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Oh give me a home where the buffalo roam….or maybe not.
On July 10th 2010 Rocky Mountain Ranch announced the voluntary recall of 66,000 lbs of bison meat due to the discovery of E coli 157 in a number of cases of meat shipped across the country. Read More…
Cows eating corn instead of grass, how absurd?? Think about it…cows aren’t suppose to eat corn or any other grain….they are ruminants (along with buffalo, deer, goats, etc) which means they have multiple chambered stomachs designed for eating and digesting grass, like no other species can do. Then why are the majority of our beef cattle being force fed corn in feedlots instead of being allowed to graze on the pasture? Read More…
CAPTAIN COOKS ONLINE STORE…… coming soon….
For more info email info@captaincooksculinaryacademy.com
The culprits - Before we begin I will say that fat in general gets a bad name, it is the major source of energy in the body aiding in the absorption of vitamins and minerals and in moderation is an essential part of a healthy diet. However we need to distinguish between good fat and harmful fat. Lets begin with giving some quick definitions of the four types of fats Read More…
The culprits - Aspartame, Acesulfame K, Saccharin, Sucralose and Neotame. These are the FDA ‘approved’ sweeteners currently available under a plethora of trade names at your local supermarket. I say ‘approved’ because these additives fall within a category known as GRAS or Generally Recognized As Safe. This means that they have been considered safe to use by food industry experts and are therefore exempt from FDA tolerance requirements. Read More…
The culprits - Penicillin, Tetracycline, Erythromycin… Sound familiar? They should. The livestock industry uses the same antibiotics that we administer to ourselves and our children to combat a host of different infections. Over 70% of all antibiotics produced in the US ( around 25 million tons) are given to farm animals. Read More…
The culprits - Oestradiol, Progestorone, Testosterone, Zeranol, Trenbolone and Melengestrol. Although they may sound like the contents of A-Rods lunch box there is a good chance that everyone reading this will have consumed some or all of these steroids today if they have eaten any beef. Read More…
The culprits- Food colorings or E numbers as they are known in Europe are used simply to make the food we eat more attractive. They are used to even out natural color variations, enhance natural coloration and in many cases change the food color completely. Wonder what makes Cheeto’s that appetizing orange color? Thats Sunset Yellow. Red Vines? Thats Allura Red. Read More…
The problems - BHA ( butylated hydroxyanisole) and BHT ( butylated hydroxytoluene) are used in the food industry as antioxidants. Primarily used to preserve food color and flavor they are also used in cosmetics, jet fuels and embalming fluid. They prevent the oxidation of fats and oils in food, preventing it from going rancid. These are the chemicals which allow pastries, breads and crackers to sit on supermarket shelves for weeks and months without spoiling. “BHT added to maintain freshness” is a typical label.
Once again the health effects of using these products is hotly debated. It is proven to cause cancer in rats and is strongly linked with liver problems and hyperactivity in children. However some scientists contend that it is safe to use and may actually prevent cancer. Nevertheless it has been banned by Japan (1958), Australia, Romania and Sweden and McDonalds stopped using it in their products in 1986. Although many thought it was banned in the UK it was not due to food industry pressure. This industry may be the source of much of the contradictory scientific evidence as the banning of these chemicals would have a massive effect on the ability to extend shelf life of many types of food and be very costly.
The solutions - once again we are studying labels. If it contains either BHA or BHT put it back on the shelf. Donuts are not meant to last 6 months! Go to the donut shop if you simply can’t live without them. In addition BHA and BHT are used as the primary preservatives in dog and cat food so it may be beneficial to switch to a preservative free brand
