/ck/ - Food & Cooking

Posting info from that page in the OP.

>>17437928
>don't say what's wrong actually with the brand
>just red x of doom
mmm-hmmmm

>>17437993
https://www.consumerreports.org/food-safety/your-herbs-and-spices-might-contain-arsenic-cadmium-and-lead/
On the page they have a PDF with methodology and results.

>>17437928
Isn't everything contaminated to a certain degree?

>>17438084
Obviously everything is a managed risk, but for those of us on this board who go through a large volume of spices it makes sense to keep track of these elevated risks.
It only 3/4 of a teaspoon daily (minimum for one red dot on the chart) is enough to have some level of danger, certainly there are niggas here dumping curry powder, turmeric, or oregano way past that point of concern

>>17437928
Can't get poisoned if you don't spice your food. The white man marches on.

>>17437936
>>17437942
>>17437956
>>17437979
Thank you for posting these.

>>17437993
Why don't you do some research instead of assuming everything in just one pic, you fucking moron.

>>17437936
>>17437942
>>17437956
>>17437979
tldr most of the spices are totally safe, some are of minimal possible concern, an a tiny few are of meaningful concern if you're using a ton of them and feeding small children that food or something.
There's effectively no risk to the end consumer here. It matters on a population wide, statistical level, which is how the FDA calculates these safety levels.

>>17438468
why thank you costco ILYT

>>17438481
I don't know what this retard zoomer shit means, suck my ass

it's god's punishment for those who use ground herbs, all of the actual spices are pretty much fine.

what are the proposed source of contaminants? environmental pollution through processing?

>>17437928
Bruh. I caution you to not look too deep into any agricultural product.

Heavy metal accumulation happens across the board in most foods. So much so there are methods of cleaning soils with plants called phytoremediation.

If you want to be exceptionally anal about all the things you consume, look into soil map surveys world wide. Some countries' soils are naturally higher in heavy metal contamination.
Some countries still continue with the use of leaded gasoline.
All this adds up to plants with varying levels of heavy metal contam based on where they're from.

I work in chocolate. Cacao from west africa is high in lead because they continue to use leaded gasoline. I won't use cacao butter from there because of it.
South America has lower concentrations of heavy metals, but there's basically none without contamination.

It's good to consider this risk, but at the same time you've been eating these things all your life without second thought. Either way, you're gonna be good bro.

>mfw consumer reports never tests the products i use

>>17437928
Does Frontier Co-op test? If so they might fit your bill (sells in bulk, I’ve only tried a couple of products but have been pleased with the quality).

>>17437936
Fuck yeah half my spices are simpmy organic

>>17438535
I will enjoy my bowel cancer thanks!

>>17437942
>tfw just bought a pound of fiesta coomin
only one red doubt isn't bad right bros...

>>17438188
kek

>>17437928
McDonald's doesn't contain any heavy metals.

>>17438953
If you're predisposed to cancer risk, your best bet it mailing in a sample of your soil to your state school's extension program and learning what's in your soil.

Alternatively you can grow things hydroponicallly or aquaponically. Otherwise you're at the whim of the world

>>17438188
lel

>>17438188
>88
He speaks the truth

>>17438448
Thank you for appreciating. I wasn't pleased to repeatedly wait in gay baby jail (cooldown between posts) but I hoped it would help someone.
>>17438481
kek
>>17438535
Thank you for this hugely informative post.
It seemed that many of the ground items were much more contaminated than their non ground counterparts. Do you think this reflects different sourcing (e.g. lower grade cumin chosen to be ground) or do you think the actual process of grinding it could possibly be introducing contaminants (e.g. grinding equipment)?

If you have any other handy agricultural wisdom (like the soil map) please share.

>>17438731
Going to look into them thanks. What did you like from them in particular?
>>17438839
Looked as if they were among the better of the major brands yeah.
>>17438980
maybe space out its use?
Someone in a previous thread said something about large quantities of cilantro having a purifying effect.

>>17438515
>what are the proposed source of contaminants? environmental pollution through processing?
Usually it's the soil they are grown in that's been contaminated by ambient industrial pollution over past decades in the case of some heavy metals like mercury or lead or just is naturally geographic-high in certain toxins such as arsenic (big problem for rice farmed in the US and the cereals and baby foods made from it). This is also a reason why growing your own herbs/spices isn't really an answer unless you first send soil samples in to be tested by your local county/state Agriculture Extension Agency (look up their website and you should find instructions on how to request a sample testing kit usually it's like 10-30$). Will also tell you the pH and nutrient and moisture content of your dirt and how fit it is or not for planting.

>>17438515
Cheap corporations getting stuff grown in Asian shitholes.

>>17438026
>no statistics
>no data
>only one reference and they still fucked it up
>their concern scale is completely undefined
Absolutely worthless. What a waste of time

>>17437928
>dangerous
Nah. The amount you get of those heavy metals is not dangerous. Nobody uses so much spices that they would be dangerous for an adult.

>>17438188
Very much checked.
I would like to see Frontier tested. They are my favorite because of consistent high quality across the board. Second fave is Kirkland. Both seem to have good buyers.

Not really something Ive considered but it makes perfect sense. Thanks for bringing this to our attention OP

Rather than stating the parts per billion or weight in each sample they use their own made up warning scale.

What a fucking waste.

Good thinking OP. In general I would bet that the contaminated spices originate outside the USA.

It looks like the real issues are with oregano, basil, and thyme. The good news is I already buy these organic and fresh at the store, and freeze them for use. If you’re really paranoid you could grow these yourself quite easily.

Next major group is ginger and turmeric, no surprise here most of the worlds supply is grown in China or India. Look for organic ginger grown in the us, some is grown in Hawaii.

Also places like Etsy can be good for things like ginger or other specialty herbs. For example, chili peppers are known to be sprayed to shit with pesticides, so I buy dried organic from small producers on etsy.

>>17442870
>real issues are with oregano, basil, and thyme.
how do you get the oregano off the stalk? I've previously bought really nice dried oregano at Greek markets but it comes on the bushel and its a total mess.
I dont need it ground, but just to get the woody bits out.