When I first heard about the recalls on Cadbury Chocolate, the first thing I thought of was "Thank goodness I didn't buy any of those from that little kid outside of Lucky's yesterday!"
The next thing I thought was "Not chocolate too."
It seems the chocolate company Cadbury is temporarily taking certain chocolate products off the market -- but only in Asia and Australia. Thank goodness it's not here in the US.
Cadbury is withdrawing a range of its chocolate products and Choclairs -- all made at Cadbury's Beijing plant -- from the market in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Australia. Cadbury states their products here are safe.
Another sweet -- White Rabbit Candy -- is being recalled because it might be tainted with melamine. QFCO Inc. of Burlingame, Calif., is recalling White Rabbit Candy, which was distributed in California, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Texas, and Washington state. All packages have a logo of a white rabbit on the front with the words "White Rabbit." So far they haven't linked any illnesses to the White Rabbit Candy.
If you have any, you can return White Rabbit Candy to the place of purchase for a full refund. For more information on the White Rabbit Candy recall, call QFCO at 650-697-6633.
Evidently all this recalling has scared the heck out of our US manufacturers, because all of a sudden they're recalling products for incorrect labeling, which if products aren't labeled correctly, someone could have a strong allergic reaction to something in the product that they didn't know was there.
The first of these was back in April of this year when KFC Corporation voluntarily recalled its Double Chocolate Chip Cakes because they contain eggs, milk, wheat, soy ingredients and possibly traces of tree nuts, and are not individually labeled with ingredient information. They say they plan to start offering them again after they have the proper labeling on the packages.
Next came Hershey's. In September the Hershey Company started recalling 7.25-ounce plastic bottles of Hershey's Chocolate Shell Topping, which can be poured over ice cream, because it contains almonds that aren't noted on the label. If you have any of the recalled Hershey's Chocolate Shell Topping, call Hershey's consumer relations department at 800-468-1714
Last, but not least See's Candies, Inc. of San Francisco, Calif., is recalling 16-ounce bags of See's Candies Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips because the product may contain undeclared traces of milk. People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to milk run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume these products.
The FDA is following China's melamine problem. As of Sept. 25, FDA testing of milk-based products imported into the U.S. from China hadn't turned up any melamine contamination.
The United States, meanwhile, said inspectors would expand testing for Chinese products that may contain high levels of milk or milk proteins. The Food and Drug Administration has been very concerned over Chinese infant formula brought into the United States for Chinese markets. Normally the formula is banned from import. The FDA said its investigators have not found the Chinese infant formula in question during visits to more than 1,000 stores. Those are mainly in cities with large Chinese communities, such as Los Angeles and San Francisco, California; Seattle, Washington; and New York. The FDA plans to continue such checks it said, and "has broadened its domestic and import sampling and testing of milk-derived ingredients and finished food products containing milk, such as candies, desserts, and beverages that could contain these ingredients from Chinese sources."
Chinese police have arrested 40 people in the tainted-milk scandal, including 22 announced Monday in northern China's Hebei province. Nineteen of those were managers of pastures, breeding farms and milk-purchasing stations, the Xinhua news agency reported, citing a panel investigating the case.
Authorities say they raided 41 locations in Hebei and seized 490 pounds (222 kilograms) of melamine. Melamine is commonly used in coatings and laminates, wood adhesives, fabric coatings, ceiling tiles and flame retardants.
Eighteen arrests were announced earlier. They include two brothers who face charges of selling contaminated milk. The brothers could face death if convicted, according to China Daily, a state-run newspaper. Somehow after them executing their prior head of Food Quality Control over there when all the dog food was recalled, I think I would take them pretty seriously about punishment before being a part of something like this. LOL
Oh My Gosh, Not Chocolate Too!
New Recall In US - Thank You China
Recent Update:
While China's dairy products are deemed unsafe for import here in the US, there are manufacturers who use China's products in their products. The latest on the list of tainted product recalls is concerning coffees and teas.
U.S. officials are warning Americans not to drink seven Mr. Brown instant coffee and milk tea products that were made in China, because of concerns they may be contaminated with melamine, according to Reuters. The King Car Food Industrial Co Ltd. recalled the products Friday.
Reuters lists the recalled products as: * Mr. Brown Blend Instant Coffee (3-in-1)* Mr. Brown Instant Coffee (3-in-1)* Mr. Brown Blue Mountain Blend Instant Coffee (3-in-1)* Mr. Brown Caramel Instant Coffee (3-in-1)* Mr. Brown French Vanilla Instant Coffee (3-in-1)* Mr. Brown Blend instant Coffee (2-in-1)* Mr. Brown Milk Tea (3-in-1)
Evidently there was a rumor concerning Oreo cookies, but Kraft Foods states there are no milk products in their regular Oreo cookies and in the frosted ones they use milk products from Australia.
Maybe It's Not China Killing Our Pets After All
Right on the heels of the contaminated milk scandal in China is another pet food recall. The Chief of China's Food And Quality Agency was forced to resign as they arrested 19 people suspected of intentionally spiking the country's milk system with melamine, an industrial chemical made from coal that is normally used in the production of plastics and fertilizer. Melamine is the same contaminate that was found in the pet food recalls of 2007. I'll tell you after the way they executed the head of the State Food and Drug Administration, Zheng Xiaoyu, in July of 2007 for corruption and dereliction of duty, I don't think this job is one I would have applied for. LOL.As of Sept. 12, Mars Petcare US has voluntarily recalled any food distributed from their plant in Everson, PA and temporarily closed down the facility until they locate the nature and source of Salmonella Schwarzengrund. Salmonella was randomly linked to two people who got quite ill after they handled contaminated food. The brands this included were:
Country Acres, Retriever, Doggy Bag, Members Mark, Natural, Ol' Roy, Special Kitty, Paws & Claws, Pedigree, Wegman's, Pet Pride, PMI Nutrition and Red Flannel
Last year when Menu Foods did their recall of their pet foods, Iams, Eukenuba, and several other trusted pet foods that are too numerous to list here, the contamination was blamed on Melamine coming from products from China. When this recall came about I just assumed it was from China also. As it turns out China may have nothing at all to do with it.Our scientists were extremely puzzled as to how ill the pets had gotten and the pet deaths that occurred. They felt the melamine was not harmful or at harmful levels to have caused the chaos that it did. According to articles I found on the internet, there appears to be an ongoing battle with Menu Foods because there seems to have been ancetometaphin (like Tylenol) and cyanuric acid found in their foods as well. According to a current lawsuit, it was these ingredients or these ingredients reacting with melamine that caused the deaths of over a quarter of a million pets.
The class action lawsuit against Menu Foods et al has grown to over 6000 cases and they expect that number to grow by quite a few by the time the deadline hits in Nov. of this year.
A fascinating website about what is going on from the person to bring about a major suite against Menu Foods can be found here. Evidently he has also now filed against the FDA for not investigating the claims properly and not protecting our pets from this happening in the future.
I love my little critters (pictured here) as I'm sure you do also. All I've been able to think is that I'm glad I was introduced to Nutripet years ago. A lot of people have taken to cooking their own dog or cat food, but Richard Goldstein, associate professor of medicine at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine warns against doing this as they may not get the all the nutrients they need. NUTRIPET dry dog and cat foods contain antioxidant vitamins A, C, E, and beta carotene to support your pet’s healthy immune system.”Added DHA*, found in mother’s milk, omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids* have been found to improve your pet’s well-being. NUTRIPET dry dog and cat foods also contain a unique blend of fruits and vegetables to naturally round out your pet’s diet. If you would like to know how you can get Nutripet natural food for your animals, please feel free to contact me. My email address is in my profile. Nutripet is not found in grocery stores.
* Not recognized as an essential nutrient by the AAFCO dog food or cat food nutrient profiles.
About Vitamin "K"
I was having a conversation the other nite with my "almost sister-in-law" and she was telling me about her "almost husband" (we have a lot of "almost relatives") and vitamin K. The reason I found this interesting was because he has liver disease and Hepatitis C just like a friend of mine, but wasn't able to go thru the complete treatments because his doctors said his body couldn't take it. She said she did some research and put him on a special diet along with vitamin k and some other supplements, and he's now in remission plus the liver is repairing itself, to a certain extent. Vitamin K, like Vitamin D is one you really don't hear too much about even tho it is one of the more essential vitamins the body needs. After talking to her I decided to do some research myself. The following is part of what I found. There's more on drug interactions and interactions with other vitamins, but you'd be here for a week trying to read it all! This will give you the basics.
Vitamin K is a fat soluble vitamin. The K vitamin is essential for the
functioning of several proteins which cause the blood to clot, or coagulate, to repair injuries. Whenever a person has a bleeding wound, it is the K vitamin that is present in the blood that stops the bleeding and enables most minor cuts to heal quickly.
3 Forms of Vitamin K
There are three different forms of the K vitamin. The first variant of the K vitamin is vitamin K1, also known as phylloquinone. This is the form of the K vitamin that is found in types of plant foods. The second form of the K vitamin is the vitamin K2, or menaquinone-n. This type of
the K vitamin is formed by friendly bacteria in the intestines and is produced by our own bodies. These are both natural forms of vitamin K. Thirdly, there is vitamin K3 which is also known as menadione and is actually an artificial form of the K vitamin. Vitamin K1 and K2 end up
in the liver where it is used to create the blood clotting substances. While they have decided Vitamin K3 is found in other organs besides the liver and has a unique biological function, they don't seem to know what that function is. Isn't that typical? LOL.
Vitamin K In Your Diet
The best natural sources of the K vitamin are green leafy vegetables, such as spinach, broccoli, and swiss chard. All of these provide more than the recommended daily requirement. Since the friendly bacteria in the intestine makes one of the forms of the K vitamin and it's so readily available in some of the food we eat, it is rare for a person to have a deficiency. Vitamin K supplements are not needed by the majority of people.
Too Little or Too Much Vitamin K?
Something like severe liver disease (like in the case mentioned above), may cause a substantial lowering of blood levels of vitamin K which could increase the risk of uncontrolled bleeding, or hemorrhaging. This is definitely a vitamin that falls in the "damned if you do and damned if you don't" catagory. Just as too little vitamin K can cause hemmorrhaging, too much can cause blood clots, which could block the flow of blood in arteries of the heart, brain, or lungs resulting in heart attack, stroke, or pulmonary embolism. Many people have to be put on "anticoagulants", or blood thinners, to help the blood flow. While people who have to take things like Warafin or
Cumadin have been cautioned in the past not to consume very large quantities of vitamin k in their diets as it could override their bloodthinners ability to "anticoagulate", doctors now advise getting the daily recommendations (90-120 mcg/daily) thru dietary
intake. An extended course of antibiotics may also lead to a vitamin K deficiency due to the fact that the antibiotics kill the good intestinal bacteria as well as the bad ones they are being taken to cure. In this case also, a K vitamin supplement may be given if the course of antibiotics has to continue for a long period of time.
Vitamin K and Our Bones
Apart from the main function of helping blood to clot by binding proteins and vitamin K to calcium in what they call a "coagulation cascade, Vitamin K1 has an important part to play in the bone building process. This K vitamin is required to retain the calcium in the bones
and redistribute it to where it is needed. Lack of control of the proccessess neccessary for forming vitamin k could lead to cartilage calcification and severe malformation of developing bone, or deposition of insoluble calcium salts in the walls of the arteries. This is quite
common in people suffering from atherosclerosis, which suggests Vitamin
K deficiency is more common than they thought.
Vitamin K and Newborns
Newborn babies may not have enough of the K vitamin as they have insufficient bacteria in their
intestines to produce it. Vitamin K also does not easily transfer through the placental wall, and it is not fully functional in infants, especially those born premature. Vitamin K deficiency in newborns can cause what is called "vitamin K dificiency bleeding (VKDB)" and is life threatening. The majority of newborn babies in developed countries are therefore given a vitamin k1 injection to tide them over until the natural process takes over. That is the only time that a K vitamin
supplement will be taken by most people throughout their lives.
Network Marketing, Corporate America, Pyramids
Like Enron or Worldcom in the corporate world, there are some unscrupulous players in the Network Marketing world. When Enron or Worldcom broke in the news, did you immediately distrust every corporation in America? I have to admit it made me wonder and watch a little more closely. If I buy stock, it makes me do a little more research than I might have done before all these corporations got found out. But aren't there frivolous lawsuits filed in this country every day by people that think their stupidity should be paid for by the large companies? (The lady who burnt her crotch with hot coffee and sued McDonald's comes to mind).
A pyramid scheme is a non-sustainable business model that involves the exchange of money primarily for enrolling other people into the scheme, without any product or service being delivered. This is definitely not Amway/Quixtar or YTB. With both you are getting something for your money.
Look around you. Everything we do is a virtual "pyramid scheme". Corporate America is built on one of the biggest pyramid schemes yet. All the little guys on the bottom make money for the big guys on the top. Do you think your employer is paying you what he makes from your work? Heck no. Multi level Marketing, or Network Marketing, gives everyone a chance to be the "big guy at the top." And just like in Corporate America there will always be "disgruntled" workers, especially those that don't want to put in the time or effort but want to get handed the money. And just like Linux and Microsoft, now the traditional travel agencies, upset with YTB's growth and numbers, instead of coming up with a better competitive idea, are whining about YTB, obviously loud enough to be heard by the Attorney General of California.
Foreclosure Can Happen To Anyone
Foreclosure can happen to anybody, so don't think badly of yourself if you are now at risk. I know it's terribly embarrassing to find yourself in this position. Since notices of default are usually published, you really hope your neighbors and relatives aren't reading the papers. It's also very scary when you think of your family and all of your belongings out on the street. Don't worry. Listening to the news it sounds like half the country is in the same boat. Heck, look at Ed McMahon. If he can lose his house, anybody can. He's not the only star in foreclosure either. Just keep your head together and take it one step at a time.
It is a fact that any family can undergo some financial crisis at some point in time that would regrettably cause them not to have the ability to pay their monthly mortgage payments. A home can be an enormous investment and maintaining your home can turn into an even greater expense. Chances are things will break here and there and thanks to Murphy (Murphy's Law), usually when you are at your lowest financially. When this happens, you might feel as though your world is spiraling out of control. You can not seem to get your debts under any type of management and now you need to make repairs to the house. Your mortgage, being the biggest part of those debts, may have just adjusted and all of a sudden your house payment has moved into the "can't pay right now" pile. Foreclosure is something that can happen and when it does, you might feel as though you have no other options.
I am hoping that I can help some of you learn more about the different options that you do have when it comes to saving your home from foreclosure. There are many options for anyone who is struggling with the thought of trying to get caught up on their monthly payments. If you can look in the right places, you are bound to find something that sounds quite reasonable to you. You will find that there are many different websites available to you over the internet that can provide a great deal of helpful information regarding foreclosure. They also provide details about some of the different things that you yourself can do that might potentially prevent having your home taken away from you. If you allow yourself to stress out about it, then chances are you will not be able to think clearly enough to get the appropriate things accomplished. In California you have 120 days from the date the lender files a notice of default until your house is sold on the courthouse steps. It's important that you work in a very timely manner.
Don't bury your head in the sand. Take time to speak with your mortgage lender about the payments you're behind. They could possibly choose to work something out with you. Many lenders have programs that will catch up your back payments a little bit at a time, added to your regular monthly payment. This solution is usually more for someone who has just had a temporary setback. After all, if you could pay more than your regular payment, you probably wouldn't be in trouble, would you?
Ufortunately, times like these bring every con there is out of the woodwork. There are different companies that might claim that they can help you out with your foreclosure threat. Please make sure that you thoroughly investigate them and don't be afraid to ask for references. Many times those guys are totally not legit and will just end up ripping you off, causing you even more problems that you do not want. Be sure to take any contracts to a Real Estate lawyer or your Realtor if someone is offering to pay your back payments. You may just be signing over title to your house and not even realize it.
Lenders will swear they can help you refinance just to find out 30 wasted days down the road they can't really do anything for you at all. Many "hard money" lenders will promise you a refinance even if "you have bad credit". The interest rates on those loans are so high, you just end up burying yourself deeper.
Really, one of the best places to start is by speaking with your own mortgage company today. If you are struggling or getting behind on your monthly payments, they should be able to discuss with you some options for catching things up. They seem to be a little more co-operative these days since they have so many more foreclosures on the books. They can possibly re-write your loan, maybe hold off your adjustable loan adjustment for a few months, etc.
If you are tired of fighting it, you may decide you want to sell. These days many people are living in houses where there is more owed on the property than it's worth. Your lender can also help you with what they call a "short sale", where they will settle for less than is owed to get the property off their "worry list". If you decide to take this option, be sure and speak to your accountant. Even tho you won't be making any cash on the sale, there are usually tax consequences you should be aware of.
Big Pharma And Our Children
It's not bad enough they have been shoving Ritalin down every child's throat that doesn't act like a Stepford child, but now they want to give drugs "just in case". By the way I found this article interesting regarding Ritalin: Parents and public health policy makers have cause for concern about the finding of a study conducted at the University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center. WebMD reports that all 12 children who were enrolled in a Ritalin trial "experienced an increase in chromosome abnormalities three months after starting Ritalin."
The children were about 8 years old and had been prescribed Ritalin at normal therapeutic doses (20-54 mg/day). The children's blood was tested before they took the drug and after three months.
"It was pretty surprising to me that all of the children taking [Ritalin] showed an increase in chromosome abnormalities in a relatively short period of time," said Randa El-Zein, the lead author". These abnormalities seem to be linked to cancer, for stupid sakes!
According to an article on nutrimed.com I partially quote "In the USA, Harris stated: “As states begin to require that drug companies disclose their payments to doctors for lectures and other services, a pattern has emerged: psychiatrists earn more money from drug makers than doctors in any other specialty. How this money may be influencing psychiatrists and other doctors has become one of the most contentious issues in health care."
When I started this blog post for today, I actually started out to gripe about the recent development of drug companies pushing statins on our overweight children. As I was doing my research, I came across this video that broke my heart. This video isn't short, so grab a cup of coffee or a glass of wine or a cocktail, and please, if you have young children or grandchildren, take the time out to watch it. Keep an eye out for a later issue of other drugs being pushed on our children. Why is it okay to give it to the children first, finding out the harm later?
Please feel free to comment.