California
has approved spraying
MSG,
milk protein, and carcinogens on a variety of crops
In May, 1999, spraying MSG on wine grapes (calling the spray a fertilizer) was approved by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). Steven D. Wong, Branch Chief, Agricultural Commodities and Regulatory Services (916/654-0574) told us that there was no demonstration that use according to label directions would present a significant health hazard to workers, consumers of products grown with the aid of the MSG-containing product, or to the general public. To have a product approved for use as a fertilizer in California, a company need do little more than make application.
In April, 2000, and again in July, 2001, spraying MSG on wine grapes (calling it a fungicide) was approved by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (CDPR). Barry Cortez, Branch Chief, CDPR, first told us that the CDPR would only turn down a product if it appeared to be ineffective, and AuxiGro didn't appear to be ineffective. After reading the law, however, we found that according to Section 12825 of the Food and Agricultural Code:
"Pursuant to Section 12824, the director,...may cancel the registration of, or refuse to register, any pesticide:And AuxiGro meets each of those three criteria.(a) That has demonstrated serious uncontrollable adverse effects either within or outside the agricultural environment.(b) The use of which is of less public value or greater detriment to the environment than the benefit received by its use.
(f) Concerning which any false or misleading statement is made or implied by the registrant or his or her agent, either verbally or in writing, or in the form of any advertising literature."
Does spraying processed free glutamic acid onto crops and into the environment pose a problem? We think it does. Does applying processed free glutamic acid to the soil pose a problem? Yes, we think so, and we have made our thoughts known. On June 8, 1999, even though we knew full well that the glutamate industry had been generous in funding chemists and food scientists at UC Davis, and that those chemists and food scientists, or their friends at Davis or working for the CDFA or the CDPR, might be asked to evaluate our comments, we first formally presented our concerns to the CDPR.
It was not
until the spring of 2001, however, that we found that AuxiGro contained
more awful ingredients than the "L-glutamic acid" -- the neurotoxic,
endocrine
disrupter that can cause adverse reactions such as asthma, migraine
headache,
heart irregularities, and seizures in people who were sensitive to
it.
AuxiGro, we learned from government documents, contains hydrolyzed
casein
(milk) protein, a substance known to have caused the death of
milk-sensitive
children who consumed minute quantities of milk protein hidden in
processed
food. AuxiGro, we learned from other government documents, also
contains
carcinogens.
As of August 20, 2004, California had already approved the following crops for spraying with MSG (http://www.cdpr.ca.gov/cgi-bin/label/label.pl?typ=pir&prodno=46388)
On July 9, 2004, California proposed to also allow cole crops to be sprayed with MSG. Cole crops include
We suggest
that produce treated with AuxiGro be avoided. We suggest that
family
and friends avoid grapes and wine entirely, or at least ask their
grocers
and wine merchants to certify that the grapes and wine they buy haven't
been sprayed with AuxiGro or any other
fertilizer/fungicide/growth-enhancer
that contains processed free glutamic acid (MSG).
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TRUTH IN LABELING CAMPAIGN 850 DeWitt Place, Suite 20B, Chicago, IL 60611 |
adandjack@aol.com 858/481-9333 http://www.truthinlabeling.org This page was last updated on August 22, 2004.