Corporate Responses

CORPORATE GREED FOR CHEAP INGREDIENTS OR YOUR RIGHT TO KNOW?

Currently food and other big manufactures like Colgate-Palmolive hide behind "Made in USA or Manufactured in USA" whereas the actual ingredients are coming from cheap places like China and cancer causing nuclear contaminated Japan. We know for sure that China plays a big role in ingredients for our food supply because a report to congress states that number being 4.9 Billion dollars a year (and that was for 2007--the trend has been more and more every year).

China had become the third largest source of US agricultural and seafood imports. Additionally, as stated in the report below, these imports increased roughly fourfold from 433,000 metric tons (MT) and $1 billion in 1997 to 2.1 million MT and $4.9 billion in 2007. I was not aware of this either.

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL34080.pdf

The best part? If you try to inquire if anything in a product you eat regularly has ingredients from China or Japan in it, they won't tell you!! They say its "proprietary", none of your business. So if you want to protect yourself or your family from eating ingredients from China or Japan, you can't, because they wont tell you.

This goes for other things like makeup, shampoos, toothpaste, and sunscreen too. We slather sunscreen on our kids every summer and bathe in chemicals. From where? That stuff gets absorbed into our skin. We have no clue where all that is from. Think about that for a minute. Where are all those ingredients from that we eat, that get absorbed into our skin through makeup and sunscreen? Do you know? Call your favorite company and ask them. Chances are good they won't tell you and that's not right.

It's not right that we live in a free county and we don't have access to that basic information. If you agree that this is an outrage, SIGN the petition on the right and then share with all those you know and love.

IN A NUTSHELL....

Right now corporate america has the upper hand. They don't want truth in labeling because their profit margins on anything with China in it, for example, will go way down. In fact, most people probably wouldn't buy it anymore if they knew the truth and corporate knows that. But the more signatures we get on the petition, the more likely we will be to tip the scale in our favor which is really where it should be. We need truth in labeling. The more signatures on the petition we get, the more likely our representatives will be to listen up to what WE , The People want, instead of what big corporations want in order to protect their bottom line.

CHECK OUT WHAT CORPORATE AMERICA HAS TO SAY....

Kelloggs - Contacted Early August 2011

Was informed that they do source from China. Said they get some vitamins from China but wouldn't tell me which ones. Not for sure, but my guess is they might source other things from China as well. I said if I am concerned about my child getting sick from an ingredient from China what should I do? She said I have been with the company for over 10 years and have never said this before, but if you are concerned about the possibility of your child ingesting something from China, then you should avoid Kellogg's products all together. I think that was one of the most honest answers I have ever heard.

Here's why having China in our food supply without us even knowing it is very concerning.

http://newsforyourfamily.blogspot.com/2011/11/why-no-food-from-china-either.html

Followed up on August 19,2011 to see if Kellogg's is sourcing from Japan.

Why is getting ingredients for our food supply from Japan a bad idea? Think March 11, 2011. Fukushima. One of the worst nuclear disasters known to man. Its bad. Read more at link.

http://newsforyourfamily.blogspot.com/2011/08/fda-and-fukushima-japan.html

I spoke with a different representative and was told that Kellogg's is a global company and they do source from Japan as well. He couldn't find that I had called before in his history. Not sure why that was the case? He said he would document in the current case number that I had called before but that there was no record of it.

Furthermore, in terms of knowing which products have ingredients from which countries, I was told managers don't even have access to that information. Why is this?? I feel like our food supply should be transparent. This sounds very secretive and its not just Kellogg's. They are just an example of what seems to be going on across the board.

At least in my book, everyone should have the right to know the potential countries of origins of the food they consume. To protect proprietary information, we don't need to know where the sugar comes from, where the vitamins come from, etc. just where the potential country of origins might be of the ingredients used to make the product. After all, companies make decisions as to what countries they are willing to work with.

If for whatever reason companies can't list what countries the ingredients are sourced from inside their box, then at the very least put the same information on all your boxes. Simply list the countries that your company is willing to do business with on all your packages.

Here's the kicker, because of this whole proprietary issue, I have no idea for example, where the rice in rice krispies is coming from. Is that from the USA? China? Fukushima, Japan? I have no idea.

Quaker Oats (Parent Company PepsiC0) Contacted Early August 2011

What follows is a note from PepsiCo in response to a question I had regarding sourcing information for Quaker Oats.

Thanks for giving us the opportunity to tell you where Quaker Oats products are from. We'd like you to know that our products all of our products are made in North America (United States and Canada). Also 100% of our crop grains, including oats, corn, rice and wheat are sourced in North America. However, ingredients (other than grains) such as flavoring and spice blends are purchased from many different suppliers around the world. Specific country information isn't available to us at this office. In addition, we'd like you to know that we work closely with our suppliers to ensure the safety of all the materials we use to manufacture our products. You can be assured that we use only quality ingredients that are safe and wholesome. All of our suppliers, regardless of their location/country, must: * Meet all applicable US food laws. * Have an approved audit by PepsiCo or approved audit firm which includes all quality documents. * All incoming ingredients are tested prior to use at our plants. With specific reference to you concerns about ingredients which may be sourced from Japan; * PepsiCo’s Food Safety and Regulatory Affairs team is closely monitoring any potential issues related to the safety of raw material we purchase from Japan. * PepsiCo has taken proactive steps to further ensure the safety of raw materials we purchase from Japan, including strict surveillance of all food and beverage ingredients produced near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. * Our suppliers have confirmed that despite the recent disaster, the materials we purchase are safe and suitable for consumers. * Please know that safety is of the utmost importance to us here at the PepsiCo and we will remain vigilant in ensuring that all of our products are safe for our consumers. Quaker Consumer Relations A Division of PepsiCo

Did you hear that..."Our suppliers have confirmed that despite the recent disaster, the materials we purchase are safe and suitable for consumers. * WHAT?? doesn't take a nuclear scientist to figure out that can't be good. They rely on these people whose livelihoods depend on keeping this whole facade going to tell them what is safe for US to eat and drink??? Come on. Cancer is all over the place there. Let's be real.

I emailed back the following note in response to the above note:

Thanks for the note. How about China? Do you source from China? If so, what is china sourcing from there? It is stated below, PepsiCo has taken proactive steps to further ensure the safety of raw materials we purchase from Japan, including strict surveillance of all food and beverage ingredients produced near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.I need a list of all the food and beverage ingredients produced in Japan, near and far from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, along with the list of all products those ingredients from Japan are eventually used in. Thank you.

To which I got this response:

Thank you for re contacting us. As we have explained in our previous email; All of our suppliers, regardless of their location/country, must: * Meet all applicable US food laws. * Have an approved audit by PepsiCo or approved audit firm which includes all quality documents. * All incoming ingredients are tested prior to use at our plants. This would include China. That said, a list such as you describe is not available. Additionally, such information is proprietary and would not provided to anyone outside the company. Quaker Consumer Relations A Division of PepsiCo

I sent a follow up note that said this:

Thanks for your response. I need your help with something. If as a considered mom, I am not comfortable with the idea of my family consuming things from in and around Fukushima and China what should I do?

After thinking about it some more I sent another note that said this:

One more item that i need your help on. I'm unclear as to how my request is proprietary information. I can see how if maybe I was saying where do you get your sugar from, where do you get your food coloring from, etc. Giving me those kind of details could be proprietary. But that's not what I am looking for and I apologize if I did not make myself more clear before. What I was looking for is simply a list of your products that contain one or more ingredients from Japan and/or China. I understand and respect the company's proprietary rights to not disclose to me where particular ingredients are sourced from.

To which I have yet to receive a response. I will update as soon as I get a response.

Here is a link to the Pepsi-Co shopping list that PepsiCo has on their website. It is a good resource to get to know what Pepsi-Co owns. I had no idea they had so many products until they responded to me when I asked about Quaker.

http://www.pepsico.com/download/USBrands_Shopping_List.pdf

General Mills Contacted Today (August 18, 2011)

Just got off the phone with GM and asked them if they source from China or Japan. They said it is a possibility. The rep went on to say they source from both China and Japan. She read a corporate statement that said they are only sourcing from Japan in areas that have been deemed safe. Wonder who deems it safe? The Japanese government??? All roads seems to lead there. Instead of listening to the Japanese government who has never been through this before and who has an incentive to keep their exports going, the FDA needs to be listening to nuclear specialists who know about the cancer causing stuff in things over there. See my other post...

The GM rep went on to tell me they couldn't tell me where the ingredients in Cheerios are sourced from. I asked if they could tell me if they source from China or Japan in Cheerios, she said no due to proprietary rights. I pressed her further and said I don't want to know if they get their sugar from Japan and vitamin E from China, I respect their proprietary information, that I am not a spy for Post Cereal, I simply want to know if there is anything in the food I'm giving to my kids from either of those countries.

She said she would ask and then get back to me.

Here's my point: we have the right to know at all times where our foods are coming from. The fukushima accident just brought to light, front and center, the flaw of our product labeling requirements (see my other blog on the subject). In essence, I shouldn't have to call GM to find out if they are sourcing ingredients from Japan or China for Cheerios. I should be able to flip over my box of Cheerios and see it right there.

I don't need to know that the sugar is from Brazil, vitamins from China, wheat from USA, etc., (corporate america would push back on that calling it proprietary information, and I'm okay with that, I can respect that).

What I am asking for is something different. All I need to know is does anything, any of the ingredients in a package (don't need to know the specific ingredient), contain an ingredient from China or Japan, or even the USA or Brazil. We should know. Some people may want to avoid food from the USA, some might want to avoid food from China, some might want to avoid food from Brazil or Japan. As concerned citizens of our health and well-being of our families, we have a right to know so that we can decide on a personal basis what is best for our families to consume and for christ sake I should be able to know if Cheerios, the very first food we give to babies in our country, has something from China or Japan in it.

Dannon Contacted Today (August 18, 2011)

Spoke with a rep. She told me that they source their dairy products from around their factories located in a couple of different states around the US and that that makes up the majority of their products (I guess saying that is supposed to make me feel good about the other stuff coming from other places, maybe for some saying that the majority of something coming from the US is good enough).

I followed up by asked about where the other ingredients are coming from. (After all, if my family or yours gets sick from something sourced from somewhere else, it doesn't matter how much of it it was, just that it was ever in there in the first place). Then she offered up that dannon sources from all around the world and was about to give me the corporate line about proprietary information, but I stopped her. I've heard that line one too many times. I said I just need to know if anything in their products are sourced from Japan or China and if so which products might have something from either of those countries. She said that information was not available to her, that she would get back to me shortly. I'll update this as soon as I hear anything.

August 19, 2011- Followed up with Dannon

Same response. Can't tell you anything about where we get anything from. Proprietary Information. The only thing they would tell me again is that the main ingredient they have is the dairy and that that comes from farms around their plants. I told them other companies have been willing to say what countries their corporations are sourcing from when I ask the question. Still nothing. I asked them to push it up the chain to get an answer. Said they would but couldn't promise that the response would be any different. Again, why the secrecy?? I don't get it and if they are going to be so secretive, why not be secretive also about the dairy farms around their plants? Why isn't that proprietary information too? What's so different about that? Maybe they own all those farms which means no one else can then go to those same farms so they don't have a problem with consumers knowing about that. I guess they think everyone who calls their consumer information line is a spy for another company trying to gain access to their secret sourcing information. Sorry to sound so sarcastic but I'm feeling like this proprietary information, can't tell you what you are eating kind of thing, is a little over the top.

September 2, 2011 - Update on Dannon

I will NEVER buy another Dannon yogurt again. This company has been the absolute WORST when it comes to telling me anything. Why the secrecy? Are they not proud of who they are choosing to do business with? I love the way they focus on the milk as the primary ingredient, that that should put warm fuzzies in our heart since that is from the USA. But what about everything else?? If the other ingredients are coming from unhealthy places, it doesn't matter if it is the majority or minority ingredient, it will still make people sick. UNREAL!! I look at their yogurt now on the grocery store shelf and have nothing but complete disdain. Check out the follow up emails over the last couple of days:

August 31, 2011

Thank you for contacting the Dannon Company, Inc. We sincerely appreciate your interest in our products. You had asked us for specific information on the country of origin of our ingredients, stating your concerns about ingredients sourced from China or Japan.

Please be assured that your comments have been shared with the appropriate individuals. At Dannon, we take great care to ensure that the highest standards are met in everything we do. In our products, packaging, marketing and advertising, we strive for excellence. When a valued consumer like you takes the time to contact us, we do take it seriously. 

We would also like to reassure you that food safety and quality are our primary concerns with all of the ingredients we select and use in Dannon products, regardless of their country of origin. We purchase ingredients from various sources. Milk, which is the primary ingredient in our products, comes from local farmers that are within a few hundred miles of our plants in Minster, Ohio, Fort Worth, Texas and West Jordan, Utah. We source some of our other ingredients, such as fruit, from many regions of the world based on regional seasonality and availability. Before purchasing any ingredients, a Dannon ingredient supplier must be approved through our rigorous and comprehensive supplier approval program which is part of our food safety requirements and is managed by our corporate quality team. All ingredient suppliers meet these rigorous safety and quality standards.

We also have rigorous food safety standards and quality audits to ensure the safety and quality of all of our ingredients regardless of their country of origin. Additionally, we have strict food safety measures in place and we will continue to monitor our ingredients and suppliers on an on-going basis to ensure the quality that you have come to expect from Dannon products.
We have no additional information on specific countries of origin to share at this time. Details about our ingredient suppliers are proprietary and sources are subject to change according to our Company's business needs.


To which I wrote back:

Just to clarify, I am not asking specifically where Dannon sources their pineapple from or where Dannon gets strawberries from. That would be proprietary information. What I am asking for is not that. I am simply asking does Dannon choose to do business with China and/or Japan. Again, I am not asking specifics of what is coming from there, just asking if it is done. Dannon needs to step up to the plate and be honest with its customers in the same way that other companies have.

I know for example that PepsiCo sources from both China and Japan.

Kelloggs does the same

So does General Mills.

Now I am asking the same question to Dannon. It is a plain and simple question that deserves a plain and simple answer. Under the freedom of information act we as customers have the right to know if Dannon is doing business with China and/or Japan.

Thank you in advance for being honest with your customers,

Dannon's Response Sept. 2, 2011 Thank you following up with us. We sincerely understand your concerns, and these have been shared with the appropriate members of our Company.

However, our sources are subject to change according to our Company's business needs. Details about our ingredient suppliers are proprietary. We have no additional information on specific countries of origin to share at this time.

I got to thinking about this...why is Dannon so secretive and another yogurt company like Stonyfield so transparent?

Sarah Lee Products Contacted Today (August 18, 2011)

Spoke with a Sarah Lee representative. This must be the day for minimizing everything because she said only 3% of their ingredients come from abroad. Once again, couldn't tell me where. The problem with that 3% is that while the % seems small, if it gets spread throughout the product line as a basic ingredient, like a vitamin or a spice, then the amount of things that has a potentiality of something from Japan or China becomes much, much greater. Furthermore, if you believe that consuming something from China or Japan could make you sick, the possibility of that happening also increases as that 3% is put in across the product line. Is this happening? I don't know for sure. It's proprietary information.

I asked about my Sarah Lee bread and any other products that might have an ingredient sourced from China or Japan. Again, she didn't have access to that information. She would have to forward that on to whomever and then get back with me. I'll post any update as I get it.

MARS (September 6, 2011)

(My note here sent on 9/1/2011)

Message:
Our family has committed to not consuming items from China or Japan. Does Mars source any ingredients from either of these two countries? I am not interested to know where mars gets their sugar for example as that is propriatary information. I would just like to know simply if Mars does business with either of these two countries. Smuckers has offered a short list of products that do not contain ingredients from these countries in them. If you could provide a short list like that, that would be great. We'd like to continue eating Mars products wherever we can. Thank you.

(Mars response received 9/6/11/2011

In response to your email regarding MARS CHOCOLATE NORTH AMERICA.

Thank you for your email.

Unfortunately, the information you are requesting is considered confidential and proprietary; therefore, it is not available for distribution or publication.

Have a great day!

Your Friends at Mars Chocolate North America

FRIENDS?? I'm not friends with a company that can't be honest with me about whether or not my kids are consuming something from China or cancer riddled Northern Japan when they eat their products. NO MORE M&Ms,SNICKERS,Uncle Ben's Rice, or anything else in their product line for us!!!

Stonyfield Organic Contacted Today August 19, 2011

Spoke with a rep. I asked him if they source anything from China or Japan.

In terms of sourcing from China, he said that the one thing he knew off hand that they source from China is the Stevia plant. I asked what that can be found in and he said pretty much all the products that have zero percent fat in it and it does say on the label that it contains Stevia (but not that it sourced from China).

I asked him to double check to see if anything else is being sourced from China and/or if their policy on sourcing from Japan has changed. He said last time he checked they were not sourcing from Japan.

I will update this as soon as I hear back.

Update: Here is a note I received this afternoon

Thank you for taking the time to contact us regarding ingredients sourced | |from China or Japan. None of our ingredients are imported from Japan, and | |only organic stevia is currently imported from China. I'm also including | |some statements regarding both Japan (from the time of the Fukushima | |incident) and China, below. | | | |Japan: | |Thank you for taking the time to contact us with your question about | |radiation and milk. We care just as much as you about protecting health, | |the environment and upholding the standards of organic food, and you can | |be | |assured that we are vigilant in our watch of the impact from the recent | |events at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan. | | | |Stonyfield is located in New Hampshire, and the majority of the milk we | |use | |to make our organic dairy products comes from organic farms located in New| |England and the North East. Stonyfield sources 100% of its milk from | |Organic Valley, a farmer-owned cooperative with a 23-year commitment to | |providing foods that are produced without toxic pesticides, synthetic | |hormones and antibiotics. Over the years Organic Valley has built the most| |comprehensive milk quality assurance program in the country. In recent | |weeks, they have added yet another component to their extensive program: | |the ability to detect the presence of radiation in milk. Analysis is being| |conducted on milk packaged prior to the March 11, 2011 events in Japan to | |establish normal radiological baselines, and milk being produced today is | |being compared against those baselines. | | | |While there is currently no reason to believe American dairy is unsafe, | |should the situation change, these monitoring efforts will allow us and | |Organic Valley to take appropriate action. We are carefully monitoring our| |milk as a precautionary measure, and we will continue to monitor our | |products to make sure they remain safe for our consumers. | | | |******************* | | | |China: | |Due to the lack of US supply to meet our needs, in 2006 we bought some | |USDA | |certified organic strawberries from China. We took our due diligence | |beyond | |what is required by statute (and even beyond our own existing quality | |systems), and hired 3 separate inspection agencies to perform audits | |(organic compliance, labor practices and food safety) so that we could | |have | |additional assurances that we were getting a product that we could feel | |confident met our standards. We are now using the same rigorous process | |for | |sourcing our organic stevia. | | | |We are proud that we played a role in improving worker conditions as part | |of the review process; however, we do not source our strawberries or any | |other ingredient other than our organic stevia from China.

Coca-Cola (SEPTEMBER 15, 2001)

Didn't realize this but coke has over 3,500 different beverages in its production line. Here are some pictures of some of their products.

Here is the response I received from them today:

Thank you for contacting The Coca-Cola Company. We appreciate your interest and the opportunity to respond.

The Coca-Cola Company has an uncompromising commitment to product quality and safety. As the world’s largest beverage company, we source a myriad of ingredients from most of the world’s markets. We use sophisticated analytical testing methods to ensure the purity and safety of ingredients used in our products.

All of our suppliers are monitored to ensure that their operations meet our strict quality standards. In all countries in which we operate, we adhere to local government safety regulations and our own rigorous quality control standards. We are confident that when you purchase a product from The Coca-Cola Company, you are buying a safe and wholesome beverage.

We source several ingredients from China/Japan but it is our Company policy not to disclose what ingredients we source from these markets for competitive reasons.

If you have additional questions or comments, please feel free to contact us again.

To which I responded,

Thank you for your initial response. Are you sourcing from Japan? (I didn't see the part that they said they do source from Japan before I wrote my response) Here's my concern. I have spoken to nuclear experts and they have said that there is no test to detect what is called "hot particles", tiny, cancer causing particles. While geiger counters can pick up the bigger particles, there is no test that the nuclear specialist know to detect those "hot particles" that cause cancer. Does your team know some way to detect those? Thank you.

I am awaiting their response.

Colgate Palmolive- (January 6, 2012)

Correspondence with Colgate Palmolive. Let's stop playing games. It is a simple question and deserves a simple answer (2nd attempt at getting an honest answer).

Once again:

Is it possible that Colgate Palmolive has suppliers here in the US that use ingredients from China? Or do you know your suppliers well enough here in the states to know for sure that nothing in your lines of products from suppliers here use ingredients that originated China?

In short, can Colgate Palmolive be considered a "Chinese Free" company when it comes to ingredients in their product lines?

Your previous response of "Colgate does not manufacture products in China for the U.S. Markets nor source ingredients from suppliers located in China for these products." makes it sound like China is not in the supply chain, but then when I asked

Is it possible that Colgate Palmolive has suppliers here in the US that use ingredients from China? Or do you know your suppliers well enough here in the states to know for sure that nothing in your lines of products from suppliers here use ingredients that originated China?

Your response is to direct me here
http://www.colgate.com/app/Colgate/US/Corp/LivingOurValues/CoreValues.cvsp

So what you are saying is that it is possible that there are suppliers here in the US that are sourcing ingredients from China for your product lines? I'm confused.

I'd appreciate a straightforward honest answer. Again, it is a very simple question that deserves a simple answer.

Note: When I tried to send the above respond back to the email where I was directed to that general statement I was blocked from doing so. I called them and they said they were having computer problems that they weren't intentionally trying to keep me from responding.

They told me over the phone they've said all they have to say and they won't tell us what is truly going on b/c they know people would be really mad about all they get from China. In fact, the only thing they could for sure verify that does not have China in it at this point is their toothpaste (I'm still waiting for that in writing). If that is true, my guess is it would be b/c of the outrage from the toothpaste scandal a couple of years back.

I hope people will start being outraged at the fact that these companies refuse to tell us where their ingredients that we consume are coming from. Its really our right to know what's in the things we use from soaps to makeup to toothpaste are coming from and we really don't want it to be China for this reasons. http://www.newsforyourfamily.blogspot.com/2011/11/why-no-food-from-china-either.html We shouldn't be left in the dark like this!

Right now corporate america is winning with their continued intentional deception as exhibited so clearly in this correspondence.

I hope this changes in 2012 http://www.change.org/petitions/mr-president-us-senate-congress-tell-us-where-our-food-is-from

Wonder Bread Contacted Today- Parent Company Hostess (August 22, 2011)

I didn't realize that Hostess owns wonder bread. Their rep told me that hostess products are made in USA AND all the ingredients also come from the United States. It sounds too good to be true. I hope it is true. I asked for it in writing. I will post the email when I receive it.

And here it is...

Thank you for your inquiry.

We are always happy to help our consumers with their research. All of our products are made in the U.S. All of the ingredients used in our products are also all sourced in the U.S.
Again, thank you for contacting Hostess Brands Incorporated.

I'd like to see more companies be transparent and tell us as consumers where the ingredients are coming from.

Maybe we could even reel in some of the outsourcing of our food ingredients. Seems it would be SOOOO much easier to manage.

We wouldn't need all the inspectors around the world.

There are organic farms in China right now sourcing organic food for us! Why can't those organic farms be here?? http://economyincrisis.org/content/chinas-organic-industry-called-question

We could give more USA farmers money to grow our food instead of allowing cheap and not always healthier foods from other countries to push american farmers out of work, which has been happening a lot lately.

Hire more workers here in the US to process our foods.

Don't pay for as many FDA inspectors to fly all over the world to monitor the food supply (hoping they do that now...not for sure??)

Relieve the FDA workers of having to monitor all this stuff from around the world.It is way too much! When I talked to an FDA employee about this, she said now you understand why many FDA inspectors don't sleep well at night.

As far as I am concerned we should stop outsourcing so many of our food ingredients to other countries when so much of what we eat can be produced right here at home. That would create some jobs here which is another plus. Our food might even be healthier b/c we would have a smaller area to monitor instead of being stretched out so thin all around the world.

Seems it would be good for everyone, well almost everyone... I'm sure corporate america wouldn't like this idea. They want to go wherever it's cheap.

Help take control of this. Sign the petition.