Slow Death By Rubber Duck

Posted on March 19, 2011 by Brad Heap

I have just finished reading Rick Smith & Bruce Lourie’s excellent book Slow Death By Rubber Duck – The secret danger of everyday things. I can now tell you I have a very different perspective on just how much human created and introduced chemicals are poisoning our lives. The book isn’t designed to be something that scares you into becoming a homeless hippy but instead a guide to how we can reduce the amount of dangerous chemicals in our lives and improve our lives as a result.

The book analyses chemicals in our toys, clothes, tools, and food and through a combination of history lessons and self experimentation shows the dangers in a lot of products that we wouldn’t even think for one second would be dangerous. In particular highlighting the risks of phthalates, teflon, PCB flame retardants, mercury, triclosan, and plastics including bisphenol A. In the end the conclusion is not to run for the hills but instead to look at what we are putting into our bodies and how can we can stop poisoning ourselves.

This book is a must read for anyone who wishes to improve their health, it isn’t overtly science heavy and is easy to read. At the end of the book there are some fantastic tips about what foods and plastics to avoid and other ways to eat better and live healthier. As a result of reading it I will be watching what I eat and by to try and reduce things the impact of things like mercury, phthalates and BPA in my body. Living more organically has never seemed so simple, or so important.

Food Coloring and kids

Posted on July 3, 2009 by Brad Heap

On Monday night 60 Minutes ran an interesting story on food coloring and its effects on children. If you missed it check it out here: http://www.3news.co.nz/Off-Colour/tabid/209/articleID/110224/cat/31/Default.aspx

In quick summary they did an experiment with a group of kids that showed that if kids were fed food with artificial food coloring it in they would react quite differently afterwards to those kids who had been fed “healthy” food. In the UK food colorings are under review but in NZ the food safety authority does not want a bar of any concerns and is adamant that there is nothing wrong with food coloring.

Yesterday a group of dietitians complained to the herald that the show was biased (http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10582129)

In summary:

“The experiment conducted by TV3 was probably one of the most biased you could ever hope to see and only showed that if you hype children up enough with expectations and make them very excited about unlimited treat food that they hardly ever have, then they will behave badly,”

Of course this completely misses the fact that the children who got a feast of unlimited healthy food did not appear to be that hyped up, or behaved badly. In fact initially both groups were very similar at the start.

Today 60 Minutes has responded: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10582373

60 Minutes acting executive producer Keith Slater responded today, saying a study by Britain’s Southampton University found a link between food colours and hyperactivity and had prompted the European Union to urge food manufacturers to implement a voluntary ban, and for Britian’s food standards agency to call for six artificial colours to be phased out.

“New Zealand, by comparison, is doing nothing” and this was the point of the story, he said.

He said viewers of the Off Colour report were told the experiment wasn’t scientific and it was “a simple test to see if the children appeared to react to food in any way”.

The food was chosen by a paediatrician and the experiment was overseen by a psychologist who noticed “immediate changes in the behaviour of the children eating the unhealthy food”, Mr Slater said.

The children found it difficult to concentrate and had problems with co-ordination and writing.

Mr Slater said the children were not hyped up in any way.

One wonders if the so called experts who critized the show actually watched it before they commented.

Target in the shitter.

Posted on June 28, 2009 by Brad Heap

The Herald reports on the false Target test that is looking like ruining a very good cafe in Ponsonby.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10581183

The owners of a Ponsonby cafe falsely accused by TV3′s Target show of serving contaminated food say the blunder has left them on the brink of bankruptcy.

The June 16 edition of the consumer show featured a hidden camera segment assessing the hygiene standards of eight Auckland cafes, and claimed chicken from Cafe Cezanne contained high levels of faecal coliforms.

This week TV3 released a statement on behalf of production company Top Shelf Productions admitting food samples from the cafes were incorrectly coded and they were unable to confirm which one had produced the contaminated food.

The statement said the employee in charge of labelling the samples had been sacked.

Releasing a statement, and sacking someone is simply not good enough. TV3 need to give the mistake at least twice the amount of airtime they gave to making the false accusation, and furthermore sacking someone is not the solution to the problem, it is the process that is at fault here.

Cafe Cezanne owners Rod Williams and Jackie Wilkinson said the “unbelievable” mistake had ruined their once-thriving business and they had taken legal advice on their next step.

“If it carries on this way we are going to go bankrupt,” Williams said.

“Our meals are quite reasonably priced and we go for volume in our cafe, but things have been so much quieter.

“We are pretty disappointed and our staff are very upset by everything.”

The cafe received an A grade rating during a food and safety inspection by the Auckland City Council last month.

I have been to Cezanne many times over the years, and it is one of the best cafes in Ponsonby. It is well known for its good priced food, and friendly atmosphere, and the fact that it got an A only a month ago suggests that Target stuffed up big time.

Both owners said the mistake was unforgivable and wanted to know more about how it had happened.

Wilkinson said they contacted Target before the show aired to say there was a mistake with the food sample.

“We knew there were a few errors in their facts but they went ahead anyway and we have noticed a serious downturn in clientele since then,” she said. “Then they come out with an apology but it’s too late. It’s shocking.

“We’re usually busy through the week, on weekends and in the evenings but now it’s really quiet.

“Sometimes we hear people walking past and saying ‘That was the dirty place on Target‘. It’s horrible.”

Okay this is where the shit really sticks to Target. Cezanne told them that it must be wrong, and coming back after the fact with a statement is no apology. It appears that Target is out to rack mud onto people deliberately, the show is no longer about consumer affairs but more about ruining people for the sake of entertainment.

Target executive producer Laurie Clarke said the mistake was “embarrassing” but was satisfied it was down to a single employee.

“We had followed basic procedure but fell down when it came to labelling the samples,” he said. “Of course it is embarrassing for us. We are a programme that critiques the performances of other industries so we have to maintain a high standard ourselves.”

Restaurant Association chief executive Alistair Rowe said the mistake was “irresponsible” and had destroyed the owners’ livelihood.

“It should have been obvious it was falsely contaminated food because it came back with a very high number for contamination – it was almost pure poo,” he said.

Anyone who has done any studies in Science will know that you test, test again, and test again until you get consistent and reasonable results. Surely if a result was almost pure poo it would raise alarm bells. How do we know Target has not been planting samples for the sake of good (or bad) tv?

“In my opinion Target deserves to get sued, and I will personally stand there in court and clap if they do.

“To get something like this wrong is just plain irresponsible.”

This issue is so many times worse than the issue with the Warehouse PJs from a few years ago, at least that test had some basis to it they just got the figures massively out of proportion. This is just outright defamation, and false accusations. Target owe Cezanne a lot more than an applogy, when the media can make or break companies the media must act with all due care to ensure that what it reports is the absolute truth. I hope the Cezanne win any legal battle, that Target do the right thing and broadcast a long and sustained apology and change their ways, and I hope the Broadcasting Standards Authority also takes steps to prevent this unnecessary destruction of a buisness happening again.

Update: here is the BSA report from last time: http://www.bsa.govt.nz/decisions/2007/2007-114.htm

And the media from last time: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10458951 and http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/11155