Looking back at America’s first food panic.
PHOTOGRAPH BY TED RUSSELL / THE LIFE IMAGES COLLECTION / GETTY
Ike’s table reflected the nation’s. The problem wasn’t the berries, which remained palatable under the usual mountain of sugar; it was the aminotriazole. On November 9th, Arthur S. Flemming, the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, had informed the public that a small portion of the cranberry crop from the Pacific Northwest had recently tested positive for the herbicide, which caused abnormal growths in lab rats.
The legal basis for the decision came from a late addition to the Food Additives Amendment of 1958, a piece of consumer-safety legislation. The so-called Delaney Clause—named for James J. Delaney, a Democratic congressman from Queens, New York—imposed a rigid restriction: “No additive shall be deemed to be safe if it is found to induce cancer when ingested by man or animal.” At the time, researchers had documented four such contaminants: soot, radiation, tobacco smoke, and beta-naphthyalamine .
If Flemming was the Grinch who stole Thanksgiving , he also gave back the berries. In the days before the holiday, his department struck an agreement with the industry and released the cranberry lots that had tested clean. At Christmastime, this represented more than ninety-nine per cent of the impounded fruit. Over the winter and spring, the government created a ten-million-dollar fund to compensate cranberry farmers. The market began to recover the next fall.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Jill Biden shares memories of Sept. 11 as wife, sister, moreWhen Jill Biden realized that terrorists had attacked America on Sept. 11, 2001, her husband, Joe, wasn't the only loved one whose safety she worried about.
Read more »
‘The Fabelmans’ Review: Steven Spielberg Crafts Another Moving Masterpiece With His Autobiographical Tale | TIFF 2022Steven Spielberg's autobiographical TheFabelmans is an honest, beautiful look at the beginnings of one of film's greatest directors. Our TIFF22 review:
Read more »
Will the Apple Watch Ultra make Garmin the next Nokia?Apple is great at software, Garmin, like Nokia, is not.
Read more »
Berserk/Lupin The 3rd Director Shichiro Kobayashi Passes Away at 89The anime world has lost another great as director Shichiro Kobayashi was announced dead at 89, [...]
Read more »