Study Finds High-Fructose Corn Syrup Contains Mercury

[o_mom]

Not sure what to make of this, but it certainly is disturbing on first glance:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/26/AR2009012601831.html

Editing to add more links:

Report: http://www.healthobservatory.org/library.cfm?refid=105026 (http://www.healthobservatory.org/library.cfm?refid=105026)
List of foods tested: http://www.healthobservatory.org/library.cfm?refID=105040 (http://www.healthobservatory.org/library.cfm?refID=105040)
Press Release: http://www.iatp.org/iatp/press.cfm?refID=105025 (http://www.iatp.org/iatp/press.cfm?refID=105025)
Environmental Health Article: http://www.ehjournal.net/content/pdf/1476-069x-8-2.pdf (http://www.ehjournal.net/content/pdf/1476-069x-8-2.pdf)

ETA: My summary of the studies is in post #79

[egoldber]

:(

Jeepers, I am sooooo not the type to panic but I swear I wonder more and more what we are doing to ourselves and our planet.

[AnnieW625]

I started eliminating HFCS out of my diet as much as possible recently and I am glad that I did. I've noticed my food doesn't leave a sugary gritty aftertaste anymore. Even DH who loves soda (faves are Dr. Pepper, and Pepsi) has been drinking the HFCS free Hansens soda I bought for him.

[Tondi G]

YIKES! Thank goodness we buy stoneyfield farms yogurt with no HFCS! I gotta look at that bottle of ranch dressing I have in my fridge and find something to replace it with!

[brittone2]

Wow. Just how safe are the current guidelines for tuna consumption, etc. for pregnant moms, young children, etc. now...kwim?

[o_mom]

:(

Jeepers, I am sooooo not the type to panic but I swear I wonder more and more what we are doing to ourselves and our planet.

I agree - I'm not usually freaked out and we already avoid HFCS for other reasons, but this is pretty bad. I added links to the reports and original article - it talks in there about how the contamination occurs in processing.

[LarsMal]

So glad we've started phasing it out- and that DH is finally on board with it (thanks to info I'm presented him with that I've picked up here!).

Maybe companies will FINALLY make a move towards eliminating it from their products.

[KpbS]

Whoa! That is nuts!! Just one more reason to eliminate it. Wow, yuck.

[brittone2]

So glad we've started phasing it out- and that DH is finally on board with it (thanks to info I'm presented him with that I've picked up here!).

Maybe companies will FINALLY make a move towards eliminating it from their products.

Get ready for the spin from the corn industry. THey'll inevitably try to explain the concerns away :shake:

[wencit]

Oh, wow. That is disturbing. I've been kind of laid-back regarding the whole HFCS thing, but this story really makes me think twice about it. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

[LarsMal]

Get ready for the spin from the corn industry. THey'll inevitably try to explain the concerns away :shake:

Very true.

[o_mom]

Wow. Just how safe are the current guidelines for tuna consumption, etc. for pregnant moms, young children, etc. now...kwim?


This is what I have found in the ITAP report (sorry if the formatting is weird - it's about half way through the report p 12 or so):

"Using the USDA’s estimate of 50 grams of average consumption HFCS per day, one might roughly estimate potential total mercury ingestion via HFCS of up to 28.5ug total mercury/day (50 grams HFCS X 0.570 ug/g). Using these same assumptions, high-end HFCS consumers potentially could have much higher total mercury ingestion.

It is difficult to know to what to compare this figure. The EPA has established a “reference dose,” or maximum recommended dietary intake of methylmercury. Methylmercury is the form typically found in fish and seafood. The reference dose of 0.1 ug/kg/day applies to women of childbearing age and young children, who are thought to be the most at risk from methylmercury exposure. For the “average” 55 kg American woman, this would translate into no more than 5.5ug/day of ethylmercury.



There is no reference dose for total mercury. The mercury found in HFCS may be a different form of mercury than the methylmercury typically found in fish (we just don’t know), but it poses a risk just the same. Mercury in any form can be toxic to the developing brain.



28"

[brittone2]

This is what I have found in the ITAP report (sorry if the formatting is weird - it's about half way through the report p 12 or so):

"Using the USDA’s estimate of 50 grams of average consumption HFCS per day, one might roughly estimate potential total mercury ingestion via HFCS of up to 28.5ug total mercury/day (50 grams HFCS X 0.570 ug/g). Using these same assumptions, high-end HFCS consumers potentially could have much higher total mercury ingestion.

It is difficult to know to what to compare this figure. The EPA has established a “reference dose,” or maximum recommended dietary intake of methylmercury. Methylmercury is the form typically found in fish and seafood. The reference dose of 0.1 ug/kg/day applies to women of childbearing age and young children, who are thought to be the most at risk from methylmercury exposure. For the “average” 55 kg American woman, this would translate into no more than 5.5ug/day of ethylmercury.



There is no reference dose for total mercury. The mercury found in HFCS may be a different form of mercury than the methylmercury typically found in fish (we just don’t know), but it poses a risk just the same. Mercury in any form can be toxic to the developing brain.



28"

Thanks for sharing that. Yeah, not so good.

[MontrealMum]

Yikes! Thanks for sharing. Now I'll have more support for my "strange" yogurt *rules*, as in, what DH is and isn't allowed to bring home. We've almost entirely cut out HFCS for other reasons (except a pop or two while sick :( ) ... but this is still disturbing because it seems so unexpected. But considering other stories lately...

[niccig]

I just told DH about this and how much an average eats of HFCS, and he says "that's not us" and it's not, but only because I don't buy much processed food. And this is just after DH says I should buy frozen waffles rather than make my own...umm, no thanks, why do you think we don't have much HFCS.

[crayonblue]

Another reason I drink Diet Coke. Just kidding. I know it has all sorts of evil in it. I am just trying to stay awake at this point in life!

[Twins2000]

I'm surprised, but yet, I'm not. Over the past few years I've basically eliminated buying foods containing HFCS, (and those containing hydrogenated oils) and I've been buying more and more organic foods. Now, I think I will try to go 100% organic. I'm also waiting to receive my materials from the Feingold Program which I just joined yesterday (I have some behavioral issues with on of my twins), so I'm trying to eliminate all of THAT stuff as well!

What has become of our food industry?

[elektra]

Great.
Good thing I have been at least looking at things like soda and bread and getting the no HFCS kinds. But I have not been diligent about it. And I eat out a lot. Oh and I grew up eating and drinking all kinds of this stuff.

[lisams]

Get ready for the spin from the corn industry. THey'll inevitably try to explain the concerns away :shake:

There will be studies that prove there is no concern...anyone want to guess who will be funding these studies?!!!

Here I am sipping on my Dr. Pepper. What a buzz kill. Another reason I need to kick the habit.

[o_mom]

There will be studies that prove there is no concern...anyone want to guess who will be funding these studies?!!!

Here I am sipping on my Dr. Pepper. What a buzz kill. Another reason I need to kick the habit.


Mine didn't taste so good at lunch either. :(

[Clarity]

Thanks for sharing this, I hadn't heard. Thank goodness we have little to no HFCS in our home as my dh has been anti-HFCS since I met him 5+ years ago. (Ketchup was my last holdout and I found HFCS free alternatives about a year ago.) But, I forwarded the links to friends and family..they need to be converted too!

[JTsMom]

:nodno: Disturbing. I already avoid HFCS about 98% of the time, but I might step it up a notch more. I don't buy products that have it, but I'm sure that when we eat out we do consume it.

[mommylamb]

We've tried to cut out HFCS for certain items, but I haven't done a full sweep of everything and I'm dreading the many things I'll probably be throwing out tonight. Anyone know if you can get Ketchup that doesn't have it?

[JTsMom]

You definitely can. Just try the organic aisle.

[caleymama]

Anyone know if you can get Ketchup that doesn't have it?

Annie's (http://www.vitacost.com/Annies-Homegrown-Ketchup-Organic) ketchup is great! ETA: I can get it at our local HFS.

o_mom - thanks so much for posting this. I hadn't seen anything about it yet.

[lisams]

Anyone know if you can get Ketchup that doesn't have it?

Trader Joes is HFCS free and pretty cheap.

[Ceepa]

I wonder if there will be follow-up studies to further explore this issue. Detectable mercury levels were found in 17-20 of 55 samples. I woud like to know more about the sample sources.

ETA: So it looks like they just purchased 55 branded products with HFCS as the first or second label ingredient. The survey tested only one sample of each product. Interesting but it seems more formal testing is in order.

[hellokitty]

There will be studies that prove there is no concern...anyone want to guess who will be funding these studies?!!!



I was thinking the same thing. I can just imagine the commercials they will put out, "Mercury is safe in moderate quantities." :rolleye0014: I already can't stand the, "HFCS is like honey" commercials, what a crock of you-know-what.

[LarsMal]

We've tried to cut out HFCS for certain items, but I haven't done a full sweep of everything and I'm dreading the many things I'll probably be throwing out tonight. Anyone know if you can get Ketchup that doesn't have it?

I recently bought the Heinz Organic ketchup. Ketchup is a food group for me- as in, can I please have a fry for my ketchup?! Heinz is my favorite, and I was scared I'd end up with something I didn't like. The organic is very yummy! It definitely costs more, but oh well. If I get brave I might venture out and try some of the other brands. I know Kroger's Naturally Preferred line of organics has a ketchup- and the 20oz bottle is less than the 20oz bottle of Heinz regular.

[srhs]

Where is that green nauseous smiley? I thought it got added a few months ago.

I almost never drink soda, but I went through a 12-pack of Ginger Ale a few weeks ago. I feel major prego guilt now! "Sorry about all the HFCS and possible mercury, little fetus!"

I DID find some regular sugar GA at Target. And, yes, I know HFCS is in a million other things I need to purge. Seriously, we are going to have to make a roadtrip to a town with a health food store.

[JTsMom]

WF carries some sodas with real sugar. DH loves the Blue Sky Creamy Root Beer.

[MartiesMom2B]

Target brand ranch dressing is made with sugar, not HFCS however if does have MSG in it. Lowes food brand frozen waffles and their bread also uses sugar and no HFCS.

I was going to say that someone should forward this to the corn refinery people but Beth beat me to it.

Now I need to look for Heinz organic ketchup. I just feel a real loyalty to Heinz that I can't explain. Maybe it's from getting a free pickle pin when I was in college.

[MontrealMum]

I don't eat ketchup, but I do remember this fun fact: the antioxidents or whatever that we're all supposed to be eating tomatoes for...they're highest in ketchup, or maybe it's more easily absorbed :( I just remembered it as a "darn it" because I don't usually eat it...with my fries.

I cut out HFCS by accident mainly...switched to whole grains for breads which just *happened* to be free of it years ago, and switched to better yogurt because I was cutting out Aspartame etc. But I do remember just last year that Dr. Oz was on Oprah and he did a whole episode on how bad it is for you - and how it's in a surprising amount of things. Try poking around her website...it may have some tips or clues about how to cut it out.

What is this pop that is free of HFCS? I don't think I can be sick without pop :sick:

[fortato]

From the SweetSurprise.com website....
http://www.hfcsfacts.com/Mercury-Study-Outdated.html
Sigh...

It's crap, and they know it.

[brittone2]

I was thinking the same thing. I can just imagine the commercials they will put out, "Mercury is safe in moderate quantities." :rolleye0014: I already can't stand the, "HFCS is like honey" commercials, what a crock of you-know-what.

Yeah, I can see this:
HFCS contains mercury
Fish contain mercury
Fish are healthy for you, you should eat more.
HFCS is healthy, like fish :)
:6:

I'm sure they'll have some fabulous explanation for it.
:32:
and the FDA will reassure us all that it is no problem thanks to the corn lobbyist people.

[srhs]

What is this pop that is free of HFCS? I don't think I can be sick without pop :sick:
Well, I looked it up online before attempting to shop and found the Hansens brand, but no one here carries it. At Target, they had Archer Farms "Ginger Beer." $4/4 pack, made with regular sugar. It's decent.

[brittone2]

We don't really drink soda often, but I think Coke puts out a sugar containing version vs. HFCS that I think is easier to find during and leading up to Passover? Am I remembering that right?

I've read about people in CA buying Coke (that sounds bad ;) ) produced in Mexico that contains sugar vs. HFCS too I think??

[fortato]

Coke does put out a Passover version of their sodas- Sprite and Coke are the two I have found... They don't have HFCS but can be difficult to find.

[caleymama]

I recently bought the Heinz Organic ketchup. Ketchup is a food group for me- as in, can I please have a fry for my ketchup?! Heinz is my favorite, and I was scared I'd end up with something I didn't like. The organic is very yummy! It definitely costs more, but oh well. If I get brave I might venture out and try some of the other brands. I know Kroger's Naturally Preferred line of organics has a ketchup- and the 20oz bottle is less than the 20oz bottle of Heinz regular.

We used the Heinz Organic ketchup for a while back when we first switched away from the regular. We tried some other organic brand (a store brand, maybe? can't remember) and it wasn't so good. Then I tried the Annie's and it's been fantastic. The reason I wanted something other than the Heinz was because it has "natural flavoring" and I wanted to avoid that based on something I read somewhere (mommy brain coming atcha! :duh:). No idea what I originally read, but here's (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4676616/) a Q & A about natural flavoring.

[MontrealMum]

Ah, I just googled Archer Farms (Target proprietary brand) and one of the hits that came up is the Kosher Council of Canada's food list which it is on. So, I will start checking out Kosher pop. That has a bit of an oxymoron-like sound to it, but I already buy Kosher cottage cheese (it tastes better) so I know where to look.

[o_mom]

Where is that green nauseous smiley? I thought it got added a few months ago.

I almost never drink soda, but I went through a 12-pack of Ginger Ale a few weeks ago. I feel major prego guilt now! "Sorry about all the HFCS and possible mercury, little fetus!"

I DID find some regular sugar GA at Target. And, yes, I know HFCS is in a million other things I need to purge. Seriously, we are going to have to make a roadtrip to a town with a health food store.


Don't feel too bad - the sodas they tested were actually least likely to have mercury. I'm putting it on my list of things to find an alternative to, but I'm not dumping what I have. I feel worse about the tub of vanilla yogurt they ate last week that I found out afterwards had HFCS (DH bought it and got the store brand and I didn't notice until I was washing the container).

[crayonblue]

We don't really drink soda often, but I think Coke puts out a sugar containing version vs. HFCS that I think is easier to find during and leading up to Passover? Am I remembering that right?

I've read about people in CA buying Coke (that sounds bad ;) ) produced in Mexico that contains sugar vs. HFCS too I think??

Yes, you are right. When we were in Guatemala, DH drank up the Coke like crazy. He says it is sooooo much better than Coke here because it is made with real sugar (he normally isn't a coke drinker). Our babysitter found some Coke with real sugar during Passover in the Kosher section of our grocery store and bought some for DH!

[brittone2]

Yes, you are right. When we were in Guatemala, DH drank up the Coke like crazy. He says it is sooooo much better than Coke here because it is made with real sugar (he normally isn't a coke drinker). Our babysitter found some Coke with real sugar during Passover in the Kosher section of our grocery store and bought some for DH!

Thanks for the info :) I don't know how hard it is to find the Mexican Coke (do you Californians here see it pretty readily or is it still hard to find there?, but it is Passover time so some mamas here will want to stock up while they can find the sugar vs. HFCS stuff :)

[BelleoftheBallFlagstaff]

Yes, you are right. When we were in Guatemala, DH drank up the Coke like crazy. He says it is sooooo much better than Coke here because it is made with real sugar (he normally isn't a coke drinker). Our babysitter found some Coke with real sugar during Passover in the Kosher section of our grocery store and bought some for DH!


They sell Coke in bottles here, made in Mexico, that has cane sugar no HFCS. I only drink water, tea, and espresso, no soda.

[caleymama]

I can find locally (at some grocery stores) Jones Pure Cane Sugar Soda (http://www.jonessoda.com/files/products-glass.php). I've only had the Cream Soda variety, but have heard good things about the others (for soda, anyway :p).

[hellokitty]

I can find locally (at some grocery stores) Jones Pure Cane Sugar Soda (http://www.jonessoda.com/files/products-glass.php). I've only had the Cream Soda variety, but have heard good things about the others (for soda, anyway :p).

I think you have to be careful though, b/c not ALL Jones is HFCS free. I remember getting some a few months ago and was surprised it had HFCS.

[daniele_ut]

I've read about people in CA buying Coke (that sounds bad ;) ) produced in Mexico that contains sugar vs. HFCS too I think??

They have it by the case at Costco here, but it's about twice as expensive as regular, of course.

[o_mom]

They have it by the case at Costco here, but it's about twice as expensive as regular, of course.


Does anyone have a good read on the reasons behind this?

I know it is not all the "smaller market, higher prices", but corn subsidies and cane sugar tarrifs come into it.

[tylersmama]

I've been buying the Mexican Coke at Costco for awhile now because it really does taste better (and the HFCS-free thing is a huge bonus) but I read on another board that it may not actually be HFCS free. And in fact, the last couple of cases I've bought haven't tasted nearly as good. So I'm skeptical now on whether or not it actually IS HFCS free. Argh.

I've been trying to steer clear of HFCS as much as possible, but I don't make myself crazy over it. I will definitely be more vigilant about it now, though. Sigh...

[Nooknookmom]

Thanks for the info :) I don't know how hard it is to find the Mexican Coke (do you Californians here see it pretty readily or is it still hard to find there?, but it is Passover time so some mamas here will want to stock up while they can find the sugar vs. HFCS stuff :)

DD & I found it at our local Hispanic market. We buy Carne Asada there and picked up a couple of bottles of Coke for the road.

I am a Coca Cola collector (read:nut). Also, being originaly from the "South", we used to stop at old-tymie gas stations, grab a *little* bottle of Coke and drop peanuts in them! The Coke from Mexico tasted similar to those old little bottles!

ETA: I was concerned about the factories that produced the soda and lead contamination. I haven't heard anything specfically related to Coke, however I live in the LA suburbs and lots of Mexican markets sell candy produced in Mexico, a news report linked that candy to lead and recommended that your child NOT eat it. So that is why I was wondering about safety.

I wondered why it tasted different...thanks for clearing that up!!!!!!

[ThreeofUs]

Why am I not surprised? Disgusted, yes. Sick to my stomach about our food supply, yes. But not surprised.... :(

[ThreeofUs]

DH just reminded me that people were pointing fingers at the mercury in vaccines for things like autism. And the Feingold diet specifically excludes HFCS and seems to really help kids and adults.

My G-d. I wonder if there's a connection.

[s7714]

Thanks for the info :) I don't know how hard it is to find the Mexican Coke (do you Californians here see it pretty readily or is it still hard to find there?, but it is Passover time so some mamas here will want to stock up while they can find the sugar vs. HFCS stuff :)

I'm in CA and I haven't seen any HFCS free Coke, not even around Passover. Maybe it's just the grocery stores I frequent though. I may have to try a couple of little markets that cater to the Hispanic population.

I know when we were in Hawaii on our honeymoon the Coke tasted a little different and a tour guide said it was all made with cane sugar there. (Don't know if it still is though.)

ETA: All us Coke lovers should start a letter writing campaign to Coke and tell them to stop selling HFCS drinks. I'm sure that'd go over well with the corn industry...

[Sillygirl]

Does anyone have a good read on the reasons behind this?

I know it is not all the "smaller market, higher prices", but corn subsidies and cane sugar tarrifs come into it.

It's because the US slaps an enormous import tariff on cane sugar to protect six incredibly rich Florida sugar barons who donate lots of money to both political parties. Seriously, that's why. I heard Michelle Obama was cutting back on the processed foods for Sacha and Malia - who's up for a letter writing campaign?

[squimp]

Wow! I was wondering why - usually mercury accumulates up the food chain, which is why some fish are high in mercury.

But here's the explanation:
"The use of mercury-contaminated caustic soda in the production of HFCS is common. The contamination occurs when mercury cells are used to produce caustic soda."

Gross! Well, this is one more reason to carry around a magnifying glass and read labels.

But it gives me great pause about our food supply and the common sense and ethics of the people who produce our food.

[tylersmama]

And who really wants to eat a food that has to use hydrochloric acid and caustic soda to produce it anyway??? Disgusting...

[caleymama]

This issue & discussion remind me of a book I read last year:

Twinkie, Deconstructed: My Journey to Discover How the Ingredients Found in Processed Foods Are Grown, Mined (Yes, Mined), and Manipulated Into What America Eats (http://www.amazon.com/Twinkie-Deconstructed-Ingredients-Processed-Manipulated/dp/B000ZJYCWI/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233101998&sr=8-1)


While it wasn't the best book ever it was interesting and certainly relevant to the mercury/HFCS issue. Note - the first review at amazon (link above) is from the author and in it he refutes some statements from the Washington Post review of the book that's part of the amazon item description.

[brittone2]

It's because the US slaps an enormous import tariff on cane sugar to protect six incredibly rich Florida sugar barons who donate lots of money to both political parties. Seriously, that's why. I heard Michelle Obama was cutting back on the processed foods for Sacha and Malia - who's up for a letter writing campaign?

Yep, yep...I had heard this mentioned before, but Sillygirl posted about it a long time ago and that spurred me to look into it.

Sick.

[elektra]

I wonder if anyone can prove the corn people knew that harmful mercury was getting into the food? It just reminds me of the class-action lawsuits against Big Tobacco years back. Like "The Insider" with Russel Crowe.

[vludmilla]

We've tried to cut out HFCS for certain items, but I haven't done a full sweep of everything and I'm dreading the many things I'll probably be throwing out tonight. Anyone know if you can get Ketchup that doesn't have it?

Organic ketchup. Even Heinz makes an organic ketchup.

[overcome]

:(

Jeepers, I am sooooo not the type to panic but I swear I wonder more and more what we are doing to ourselves and our planet.

:yeahthat:

And, how this is not even on the radar of the majority of people I know. They look at me like I am a crazy when I talk about this sort of stuff.

Thank goodness I can come to this board and discuss with you crunchy mamas!!

[SnuggleBuggles]

:yeahthat:

And, how this is not even on the radar of the majority of people I know. They look at me like I am a crazy when I talk about this sort of stuff.

Thank goodness I can come to this board and discuss with you crunchy mamas!!

I know, and if I do bring it up with people in real life they are bound to roll their eyes at me and assume I read it in some far flung, extreme magazine. It's in the WA Post! I never know how to handle learning stuff like this because obviously it impacts the health of my loved ones but I don't know if they would even listen.

Beth

[trales]

I know, and if I do bring it up with people in real life they are bound to roll their eyes at me and assume I read it in some far flung, extreme magazine. It's in the WA Post! I never know how to handle learning stuff like this because obviously it impacts the health of my loved ones but I don't know if they would even listen.

Photocopy and hand it out. I am going to work on a letter if I have a snow day tomorrow. I will be happy to post what I come up with for folks to cut paste and mail out. I am thinking my senators, congressman, Coke, Heinz and some of the other foods we eat a lot.

I wonder if a letter to Theresa Heinz Kerry would be in order. One of her deceased husbands foundation does environmental work. I will look into it.

[brittone2]

Photocopy and hand it out. I am going to work on a letter if I have a snow day tomorrow. I will be happy to post what I come up with for folks to cut paste and mail out. I am thinking my senators, congressman, Coke, Heinz and some of the other foods we eat a lot.

I wonder if a letter to Theresa Heinz Kerry would be in order. One of her deceased husbands foundation does environmental work. I will look into it.

Wave the freak flags high, ladies. :loveeyes: :wink2: Time to unite for a cause :thumbsup:

[SnuggleBuggles]

Wave the freak flags high, ladies. :loveeyes: :wink2: Time to unite for a cause :thumbsup:

You are inspiring me to send something out. I have been mulling it over since I came late to the whole formaldehyde in clothing affair. I can just send out my whole massive red flag email and let it go.

Beth

[DrSally]

O.M.G.
Well, given how much ketchup DS eats, I recently switched to Muir Glen (non HFCS). Now, I'm going to switch yogurts too. It is more expensive, but this is just too much....
I don't know if I can eliminate it all, but I'm going to start by focusing on the dairy (i.e., yogurt)and condiments they mentioned. I generally make my own salad dressing.

They also mentioned products with HFCS as 1st or 2nd ingred on the list, which I don't want to be eating too many of those in the first place! We don't drink "juice coctails" or really juice for that matter, but I guess it would apply to candy and icecream products? This is just crazy.

ETA: Yeah, i just sent out an email to my family. You know, sometimes I mention things like this and I think they get mad b/c they wish they didn't have that info. It's hard to debate as "fringe", I mean it's in a mainstream newspaper with data to back it up...

[nicanddrew]

Yikes. I sit here reading this thread drinking my Hershey's syrup made chocolate milk, my one indulgence during pregnancy. Sorry fetus. Whoda thunk you are so careful about fish and you get it from chocolate milk...

[SnuggleBuggles]

Yikes. I sit here reading this thread drinking my Hershey's syrup made chocolate milk, my one indulgence during pregnancy. Sorry fetus. Whoda thunk you are so careful about fish and you get it from chocolate milk...

Organic Valley Chocolate Milk...best stuff ever! I lived on it during pg. Buy it. It's worth every penny! :)

Beth

[elliput]

What is this pop that is free of HFCS? I don't think I can be sick without pop :sick:

Jones Pure Cane Sodas./ (http://www.jonessoda.com/) I have been finding 12 pack cans at Target and 8 pack cans at Walmart. The Berry Lemonade is really yummy.

[MamaMolly]

Yeah, i just sent out an email to my family. You know, sometimes I mention things like this and I think they get mad b/c they wish they didn't have that info. It's hard to debate as "fringe", I mean it's in a mainstream newspaper with data to back it up...

Yes, I'm the wacky fringe earth mama in my family which is really funny because I'm about as crunchy as a french fry! But thanks to the very educated mamas here I learned about BPAs, SLS/SLES and parabens, etc. and try to pass along what I've learned.

It is hard because my mom and sister just laughs it off, but then about a year later, once 'mainstream' papers and magazines start to report it I'm not such a nut anymore. But I'd rather they come late to the party than to not attend at all!

[gatorsmom]

Thank you for posting this. I've never really paid attention to HFCS- I'm too busy looking for allergens for the kids and sodium and carb content for my high-blood- pressure, diabetic dad.

Well shoot. Where am I going to find organic Heinz ketchup up here in the middle of nowhere? At this very minute, I have a half-gallon bottle of Heinz ketchup in my fridge because my kids go through so much of it. And I was feeling so good because I've increased their consumption of healthy foods by allowing them to add ketchup to it. Ya know, you try to do something good....

In response to those posters who are asking what is happening to our food industry, I would say that it is taking the same route as other big businesses. Food manufacturers are in it foremost for the profit. You know, it used to be that companies were founded to do 2 things- create products that helped the consumer and at the same time, provide a living for owners/employees of the company. I don't think that's true anymore. Now it's mainly about the profit, less about how to help society/the consumer. I think this attitude is visible in so many places nowadays- in clothes that fall apart during the first washing because the quality is so poor, food made with substandard ingredients, household items/products that are poorly made and breakdown too easily or don't work as they are advertized to, tactics used to "trick" the consumer into thinking a product is useful or worthwhile, etc. I should save this for the bpost and not hijack this thread. I just think our society's whole outlook needs to change.

[sarahsthreads]

OK, I am so incredibly glad I basically banned this from the house (along with hydrogenated oils) about a year ago. Not that we were eating that much of it to begin with, but in our whole wheat bread? Really? And to all my family and friends who basically told me I was a nutcase to worry about it... :p ! Give me honey and good old cane sugar any day.

(Debating also sending out an email to them with the link and a :p face.)

Sarah :)

[srhs]

Well shoot. Where am I going to find organic Heinz ketchup up here in the middle of nowhere?
Ah, someone who feels my pain!
GL with your search! I told DH about the ketchup tonight and he launched into a speech about how this house will only have Heinz. (Steelers fan)
I told him Heinz had an organic; I didn't point out our current ketchup is Aldi.
Dunno where you are in MN, but they have 3 TJs now. No Heinz, I know.

[BelleoftheBallFlagstaff]

Ah, someone who feels my pain!
GL with your search! I told DH about the ketchup tonight and he launched into a speech about how this house will only have Heinz. (Steelers fan)
I told him Heinz had an organic; I didn't point out our current ketchup is Aldi.
Dunno where you are in MN, but they have 3 TJs now. No Heinz, I know.

We buy ours at Sams Club.... Do you have one of those? You can always check Amazon.com

[shawnandangel]

I told him Heinz had an organic; I didn't point out our current ketchup is Aldi.

This made me LOL. I'm slowly going organic. DH is slowly getting on board. He was very wary of TJ's. But, I've been buying bread, salad, salad dressing, meat and veggies from there for 3 weeks now and he said tonight "TJ's has really high quality food" as he ate some Gondonzola crackers.

Here's what bothers me about the study:
They say we tested 10 dressings and found mercury in 4. That's 40%!!!
This can be easily misconstrued as "As much as 40% of condiments have been found to contain mercury". This study is interesting but they only tested 1 of each item and then only studied 55 items. There is way too much room for variables here. I would have been happier if they studied just yogurt, 5 brands and tested each product 1000 times. Yes, 1000 times to make sure the results they were getting were holding true. This study seems more like a high school science project to me than true scientific research.

The corn industry will have a hayday with it because of how the study was done.

I DO think that it gives us a lot of questions that need answered and will hopefully lead to more in depth studies, I just wouldn't throw out everything in my cupboard because of one study.

Don't get me wrong mama's, I'm on board with the HFCS is bad, I just think the study itself is wobbly.

[caleymama]

Well shoot. Where am I going to find organic Heinz ketchup up here in the middle of nowhere?

Not sure if you have BJs, but our BJs carries a two-pack of big bottles of Heinz organic ketchup.

Also, I had raved about Annie's Naturals Organic Ketchup earlier in this thread. I can get it at our local HFS, but Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001EQ4KYQ/ref=s9_subs_c2_s1_p325_t3?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0NZ2RYK04A45VPY0VTPK&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=463383371&pf_rd_i=507846) and vitacost.com (http://www.vitacost.com/Annies-Homegrown-Organic-Ketchup-24-oz) carry it as well. HTH :)

[vludmilla]

This made me LOL. I'm slowly going organic. DH is slowly getting on board. He was very wary of TJ's. But, I've been buying bread, salad, salad dressing, meat and veggies from there for 3 weeks now and he said tonight "TJ's has really high quality food" as he ate some Gondonzola crackers.

Here's what bothers me about the study:
They say we tested 10 dressings and found mercury in 4. That's 40%!!!
This can be easily misconstrued as "As much as 40% of condiments have been found to contain mercury". This study is interesting but they only tested 1 of each item and then only studied 55 items. There is way too much room for variables here. I would have been happier if they studied just yogurt, 5 brands and tested each product 1000 times. Yes, 1000 times to make sure the results they were getting were holding true. This study seems more like a high school science project to me than true scientific research.

The corn industry will have a hayday with it because of how the study was done.

I DO think that it gives us a lot of questions that need answered and will hopefully lead to more in depth studies, I just wouldn't throw out everything in my cupboard because of one study.

Don't get me wrong mama's, I'm on board with the HFCS is bad, I just think the study itself is wobbly.

It's not wobbly research, it's a pilot study and pilot studies are by their nature small. The researchers were given a mandate by someone at the FDA and they could only do what they FDA allowed them to. If you read the original study, they tried to get more samples after the initial batch and were unable to because the FDA support dried up and the industry wasn't interested in helping (go figure).

[o_mom]

This made me LOL. I'm slowly going organic. DH is slowly getting on board. He was very wary of TJ's. But, I've been buying bread, salad, salad dressing, meat and veggies from there for 3 weeks now and he said tonight "TJ's has really high quality food" as he ate some Gondonzola crackers.

Here's what bothers me about the study:
They say we tested 10 dressings and found mercury in 4. That's 40%!!!
This can be easily misconstrued as "As much as 40% of condiments have been found to contain mercury". This study is interesting but they only tested 1 of each item and then only studied 55 items. There is way too much room for variables here. I would have been happier if they studied just yogurt, 5 brands and tested each product 1000 times. Yes, 1000 times to make sure the results they were getting were holding true. This study seems more like a high school science project to me than true scientific research.

The corn industry will have a hayday with it because of how the study was done.

I DO think that it gives us a lot of questions that need answered and will hopefully lead to more in depth studies, I just wouldn't throw out everything in my cupboard because of one study.

Don't get me wrong mama's, I'm on board with the HFCS is bad, I just think the study itself is wobbly.

I sat down and read through both studies last night.

For both of them, they were not intended to show more than really a "proof of concept". Essentially they are intended to show that mercury contamination in the production of HFCS and manufacture of food products is possible and not just theoretical.

As background, there are two sources of caustic acid used in production of HFCS. One is plants where chlorine is made with older mercury cell technology (mercury grade) and the other is made with newer membrane cell technology (membrane grade). There are 5 plants in the US still using mercury cell technology. Their caustic acid product sheets clearly state that it may contain mercury. They have _tons_ of mercury unaccounted for each year and there has been speculation that it is contaminating other products produced at the plant. It is used in several steps of the process for making HFCS, which can take place at more than one manufacturer (say, company A does step 1 and sells that to Company B who finishes the prodcut and then that is sold to Company C who makes the food from it).

The first study, the one published in Environmental Health, was done under the direction of the FDA. The researchers under the umbrella of FDA inspectors went to manufacturers and took multiple samples of HFCS directly and had them tested at independent labs. They found contamination in about half the samples. The researchers asked to get additional samples and were denied by the manufacturers (they cannot legally deny the FDA, but this was after that). Also, they asked about the source of the chemicals used for production and could not get that information because it was considered proprietary.

So, that study gave the evidence that mercury contamination of HFCS was possible and the levels of contamination were not insignificant.

The second study was done by IATP (http://www.iatp.org/iatp/about.cfm) and looked to show that contamination of end product was also possible. They sampled 55 products that had HFCS as the first or second ingredient and that were marketed or presumed to be consumed by children.

The point of both of these was to get out there in the public eye that this is going on. The chemical industry is refusing to retire the mercury cell technology, claiming the cost is too high, but studys of that cost have shown they will recoup that cost within 5 years because of lower operating costs and less regulatory burden. This is something that has not been mandated in spite of proposals that they do so.

Additionally, because the FDA allows HFCS to fall under the GRAS (generally recognized as safe) category there has been no requirement for producers to show it is safe. There is also the fact that the HFCS producers don't outright claim that it is a preservative, but yet the food manufacturers will say that it is. As a preservative it would fall under stricter scrutiny.

The HFCS industry should be ashamed that they are using mercury grade products when an alternative exisits. Likewise the chemical industry should be smacked for selling it to food producers and the FDA (who first connected the dots FOUR YEARS AGO and just now is getting around to letting someone test it) is insane for allowing it. <all that my opinion, of course ;) >

As far as getting rid of the mercury cell plants. It has been proposed in Congress over 18 months ago (http://www.opencongress.org/bill/110-s1818/show), but I can't figure out what is going on with it - maybe someone with a better grasp of how that works could comment. It wouldn't help with imported products though as they are still allowed in some countries.

FDA banning mercury grade chemicals in food production would be another step, but I'm not sure how the GRAS label plays into this and if they have the authority to just do it.

Food manufacturers are probably the ones with the most immediate power - if their customers are calling demanding to know the source of their HFCS and the production method they may be inclined to require the HFCS to stop using mercury grade chemicals.

I hope this helps someone - I am feeling the urge to find replacements for our last few HFCS holdouts and will think twice about the occasional Nutrigrain bars now <sigh>.

[maestramommy]

Ye gods, what next?? We mostly avoid HFCS but I've recently bought a lot of condiments, and of course they all have it. We don't have TJs nearby, so it looks like I"m going to have to shell out bigger bucks and buy in the organic foods section :32: For ketchup! Arrrrrgh!

[JTsMom]

Organic Heinz is also at Publix for anyone who is in the south. I'd bet most large grocery stores that have any kind of an organic dept. at all will carry it.

Hanes sodas are also available at TJ's. I want to say a 6 pk is $2.60ish. The Blue Sky brand at WF's is slightly more- about $3.75 IIRC. DH likes to take it with his lunch every once in a while. I very rarely drink soda- maybe 3 or 4 times a year, so it's not something I buy for in the house.

[elephantmeg]

I noticed the kraft ranch I bought at sharp shopper for .50 for a 16 oz bottle has sugar not HFCS :)

[clb]

Thanks for the summary o_mom.

Well, I think this explains why we have been seeing the HFCS commercial for the last few months.

Earth’s Best, Vans and TJ’s make frozen waffles w/o hfcs.

[shawnandangel]

I sat down and read through both studies last night.

For both of them, they were not intended to show more than really a "proof of concept". Essentially they are intended to show that mercury contamination in the production of HFCS and manufacture of food products is possible and not just theoretical.

I get that, you just said what I tried to say way more eloquently. I shouldn't read the boards and study Anatomy & Physiology at the same time. Too much for my brain to handle!

I'm sorry if posters took my words to mean that the researchers did not do what research they did properly. That's not what I meant by wobbly. What I meant by wobbly is that it is way too small of a study for us to go on a crusade and say "ban HFCS! Look at the research!" IT IS enough for us to say "I demand answers! Look at the research!" KWIM?

JMHO

[o_mom]

I get that, you just said what I tried to say way more eloquently. I shouldn't read the boards and study Anatomy & Physiology at the same time. Too much for my brain to handle!

I'm sorry if posters took my words to mean that the researchers did not do what research they did properly. That's not what I meant by wobbly. What I meant by wobbly is that it is way too small of a study for us to go on a crusade and say "ban HFCS! Look at the research!" IT IS enough for us to say "I demand answers! Look at the research!" KWIM?

JMHO


Gotcha! :thumbsup:

I agree that this is not going to bring out a wholesale ban on HFCS (as much as I might like :ROTFLMAO:), but I hope that it doesn't just get dismissed and that the government can fund larger studies and use this as a kick in the pants to get the industry cleaned up.

[shawnandangel]

but I hope that it doesn't just get dismissed and that the government can fund larger studies and use this as a kick in the pants to get the industry cleaned up.

I totally agree with you.

[caleymama]

I sat down and read through both studies last night.

o_mom - thank you so much for this great summary. Very helpful to see it written out like that!

[lablover]

I've read about people in CA buying Coke (that sounds bad ;) ) produced in Mexico that contains sugar vs. HFCS too I think??


Aha! So funny - just last week we were visiting MIL in Florida and when we were in Whole Foods I saw a glass bottle of coke sitting in the refridgerated section and it was labeled Mexican Coke. I wondered what was so special about Mexican coke and we all stood there and pondered it, and wondered why it was so expensive. I thought maybe it was the glass. I almost bought it, remembering that I used to love the bottled coke much more than cans. I never realized it was because the ingredients were actually different.

[mommylamb]

Does anyone know if corn syrup and high fructos corn syrup are the same thing? Seems some items just list corn syrup.

[mommylamb]

DH just reminded me that people were pointing fingers at the mercury in vaccines for things like autism. And the Feingold diet specifically excludes HFCS and seems to really help kids and adults.

My G-d. I wonder if there's a connection.

Mercury poisoning and autism are two totally different things. Both bad, but not related as per stuff I"ve read.

[o_mom]

Does anyone know if corn syrup and high fructos corn syrup are the same thing? Seems some items just list corn syrup.

Corn syrup starts off with the same process as for HFCS. Corn syrup is further processed to make HFCS. I found this site: http://www.madehow.com/Volume-4/Corn-Syrup.html with an overview of how they are made. It looks like there is the potential for this contamination in making regular corn syrup. Both the process of converting corn to corn starch and corn starch to corn syrup have acid solutions listed which is what they were talking about in the reports as potential contamination points.

From a why HFCS is not so good for you perspective, I always felt that corn syrup was not as bad, but it is rarely used in place of HFCS because they have different sweetness. This issue appears to potentially effect both products, though.

[MamaMolly]

o-mom thank you, thank you, thank you!

I've been trying to explaining the HFCS issue to my family (DH/Sister) and I didn't have a way to explain the importance of this study. My sister especially is likely to dismiss it, mostly because I'M the one bring it up. If you don't mind, I'm cutting and pasting (and of course crediting you!) your post and sending it to them.

Many, many thanks for putting it into such an understandable format!

[o_mom]

o-mom thank you, thank you, thank you!

I've been trying to explaining the HFCS issue to my family (DH/Sister) and I didn't have a way to explain the importance of this study. My sister especially is likely to dismiss it, mostly because I'M the one bring it up. If you don't mind, I'm cutting and pasting (and of course crediting you!) your post and sending it to them.

Many, many thanks for putting it into such an understandable format!

Aww... thanks. :shy:

Go ahead and use it. I don't know why this touched a nerve yesterday and I had to dig in and find out all about this - my house is a wreck from letting the kids run wild yesterday (they were home sick from school).

[KpbS]

Well shoot. Where am I going to find organic Heinz ketchup up here in the middle of nowhere?

We live in a small town in a small state. If you have a Kroger (or the like) yours may carry it. Ours does and it is very tasty.

[mommylamb]

Corn syrup starts off with the same process as for HFCS. Corn syrup is further processed to make HFCS. I found this site: http://www.madehow.com/Volume-4/Corn-Syrup.html with an overview of how they are made. It looks like there is the potential for this contamination in making regular corn syrup. Both the process of converting corn to corn starch and corn starch to corn syrup have acid solutions listed which is what they were talking about in the reports as potential contamination points.

From a why HFCS is not so good for you perspective, I always felt that corn syrup was not as bad, but it is rarely used in place of HFCS because they have different sweetness. This issue appears to potentially effect both products, though.

Another thank you from me... it's very helpful to get all this research. Thanks for doing it. Now if only i hadn't spent all that money on condiments...:32:

[gatorsmom]

Not sure if you have BJs, but our BJs carries a two-pack of big bottles of Heinz organic ketchup.

Also, I had raved about Annie's Naturals Organic Ketchup earlier in this thread. I can get it at our local HFS, but Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001EQ4KYQ/ref=s9_subs_c2_s1_p325_t3?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0NZ2RYK04A45VPY0VTPK&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=463383371&pf_rd_i=507846) and vitacost.com (http://www.vitacost.com/Annies-Homegrown-Organic-Ketchup-24-oz) carry it as well. HTH :)

What is BJs? Also, what is HFS?

I usually buy our groceries from a local online delivery store. I was just placing my order a half hour ago and looked for Heinz organic. The 15oz bottle was $2.99. The 64oz bottle of NON organic Heinz was $4.37. Ouch. We do have a Sam's Club here but I am staging a one-woman boycott of Walmart and Sam's because I have issues with the business practices of those stores. We did just get a Trader Joe's but it's a 35 minute drive to an area of town I'm unfamiliar with (and with the snow and cold weather I don't like to take all my little ones out in that, kwim?). I think I might have to cough up the $2.99. I can't seem to find the Annies brand. darn.

thanks you anyway!

[caleymama]

What is BJs? Also, what is HFS?

BJs = BJ's Wholesale Club (http://www.bjs.com/) (like Sam's, Costco)

HFS = health food store

The Annie's from Amazon comes out to be $3.67 for 24 oz, so a little cheaper - $.15/oz instead of $.20/oz for Organic Heinz thru your local store. You'd need to buy something small ($3) to get up to $25 to get the free super saver shipping. . .

[mommylamb]

What is BJs? Also, what is HFS?

I usually buy our groceries from a local online delivery store. I was just placing my order a half hour ago and looked for Heinz organic. The 15oz bottle was $2.99. The 64oz bottle of NON organic Heinz was $4.37. Ouch. We do have a Sam's Club here but I am staging a one-woman boycott of Walmart and Sam's because I have issues with the business practices of those stores. We did just get a Trader Joe's but it's a 35 minute drive to an area of town I'm unfamiliar with (and with the snow and cold weather I don't like to take all my little ones out in that, kwim?). I think I might have to cough up the $2.99. I can't seem to find the Annies brand. darn.

thanks you anyway!

Just wanted to let you know that your one woman boycott is at least a 2 woman boycott (actually 3, my mother also boycotts) of Walmart and Sams.

[DrSally]

What is BJs? Also, what is HFS?

I usually buy our groceries from a local online delivery store. I was just placing my order a half hour ago and looked for Heinz organic. The 15oz bottle was $2.99. The 64oz bottle of NON organic Heinz was $4.37. Ouch. We do have a Sam's Club here but I am staging a one-woman boycott of Walmart and Sam's because I have issues with the business practices of those stores. We did just get a Trader Joe's but it's a 35 minute drive to an area of town I'm unfamiliar with (and with the snow and cold weather I don't like to take all my little ones out in that, kwim?). I think I might have to cough up the $2.99. I can't seem to find the Annies brand. darn.

thanks you anyway!

BJ's is a wholesale club mostly on the east coast. Muir Glen is also a HFCS free ketchup. I think I found it either at Target or Cub. I know, you can get like a gallon of "bad" ketchup for the price of a small bottle of the good stuff. Our TJ's is about 30 min away too, but I go about 1x a month and stock up b/c their prices are so good for things like organic applesauce, soybutter, etc. FWIW, Costco is a drive for me too, but I like their selection and they seem to be carrying more organic things. I just bought some "pop tarts" that are organic and made from whole wheat flour and fruit! I would never let DS eat those things otherwise, but for a treat and with good ingred, I just treat it like a dessert.

ETA: I just checked the yogurt I bought yesterday--Yoplait Yo Plus has only sugar and no artificial sweetners. They usually have $1 coupons off 4 in the paper.

[elephantmeg]

Thank you for posting this. I've never really paid attention to HFCS- I'm too busy looking for allergens for the kids and sodium and carb content for my high-blood- pressure, diabetic dad.

Well shoot. Where am I going to find organic Heinz ketchup up here in the middle of nowhere? At this very minute, I have a half-gallon bottle of Heinz ketchup in my fridge because my kids go through so much of it. And I was feeling so good because I've increased their consumption of healthy foods by allowing them to add ketchup to it. Ya know, you try to do something good....

In response to those posters who are asking what is happening to our food industry, I would say that it is taking the same route as other big businesses. Food manufacturers are in it foremost for the profit. You know, it used to be that companies were founded to do 2 things- create products that helped the consumer and at the same time, provide a living for owners/employees of the company. I don't think that's true anymore. Now it's mainly about the profit, less about how to help society/the consumer. I think this attitude is visible in so many places nowadays- in clothes that fall apart during the first washing because the quality is so poor, food made with substandard ingredients, household items/products that are poorly made and breakdown too easily or don't work as they are advertized to, tactics used to "trick" the consumer into thinking a product is useful or worthwhile, etc. I should save this for the bpost and not hijack this thread. I just think our society's whole outlook needs to change.

walmart had organic heinz. Of course I stocked up on catsup right before this all came out-and we go through serious catusp here. It was $$$. Anybody ever made catsup that tasted like heinz?

[LarsMal]

I have been mulling it over since I came late to the whole formaldehyde in clothing affair. I can just send out my whole massive red flag email and let it go.

Beth

OT, but what can you tell me about formaldehyde in clothing, Beth? That is one of the things I was diagnosed as being allergic to after DD was born, but besides being told to wash my clothes before wearing them (and extra rinse cycles) and that a couple of underwear lines are free of the stuff, I still don't know much about it!

Thanks!

[mommylamb]

Does anyone know if Yo Baby is safe?

[LarsMal]

Does anyone know if Yo Baby is safe?

It's organic, so it should be....just checked the label, and it is safe (at least the banana/vanilla combo is).

[elektra]

Does anyone know if Yo Baby is safe?

I just checked mine this morning. It's all good. Organic sugar. No HFCS.

[LarsMal]

Just wanted to let you know that your one woman boycott is at least a 2 woman boycott (actually 3, my mother also boycotts) of Walmart and Sams.

DH and I boycott Walmart, too. My mom thinks we're crazy, so I'm sure she'd find my "no HFCS" crazy, too.

I think it's funny I'm becoming the crunchy freak-flag flyer of my family!!!

[KBecks]

With everyone talking about organic ketchup, I am feeling very behind with maybe 6 cans of spaghettios in the pantry. I've drank/drunk? Mt. Dew for decades. This is going to be a hard thing to give up.

[pantrygirl]

DH and I were making fun of the Corn Refiner's commercials recently and now this study comes out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEbRxTOyGf0

DH makes fun of me making our baby's food but I think these studies are turning him around.

Thanks for sharing.

[kimbe]

Does anyone else hope that Michelle Obama cares about these sort of things as much as we do? Wouldn't it be amazing to have a high profile advocate? I keep hoping that she will be the one to stand up about plastics, chemicals, pesticides, etc. I wish that I could send her this study.

[brittone2]

I contacted MomsRising with the story too.

[mommylamb]

I just checked mine this morning. It's all good. Organic sugar. No HFCS.

Thank you!

[jenny]

So if HFCS and corn syrup can have the same contamination with mercury, what are we supposed to do? If you check the labels on most foods, they contain corn syrup? It's in almost everything!

Also, are you moms who are throwing out HFCS items only tossing the ones that tested positive on the list that the OP posted or are you tossing everything that has HFCS, just in case?

I refrained from getting the free soda with my lunch today b/c of this issue, sigh.

[brittone2]

So if HFCS and corn syrup can have the same contamination with mercury, what are we supposed to do? If you check the labels on most foods, they contain corn syrup? It's in almost everything!

Also, are you moms who are throwing out HFCS items only tossing the ones that tested positive on the list that the OP posted or are you tossing everything that has HFCS, just in case?

I refrained from getting the free soda with my lunch today b/c of this issue, sigh.

There are tons of products that don't contain HFCS. Organic products can't contain HFCS in the ingredients, however, then you are paying a premium for a prepackaged product that probably isn't all taht healthy..."organic" or not (and I'm a big believer in organic, but obviously organic cookies, crackers, etc. are often not all that healthy anyway).

IMO the best thing is to phase out prepackaged products and cook from scratch. It takes time to get to that point though.

Trader Joe's carries HFCS free items, as does Whole Foods, etc. (still need to double check labels though, believe me).

Our local co-op grocery doesn't even carry products with HFCS anymore. They try to balance convenience w/ health concerns, and they poll their members every year or so and most members have requested that they just not stock HFCS containing products of any type (they didn't carry that many before, but now they carry none).

What do you need help w/ substitutes for? Many moms here have already made the transition and can probably help come up w/ storebought alternatives or recipes to make your own products, depending on your preferences.

[trales]

I just wrote a letter to my senators and congressman. If any wants a copy to send PM me your email address and I will send you a copy.

[gatorsmom]

BJ's is a wholesale club mostly on the east coast. Muir Glen is also a HFCS free ketchup. I think I found it either at Target or Cub. I know, you can get like a gallon of "bad" ketchup for the price of a small bottle of the good stuff. Our TJ's is about 30 min away too, but I go about 1x a month and stock up b/c their prices are so good for things like organic applesauce, soybutter, etc. FWIW, Costco is a drive for me too, but I like their selection and they seem to be carrying more organic things. I just bought some "pop tarts" that are organic and made from whole wheat flour and fruit! I would never let DS eat those things otherwise, but for a treat and with good ingred, I just treat it like a dessert.

ETA: I just checked the yogurt I bought yesterday--Yoplait Yo Plus has only sugar and no artificial sweetners. They usually have $1 coupons off 4 in the paper.

Oh, good to know about the Muir Glen ketchup. Unfortunately for my wallet, I"m at Target at least once a week, so I'll look into that. Costco might also be worth looking into because there is a brand new one very close to us. And I'll definitely look into the Yoplait Yoplus because my boys are hooked on the Yoplait Gogurt which, of course, has HFCS. Darn it, just when I was excited because my dairy-hating boys were eating some dairy.... stupid, selfish, unethical, food manufacturers. boo hiss to them.

[daisymommy]

I'm just now reading reading this. Holy smokes!!!

And we wonder why we all have mental and health issues?! It makes me so :32:

Oh, and to O_mom--haven't you tried the cereal bars at WF or TJ's yet? They are to die for! I buy a box in every flavor whenever we go :)

[daisymommy]

...the ones that tested positive on the list that the OP posted

Which list is that? I haven't read through all 11 pages of this thread yet.

[niccig]

IMO the best thing is to phase out prepackaged products and cook from scratch. It takes time to get to that point though.

Trader Joe's carries HFCS free items, as does Whole Foods, etc. (still need to double check labels though, believe me).

What do you need help w/ substitutes for? Many moms here have already made the transition and can probably help come up w/ storebought alternatives or recipes to make your own products, depending on your preferences.

I phased things out over time, and it started because of DH's high cholesterol and triglycerides 6 years ago. A lot of prepackaged products have too much fat, cholesterol and sugar in them. I've found alternative products. DH loves skippy peanut butter, I buy a natural version that you have to stir the oil in, DH complains every time he uses it, but he still eats it. The instant flavoured oatmeal have too much sugar. It takes 5 mins to make regluar old-fashioned oatmeal and with a drizzle of honey and scattering of dried fruit, it tastes even better - but I've had to adjust and give myself a few more minutes to cook breakfast in the morning.

I make things from scratch, but I also use convenience items. I'm just careful with what convenience items I buy. I've found Trader Joes to be great with this. A lot of their freezer meals are pretty good and easy to prepare. I'm lucky that I have 3 stores within 10 minutes of me. If I didn't, I would make one trip a month and stock up on things that I can. I also have some quick easy meals to prepare - pasta with jarred sauce that doesn't have too much fat or sugar, and a quick salad (salad mix, tomotaoes, olive oil and balsmic vinegar dressing), breakfast for dinner - scrambled eggs, or soup with grilled cheese sandwiches.

I would start with a few alternatives. Look for a better ketchup. Then look for a better peanut butter or jam etc. I read labels and if it has too many ingredients that I don't recognize, I don't buy it.

[daisymommy]

Mercury poisoning and autism are two totally different things. Both bad, but not related as per stuff I"ve read.

Well, that's highly debate able...not a proven fact, but we won't go there right now will we? ;)

[vludmilla]

Which list is that? I haven't read through all 11 pages of this thread yet.

In the second study they tested 55 products and in the original post, you can get the link to that list. Personally, I wouldn't use that list to make my eliminiations because it is so small. There are surely many more products that are mercury containing. Also, if an item is on the list as not having any mercury in it, that could always change if the manufacturing changes somewhere along the way. Until all HFCS is made in the safer way, there is no way to determine what HFCS is "safe".

[brittone2]

In the second study they tested 55 products and in the original post, you can get the link to that list. Personally, I wouldn't use that list to make my eliminiations because it is so small. There are surely many more products that are mercury containing. Also, if an item is on the list as not having any mercury in it, that could always change if the manufacturing changes somewhere along the way. Until all HFCS is made in the safer way, there is no way to determine what HFCS is "safe".

:yeahthat:

and it isn't particularly healthy for any of us anyway, mercury-containing or not. IMO, better to just phase it out entirely.

[maestramommy]

This kind of thing reminds me of how the lower income families will have to suffer again. Because it costs a lot more to buy food products that don't have HFCS. And even if it's on sale, it's costs more in time and money to get access to foods that don't have HFCS.

[LarsMal]

This kind of thing reminds me of how the lower income families will have to suffer again. Because it costs a lot more to buy food products that don't have HFCS. And even if it's on sale, it's costs more in time and money to get access to foods that don't have HFCS.

I was thinking the same thing, not only for lower income families, but families on a tight budget. DH is getting ready to start a new job with a lower salary. We will have the same mortgage until we can get out of this house, so we have to really tighten things up for a while. I'm trying to find other things to cut out and save on so I can continue to buy the healthier foods. It's very stressful!

[daisymommy]

Thanks! :) We actually don't buy anything with HFCS in it because both Josh and DH wig-out if they consume it...that and the fact that I know it's unhealthy. But I still wanted to read the report.

[maestramommy]

I was thinking the same thing, not only for lower income families, but families on a tight budget. DH is getting ready to start a new job with a lower salary. We will have the same mortgage until we can get out of this house, so we have to really tighten things up for a while. I'm trying to find other things to cut out and save on so I can continue to buy the healthier foods. It's very stressful!


I hear you. :hug: We're tight ourselves right now until we're more sure of Dh's job. Having to buy alternatives means cutting elsewhere, and right now I'm not sure where we're supposed to cut.

[daisymommy]

One thing to remember is that high fructose corn syrup and packaged processed foods go hand in hand. Your grandmother most likely wasn't eating and drinking HFCS. If we get back to basics--which generally means cheaper FRESH REAL FOOD--then you can avoid almost all HFCS.

I am always amazed at the people in front of me in line using food stamps, with the sooooo unhealthy packaged processed food choices in their cart, spending way more money than I am on the same amount of stuff in my cart. I'm not bragging here. I'm just saying that real food (not necessarily organic--but real food) is usually cheaper. But it all starts with education.

[DrSally]

Does anyone know if Yo Baby is safe?

I'm pretty sure it is. That brand tends to use sugar rather than HFCS.

[o_mom]

One thing to remember is that high fructose corn syrup and packaged processed foods go hand in hand. Your grandmother most likely wasn't eating and drinking HFCS. If we get back to basics--which generally means cheaper FRESH REAL FOOD--then you can avoid almost all HFCS.

I am always amazed at the people in front of me in line using food stamps, with the sooooo unhealthy packaged processed food choices in their cart, spending way more money than I am on the same amount of stuff in my cart. I'm not bragging here. I'm just saying that real food (not necessarily organic--but real food) is usually cheaper. But it all starts with education.

Not always though. Take yogurt, for example, which I just went through. We try to buy store brand items when possible to save money. I needed vanilla yogurt and put it on the list. DH bought Food Club yogurt instead of our usual Dannon or Stoneyfield. The Food Club was cheaper by over $2 (32 oz tub), but has HFCS where the other two don't. I didn't realize it until we were finished with it and was rinsing the container.

Ketchup is another one that has been brought up here - do you buy the cheap store brand or even just Heinz? Or pay twice as much for organic without HFCS? Jelly is very hard to find without it. Bread is 2-3 times the cost to get it without HFCS. It took quite some time for me to shift DH over to paying twice as much for bread, even though we were already getting 100% whole wheat.

Much of it has less to do with packaged products than the shift from cane sugar to cheaper, government subsidized corn syrup.

[SnuggleBuggles]

OT, but what can you tell me about formaldehyde in clothing, Beth? That is one of the things I was diagnosed as being allergic to after DD was born, but besides being told to wash my clothes before wearing them (and extra rinse cycles) and that a couple of underwear lines are free of the stuff, I still don't know much about it!

Thanks!

I just heard about it a few weeks ago so I asked here for confirmation and got wise replies, as expected. :) Here is that thread:
http://www.windsorpeak.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=311759&highlight=formaldehyde

Beth

[brittone2]

This kind of thing reminds me of how the lower income families will have to suffer again. Because it costs a lot more to buy food products that don't have HFCS. And even if it's on sale, it's costs more in time and money to get access to foods that don't have HFCS.

I don't necessarily think that is always true. I think families can cook real, whole foods and do better financially. But it takes time, work, and learning how to cook meals on the cheap.

That said, I do think there is truth to it on some level. I often think about how the kids that consume the most bisphenol A for example are probably lower income. BPA has been linked to central adiposity and insulin resistance, and many minority racial groups (particularly low income) are particularly vulnerable to diabetes, etc., kwim?

I would love to see more programs like some of the inner city schools that have started growing produce, teaching small space gardening, etc. kwim? In many inner cities, people can't even find groceries w/ any decent fresh produce. Everything in their small grocery stores is processed garbage.

We're trying to put in a square foot garden this year (LOOOOVE that book. It totally spells out gardening for the gardening dummy, like me!!)
http://www.squarefootgardening.com/
I wish we would have more community gardens, and more encouragement of inner city gardening programs, etc. for people to perhaps be able to get some better nutrition, and learn to sustain themselves better. Of course, then we'd have to worry that they were using contaminated soil from lead painted houses from years ago :( Sq. foot gardening relies on making a special mix put into raised beds, so that is better, but of course, it would be hard for some to afford the initial outlay for the mix.

Pipe dream I suppose.

Have you guys ever seen this site?
http://www.pathtofreedom.com/about/urbanhomestead.shtml

sort of like homesteading in the city :)

[DrSally]

One thing to remember is that high fructose corn syrup and packaged processed foods go hand in hand. Your grandmother most likely wasn't eating and drinking HFCS. If we get back to basics--which generally means cheaper FRESH REAL FOOD--then you can avoid almost all HFCS.

I am always amazed at the people in front of me in line using food stamps, with the sooooo unhealthy packaged processed food choices in their cart, spending way more money than I am on the same amount of stuff in my cart. I'm not bragging here. I'm just saying that real food (not necessarily organic--but real food) is usually cheaper. But it all starts with education.

I'm definitely going to be more conscious of this whole issue now, but I think if I can't find a reasonably priced substitute, then I'll go without b/c I'd like to eat less packaged food anyway. What bothers me, is that things like bread with whole wheat and no HFCS are few and far between, and if they're not on sale, at least $1 more than the bad stuff.

[brittone2]

Here's another thing to consider with costs:

I know many mamas here already do this, but consider making cuts and stretching the budget elsewhere. For example, stop buying paper products, paper towels, use vinegar instead of fabric softener, cut out most commercial cleaning products, etc. I found this gave us some extra wiggle room a few years ago when we moved toward more and more organics, kwim?

Use less of things. If you use conventional laundry detergent, cut back the amount you use by 25 or 50%...many people find it works just as well (this was a valuable lesson from cloth diapering for me!! Too much detergent isn't great for clothing either, and the buildup is nasty for diapers). Consider diluting soap, etc. and using things like foaming soap dispensers.

Those things may not save you a ton of money, but can provide a little extra wiggle room, kwim?

[egoldber]

I don't necessarily think that is always true. I think families can cook real, whole foods and do better financially. But it takes time, work, and learning how to cook meals on the cheap.

I really agree with this. It does take time and work though, at least until you get into routines and habits. Since DH lost his job, we have been eating better and more healthily than ever. Making my own bread allows me to do things like continue to buy some convenience foods (like crackers). And how many people were even taught to make bread or think it's even something that "normal" people do? I was never taught, but fortunately DH was and he taught me after we were married.

I am fortunate to have a TJs close by, because their organic dairy products are no more than most store brands.

What does kill me is paying $3-$4 a dozen for organic eggs. But since this is one of Amy and Sarah's main sources of protein, this is a HUGE priority for me and I'll sacrifice a lot else to keep doing that. I even toyed with the idea of getting a couple chickens ;) but research convinced me that it would not be any cheaper, at least not in the short run.

[caleymama]

Have you guys ever seen this site?
http://www.pathtofreedom.com/about/urbanhomestead.shtml

sort of like homesteading in the city :)

Love that site!! I've had it bookmarked for a while. I came across it when gathering information about having a backyard chicken coop. DH started ours this past fall and will finish it in the near future and hopefully we'll have a few chicks this spring.

[brittone2]

I really agree with this. It does take time and work though, at least until you get into routines and habits. Since DH lost his job, we have been eating better and more healthily than ever. Making my own bread allows me to do things like continue to buy some convenience foods (like crackers). And how many people were even taught to make bread or think it's even something that "normal" people do? I was never taught, but fortunately DH was and he taught me after we were married.

I am fortunate to have a TJs close by, because their organic dairy products are no more than most store brands.

What does kill me is paying $3-$4 a dozen for organic eggs. But since this is one of Amy and Sarah's main sources of protein, this is a HUGE priority for me and I'll sacrifice a lot else to keep doing that. I even toyed with the idea of getting a couple chickens ;) but research convinced me that it would not be any cheaper, at least not in the short run.

Right. We pay a lot for eggs, but dollar for dollar, I think a good quality egg is still a relatively inexpensive source of good quality protein, not to mention the great benefits, particularly if it is pastured, in terms of other benefits.

Also, you guys know I'm into the whole insulin resistance/metabolic syndrome/blood glucose level *stuff*, but I truly think good quality food is so much more filling, and when you stop eating stuff that spikes your insulin levels, you feel less hungry overall, and less hungry between meals. The food I eat in general is on the more expensive side, but we are happier w/ smaller portions because we don't eat a lot of insulin spiking types of foods.

[brittone2]

Love that site!! I've had it bookmarked for a while. I came across it when gathering information about having a backyard chicken coop. DH started ours this past fall and will finish it in the near future and hopefully we'll have a few chicks this spring.

Yeah, I don't get there often anymore but I find it totally fascinating and it really makes you think about how un self-reliant we've become (myself included in that).

[mommylamb]

I don't necessarily think that is always true. I think families can cook real, whole foods and do better financially. But it takes time, work, and learning how to cook meals on the cheap.



It does take time... not just to learn how to do it, but the actual making of things from scratch... and for a lot of poor (and not so poor) families, time is in equally short supply as money. If you work full time-- or more than full time, ie. multiple jobs-- I think it's pretty tough to go it from scratch with cooking.

[LarsMal]

I just heard about it a few weeks ago so I asked here for confirmation and got wise replies, as expected. :) Here is that thread:
http://www.windsorpeak.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=311759&highlight=formaldehyde

Beth

Thanks! That's pretty much what I already knew. I wash all of our clothes before wearing, and only buy washable stuff for me now. If I have a sweater that isn't machine washable I have to be sure to wear a shirt under it. I don't know how *bad* my formaldehyde allergy is, just that it was one of my five positive topical reactions, so I just play it safe now!

[niccig]

It does take time... not just to learn how to do it, but the actual making of things from scratch... and for a lot of poor (and not so poor) families, time is in equally short supply as money. If you work full time-- or more than full time, ie. multiple jobs-- I think it's pretty tough to go it from scratch with cooking.

I agree with this, it can take more time, BUT I also think that we've gotten out of the habit of cooking. I know it's quicker for me to make dinner than to go out or to order take out. Pizza Hut takes 30 mins to get to me, and I can make pasta and jarred sauce (a healthier one) and a salad in less time than that and it costs less. It does take more energy, and I totally understand if you're too tired after a long day at work.

I made a pumpkin pie and an apple for potluck Thanksgiving and everyone raved because it was from scratch, including the pie crust. I used to buy pie crusts as I thought it was too difficult to make. My mother always made from scratch and kept telling me it was easy. Earlier in the year, I didn't have time to go buy a pie crust, I followed my mother's recipe and it is easy. It takes 5 mins to make the pastry and 5 mins to roll it out and it cost me less than a dollar to make it. It took less time to make than it would to go to the store to get it. I'm never buying again. I'm starting to make more and more things rather than buy as it's just cheaper all round.

[JTsMom]

I got behind, but I wanted to throw out a couple of random things:

-If you can't find/don't want to pay for Heinz Organic ketchup, DH, who swears he'll never eat anything but Heinz says Publix store brand organic (Greenwise) is pretty darn close (and cheaper, of course).

-Earth Day is coming up, and when it does, you will see organic coupons everywhere- stockpile! If you can't find any for free, try ebay. You might pay $2 for 15 or 20 coupons, but they'll save you much more than that.

A lot of the big brands- Annies, Earthbound Farms, Muir Glen, Santa Cruz, Stonyfield, etc. put out these coupons, and they are usually pretty big ones- $1.00 +. Combine the coupons with a sale, and you're paying the same or less than you would for convential products. I swear. :) If you hit the jackpot on one of those combos, buy 10 or 20 of the product- as many as you can use before it goes bad. Try not to ever pay full price.

-Try not to get totally overwhelmed and think you have to go from eating nothing but processed stuff, to baking your own bread overnight. Just take one step at a time. I second those who mentioned that not buying commercial cleaning products is huge. I can't believe the difference that one little thing has made for me. Now when I smell those cleaners, or even some of the scented products like candles, I get an instant headache. I can't believe those things used to not smell strong enough to me before!

-When you're comparing organic prices to convential, keep in mind that WHERE you buy them has a lot to do with it. The organics at my local grocery chain are much more expensive than they are at WF's. WF's also has a store brand (365- some organics, some not) that is often very affordable.

-WF's and TJ's are both a looong haul for me, so I feel everyone's pain on that one. The way I've learned to deal with it is to meal plan, and then make 1 major trip every week or 2. Both stores are near each other, so I hit them both, and I bring a cooler with me to keep everything fresh. Eventually, I would love to get a big, seperate freezer so I can shop even less frequently.

-Be very careful about waste! That can help keep costs down as well.

[Ceepa]

It does take time... not just to learn how to do it, but the actual making of things from scratch... and for a lot of poor (and not so poor) families, time is in equally short supply as money. If you work full time-- or more than full time, ie. multiple jobs-- I think it's pretty tough to go it from scratch with cooking.

Yup. I'm sure energy is at a premium for a lot of working poor (and not so poor) families, as well.

[brittone2]

It does take time... not just to learn how to do it, but the actual making of things from scratch... and for a lot of poor (and not so poor) families, time is in equally short supply as money. If you work full time-- or more than full time, ie. multiple jobs-- I think it's pretty tough to go it from scratch with cooking.

Yep, I agree. But I think the learning is the hard part. I think once people find a system, they can do it. Like bulk cooking. You can cook 2-3 meals all at the same time without a whole lot of increased effort. You can run your crockpot w/ something in it on the weekend while you cook an extra big weekend dinner, then eat leftovers plus the crockpot meal for coming days.

As a PP said, for those families not in dire straights that go out to dinner a lot, it may be easy, but it is still time consuming. Travel to and from a restaurant, and then actually eating your meal, etc.

ITA w/ the PP who mentioned waste. We used to throw an embarrassingly large amount of food out. Seriously. All of the coupons, etc. in the world are kind of small in savings (most of the time) as compared to what most of us chuck in the trash each week. I think looking at what most people throw out each week is a real eye opener about wasted money. Throwing out less is another way we were able to move toward better quality food.

Honestly, it was a disgusting amount of food we used to have go to waste :(

[JTsMom]

I *think* that with food stamps, only certain products are eligible too. Someone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure I remember reading that. So if you are heavily relying on food stamps, and they will cover say Cpt. Crunch, but not oatmeal (just a made up example), you're kind of out of luck, even though oatmeal is cheaper.

The time factor is huge too. It's easier for me to pull this off b/c I'm home, can shop around, and take my time cooking, not to mention I'm not 120% physically drained.

[KrisM]

This kind of thing reminds me of how the lower income families will have to suffer again. Because it costs a lot more to buy food products that don't have HFCS. And even if it's on sale, it's costs more in time and money to get access to foods that don't have HFCS.

True, to a point, but I am looking through my pantry, and I see lots of cheap stuff that is free of HFCS - Kraft mac n cheese, Aunt Millies bread, Club crackers, yoplait kids yogurt. None of those are expensive at all, and most are darn cheap if you buy them on sale and use a coupon.

[KrisM]

I *think* that with food stamps, only certain products are eligible too. Someone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure I remember reading that. So if you are heavily relying on food stamps, and they will cover say Cpt. Crunch, but not oatmeal (just a made up example), you're kind of out of luck, even though oatmeal is cheaper.

The time factor is huge too. It's easier for me to pull this off b/c I'm home, can shop around, and take my time cooking, not to mention I'm not 120% physically drained.


Ha - DS1 is helping me with coupons and he cut a Capt'n Crunch one a few weeks ago and has been waiting for it to go on sale so he could try it. It was on sale last week, so off we went with his coupon box. I'm happy to see that it doesn't contain HFCS :). Especially because the coupon was $1 off 2, so we have 2 boxes of it.

[egoldber]

Honestly, it was a disgusting amount of food we used to have go to waste

Us too. The first thing we did was stop wasting food. It was amazing how much we used to throw out. The not so great looking veggies in the vegetable drawer make a fine soup or veggie stock. :)

[brittone2]

True, to a point, but I am looking through my pantry, and I see lots of cheap stuff that is free of HFCS - Kraft mac n cheese, Aunt Millies bread, Club crackers, yoplait kids yogurt. None of those are expensive at all, and most are darn cheap if you buy them on sale and use a coupon.

Right, and on the whole foods end of things, organic oats are generally less than a buck a pound or thereabouts. Compare how much farther a pound of oats goes than a box of breakfast cereal, including non-organic.

I think about how this ties into WIC receiving families, who in many states (at least in the past) get coupons for breakfast cereal but can't buy whole oats (supposedly because the cereal is "fortified" and the oats are not). THere is a ton of lobbying that goes into what manages to make it on the WIC approved foods list. Juice for babies anyone? Not to say that WIC hasn't helped many a family, but the message sent w/ juice being an item for 4-6 month olds, packaged cereal allowed but whole oats not, etc., etc. is kind of interesting.
(eta: and as subsidies affect sugar vs. HFCS use in this country, subsidies impact what is offered by WIC as well).

adding links:
Old CNN article about the lobbying big food companies do to build their consumer base...training tastebuds early on ;)
http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/05/18/cq/cereal.html

New program to give WIC moms the chance to shop farmer's markets:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/15/the-farmers-market-effect/

[gatorsmom]

Yup. I'm sure energy is at a premium for a lot of working poor (and not so poor) families, as well.


This is so true. I used to cook from scratch for my husband and I before kids. Started again after Gator and Cha cha were born. But I just do not have the energy to cook from scratch more than 2 nights per week. And I draggggggggg myself out the kitchen and force myself to do it. I'm not talking anything fancy either. I may chop a few peppers and onions that takes time and I will make the sauces myself too. But add that up witht he cooking time and THEN the clean up time and I'm beat (not to mention that my boys whine about the food and won't eat it. By that time I just give in to their demands). I've tried just doing stir fry since the cooking time is so quick but it's the prep work that just takes up so much time. of course, I'm not the world's fastest chopper, either. :) I'm looking forward and working on getting closer to the days that all the kids can help with the cooking and the clean up. But the amount of help they can contribute now is pretty minimal.

[KrisM]

Right, and on the whole foods end of things, organic oats are generally less than a buck a pound or thereabouts. Compare how much farther a pound of oats goes than a box of breakfast cereal, including non-organic.



Okay, how far does a pound of oats go? How much for the pound? I've never bought it. Two boxes of Capt'n Crunch set me back $1.70 total. It'll give me a probably 2-3 weeks of breakfast for DS1, who now thinks it's the best cereal ever.

Will check the links later - cooking dinner now (homemade chili, brown rice, and homemade biscuits :) ).

[KrisM]

This is so true. I used to cook from scratch for my husband and I before kids. Started again after Gator and Cha cha were born. But I just do not have the energy to cook from scratch more than 2 nights per week. And I draggggggggg myself out the kitchen and force myself to do it. I'm not talking anything fancy either. I may chop a few peppers and onions that takes time and I will make the sauces myself too. But add that up witht he cooking time and THEN the clean up time and I'm beat (not to mention that my boys whine about the food and won't eat it. By that time I just give in to their demands). I've tried just doing stir fry since the cooking time is so quick but it's the prep work that just takes up so much time. of course, I'm not the world's fastest chopper, either. :) I'm looking forward and working on getting closer to the days that all the kids can help with the cooking and the clean up. But the amount of help they can contribute now is pretty minimal.

Totally OT here, but I hate chopping onions. I got a chopper from Williams Sonoma for my birthday last year and it works wonderfully. I peel, and slice and stick about 1/2 an onion in and whack it and it chops into an attached bowl thing. I love it. Works for celery, too. Haven't tried it on peppers.

[o_mom]

Oh, and to O_mom--haven't you tried the cereal bars at WF or TJ's yet? They are to die for! I buy a box in every flavor whenever we go :)

I haven't mainly because we stopped buying them altogether - if we have them that is all they want in that "I just want snacks and no real meals" kind of way. :) I will check them out next time!

[brittone2]

Okay, how far does a pound of oats go? How much for the pound? I've never bought it. Two boxes of Capt'n Crunch set me back $1.70 total. It'll give me a probably 2-3 weeks of breakfast for DS1, who now thinks it's the best cereal ever.

Will check the links later - cooking dinner now (homemade chili, brown rice, and homemade biscuits :) ).

We don't eat as much oatmeal anymore, but DS was in a phase where he adored it for a while. Oatmeal really soaks up the liquid, so a 1/4 cup or less will go much further IMO than a small serving of breakfast cereal, kwim?


We used to pay 89 cents a lb for organic oats. I think the price has gone up now (in our co-op bulk bin) to more like $1.00ish or a little more, but it still goes on sale every few months. You could buy it and stick it in the freezer to keep it from going bad.


Dinner sounds yum :)

[o_mom]

We don't eat as much oatmeal anymore, but DS was in a phase where he adored it for a while. Oatmeal really soaks up the liquid, so a 1/4 cup or less will go much further IMO than a small serving of breakfast cereal, kwim?




I made a cup of oats yesterday and that was enough for DS1 and DS2, so we are more like 1/2 c per serving, which is what is listed on the box. A pound would be roughly 10 servings according to my package. I think that would be close the amount of servings in a medium sized box of cold cereal.

[egoldber]

I buy oats at Costco (non-organic) and pay $6.89 for 9 pounds. I buy a box every 3 months or so. DH and I eat oatmeal a lot of mornings for breakfast, and I make a pan of baked oatmeal for breakfasts about every other week. I also use them in meatloaf, meatballs, oatmeal muffins, oatmeal bread and, of course, cookies. :)

I like that it's a basic ingredient, vs a prepared product, so it does double duty in the pantry.

[brittone2]

Yeah, if you go non organic, it is still probably considerably healthier than regular breakfast cereal (especially a name brand) and then significantly cheaper most likely.

Thanks O_mom and Egoldberg for adding more info.

DS was really young when he was addicted to oatmeal. Thinking back it was probably closer to a 1/3 or a 1/2 cup possibly. In any case, I am pretty sure even w/ organic, it was cheaper or no more expensive than regular breakfast cereal.

I haven't done it, but I've heard you can make your own semi-instant oatmeal just by buzzing your oats around for a bit in the food processor first. Don't turn them into oat flour, but just pulse to get them more finely chopped. Maybe an option for those who need a faster option, although regular rolled oats always seemed to cook pretty fast for us.

[brittone2]

I made a cup of oats yesterday and that was enough for DS1 and DS2, so we are more like 1/2 c per serving, which is what is listed on the box. A pound would be roughly 10 servings according to my package. I think that would be close the amount of servings in a medium sized box of cold cereal.

I also don't know how the price compares to what we paid...we always bought from our co-op bulk bin. Not sure how the price breaks down per pound buying from the bulk bin vs a Quaker oats box, and then organic/nonorganic.

[JTsMom]

I want to say bulk oats at WF are $1.39, but I haven't bought them in a while. Those particular ones always seem to have a lot of hulls (is that the right word?) in them. I buy the ones in a box. I'm not postitive on this price either, but $1.79 sounds about right.

1 cup is usually more than enough for both DS and I. Some days he goes on an oatmeal kick though, then it takes more like a cup and 1/4.

[brittone2]

I want to say bulk oats at WF are $1.39, but I haven't bought them in a while. Those particular ones always seem to have a lot of hulls (is that the right word?) in them. I buy the ones in a box. I'm not postitive on this price either, but $1.79 sounds about right.

1 cup is usually more than enough for both DS and I. Some days he goes on an oatmeal kick though, then it takes more like a cup and 1/4.

Thanks for the comparison. Our big oat eating phase was prior to that big jump in food prices.

[KrisM]

I just realized that I did recently buy oats :). DH likes the Quaker raisin and spice and I want to make it starting with plain oats. Anyhow, Quaker for 18 oz was free on sale and after coupons a month or so ago. So, cheaper than boxed cereal, obviously. But, I can't count on them always being free, either. I don't remember the actual price.

I also buy the Quaker Instant, which DH eats. Those are usually $1 for a 10 pack box. Serving is about 1/2 cup for that, too. At $.90 for Capt'n Crunch, I think I'm getting about the same mileage for a box of cold cereal or a box of Quaker instant packets. My guess is that the Quaker oats werer $1 for the 18 oz on sale pre coupons.

I wish my kids would eat the oatmeal. They won't even try it. Usually it's Raisin Bran, but that has HFCS in it :(.

[mudder17]

Jones Pure Cane Sodas./ (http://www.jonessoda.com/) I have been finding 12 pack cans at Target and 8 pack cans at Walmart. The Berry Lemonade is really yummy.

I'll have to take a look. We don't drink sodas here anymore (so glad I broke DH of the habit of all that Diet Dr. Pepper!!!), except Ginger Ale, when I'm feeling nauseous or ill. I've been using WF's GA, but they have at least 2 other brands that are also HFCS-free. Oh, and I love the Blue Sky brand sodas, though I haven't had them in years. I first discovered those in New Mexico.

Sometimes, when I'm in the mood for something sweet, I also like Reed's Ginger Beer--it says it contains Fructose, but not HFCS. Does anyone know what Fructose refers to? It seems to indicate mostly fruit juices, so maybe they are from fruit, as opposed to corn....

[elliput]

Fructose wikipedia article. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fructose)

[DrSally]

I *think* that with food stamps, only certain products are eligible too. Someone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure I remember reading that. So if you are heavily relying on food stamps, and they will cover say Cpt. Crunch, but not oatmeal (just a made up example), you're kind of out of luck, even though oatmeal is cheaper.

The time factor is huge too. It's easier for me to pull this off b/c I'm home, can shop around, and take my time cooking, not to mention I'm not 120% physically drained.

I don't think that's true. You can't buy diapers or maybe even "deli" items, but everything else is fine. Maybe you're thinking of WIC, which has restrictions.

[MontrealMum]

This may have changed, but back in the 80s and 90s you could use food stamps for anything that was non-taxable - in MI. I don't know if this varies by state either. Which means food items - pop was always a grey area because of the deposit - but not t.p., or kleenex-type things which are taxable in MI. We actually had a woman pay for a wedding cake with food stamps once.

WIC issues, or issued, checks for specific types of food (peanut butter, eggs, cereal, milk or cheese usually) with specific sizes. If the check said 20 oz. of p.b. and the store only had 15 oz jars or something, then the person couldn't buy it, even though it was smaller and cost less.

[mommy111]

OK, searched this thread and read it now, I had been avaoiding reading it because of all that I'd have to give up because of what I read. :sigh:
So I guess goodbye to coke and all the other indulgences that I love. Even though DC won't be very badly affected because we essentially don't eat anything that's not cooked from scratch (and organic scratch). Recently I had started loosening up a little bit when DD was at the sitter's, but now my babysitter will HATE me even more than she does already, because I don't allow DD to eat all the things her DD loves (cookies, soda, store brand bread and even 'healthy' stuff like noodles made with canned corn/beans/peas...my rule is organic and fresh or frozen veggies/meat) and so her DD has to go without as well while she's sitting my DD. Sigh. Oh well, what has to be done has to be done.
Mercury. Wow. In the lab when we used mercury, even if we broke a thermometer in the sink, we had to report it because it contaminates the water supply even in those small amounts. So I can't imagine that these guys are sticking this into our food!!!

[JTsMom]

I don't think that's true. You can't buy diapers or maybe even "deli" items, but everything else is fine. Maybe you're thinking of WIC, which has restrictions.

That could definitely be the case.

I'm afraid I was way off on my oatmeal price. I think the $1.79 must have been a sale price, b/c it was 2.99(!) the other day.

[brittone2]

That could definitely be the case.

I'm afraid I was way off on my oatmeal price. I think the $1.79 must have been a sale price, b/c it was 2.99(!) the other day.

whaaaat? that's insane! I'll have to see what our local co-op grocery is charging these days for organic and non organic. I'll report back :)

[JTsMom]

Right? I had to do a triple take. I think they must have just raised the price or something, b/c there is no way I would have bought it at that price- I'll just pick the hulls out of the bulk. LOL

[brittone2]

Right? I had to do a triple take. I think they must have just raised the price or something, b/c there is no way I would have bought it at that price- I'll just pick the hulls out of the bulk. LOL

nak-sorry

so is this stuff in a container or from the bulk bin?

[JTsMom]

The 2.99 on was the 365 brand boxed stuff. I didn't think to check the bulk price.

[jgenie]

I don't know what we're currently paying for oatmeal, but DH makes a huge pot of it Sunday night. He adds frozen blueberries, chopped dates, cranberries, ground flax seed, vanilla & maple syrup. We put it in the fridge and just microwave it every morning. DH adds walnuts to his oatmeal. When I was pregnant I would often eat it for lunch so I would have enough time to take a nap before going back to work.