A Reader Asks:
"Can you comment on the safety of Physicians Formula organic line and the ECOCERT rating?"
--Cheryl
I never cease to be amazed at the prevalence of the word "organic" in the brand names of many personal care products, some of which not only contain not a single certified organic ingredient, but several toxic synthetic chemicals, such as parabens and phthalates in synthetic fragrance! Dr Bronner's and the Organic Consumers Association are suing several manufacturers that list organic claims on their labels but whose products contain 1,4 dioxane, a carcinogen.
As for "natural," don't even get me started. I will restrain myself to repeating that "natural" is an undefined and unregulated claim in the cosmetic marketplace.
What labels are meaningful?
The USDA certified organic seal on a personal care product means that the entire product is certified organic, containing, at minimum, 95% certified organic ingredients. This is still a rarity, but some companies such as Organic Essentials and Origins Organics do make USDA certified products.
Look on labels for "contains USDA (or QAI) certified organic plant ingredients," and you'll be getting a good thing.
BDIH is an EU seal barring all petroleum-based ingredients.
The newis Natural Products Association (NPA) seal strictly limits chemical processing and additives.
ECOCERT is a respected European mark still rare in this country. It requires at least some percentage of certified organic ingredients, and forbids many synthetics and problematic processing that can create toxic byproducts, but does allow some synthetics, so one should still read ingredients lists. Physicians Formula Organic Wear is ecocert certified. But make sure you’re buying the Organic Wear and not their conventional mineral makeup line, which has parabens.
See GreenerPenny's specific product and brand recommendations and critiques here.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Foods for the green grill: labels & where to get 'em
To cut back on pollution to the planet and other misery, the green griller serves humanely raised poultry and meat, and local, pesticide-free veggies this season.
You'll want to choose poultry that's led a free-pecking unconfined life, and meat from animals who not only knew what grass is, but spent most of their lives on it. You also don't want any products from animals who've been dosed with antibiotics, overuse of which is leading to the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. You'll want the freshest in-season vegetables, free of pesticide residues, grown by local or regional farmers. Here's how to find 'em all:
* Type in your zip code to find local, sustainable, organic meat, dairy and produce from nearby farmers' markets, butchers, farmers, stores, and restaurants, at the wonderful Eat Well Guide site of Sustainable Table, which also produces the award-wining Meatrix film series.
* Look for the following labels on poultry and meat. None permit antibiotics or growth hormones, or feeding of animal parts to animals.
*American Grassfed Association: Cows, sheep, goats eat grass, period, and standards require they spend most of their lives outside in the pasture. Now third-party-certified by the Food Alliance (see below).
*Animal Welfare Approved: This label, which is exclusive to family farms, guarantess outdoor living to cows and chickens alike and recently received top ratings from the World Society for Protection of Animals.
Certified Humane: Oddly for a humane label, pasture time is not specified, although comfortable shelter and gentler handling are.
* Food Alliance Certified: Sets clear ecologically responsible standards for vegetables, fruits and animal raising. Pasturage and humane slaughtering are required .
*USDA Organic: Better for you, but not necessarily for the animals. They eat only 100% certified organic grass, corn or grain, but, while they're required to have "access" to pasture, this is not clearly defined the way it is with the labels above.
For sustainable fish and seafood that's not laced with dangerous doses of nervous-system-damaging mercury or PCBs, shop with the fish cards of the assiduously updating and regionally organized Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch, or the detailed health/safety ratings in Environmental Defense Fund's Seafood Selector, or call the Blue Ocean Institute's Fish Phone to ask if that yellowtail's okay. For a quick roundup of all 3 organizations recs and the issues, check out the Fish List.
As for the vegetables: Organic's great, and so's local. It's high summer, and nearly everything local is abundant and cheap. Look for produce labeled local at your supermarket and of course hit the nearest farmers' market. Locate greenmarkets in your area using the USDA's tool or at Local Harvest.
Even when it comes to frankfurters, you can take the high road with a green "haute dog," as my son Rory Wallace dubbed 'em. Companies whose organic/grassfed hot dogs are available nationally by mail or retail include:
Applegate Farms
Dines Farms
Let's Be Franks
Niman Ranch
Organic Valley
Prather Ranch
For more information, including Choose It/ Lose It charts of meat, dairy, fish and vegetable labels and more, see my new book, Do One Green Thing: Saving the Earth Through Simple, Everyday Choices (St Martin's Press, 2010).
For frequent updates on environmental health news, products and actions consumers can take, plus to enter monthly raffles of cool verifiably green things, visit the website of this blog, GreenerPenny.com and subscribe to our free monthly e-newsletter. And tell your friends!
Thanks, and happy grilling.
Mindy
You'll want to choose poultry that's led a free-pecking unconfined life, and meat from animals who not only knew what grass is, but spent most of their lives on it. You also don't want any products from animals who've been dosed with antibiotics, overuse of which is leading to the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. You'll want the freshest in-season vegetables, free of pesticide residues, grown by local or regional farmers. Here's how to find 'em all:
* Type in your zip code to find local, sustainable, organic meat, dairy and produce from nearby farmers' markets, butchers, farmers, stores, and restaurants, at the wonderful Eat Well Guide site of Sustainable Table, which also produces the award-wining Meatrix film series.
* Look for the following labels on poultry and meat. None permit antibiotics or growth hormones, or feeding of animal parts to animals.
*American Grassfed Association: Cows, sheep, goats eat grass, period, and standards require they spend most of their lives outside in the pasture. Now third-party-certified by the Food Alliance (see below).
*Animal Welfare Approved: This label, which is exclusive to family farms, guarantess outdoor living to cows and chickens alike and recently received top ratings from the World Society for Protection of Animals.
Certified Humane: Oddly for a humane label, pasture time is not specified, although comfortable shelter and gentler handling are.
* Food Alliance Certified: Sets clear ecologically responsible standards for vegetables, fruits and animal raising. Pasturage and humane slaughtering are required .
*USDA Organic: Better for you, but not necessarily for the animals. They eat only 100% certified organic grass, corn or grain, but, while they're required to have "access" to pasture, this is not clearly defined the way it is with the labels above.
For sustainable fish and seafood that's not laced with dangerous doses of nervous-system-damaging mercury or PCBs, shop with the fish cards of the assiduously updating and regionally organized Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch, or the detailed health/safety ratings in Environmental Defense Fund's Seafood Selector, or call the Blue Ocean Institute's Fish Phone to ask if that yellowtail's okay. For a quick roundup of all 3 organizations recs and the issues, check out the Fish List.
As for the vegetables: Organic's great, and so's local. It's high summer, and nearly everything local is abundant and cheap. Look for produce labeled local at your supermarket and of course hit the nearest farmers' market. Locate greenmarkets in your area using the USDA's tool or at Local Harvest.
Even when it comes to frankfurters, you can take the high road with a green "haute dog," as my son Rory Wallace dubbed 'em. Companies whose organic/grassfed hot dogs are available nationally by mail or retail include:
Applegate Farms
Dines Farms
Let's Be Franks
Niman Ranch
Organic Valley
Prather Ranch
For more information, including Choose It/ Lose It charts of meat, dairy, fish and vegetable labels and more, see my new book, Do One Green Thing: Saving the Earth Through Simple, Everyday Choices (St Martin's Press, 2010).
For frequent updates on environmental health news, products and actions consumers can take, plus to enter monthly raffles of cool verifiably green things, visit the website of this blog, GreenerPenny.com and subscribe to our free monthly e-newsletter. And tell your friends!
Thanks, and happy grilling.
Mindy
Monday, November 24, 2008
BPA-free Pumpkin Pie
Want to cut back on BPA? It's simple. Use fresh not canned foods and avoid the BPA in their linings. According to Consumer Reports' December 2009 issue, almost all samples of the 19 name-brand foods tested contained some BPA. .The secret to making BPA-free pumpkin pie is a simple one: Don't use pumpkin or milk from metal cans, which are lined with resin containing the estrogenic, toxic chemical. See watchdog group EWG's good summary of BPA findings.
For the pumpkin puree, you can make your own. While Halloween pumpkins go for jack o'lantern size, yfor a pie you want a sweet, tender little sugar pumpkin or acorn or kabocha squash. Pick your own and work up an appetite. You can easily find the pumpkin farm or farmers' market nearest you at Local Harvest.
Want something quicker in a time-pressed pinch? Stock your larder with pumpkin puree or pumpkin butters (above, from Muirhead Foods) packed in glass, which is always BPA-free. Jars of organic pumpkin pie butter can be ordered from Latimore Valley Farms. Instead of canned evaporated milk, indulge in thick sweet organic dairy cream or soy milk (both are also free of added hormones and antibiotics) in cardboard or aseptic cartons or glass.
To make your own pumpkin puree:
*Buy a 2 lb. organic sugar pumpkin or butternut squash, enough for one pie filling.
*With a sharp knife, cut out the top, slice pumpkin into eighths, and scrape out insides (a serrated knife or grapefruit spoon works nicely).
*Boil or steam slices until pulp turns bright orange and soft.
*Let cool to room temp.
*Blend or puree in food processor until smooth.
Pumpkin Pie Recipes
*We like this classic version, which you can alter according to your own tastes, from Diamond Organics, where you can also buy all the ingredients for next-day delivery.
* Here's a recipe using pumpkin butter (which doesn't contain dairy, just pumpkin, sweetener and spices)
* And here's an egg-free, vegan pumpkin pie filling recipe:
3/4 lb. firm tofu
2 cups pumpkin puree (if you use pumpkin butter, taste before adding any spice/sugar)
1 cup brown or raw sugar
2 Tbsp vegetable oil (safflower, canola or corn)
2 Tbsp molasses
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves
Blend or process until smooth; add to pie shell; and bake for at least 350 degrees F for 1 hr., or until firm and knife inserted in center comes out clean.
One pumpkin pie from scratch, and another way to scratch BPA off your list!
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Top tempered glass food containers and baby bottles
If you can do only one green thing about your microwave, keep plastic containers out of it! This includes readymade meals labeled "microwave safe." When heated, several of these products were found to release toxic doses of Bisphenol A, in tests commissioned by the Milkwaukee Journal Sentinel ."The amounts detected were at levels that scientists have found cause neurological and developmental damage in laboratory animals," the newspaper reported on November 15th. While studies of the chemical has raised concern primarily for its impact upon fetal and infant development, a 2008 study has shown a greater risk of diabetes and heart disease among human adults with the most exposure to BPA. While alarming, it wasn't a surprise to learn that, of the 10 products tested, a can of Enfamil infant formula and a Rubbermaid Premier container made of polycarbonate (#7) leached the most amounts of the chemical. Most food and drink cans are lined with BPA, and polycarbonate is known to contain it. What was unsettling: BPA was also found to migrate out of plastics with the recycling numbers 1, 2, and 5, which have generally been considered to be safer alternatives. These tests, which were overseen by Frederick vom Saal, professor of biology at the University of Missouri, fortify the pediatric environmental health community's warnings against microwaving or heating food or baby formula in plastic containers and bottles of any kind.
Convenient tempered glass containers come in sizes from snack to sandwich to soup to big entrée, and can be safely used to store and reheat food. (Note: In some cases, the products below have PP (#5) plastic lids, which are okay, so long as they don't touch the food.)
Anchor Hocking’s rectangular or rounded dishes in mini to large sizes are sold at www.greenfeet.com.
Martha Stewart Glass Everyday Collection containers, at Macy's, Amazon.com or Thecontainerstore.com
Vintage Ware glass-lidded containers and svelte Frigoverre Plus with slosh-proof plastic lids can be bought at www.thecontainerstore.com
Anchor Hocking’s rectangular or rounded dishes in mini to large sizes are sold at www.greenfeet.com.
Martha Stewart Glass Everyday Collection containers, at Macy's, Amazon.com or Thecontainerstore.com
Vintage Ware glass-lidded containers and svelte Frigoverre Plus with slosh-proof plastic lids can be bought at www.thecontainerstore.com
Microwavable Pyrex 18-piece glass food container sets are at Amazon.com, where a set of three Frigoverre glass containers is $25.95. Glass baby bottles are made by Bornfree, Evenflo, Medela and Nurturepure.
For more green living news and tips, plse visit my website, GreenerPenny.com.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Readers Response to Nonstick Cookware
Green Cookware: Seasoned cast iron, enameled cast iron, Thermolon/ceramic nonstick coated pans, ovenproof glassware for baking
Not Green: Teflon/Silverstone-type nonstick coatings using PFCs
Reason: Until recently, most nonstick cookware was made with PFOA, a perfluorochemical that has been linked to cancer. Although chemical companies agreed to phase out the use of PFOA by 2015, this does not affect PTFE, another perfluorochemical, which is the main component in conventional nonstick cookware. PTFE is known to break down at high temperatures and its fumes cause acute, flu-like symptoms if inhaled.
What to do?
If you’d rather not buy new:
Use what you’ve got with care. If your Teflon pans are unscratched and unscorched, there’s no reason to toss them. Continue to use and preserve them carefully with non-scratching wood, silicone or, yes, Teflon utensils. Never use them on high heat, above 500 degrees F. Never heat them when empty.
Look for indestructible cast-iron and uncoated stainless steel pots and pans at yard sales, flea markets, and secondhand stores.
If you’re ready to buy new, buy smart. Greenerpenny recommends the following:
Cuisinart Green Gourmet
Scanpan
GreenPan
Le Creuset enamel (coated cast-iron for stovetop/ oven, and glazed clay for oven only)
Lodge Cast Iron
Pyrex glassware (for baking, not stovetop)
Stainless steel (nonreactive, though not nonstick!)
Calphalon-type anodized aluminum, so long as it's not covered with nonstick Teflon-type coatings. You can see the difference, because the coating will peel & scratch.
To respond to Greenerpenny readers’ latest round of comments and questions on nonstick cookware, below, we checked with DuPont, the Environmental Protection Agency, Consumer Reports, the Environmental Working Group, and Scientific American.
Reader: Anodizing aluminum pans produces a very hard surface with no toxins. Non-stick coatings are applied on top and this is where the controversy is.
Greenerpenny: This is a good point. A pan’s label may declare it’s “PFOA-free” but remain mum on whether the pan has PTFE. Remember: The phase-out of PFOA does not affect the presence of PTFE in conventional nonstick cookware. If you’re trying to discern the safety of your pots and pans, you have to ask whether they’re free of PFOA and PTFE.
Reader: I was wondering if you had any studies of the green pan made by Cuisinart? We purchased one and it works really good. But we wanted to make sure it was safe.
GreenerPenny: According to Cuisinart, their new Green Gourmet pan has a ceramic nonstick coating and contains neither PTFE nor PFOA. GreenPan’s manufacturer makes the same assurances.
Reader: How about ALL-CLAD's Excalibur? I paid a king's ransom for these pans about 10 years ago and they said they were safe! Know anything about them? I'll throw them out if you say to...
Greenerpenny: It’s flattering to be held in such high regard, but we need more information about your cookware. All-Clad makes both stainless steel and nonstick-coated pans. If yours are the stainless steel variety (shiny silver on the inside and out) you probably have nothing to worry about.
If you do have the black silky nonstick coating on the inside of your pans, that’s another story. The EPA and the companies that use PFOA in their cookware didn't agree to a PFOA phase-out until 2005, so if you bought your pans 10 years ago, they could very well have PFOA in them. Heck, cookware can technically have PFOA in it until 2015!
But you can probably still cook on your All-Clad if you take precautions, as noted above. Consumer Reports did independent studies of nonstick cookware known to have PFOA and their findings were reassuring. They recommend not putting the cookware on the stove without something in it first; while PTFE tends to start breaking down (and releasing toxic fumes) at 500 degrees Fahrenheit, the presence of food or oil will prevent the pan from releasing fumes as it heats up, CR said.
Please tell your friends about GreenerPenny.com! They can visit us on the web or subscribe to receive updates and tips on living the green life at info@greenerpenny.com.
By Island Girl
Not Green: Teflon/Silverstone-type nonstick coatings using PFCs
Reason: Until recently, most nonstick cookware was made with PFOA, a perfluorochemical that has been linked to cancer. Although chemical companies agreed to phase out the use of PFOA by 2015, this does not affect PTFE, another perfluorochemical, which is the main component in conventional nonstick cookware. PTFE is known to break down at high temperatures and its fumes cause acute, flu-like symptoms if inhaled.
What to do?
If you’d rather not buy new:
Use what you’ve got with care. If your Teflon pans are unscratched and unscorched, there’s no reason to toss them. Continue to use and preserve them carefully with non-scratching wood, silicone or, yes, Teflon utensils. Never use them on high heat, above 500 degrees F. Never heat them when empty.
Look for indestructible cast-iron and uncoated stainless steel pots and pans at yard sales, flea markets, and secondhand stores.
If you’re ready to buy new, buy smart. Greenerpenny recommends the following:
Cuisinart Green Gourmet
Scanpan
GreenPan
Le Creuset enamel (coated cast-iron for stovetop/ oven, and glazed clay for oven only)
Lodge Cast Iron
Pyrex glassware (for baking, not stovetop)
Stainless steel (nonreactive, though not nonstick!)
Calphalon-type anodized aluminum, so long as it's not covered with nonstick Teflon-type coatings. You can see the difference, because the coating will peel & scratch.
To respond to Greenerpenny readers’ latest round of comments and questions on nonstick cookware, below, we checked with DuPont, the Environmental Protection Agency, Consumer Reports, the Environmental Working Group, and Scientific American.
Reader: Anodizing aluminum pans produces a very hard surface with no toxins. Non-stick coatings are applied on top and this is where the controversy is.
Greenerpenny: This is a good point. A pan’s label may declare it’s “PFOA-free” but remain mum on whether the pan has PTFE. Remember: The phase-out of PFOA does not affect the presence of PTFE in conventional nonstick cookware. If you’re trying to discern the safety of your pots and pans, you have to ask whether they’re free of PFOA and PTFE.
Reader: I was wondering if you had any studies of the green pan made by Cuisinart? We purchased one and it works really good. But we wanted to make sure it was safe.
GreenerPenny: According to Cuisinart, their new Green Gourmet pan has a ceramic nonstick coating and contains neither PTFE nor PFOA. GreenPan’s manufacturer makes the same assurances.
Reader: How about ALL-CLAD's Excalibur? I paid a king's ransom for these pans about 10 years ago and they said they were safe! Know anything about them? I'll throw them out if you say to...
Greenerpenny: It’s flattering to be held in such high regard, but we need more information about your cookware. All-Clad makes both stainless steel and nonstick-coated pans. If yours are the stainless steel variety (shiny silver on the inside and out) you probably have nothing to worry about.
If you do have the black silky nonstick coating on the inside of your pans, that’s another story. The EPA and the companies that use PFOA in their cookware didn't agree to a PFOA phase-out until 2005, so if you bought your pans 10 years ago, they could very well have PFOA in them. Heck, cookware can technically have PFOA in it until 2015!
But you can probably still cook on your All-Clad if you take precautions, as noted above. Consumer Reports did independent studies of nonstick cookware known to have PFOA and their findings were reassuring. They recommend not putting the cookware on the stove without something in it first; while PTFE tends to start breaking down (and releasing toxic fumes) at 500 degrees Fahrenheit, the presence of food or oil will prevent the pan from releasing fumes as it heats up, CR said.
Please tell your friends about GreenerPenny.com! They can visit us on the web or subscribe to receive updates and tips on living the green life at info@greenerpenny.com.
By Island Girl
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Happy Melamine-Free Halloween!
Green Halloween Buys: First, it’s important not to panic: These illnesses are due to contaminated infant formula, and eating a candy or two doesn’t begin to approach a dangerous dose, according to nutritionist Marion Nestle in her Dailygreen.com column. However, Dr. Nestle points out, melamine is symptomatic of a broader consumer protection matter, namely, that we are entitled to know what’s in our food.
Next, here's what to look out for: The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has issued a recall of Sherwood Brands Pirate’s Gold Milk Chocolate Coins, sold in Costco and dollar and bulk stores. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not recalled Pirate’s Gold because, the agency says, the candies were not distributed in this country. However, on its website, Sherwood admits that it really can’t be certain where all its products end up. The FDA has recalled White Rabbit candies, but its tracking has been less than reassuring: The agency’s list of states where the candies were distributed does not include
More treats:
Fairly traded, foil-wrapped mint-chocolate bits at Kate's Caring Gifts
Sweet Earth Very Scary organic milk or dark chocolate colorful wrapped "coins," skulls, witches' hats, bats
Endangered Species small wrapped chocolate bars and creepy crawly bug bites (10%) of profits go to species protection
Annie's Organic Bunny Fruit Snacks (vegan)
Yummy Earth individually-wrapped soft and hard candies.
Remember...screen, then have a screaming good time!
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Best green lipsticks
Perfect Stocking and Pocket Stuffers for Skiers, Surfers,Sunners: Phthalate-free Lip Balms
To keep from licking hormone-disrupters off your winter-cracked lips, choose from this plethora of phthalate-free products, all of which use essential plant oils rather than synthetic "fragrance."
THE BODY SHOP Hemp Lip ProtectorAt a recent Jets game (remember the last one they won?), a green guy said it saved his lips from cold wind splice and the green tube showed off his team spirit. Body Shop is a CSC signatory. $8.
BURTS BEES Beeswax Balms, Lip Shimmers The quickest of comforters: Burt's clear balm (Natural Products Association certified) and new Rescue Lip Balm, which blocks UV rays with natural titanium dioxide. Burt's has also signed the CSC pledge. $3-5.
DR BRONNER’S Lip Balm This USDA certified organic balm comes in "naked," lemon/lime and ginger phthalate-free flavors. Yum. A CSC signatory. $2.99
DR. HAUSCHKA Lip Care Stick or Balm One of our top faves. Moisturizes with jojoba wax and carrot and rosehip extracts; $12.95 or $14.50.
OLA HAWAII Tropical Melody Lip Balms (pictured) The islands in winter! Banana, coconut/lemongrass, liliko'i (passion fruit) and mango aromas will warm your lips and hearts. We can't get enough of 'em. $6.
ORIGINS Lip Balm Their USDA certified organic stick is pure salve-ation. Completely odorless and taste-free, slicks on effortlessly.WELEDA Everon Lip BalmWith shea butter, vanilla and rose. Cheap, creamy, and long-lasting. $3.50-4.99.
To keep from licking hormone-disrupters off your winter-cracked lips, choose from this plethora of phthalate-free products, all of which use essential plant oils rather than synthetic "fragrance."
THE BODY SHOP Hemp Lip ProtectorAt a recent Jets game (remember the last one they won?), a green guy said it saved his lips from cold wind splice and the green tube showed off his team spirit. Body Shop is a CSC signatory. $8.
BURTS BEES Beeswax Balms, Lip Shimmers The quickest of comforters: Burt's clear balm (Natural Products Association certified) and new Rescue Lip Balm, which blocks UV rays with natural titanium dioxide. Burt's has also signed the CSC pledge. $3-5.
DR BRONNER’S Lip Balm This USDA certified organic balm comes in "naked," lemon/lime and ginger phthalate-free flavors. Yum. A CSC signatory. $2.99
DR. HAUSCHKA Lip Care Stick or Balm One of our top faves. Moisturizes with jojoba wax and carrot and rosehip extracts; $12.95 or $14.50.
OLA HAWAII Tropical Melody Lip Balms (pictured) The islands in winter! Banana, coconut/lemongrass, liliko'i (passion fruit) and mango aromas will warm your lips and hearts. We can't get enough of 'em. $6.
ORIGINS Lip Balm Their USDA certified organic stick is pure salve-ation. Completely odorless and taste-free, slicks on effortlessly.WELEDA Everon Lip BalmWith shea butter, vanilla and rose. Cheap, creamy, and long-lasting. $3.50-4.99.
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