DailyDirt: Adulteration Of Foods May Not Be What You Expect

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Some food additives can be dangerous to public health -- such as adding melamine to infant formula. So understandably, government agencies policing food safety should focus on health issues related to food additives and food poisioning. But there are perfectly safe food additives that are just aimed at increasing the profits of food distributors, and it looks like Americans might want to research their cheese suppliers a bit more closely.

• The FDA found that Castle Cheese Inc wasn't selling 100% real parmesan cheese -- just a lot of fillers (e.g., cellulose) and cheaper cheddar cheese. It's not unsafe to eat, but an estimated 20% of hard Italian cheeses in the US could be deceptively labeled. [url]
• Cellulose is a common food additive, so if you saw headlines of "wood pulp in cheese" -- it's nothing new, really. It's not sawdust, and food scientists have tried to source cellulose from non-wood plants, but it's not as easy to get. Cellulose has been used as an anti-clumping agent in baking, and the food industry claims it provides a healthy source of dietary fiber. [url]
• The adulteration of food stuffs has been a tempting way to increase profits since forever. Olive oil was once the most adulterated agricultural product in the EU in 1997-1998. Olive oil is easy to dilute with cheaper oils and has been tampered with as far back as ancient Greece, and adulteration can be difficult to detect -- even with modern chemistry. [url]

After you've finished checking out those links, take a look at our Daily Deals for cool gadgets and other awesome stuff.

Filed Under: cellulose, cheese, dietary fiber, fda, food, food additives, food safety, olive oil, parmesan, wood pulp
Companies: castle cheese

The Virgin Group Disputes Trademark Application Of Tiny Olive Oil Company Vasse Virgin Because Of Course They Did

from the oily dept

The Virgin Group, headed up by Richard Branson, has something of a reputation for being promiscuous when it comes to trademark disputes over the word "Virgin." At times, it seems like whatever lawyers are working for Virgin actually think that any business using the word needs a bit of slapping around, even when there is essentially zero chance of customer confusion. In one case, in which Virgin had targeted a small jeans maker called I Am Not A Virgin out of NYC, the founder of that company quipped in a video whether or not Branson would think that people walking by "Extra Virgin Olive Oil" would be confused into thinking that Virgin Group had something to do with it.

Hahahahahaha... Oh, shit. It turns out Branson does think that's the case. Well, sort of.

[Virgin Group] believes customers might get confused and associate Vasse Virgin products with its renowned global brand. The local company has 23 staff and produces olive oil-based food, soap and skin-care products. Co-owner Edwina Scherini said Vasse Virgin recently tried to register a logo using the same name since 2009.

"The Virgin Group has objected to the application, claiming the right to exclusive use of the word 'virgin'," she said.

Yes, a tiny Autralian olive oil company is now in a trademark dispute with the Virgin Group and we all have to watch what we say from now on, lest we give Mr. Branson any ideas. Now Virgin Group claims on the record that the two companies do indeed compete with one another within relevant industries that would be covered by the trademark, but I can't for the life of me figure out where that's the case. Looking through some information on what Virgin makes, I don't find foodstuffs or olive oil making the list. Regardless, I find it fairly unlikely that anyone is going to confuse Vasse Virgin's oils with something created by the enormous Virgin Group, considering there are no common features in the logos or the marks themselves, beyond the use of the word Virgin. Couple that with Virgin's reputation for being overly protective, and this seems to reek of a legal department with too much time on its hands.

But Virgin says this has nothing to do with olive oil. It's about transportation services contained in the application.

Virgin Group Asia Pacific brand public relations and digital communications manager Elizabeth Gain said the trademark application "covers a very broad range of goods and services, some of which fall squarely into the core activities of the Virgin Group, in particular transportation services".

"Our concerns do not relate to use of the name in connection with olive oil products," she said.

If that were the case, the whole dispute could be easily dismissed with Vasse Virgin assuring everyone that they didn't have enough time in between making olive oil containers to create an international airline. That doesn't seem to be the case, though, as the demands from Virgin Group have been numerous.

Mrs Scherini said lawyers for the two companies have discussed the matter since 2013.

"Vasse Virgin agreed to a number of demands, apart from one that we felt may have the capacity to cause serious damage to our business in the future," she said. Mrs Scherini said the process had been "extremely stressful" emotionally and financially.

Branson and his team bullying a small, unrelated business through trademark? I am so shocked!

Filed Under: olive oil, trademark
Companies: vasse virgin, virgin, virgin group

DailyDirt: Food Forensics For Fighting Fraud

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

The global food supply chain generally delivers products that are safe to drink and eat, but every so often there are some stories about unscrupulous distributors who try to sell knockoff items that aren't exactly what they say they are. The infamous 2008 scandal in China is probably the scariest example where melamine was added to infant formula to make it look like the milk had a higher protein content. Less dangerous tricks involve deceptive food labeling practices, and it can be extremely difficult to detect food fraud when it's not so egregious. Here are just a few links on identifying authentic foods.

• Olive oil from Italy might not be as virgin as you might think. One estimate says 69% of olive oil sold in the US may be doctored -- diluted with cheaper oils or otherwise adulterated. [url]
• Natural organic flavorings (eg. vanilla, cinnamon oil, anise oil) can be more expensive than chemically synthesized additives, but it's usually not that hard to tell the difference. Natural oils contain ambient levels of carbon-14 atoms, whereas artificial flavorings made from petroleum distillates contain no trace amounts of this radioactive isotope of carbon. [url]
• If you drink bottled water that says the water is straight from a natural spring, how does anyone really know if they didn't just filter some tap water and bottle it? The isotopic composition of water can indicate the authenticity, but how often do you test your hydrogen and oxygen isotope ratios.... [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post via StumbleUpon.

Filed Under: artificial flavoring, authenticity, bottled water, c14, evoo, food, melamine, natural flavorings, olive oil, radioisotopes, tap water, vanilla, water