Tainted cinnamon applesauce pouches that have sickened scores of children in the U.S. may have been purposefully contaminated with lead, according to FDA’s Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods Jim Jones.

“We’re still in the midst of our investigation. But so far all of the signals we’re getting lead to an intentional act on the part of someone in the supply chain and we’re trying to sort of figure that out,” Jones said in an exclusive interview. The pouches found to be contaminated were sold under three brands — Weis, WanaBana and Schnucks — that are all linked to a manufacturing facility in Ecuador. The FDA says it’s conducting an inspection of that facility.

“My instinct is they didn’t think this product was going to end up in a country with a robust regulatory process,” Jones said. “They thought it was going to end up in places that did not have the ability to detect something like this.”

  • @acceptable_pumpkin@lemmy.world
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    2086 months ago

    This is where those US based companies should get absolutely reamed. Want to profit off cheap labor and raw materials from developing countries with “lax” controls? Then you should face all consequences and lost profits. No “blaming” some other supplier.

        • @RestrictedAccount@lemmy.world
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          246 months ago

          Lead is sweet. That’s why kids eat paint chips.

          Someone saved money on sugar and biocide.

          The reason why I tacked this on after your comment is that you are on to something.

          • fiat_lux
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            Sugar is way too cheap to use lead these days. 100 years ago this would have been plausible to me, but not today.

            Lead is used as a plastic softener, and these packages were likely not rated for food usage and whoever bought them online hadn’t checked for FDA approval for food safety before purchasing. It could have been something as simple as someone accidentally using the wrong materials in the factory too.

        • @Meowoem@sh.itjust.works
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          66 months ago

          Ok Alex Jones sure, now tell us about the chinese lizard people…

          I’m guessing your source for this is ‘it feels like it must be true because they’re baddies’?

          • @grayman@lemmy.world
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            26 months ago

            Go watch interviews of western expats that moved there and Chinese citizens that talk about their experience living there and growing up there. There’s also a few China News channels on YT and other places. The info is NOT hard to find if you try just a bit. The corruption in China is out of control. There are huge groups of younger people refusing to participate in the system. A China civil war is very much brewing as the system teeters on the edge of an economic cliff.

            • @Meowoem@sh.itjust.works
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              36 months ago

              Yes and a lot of Chinese people I’ve spoken to belive all the same stuff about America and the west lol, it’s a simple game really and exactly the one Alex Jones plays - point at a few exaggerated accounts of genuinely bad things and extrapolate into the stratosphere without ever once checking your work.

              Of course China has corruption and infighting because everywhere does, that doesn’t mean the whole system is a conspiracy.

      • @chitak166@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        Keep increasing the penalty until it actually has an effect.

        Even if it never changes their behavior, all the free money can be used for other things until they go out of business.

        There should be a tiered system, too. First offenders just have to pay a certain amount to cover all expenses and then some. Subsequent offenders should have to pay more, probably double at the minimum.

        Just like how insurers increase rates when we use their services, taxpayers should increase rates for businesses that use their services.

        • @phoenixz@lemmy.ca
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          26 months ago

          It never had an effect as the fines are built in, it’s cost of business for them and they fuck over more than the fined van ever make right. Jail the fuckers.

  • @gastationsushi@lemmy.world
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    606 months ago

    When you read these stories just remember the leaders who profit off these products are shielded from their cost saving decisions. Late stage capitalism y’all.

    • @grayman@lemmy.world
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      66 months ago

      What the fuck are you talking about? You don’t think socialist and communist countries with factories run by psychos poisoning people are profiting from these products without repercussions?

      • @SupraMario@lemmy.world
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        46 months ago

        They don’t, because these tankies have never lived in a communist hell hole. They think everyone will be holding hands and working hard labor for the same pay as them while they play and do nothing all day.

          • @grayman@lemmy.world
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            66 months ago

            There are plenty of first hand accounts on YT. A friend of mine is Cuban and lived it. Another is Venezuelan. They both speak English well. Just because you’ve never known someone that lived under communism, that doesn’t mean they don’t exist.

            • @TokenBoomer@lemmy.world
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              86 months ago

              Survivorship Bias. You are speaking to those who chose to leave socialism/communism. Of course they are going to be critical of it. In the same way an American that chooses to emigrate to Cuba would be critical of capitalism.

            • @wildginger@lemmy.myserv.one
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              66 months ago

              So, if I go find some homeless people who have spent their whole lives on the street, and ask them to speak on the quality of life under capitalism, are they going to tell me that capitalism is the ideal system?

              Or will they call this a capitalist hell hole?

  • RickRussell_CA
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    576 months ago

    we’re trying to sort of figure that out

    Well that inspires confidence.

  • @ExLisper@linux.community
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    546 months ago

    “My instinct is they didn’t think this product was going to end up in a country with a robust regulatory process,”

    Is this guy serious? It wasn’t detected before kids got sick, they still don’t know what happened and he’s talking about ‘robust regulatory process’? Here in EU I always check where products come from (not to buy something from Catalonia by accident) and all the food is made in EU. It’s because there are strict regulations on food safety, workplace safety, monitoring and so on. Countries that do now meet those requirements have tariffs put on their food and there’s extra requirements and check on imports (ask the UK). That’s why I keep hearing about cases here where they recall some food before anyone gets sick. But yeah, bringing food from Ecuador, waiting for kids to get sick and then trying to figure out what happened is ‘robust regulatory process’. Amazing.

      • @ExLisper@linux.community
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        146 months ago

        Because they are stealing money from the rest of Spain and work to worsen the lives of people in other regions for their own benefit. I’m not gong to support that by giving them money.

        • @test113@lemmy.world
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          176 months ago

          As far as I know, it is the other way around. Catalonia wants to separate from Spain because they are the economic powerhouse region of Spain, in addition to cultural and ethnological reasons.

          There are reasons to boycott some Spanish production, significant water problems in certain regions due to unfavorable water contracts for the population, labor issues, etc., but definitely not like this. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-20345071

          https://www.thelocal.es/20230818/why-are-the-basque-country-and-catalonia-so-rich-compared-to-the-rest-of-spain

          https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2014/10/14/catalonias-independence-movement

          • @chitak166@lemmy.world
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            76 months ago

            Sounds like they don’t want to pay taxes to support workers that made them rich.

            If I had to guess, Catalonia is where the white collar jobs are and they want to distance themselves from where blue collar jobs are.

            • ProdigalFrog
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              146 months ago

              Ironic considering Catalonia underwent an Anarchist Worker-coop revolution during the Spanish civil war.

              • One could note a direct link between Franco driving the boot into their neck for fifty years while the rest of the country clapped and modern Spanish fascists starting to win elections with their current desire to leave.

          • @ExLisper@linux.community
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            36 months ago

            Well, you know wrong and your ‘arguments’ don’t make any sense. Every country has a region that’s an ‘economic powerhouse’. Do you believe each of those regions should become independent? You know why Catalonia is an economic powerhouse? Same reason as regions in other countries:

            • geography: this region is simply conveniently located to build industry there, has proper resources and good climate
            • politics: Spanish government purposefully moved a lot of industry from other regions to Catalonia. They didn’t simply build it, it was uprooted from other regions and moved there
            • migration: a lot of hardworking people migrated there after industry was moved and worked to build strong companies there
            • strong internal market: Catalonia is selling it’s products to Spain. Without a strong market in the rest of Spain they would not be able build their economy. Until Spain joined EU they would face tariffs and would have difficulties exporting.
            • investment: central government invested a lot of money to build roads, railways, port and airports in Catalonia.

            Obviously there are other regions that could be an ‘economic powerhouses’ of Spain. Without Catalonia Spain would simply invest in other regions and consolidated industry there. The idea that Catalonia grew in a vacuum and built it’s economy independently from Spain to later be invaded and exploited is simply a lie. It’s a integral region of Spain that have seen a lot of investment. Investment made by Spain with the cost of big national debt that Catalonia want’s to avoid paying now. That’s what it comes down to: Catalonia want’s to take the money and run away.

            Now to you ‘cultural and ethnological’ reasons. Historically (until 1990’) only bout 20% of Catalans considered themselves different country and wanted independence. That’s because till 1990’ the independence movement was based on cultural and ethnological values. It didn’t really worked, 80% of Catalans still felt they are Spanish. In 1990 Catalan leaders started talking about money. Their arguments shifted to “we are the economic powerhouse, we should keep all our money” (sounds familiar?). Suddenly support for independence grew to around 50%. It’s not because their culture changed, it’s because people there understood that disrupting Spanish politics and fighting for independence will give them money. That’s what it’s all about. This rhetoric also ignores the fact that 50% of Catalans still consider themselves Spanish citizens and want to live in Spain. They are being actively discriminated by Catalan government and in case Catalonia becomes independent will entirely lose protection given them by Spain. Supporting Catalan independence gives Catalan green light to discriminated half of their population. Keep that in mind next time you will promote Catalan propaganda.

            • @test113@lemmy.world
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              26 months ago

              The data forming the basis for the economic argument is from the INE (Instituto Nacional de Estadística), it’s not “Catalonian propaganda.” link to INE: https://www.ine.es/dynt3/FMI/en/

              I do not argue for or against separation, thats their matter. I just wanted to clarify and add a few sources regarding the issue. I do belive economic differences contributed to the separation movement, though.

              • @ExLisper@linux.community
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                26 months ago

                If by ‘contributed to the movement’ you mean ‘Catalans are using their strong economy as an excuse to disrupt Span’s internal politics and demand more money and privileges for themselves to the detriment of the entire country’ then yes, you’re right. Not sure how that does make it any better.

                Also, it’s not their matter. It’s Spanish matter.

                • @test113@lemmy.world
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                  16 months ago

                  If you were the one paying to keep most of the lights on, you might reconsider your position in the system as well. And yes, that is why we have political discourse; I wouldn’t word it or see it like you do, but again, yes, economic factors can be a bargaining chip in such political problems.

                  For the Catalans I have spoken to, it’s more a cultural and historical thing that is amplified by the economic and political situation. Also, none of them believe or want to (fully) part with Spain, they want more self-determination and be more independent from Madrid but not leave Spain, much more like a state in the USA. But I have only spoken to two Catalan people about this issue, so it’s not a huge sample size.

        • @BigDanishGuy@sh.itjust.works
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          166 months ago

          The most prosperous region of Spain, which is actively trying to get independence, is stealing money from the rest of the country?

          It seems to me, that “cutting” off Catalonia’s supposed theft, would be as easy as letting them leave.

          • @qdJzXuisAndVQb2@lemm.ee
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            36 months ago

            There is a high concentration of Spanish industry in the region, and a major cargo port in Barcelona. Madrid and Barcelona are, by far, the moat important cities in the country.

          • @ExLisper@linux.community
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            26 months ago

            Some. They have big chemical industry so a lot of cleaning products and cosmetics come from there. But it’s always easy to find substitutes. Also because of their criminal behavior a lot of companies moved to other regions so it’s even easier to avoid them now.

    • squiblet
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      96 months ago

      Seriously. Take an apple, throw it in a blender. That was easy.

        • squiblet
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          6 months ago

          Sorry, I’ll provide more detailed instructions.

          • cut the apple in two. Remove the seeds and stem
          • add spices and maybe sugar
          • gently place it into a blender, with filtered water as needed
          • turn it on
          • pour it into something

          I guess if we’re dealing with people who don’t understand the basics of food, they might want to buy leaded applesauce from Ecuador since their kids are probably doomed anyway.

          • key
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            56 months ago

            That’ll give you a crappy excuse for applesauce. Got to peel, core, and slice the apples then cook it in the spices and cider until soft, then mash, sweeten, and reduce.

            • squiblet
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              66 months ago

              maybe if you want to preserve it but otherwise probably healthier to eat it raw. I’m fine with just puréed fruit.

        • gregorum
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          6 months ago

          And that doesn’t even tackle the problem of getting it pasteurized to rid it of microorganisms or trying to keep it shelfstable for more than a few days of transport, let alone getting it on the shelf long enough to be sold. 

          • squiblet
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            106 months ago

            Who’s trying to do that? I’m talking about feeding your kid an apple.

    • nifty
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      16 months ago

      It’s perfectly fine to do that because it increases economic prosperity across the globe, as long as we have regulatory controls. I don’t know, but I think finding this out and being able to find the source of contamination is a win for the FDA, and shows that some part of the process in place does work.

  • @BobGnarley@lemm.ee
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    276 months ago

    “Robust regulatory processes” my fucking ass dude. Food recalls happen ALL THE TIME in the US (AFTER all the kids get sick and die, mind you) and this fucking clown wants to talk about how great our FDA is? What a joke! And youll think well, maybe its just the cheaper brands and you would be wrong. Name brands and off brands all get contaminated I swear I see it at least once a month. Just google food recalls in the past year. Not only that, a lot of the literal poison they put in our food is illegal everywhere else. UK just seized thousands of pounds of candy from us because of “illegal ingredients” What fucking deception to say that our FDA is even remotely competent. If I didnt live here, I would NEVER eat the food from here

    • @surewhynotlem@lemmy.world
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      296 months ago

      Isn’t the high amount of recalls the evidence of the processes working?

      This feels like saying “our border is insecure! Look at all the drugs we confiscated!”

      • @BobGnarley@lemm.ee
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        96 months ago

        A “robust regulatory process” wouldnt have 10 million plus jars of peanut butter with E Coli contamination make it to the store shelves and take months to figure out about, AFTER some people die. That happened like 1 to 2 years ago. Now a bunch of kids get lead poisoning from Applesauce pouches so we take them off the shelves and act like we have some amazing system. How about those cancer causing dyes that california is banning andNOW the FDA is talking about, PERHAPS banning them nationwide. Our FDA is trash.

      • @ThatFembyWho@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        36 months ago

        as much as having overwhelmed hospitals is an indication of a thriving healthcare system… it would be better to have less recalls and better regulation of products to market, and similarly better to have affordable preventative healthcare to keep people out of hospitals in the first place.

  • LinkOpensChest.wav
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    236 months ago

    I read the article. Is this because lead has a sweet, appealing flavor? I remember reading this was a huge problem at certain times and places.

    • squiblet
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      6 months ago

      That would be similar to that fucked up thing that happened in China where some corrupt companies were putting a plastic resin in milk to cheat protein level tests.

      • @Meowoem@sh.itjust.works
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        26 months ago

        It happens in all the poorer Asian countries with turmeric too, https://www.economist.com/asia/2023/11/02/bangladesh-strikes-a-blow-against-lead-poisoning – classic capitalism, if they can make a couple of dollars more they won’t even lose a night’s sleep over poisoning millions of people.

        We really do need to fund food safety organisations well, these regulations and authorities the right wing keep trying to get rid of are incredibly important to our safety and wellbeing.

        • squiblet
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          36 months ago

          Absolutely. The US Conservative jerk-off about ‘regulation harming the economy’ is one of their most ridiculous and disingenuous/ignorant positions. It’s easy to see what happens with lack of regulation - people all the way from seniors to infants get poisoned by lazy and greedy business owners.

    • PugJesus
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      166 months ago

      Ancient Romans used it to sweeten wine. Also why kids used to be fond of eating lead paint chips. Slightly sweet.

    • @Evia@lemmy.world
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      106 months ago

      Yeah, this wasn’t someone with a grudge against children poisoning their food, this was an willfully negligent decision made by the producers to make the product more profitable

    • Lead(II,IV) Oxide (aka red lead) is sometimes used to color low-quality cinnamon to look better. Much like yellow led is sometimes used to color turmeric. Toxic, of course, but profitable!

      • LinkOpensChest.wav
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        16 months ago

        Is there a way that someone can test for this at home? It seems troubling that children had to be poisoned before any action was taken.

      • lad
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        26 months ago

        Is it akin to “third world countries start investing a food only after a thousand children poisonings, but we’re starting after several hundreds already”?

  • 𝐘Ⓞz҉
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    166 months ago

    Humans are really fucked. No wonder all these billionaires don’t want to help anyone but themselves.

    • wia
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      216 months ago

      This is sad indeed and this person is a wretch, but most of humanity is perfectly fine. There are some awful people and they make the news and are talked about cus we love gossip.

      But have faith in humanity. Most of it is just like you and wants things to be good and tons of them go out there and do good, we just rarely talk about them or encourage others to do good for their community.

  • @_lilith@lemmy.world
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    All these say no sugar added. Lead tastes sweet. So I guess that counts as an alternative sweetener?

    • @butterflyattack@lemmy.world
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      86 months ago

      TBF the Romans used to use lead as a sweetener all the time. While it can’t have done them much good it can’t have been immediately fatal or they’d have stopped. If it was intended as a sweetener in this case someone must have seriously fucked up the dosage. And I’d have thought they’d go for cheaper and easier ways to make the product taste sweeter, like aspartame or saccharine.

          • Captain Aggravated
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            56 months ago

            Oh make no mistake about it, I fully expect them to sweeten children’s applesauce with lead instead of sugar so it can be marketed as “no sugar added.” That’s what businesses do. If they can make a buck by poisoning children, they will make the decision to poison children. Every single time.

            I am sick and tired of sharing a genome with these creatures.

            • LinkOpensChest.wav
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              26 months ago

              Username checks out

              (Sorry, I know this is a serious issue, but my brain is fried and I couldn’t resist. To be clear, I fully agree with everything you’ve said here.)

    • Tarquinn2049
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      46 months ago

      Right? I was gonna look it up to make sure that name is the one I was thinking of.

      For others maybe not familiar, if you have ever heard the phrase “they drank the kool-aid” a cult leader also named Jim Jones ran a cult informally called JonesTown. If you have a strong stomach and a curiosity about how cult “life” can be, there is a pretty detailed Wikipedia article on it. Spoiler alert, the ending of the story is one of the worst parts. And also how we can be certain this is a different Jim Jones.

      And also it was “flavor-aid”, but details don’t always make it into the memes.

      • @sangriaferret@sh.itjust.works
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        36 months ago

        Jim Jones is such a fascinating character because of how much good he did. He fought for social justice, championed racial equality and tried to help the poor. He was beloved by his community and civic leaders. But…behind the curtain he was an abusive megalomaniac that led hundreds of people to their death.

        • Flying Squid
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          36 months ago

          But…behind the curtain he was an abusive megalomaniac that led hundreds of people to their death.

          This is true far too often about people who are public goods (not the leading hundreds to their death part obviously).

        • lad
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          36 months ago

          I am amazed what he got arrested for, how it didn’t work out, but mostly what he wasn’t arrested for. The Wikipedia article states that problems were mounting for at least a couple of years, and he was paranoid about being arrested (not without ground, surely) but why nothing was done until he relocated and ordered a massacre is beyond me

          • @sangriaferret@sh.itjust.works
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            16 months ago

            I think he had built so many bridges with so many people in his community and in politics that no one wanted to be the one that turned against him.

  • nifty
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    116 months ago

    The source of contamination is possibly a production facility in Ecuador, possibly due to using a cheaper cinnamon alternative. I thought I should post this because comments are wrongly asserting (I think) that a person in a U.S. production supply chain did this. It seems less malicious and more cost-savings oriented, which is why regulations and policies help save people from bottomline focused tendencies.

    The FDA continues to investigate a number of theories for how the pouches became contaminated, and has not drawn any conclusions about the way the lead was added, why or by whom. The FDA says it currently believes the adulteration is “economically motivated.” That generally refers to ingredients being altered in order to make products appear higher in value, often so companies can produce a cheaper item and sell it at an elevated price.

    • tb_
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      16 months ago

      which is why regulations and policies help save people from bottomline focused tendencies.

      But the free market!

  • Just another reason to avoid anything processed. I turned away from processed foods a decade or so ago and my health has never been better. Yes…all those additives are generally recognized as safe, but when you dig into it, no…no they are not especially on your gut health. That is aside from contamination risks like this situation. Why put your health in the hands of a corporation when you can eat whole foods that are much harder to tamper with.

    • @Garbanzo@lemmy.world
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      76 months ago

      I just tell my toddler if he wants applesauce he’ll have to make it from scratch. I’d make it for him but who has the time these days, you know? Anyway, once I’ve turned on the blender and stove for him he’s good to go. Nothing but whole foods for my little one.

      • Flying Squid
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        56 months ago

        Organic = contains carbon. Lead, as a base metal, does not contain carbon. So lead is definitively not organic.

        The problem is, all that food that isn’t labeled as organic? It is organic. Which is why that label is really fucking stupid.

    • @Garbanzo@lemmy.world
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      46 months ago

      I can’t believe any parent would walk right past the organic/local section at the dollar store and pick up lead pouches instead, but here we are.