Beware! Something Unusual May Be in Your Food

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The rice here has been kept storage for a longer period. Surprisingly, the amount of Aspergillus flavus (microbes that produce toxin, in which they can cause severe illness in human) found in the rice is far more many times over the standard level.  These highly carcinogenic germs can even survive under a high temperature of 280 degree Celsius. To “bury” these germs from the consumers’ eyes, the immoral dealers have “reprocessed” and “bleached” the OLD rice into NEW rice with industrial oil looking substances. Now, the rice will appear crystallized shinny to naked eyes and are sold as FRESH RICE. When consumed in small volume, they’ll cause dizziness, diarrhea, but excessive consumption will lead to cancer. In fact, most of the rice has been contaminated with chemical residues, which will definitely trigger our health problem.

Soybeans

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Soybeans have long been a controversial debate as they’re one of the genetically modified foods. As like maize, 85% of herbicides are used to spray soybeans. Carbendazim, diazinon, methyl parathion, paraquat, aldicarb, carbaryl, cypermethrin, deltametrin and endosulfan are some of the chemical substances found in soybeans. Soybeans can bring us to a worrying state as about 75% of our processed foods (such as tofu, bean curb) are made from soybeans.

Strawberries

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During the growth process of strawberries, growth hormones are used extensively to shorten the shelf life by putting their physiology (such as metabolism and growth) on fast-forward. Though this ripening process may make strawberries appearing fresher, longer lasting but they’re tasteless. Strawberries with these hormone added generally appear larger in size, irregular shape and in their middle, you’ll find a hollow. There was a report saying that a 3-year-old child who consumed too much of those strawberries has larger bulging breasts even before her puberty age.

Tomatoes

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Tomatoes are the first crops to be genetically modified. They’re contaminated with chemicals of zineb, gamma-HCH, endosulfan, cypermethrin, aldicarb, azinphos methyl, captan, carbendazim and dimethoate. There were approximately 11,000 cases of serious poisoning being reported in 1993.

Vegetables

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You might not know that pesticides are being used at many stages of vegetables, from their growth, post-harvesting, harvesting, storage until shipment period. I’ve told that pesticides are used to kill pests in the growing period of vegetables, and even pesticides are used on seeds to help reduce the attack of pests or bugs. After harvesting, certain amounts of pesticides are applied on vegetables to make them appearing fresh in the wholesaler’s/ supermarket’s shelf. Specifically, most out-of-season vegetables may have pesticides added for the purpose to preserve the freshness of vegetables so that they’re not easily be attacked by fungus, or insects. Both lettuce and kale were found to have contained gamma-HCH, dimethoate, deltametrin, carbendazim, zineb and cypermethrin. In 1988, about 41 imported kale plants have been tested positive with 85% pesticide residues. Carrots, unexpectedly, were found to have clocked up with residues that were many times over the “toxicologically acceptable limits” of acutely toxic organophosphates.  

Watermelons

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The overuse of ripening agents, growth hormones, dye has turned the skin of the watermelon highly toxic to be consumed. These watermelons have been tested with Toxicity Index (TI) over 10 scores. This type of watermelon is easily to identify as it has uneven stripes on its skin. When cut off, its fresh appears to be a “striking” color, its seeds are white in color and it’s even smelly for you to swallow down your throat. The farmers themselves won’t eat this type of watermelon, even though they plant them for commercial purpose. They know better the harmful effect from this watermelon. Some immoral wholesalers even inject tap water into the watermelons to increase the weight, or inject the red-colored tap water into the watermelons to make them appearing fresh to the consumers, so that they can gain more profits.

Author’s opinion

While most of our fruits and vegetables are tested positive with more than one pesticide or chemical residues, I don’t encourage you to eat less vegetables or fruits. Try to wash your vegetables and fruits thoroughly. Remember to peel off the skin of the fruits and vegetables where possible, particularly apples, pears and peaches which are seriously contaminated with pesticides. This action does help reduce a direct consumption of pesticides. As for kale or cabbage, try to peel the first few pieces of leaves as this’ll help to reduce the chemical exposure and minimize the risk from these foods, even though the residues may not be completely eliminated.

If possibly, try to grow or buy organically grown fruits and vegetables, in particular green beans, winter squash, cherries, oranges, spinach, kale, peaches, grapes and etc. Foods that are grown or processed organically do not use any synthetic fertiliser, fungicides, pesticides or insecticides, even though some of them may be treated with natural pesticides. You should always make sure that they’re genuine and certified as ORGANIC. The best option is to look for foods that have the USDA certified organic label.

Not everyone here can afford to buy organic foods. To reduce the toxicity being added to your stomach, make your effort to select those foods with low scores of Toxicity Index, or select those are contaminated with fewer amounts of chemical residues. It’s important for you to avoid consuming out-of-season foods (alternatively, choose seasonal fruits and vegetables that contain either little or no pesticide residues), or imported foods. Also, don’t consume foods that come along with synthetic pesticides. You may also use veggie wash to remove as much chemical residues as possible.

As for meat and dairy products, it’s better to select those with less fat, because pesticides or any chemical substances tend to accumulate in animal’s fat. Therefore, it’s wiser to purchase low-fat milk, or dairy products. Make sure you remove the fats (for example chicken’s skin) from cuts of meat before cooking them. Nevertheless, for the sake of your health, you should eat less meat as it contains synthetic hormones and other chemical substances which can harm your health in a long run.

If you’ve time, try to visit a local farm or framer’s market to understand how the farmers manage the pest, how often the crops are being sprayed with pesticides, how much pesticides are used to treat the crops, which crops are treated with more pesticides and etc. Certain farms are not organic as claimed, but they just don’t use pesticides to treat their crops. Bear in mind that the real meaning of organic foods include foods that have no plant growth hormones, no herbicides, no artificial/ synthetic pesticides, no insecticides, no genetically modified organisms (GMO) or any chemical substances in any forms, but organic farming must use biological control in pest management, environmentally friendly approach, composting from natural foods leftovers, and natural biological strategy to promote natural ecosystem. The farm must also be located far away from heavily-polluted areas (such as industrial area, development area, theme parks, and residential areas). You can find the answer by simply observing the surrounding of the farms, witnessing yourself what the farmers do and by asking them. Find a farmer to grow for you or those uses minimal pesticides/ fungicides/ insecticides or any chemical substances. However, I’d suggest you to plant fruits or vegetables by your own whenever the condition is available (such as growing your sprouts in the kitchen, planting some vegetables or fruits tree either in your pot or backyard). This is also a brilliant way to cut cost, but most importantly, they’re nutritious besides free from any chemical residues.

Final remark:

Information contained in this article is aimed to create awareness on food safety. Start today by choosing organic foods and you’ll help to save our planet from being polluted.

Now, you can gain more health knowledge by visiting my health blog entitled HealthAssist. More upcoming updates and latest health information are right on the way!