Guest guest Posted August 17, 2002 Report Share Posted August 17, 2002 <kristie@...> , " Rambo " <klrambo@...> , " Dr Mac Barksdale " <skyranger@...> , <Suzepooh@...>, " Molly Sernas " <sernasmolly@...> Subject: Quorn - article in The Guardian Complaints about the health effects of the Quorn brand of meat substitutes are to be studied by the government's food standards agency after consumers are said to have complained of vomiting and diarrhoea from eating the products. The alleged reactions were reported by the Centre for Science in the Public Interest, a US not-for-profit organisation that is seeking to get the brand removed from its new US market and Britain, until further checks were made. It called for safety investigations from regulatory bodies in the US, Britain and Europe, and said " the very least " that should be required of the manufacturers was labels warning that its key protein ingredient had the potential to cause illness. Marlow Foods, the north Yorkshire-based company which makes Quorn, last night said that evidence of adverse reaction to the food was " extremely rare and much lower than consumer reactions to other common foods such as soy and dairy products " . It said it was " surprised and disappointed " by the CSPI campaign. The food agency said it was still satisfied by previous assurances from the company on health issues but would look at the complaints. It said it had received no complaints from individual consumers. But scores were made to a CSPI website after the organisation advertised in the Guardian last week, seeking information from British readers. Quorn has been on sale in Britain for 17 years and has become popular with vegetarians. But the food agency has already questioned the use of its term " mushroom protein " to describe the ingredient that is its selling point. It is in reality a fungal protein, set in a glucose solution and then fermented. The company has suspended marketing using the term while it tries to settle the dispute with trading standards officials but declined to say last night whether it was ready to drop " mushroom " . It is understood the authorities are still demanding that they do. The row is being monitored by consumer groups because it could set a precedent over new rules for the way companies are allowed to describe their products. The CSPI said it had had recent reports of more than 130 adverse reactions to Quorn, 85% of them from Britain, and believes this is " the tip of the iceberg " . The CSPI, which says it promotes " safer, more nutritious diets " , says the public " deserves protection " while scientists study Quorn further. The organisation said a document it obtained through US freedom of information laws suggested that a study investigating mycoprotein's effects on volunteers in 1977, well before it went on the market as Quorn, had provoked an adverse reaction in at least one in the 200 people trying them and possibly two. It also pointed out that an expert panel for Marlow Foods had suggested a rate of adverse incidents of one in 71,000 to one in 90,000 between 1994 and 1997, a rate far higher than the one in 130,000 and one in 146,000 it had reported more recently. The CSPI's director, sen, said he was providing evidence that " Quorn makes far more people sick than Marlow Foods has acknowledged and the food standards agency has realised " . The company reacted angrily, saying the one in 146,000 figure was based on fewer than 100 reports last year from the 14.6 million consumers who ate Quorn in Britain and Europe. It had received no complaints since the publication of the advertisement in the Guardian, only 10 calls from consumers requesting further information of giving the company its support. Three larger studies, one involving 3,000 people, since the 1977 study, had found no adverse reactions. " Our research shows that our consumers are very health conscious. They take a close interest in managing their health and we believe they would be very quick off the mark when it comes to contacting us. " It was still in discussions over " the most useful product description for our range of foods " . Happy Eating. Ingrid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 1, 2006 Report Share Posted November 1, 2006 On Nov 1, 2006, at 11:23 AM, Jeff Novick wrote: > The article in the New Yoker on CR mentioned they were > eating Quorn, a fungus that became popular a few years > ago. > > Quorn has had some problems associated with it, so I > dont know if this has been discusses here, but > personally, I wouldn't recommend eating it. > > http://www.googlesyndicatedsearch.com/u/CSPI? > pg=aq & q=quorn & what=web & sa=web & domains=cspinet.org & sitesearch=www.cspin > et.org > > http://www.cspinet.org/quorn/ > > Thoughts? You must live on the West Coast, Jeff. Nobody on this coast would dream of confusing _The New Yorker_ with _New York ( " - the Magazine " ) _. ;-) - and BTW whoever conceived the idea of naming that fungal food " Quorn " must have been under the influence of something pretty virulent. (in NYC) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 1, 2006 Report Share Posted November 1, 2006 I love the stuff. It's pretty expensive, but it's on sale often at my food co-op. I haven't noticed any obvious bad reactions. That's speaking as someone who's allergic to just about everything that my allergist prick-tested me for, and someone who got sick after eating oyster mushrooms we found in the woods. (I have no trouble with oyster mushrooms from the store.) It seems that some people have bad reaction to certain vegetable proteins: some people are allergic to wheat, soy and peanuts; maybe some people are allergic to Quorn too. According to the CSPI article, Quorn is made from Fusarium venenatum. The genus fusarium is known for some pretty nasty mycotoxins. T2 mycotoxin is similar in action to mustard gas, but acts at doses over a hundred times less. T2 mycotoxin is a notorious chemical warfare agent: the US government claims that communists used T2 mycotoxin in Laos (i.e. " Yellow Rain " ). Because it's relatively easy to make, T2 mycotoxin is on the short list of biochemical agents that may be used by terrorists. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 1, 2006 Report Share Posted November 1, 2006 >From: Houle <paul@...> > T2 mycotoxin is a >notorious >chemical warfare agent: the US government claims that communists used >T2 mycotoxin in Laos (i.e. " Yellow Rain " ). Because it's relatively >easy to make, T2 mycotoxin is on the short list of biochemical agents >that may be used by terrorists. The US claim that Laotian Communists used nerve gas is simply loony. As points out, these mycotoxins grow naturally on mushrooms that turn up here and there in the jungle; that's the minuscule factoid on which this ancient US propaganda was based. For the record, the only use of biochemical agents since WWI was the use of US-supplied " agricultural chemicals, " sprayed from helicopters supplied to Saddam Hussein by Rumsfeld, for use against Iran and Saddam's other enemies. -dlj. _________________________________________________________________ Not only does Windows Live™ OneCare™ provide all-in-one PC care to keep your computer protected and well-maintained, but it also makes creating backup files a breeze. Try it today! http://ideas.live.com/programpage.aspx?versionid=b2456790-90e6-4d28-9219-5d7207d\ 94d45 & mkt=en-ca Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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