According to a test run by Food Safety News, a vast majority of the honey lining grocery store shelves may not actually be honey.

Results of the study showed that the pollen typically found in honey is often filtered out through a high-tech procedure called ultra-filtering. Without this pollen, it’s difficult to identify where the honey in question originated from and whether it is in its purest form. From plastic bears to jugs and jars, it can be a real challenge to identify which products are your best bet. To help you out, here are a few guidelines to help you select real honey every time:

What you need to know

With a vast majority of our honey being ultra-filtered, it’s important to know what that means. In some instances, it may mean that there is indeed very minimal amounts of real honey present within the product; however, in most cases it most likely means that the purity of the honey isn’t as clear cut as you thought it might be. According to the study done by Food Safety News, most of the honey lining our grocery store shelves have had their pollen removed. In fact, 76-100% of the samples retrieved from some of America’s biggest grocery store chains tested negative for pollen.

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Just when you thought your food was safe from foodborne illnesses, another salmonella outbreak hits! This time, the food in question is Wegmans Food Markets Inc.’s Turkish Pine Nuts which have been linked to the latest outbreak causing at least 43 people to become ill in seven states. No deaths have been reported at this time.

The pine nuts were sold in the Wegmans New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, and Maryland based stores  between July 1st and October 18th and were found in unlabeled bulk containers and may be present in foods prepared at Wegmans including some baked goods, pesto, and salads.

According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Wegmans has voluntarily recalled over 5,000 pounds of their pine nuts to prevent further illness. The pine nuts are suggested to be contaminated with Salmonella Enterditis, an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infection in populations considered to be at high risk. Children, the elderly, pregnant women, and individuals with a compromised immune system are all considered to be at higher risk for infection. Individuals who are relatively healthy typically experience fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain after eating something with salmonella bacteria present in high levels.

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If you are one of the many parents now second guessing your decision to pack a juice box in your child’s lunch tomorrow, you are not alone. In a recent episode of the Dr. Oz Show, national health guru Dr. Mehmet Oz claimed that apple juice not only contains arsenic, but levels much higher than what is deemed safe for our drinking water.

According to an independent study conducted on behalf of the Dr. Oz Show, ten of the three dozen apple juices sampled came back with an arsenic level higher than the amount allowed in drinking water. Of these, Gerber, Juicy Juice, and Mott’s were three of the highest with 36 parts per billion, 22 parts per billion, and 16 parts per billion reported, respectively.

Yet, despite these results, the FDA wants you to feel assured that pouring a glass of apple juice is still safe to do. In fact, the FDA claims there is no public health risk associated with drinking apple juice and that they have been performing safety checks for years to ensure that what we drink is indeed safe.

A safety level for arsenic has not been set for juices and although this may seem alarming, the FDA states that the type of arsenic primarily found in juices is organic arsenic, an essentially harmless form. In the case of water, the primary source is inorganic arsenic which is the form typically considered to negatively impact health when consumed in large quantities.

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We should be able to trust the Food and Drug Administration to protect us against foods that might not be safe for our consumption, right? I never would have questioned this before, but after Del Monte Fresh Produce recently filed a lawsuit that could have long-term consequences against the regulatory organization, I am starting to have my doubts.

Let me explain: The FDA recently forced Del Monte to halt the importation of its Guatemalan cantaloupes because there was a possibility that the fruits could have been contaminated with salmonella. Then, Del Monte fired back against the FDA with a lawsuit. This all seems like standard operations, but the problem is that in the future, it is possible that the FDA will become more reluctant to issue warnings against possibly-contaminated foods for fear of being taken to court.

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By Jill Buonomo

Most health-conscious consumers routinely avoid additive-laden foods. But are they missing hidden dangers by accepting “natural” additives at face value?

The Food and Drug Administration might say so. Earlier this week, the FDA issued a strong warning to HBB LLC, the manufacturers of “Lazy Larry” brownies, a product laced with melatonin and marketed through convenience stores and the company’s website. The FDA says it can seize the brownies if the company continues to manufacture and sell them.

Melatonin is a hormone that, while “natural,” affects the sleep-wake cycle and can make consumers sleepy. According to the FDA the addition of melatonin makes the brownies unsafe. Included on the packaging is a warning against driving or operating heavy machinery after consumption.

Although melatonin is fairly unregulated as an over-the-counter supplement, the FDA suggests that consumers, especially children, pregnant or breastfeeding women, and those with autoimmune diseases should consult their doctor before eating melatonin-laced foods. Some medical research suggests that use of melatonin could result in reproductive, cardiovascular, ocular and neurological issues.

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