Watch what we eat

These days, there are so many items which are suspect - in terms of hygiene (used to be the only problem), harmful ingredients (especially chemicals) and very commonly, those which are past their shelf lives (additional danger of repackaging).

We used to hear people saying 'don't go to their kitchen if you want to enjoy your meal there'. The restaurater should be blamed if he did not set a reasonable standard of hygiene. We tend to blame poor hygiene on some foreign workers who come from a lesser developed country.

There are still some careful people who tried their best not to patronise restaurants and food stalls too frequently, simply because we cannot control the quality of items used in the cooking. Chickens died of illnesses (extreme cases) or even fed with harmful feedstuff, for instance, could have been used without being noticed. Poor quality or over-used cooking oil, expired tinned and other products, fresh vegetables which are not properly washed off fertilisers or insecticides, could have been used too. Good control should extend up to the point when the food is served, where the crockery, cutlery or chopsticks and spoons, and the waiters' personal hygiene are also important.

We have seen the harm done to the numerous babies and young children, caused by melamine being added to milk products. The fact that reputable companies' products are included shows how vulnerable we are, to the many products and produce we use which are in the market.

A friend forwarded to me the following for the attention of others (better be safe than sorry):




Baby Carrots that you buy in the supermarkets - good to know

The following is information from a farmer who grows and packages carrots for certain retail outlets.

The small cocktail (baby) carrots you buy in small plastic bags are made using the larger crooked or deformed carrots which are put through a machine which cuts and shapes them into cocktail carrots. Most people probably know this already.

What you may not know and should know is the following: once the carrots are cut and shaped into cocktail carrots, they are dipped in a solution of water and chlorine in order to preserve them (this is the same chlorine used in your pool). Since they do not have their skin or natural protective covering, they give them a higher dose of chlorine.

You will notice that once you keep these carrots in your refrigerator for a few days, a white covering will form on the carrots. This is the chlorine which resurfaces. At what cost do we put our health at risk to have esthetically pleasing vegetables which are practically plastic?

We do hope that this information can be passed on to as many people as possible in the hopes of informing them where these carrots come from and how they are processed. Chlorine is a very well known carcinogen.

Please let us make this information available to as many people as possible. If you care about your family and friends, pass it on.

Who would have thought that such an item could be harmful?