Photo: Quron.us

Whether you're a full-fledged vegetarian or just choose to observe Meatless Mondays, chances are good you've indulged in some sort of meat substitute before. Well, some frightening news has arisen regarding one brand-name meat substitute: Quorn. A class action lawsuit has been brought against the brand because it makes a significant portion of consumers ill; some, violently ill.

According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, studies as early as 1977 showed adverse reactions, including nausea and vomiting, in about 10 percent of subjects who ate Quorn. A control group then, and another study in more recent years, found that number to be closer to 5 percent, but, CSPI says that's "still a higher percentage of people than that of those who reported allergies to shellfish, milk, peanuts or other common food allergens."

The product, which Quorn Foods markets as being related to mushrooms, is based on a fungus called Fusarium venenatum (venenatum is Latin for venomous). However, while the mushroom relation is true because they are both fungi, according to CSPI, the association is "as misleading as claiming that humans are related to jellyfish since they're both animals."

CSPI launched a website in 2002 called quorncomplaints.org, and over 1,400 British and American consumers have left criticisms.

The issue isn't so much that the product has been shown to cause allergic reactions -- it's that no warning is given on the package despite that knowledge that has CSPI up in arms. Although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is aware of the frequency of reactions, it still says the main Quorn ingredient is "generally recognized as safe." Well, if you're "generally" OK with a 5 percent chance of nausea or vomiting, that sounds about right.

According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), if you live in Austin TX or Boston MA you might want to think twice before going out to eat.

CSPI has ranked 20 US cities from best to worst using criteria from the city's food inspectors. The ranking considers "how often city inspectors found five major health hazards and five less critical concerns in 30 high-end, medium-range, and fast-food eateries in each city." Hand washing, maintaining food at a proper temperature, and improper cooking are some of the major health hazards. Minor infractions include poor employee cleanliness and hygiene, rodent and/or insect infestation, presence of sick restaurant workers, and contact of bare hands with food.

The CSPI encourages cities to adopt a restaurant grading program similar to a program in LA County where restaurants have to post what health inspection grade they received -- A, B, or C. (Lower grades would result in temporary or permanent closure).

Keep reading to see the CSPI's "Dirty Dining" list from worst to best.

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This morning I went to a local farmer's market. There was a new vendor selling all "whole grain" foods. I asked which of their breads were whole wheat and she told me that everything they had was made from whole wheat. I thought that was great, so I picked out a loaf of bread and, as a treat for me and my son, bought a small pack of peanut blossom cookies. I asked the women if even the cookies were whole grain and she again replied that everything on the table was. So imagine my surprise when I get home and read the ingredient list on the cookies -- the first ingredient was "enriched white flour" and that was the only type of flour in there. On one hand, I feel like I was duped. I had been so swayed by their "Whole Grain Bakery" sign and the salesperson's words, that I neglected to read the label for myself. On the other hand, they're cookies -- even with whole-wheat flour they certainly wouldn't have been "healthy." So, live and learn.

The problem I had this morning is a problem we all face every time we shop for food. Sometimes the front of the packaging can be deceiving. The Center for Science in the Public Interest has a list of "food frauds." While I don't know if I'd go so far as to call them frauds (that just seems a bit alarmist and conspiracy-theory-ish to me), the foods they list certainly are misleading. Take Kellogg's Special K Fruit and Yogurt for example: it claims the crunch of whole wheat, the smooth creaminess of yogurt, and the sweet taste of berries. Those statements are all true... but they're misleading. The cereal has more refined rice than whole wheat. The taste of yogurt comes from a sweetened yogurt powder that has been heat treated (killing all beneficial bacteria in the process), and the "berries" are actually dyed and artificially-flavored pieces of apple.

Take a peek at CSPI's list, and then be on the lookout for other foods of this type when you're grocery shopping. Unless you're buying fresh foods in their natural state, you're usually getting a little more than you bargained for. And many foods try to market themselves as healthy when they really aren't.

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We dye our hair, dye our clothing, dye our paint to color our walls ... but do we really need to dye our food? No, says the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a consumer advocacy group. They want the FDA to ban eight food colorings that they believe pose a health risk to humans, particularly children. The dyes include Yellow 5, Red 40, Blue 1, Blue 2, Green 3, Orange B, Red 3, Yellow 6.

The FDA doesn't appear to be budging on their stance that food dyes have been proven safe. The group is asking the FDA to require a warning label on foods that contain these dyes in the interim.

Food dyes aren't required in whole foods, so they're usually used to make a food with little nutrition look more appealing or to make it bright and colorful so it will appeal to kids. To reduce your family's exposure to food dyes, stick to a diet of fruits, veggies, lean proteins, and whole grains, and avoid processed foods.

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If a new amendment to the $286 billion farm bill survives the Senate, school kids will have a tougher time getting their junk food fix at school. Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) worked on the amendment with players from both sides of the controversy, including the American Beverage Association and an advocacy group critical of the food industry, Center for Science in the Public Interest.

New standards for elementary and middle schools would only allow bottled water, 8-oz servings of fruit juice and plain or flavored low-fat milk with a max of 170 calories. High schools could additionally sell diet soda and sports drinks. Goodbye candy bars, sugar soda and other junk -- vending, snack bars and a la carte foods would contain no more than 35 percent sugar, with fats, sodium and calories limited, too.

The food and beverage industry helped pen the new standards, which ups the amendment's chances in Congress. But not all food activists are pleased with the corporate involvement nor exemptions allowing chocolate milk, sports drinks and diet soda. I see this effort in a fairly positive light. We live in a political world, and while the amendment may not be ideal, it's better than nothing. If kids keep getting heavier, stricter regulations will follow.

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I stopped buying bottled water a couple months ago. The environmental impact of all those plastic bottles was bothering me. Ice cold tap water is my new best friend.

Bottled water and vitamin-enhanced water have taken the market by storm, but there is a growing grassroots effort to influence the public to stop buying it. Think Outside The Bottle is one such organization -- I just signed their pledge, agreeing to opt for tap water and to support local officials who prioritize strong public water systems over profits from the bottled stuff.

Think Outside The Bottle is more than just a pledge, it is an education on the environmental and moral issues of bottled water. Did you know 40 percent of bottled water in the United States and Canada is drawn from municipal tap water? Did you ever consider water is a human right not to be bought or sold? I'm certainly aware bottling and transporting water burns incredible amounts of fossil fuels and puts billions of plastic bottles in landfills.

Get educated at Think Outside The Bottle and consider signing the pledge. Nearly 15,000 have signed on to challenge corporate control of water and to better the environment. They have attracted a wide stream of respected endorsers, including the Sierra Club, Green Corps and the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

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Get ready to add a new word to your health vocabulary. Bacteriophages are the new buzzword, and they've just been approved by the Food and Drug Administration as the first mix of bacteria-killing viruses to be termed a food additive. Sounds a little homeopathic, no?

According to virus manufacturer Intralytix Inc., the bacteriophages (Greek for "bacteria eater") are designed to be sprayed on ready-to-eat meat and poultry products including sliced luncheon meat -- a high-risk product because it is rarely heated or cooked after purchase. The "phages' " -- as they're nicknamed -- number-one job is to kill off strains of Listeria monocytogenes bacterium which cause listeriosis, a serious infection that primarily attacks pregnant women, newborns and adults with weakened immune systems. Of the 25,000 people stricken with listeriosis each year, 500 die of it.

I'm torn on this one, I really am. On the one hand, if modern science allows us to harness something like a virus for the greater good, I'm for it. In the article, both the FDA and consumer advocacy group the Center for Science in the Public Interest assure us that the most stringent guidelines have been followed and the phages wouldn't be used if otherwise.

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