protective gear from head to toe. But there are still plenty of farms with unfenced fields where wildlife can roam freely, and which use untreated water -- sometimes laced with sewage.
Salmonella can lurk on the skin of produce or penetrate inside. Cooking kills it, but washing raw produce doesn't always eliminate it, which is why safety experts stress preventing contamination.
Agricola Zaragoza is one of the uncertified plants, manager Emilio Garcia told the AP. He said the packing plant washes produce from both certified and uncertified producers, opening up the possibility for contamination. He refused to give details about his suppliers.
The FDA suspects Mexican jalapeno and serrano chilies processed at Agricola Zaragoza caused the latest outbreak, though it also thinks tomatoes could have played a role. It concedes the ultimate source may never be known.
Cesar Fragoso, president of Mexico's Chili Peppers Growers Association, said most Mexican pepper farms sell their crops to distributors without knowing what country they are bound for. Because of that, he said, few bother to get certification.
In addition, lots of produce passes from distributor to distributor before reaching its final destination, increasing the potential for contamination and making tracing outbreaks much more difficult. Former FDA official William Hubbard said only 10 percent of outbreaks are ever completely resolved.
"It is very common for distributors to receive products from numerous sources, numerous farms and in some cases multiple countries," Hubbard said. "That's just the way produce moves."
In the latest contamination case, the U.S. government traced the suspect jalapenos to two farms in the state of Tamaulipas. Both shipped through Agricola Zaragoza in neighboring Nuevo Leon state. Agricola Zaragoza shipped the peppers to its warehouse in McAllen, Texas, where the FDA found the first contaminated jalapeno.
Though usually smaller in scale, such outbreaks are relatively common -- at least 3,000 between 1990 and 2006 from FDA-regulated foods, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a nutrition and food safety advocacy group. Those numbers include fruits, vegetables and seafood, and contamination both in the U.S. and abroad.
The cases include a 2004 hepatitis outbreak linked to Mexican green onions that killed four people and sickened 650 in Pennsylvania, and a 2006 nationwide E. coli outbreak that infected about 300 people and killed three and was traced to tainted spinach from California.
The U.S. Senate is considering a bill that would require the FDA to issue regulations for ensuring safer fresh produce. In Mexico, a federal produce safety law was passed in 1994 but analysts say it is rarely enforced. Mexico's Agriculture Department did not respond to a request for an interview.
Kathy Means, a vice president for the U.S. Produce Marketing Associations, said food safety is in the hands of the food industry, with most major produce buyers requiring both U.S. and foreign food producers to have third-party audit programs. However, Means said, not all buyers follow the same rules.
"It's not government-regulated, so it's up to the company to require it," she said.
At Alfonso Alvarez's fenced-off 15-acre farm in Jalisco state, tomatoes are grown in greenhouses and irrigated with water from a deep well. Workers wear hair nets, gloves and aprons, and signs require them to wash their hands after going to the bathroom.
Alvarez sells its crop to a Canadian company that imports to the U.S. and Canada and has required his farm be certified by a U.S. private company.
"Those of us who want to enter the U.S. market and position our brand know we must meet all those standards, because we also know it will be a profitable business in the long run," Alvarez said.
He and other Mexican farmers with sanitary farms want the United States to set up a certification program that covers both growers and packing plants.
"Those who grow in open fields will ruin it for those who produce in greenhouses," Alvarez said, "and that's not fair."
See Next Story in World
-------------------- sunnymalibu Posts: 192 | From california | Registered: Jul 2006
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Alv
Unregistered
posted
I thought I would post this here .This is in regard to our food suply!
I thought I would focus on food suply based on local products and avoid the food that comes from MEXICO .
In the mean time " IF YOU PEOPLE DO NOT MIND" I am sharing this
-------------------- Suspected Lyme 07 Test neg One band migrating in IgG region unable to identify.Igenex Jan.09IFA titer 1:40 IND IgM neg pos 31 +++ 34 IND 39 IND 41 IND 83-93 + DX:Neuroborreliosis Posts: 5850 | From Kentucky | Registered: Dec 2008
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Marnie
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 773
posted
The swine flu does not appear to be as "deadly" here as it was in Mexico.
It appears the strain may have weakened. We may have "lucked it out" ... this time.
That said, do you know how many people die each year in the U.S. as the result of a typical "flu" season outbreak?
36,000.
That's not to say you can now drop your guard and stop washing your hands after going out in public. Still be vigilant.
P.S. The picture of the toddler kissing the pig in your second link freaked me out!
Posts: 9424 | From Sunshine State | Registered: Mar 2001
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'Kete-tracker
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posted
THat 36,000 is part of nature's program, it seems. Most of those are elderly (incl. my 78 yr uncle) or very young.
Professors & scientists I know seem to favor the idea that a virus or famine (or both) will make up our next mass population trimming [WWII was our last] but don't see the potential here.
All the things we do to avoid flu in past winters holds true now. Other than that, "what will be will be". Any H1N1 spread is beyond the control of nearly all of us. Go out & enjoy life, eat & sleep well... and don't lick the gas pump handle. Posts: 1233 | From Dover, NH | Registered: Sep 2008
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posted
Spring is obviously not flu season. I've heard that this virus will return during the next flu season, more virulent and spread more rapidly. That's why they're trying to get a vaccine made as soon as possible.
-------------------- sunnymalibu Posts: 192 | From california | Registered: Jul 2006
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Marnie
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posted
Exception: SARS hit young adults who, they speculate, died because they had very strong immune responses and mounted a HUGE immediate defense = too much die-off too fast = toxic = sepsis.
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