Re: GE: FDA recalls Starlink

From: Samantha Atkins (samantha@objectent.com)
Date: Sat Nov 04 2000 - 14:41:44 MST


"Michael S. Lorrey" wrote:
>
> As some of you may have noticed already, the FDA has forced Mission to recall a
> rather large list of corn products sold under Kraft license, not for any actual
> evidence that it is unsafe, but because the products have been found to have
> been tainted by StarLink variety corn. The EPA has no actual proof that human
> consumption is harmful, but has concerns that people with certain allergies may
> have reactions to the corn varietal (if the EPA is now an allergy regulatory
> body, thats the first that I've heard of it, I want cats, ragweed, and dust
> mites outlawed pronto), as if discomfort is somehow to be equated with harm.
> (hell, Al Gore discomforts me, and I don't see a superfund site sign on him
> (though I'm sure thats what all the soft money is for))
>

As long as there are massive concentrations of force governing what
products can be in a country you will get abuse. That the FDA is
subservient to various political rattlings makes the situation more
troublesome. The EPA also has over the years seriously injured entire
industries and banned products with insufficient evidence.

It is good to have organizations that test foods and drugs and so on and
to have them be trustworthy. But their role should be one of giving
advisories rather than control. Let the people decide if they agree
with a particular advisory or not. Label things as being <insert group
name here> or not but don't ban them outright.

- samantha

> See the following:
> http://dailynews.netscape.com/dailynews/cnnnews.tmpl?story=biotech.corn.recall1102.html
>
> > The recalled products included those served at restaurants such as Applebee's, Wendy's, Del Taco, Casa Solana and La Cantina, according to a list released Wednesday as part of the FDA's weekly enforcement report.
> >
> > Starlink has not been approved for human consumption. Its use in human food products was first detected six weeks ago in Taco Bell Home Brand tacos sold by Kraft Foods under license.
> >
> > All the products recalled were made by Mission Foods, a unit of Mexican company Gruma. Mission initiated a voluntary recall on October 13, but did not make public all the names of the products recalled.
> >
> > The list of Mission's recalled products included many grocery store private-label brands: Best Buy, Brookshires, Kroger Co., Food Lion, Fred Meyer, Kash-n-Karry, Rich Food, Shurfine, IGA, Albertson's Inc., Safeway Inc., Vons, Brookshire's, Bueno Comida, Food City, Sack'n Save, and Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
>
> Hell, sounds like its time for me to go shopping. I know, lets buy all the
> recalled products up, and sell them in our own Extroway food stores, all located
> on Native American reservation property, to avoid the EPA and FDA regs...



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