speaking of health, diet and EPA

What is the primary cooking oil in DR I noticed from the EPA the use of Canola oil common in North America. Its amazing what we put in our body. Does DR have a similar EPA organization that research things such as this?

. DESCRIPTION OF THE ACTIVE INGREDIENT

Canola oil is an edible refined vegetable oil obtained from the seeds of two species of rape plants, Brassica napus and B. campestris of the family Cruciferae (mustard family). Canola oil is considered safe for human consumption. Scientists believe that canola oil repels insects by altering the outer layer of the leaf surface or by acting as an insect irritant.

II. USE SITES, TARGET PESTS, AND APPLICATION METHODS

Use Sites: Canola oil can be used on a wide range of plants, including: citrus, corn, fruit trees, nut trees, sugar beets, soybeans, tomatoes, vegetables figs, melon, olives, small fruits, alfalfa, bedding plants, ornamentals, and houseplants.

Target Pests: Many types of insects.

Application Methods: The products are applied either with spray or irrigation systems.

III. ASSESSING RISKS TO HUMAN HEALTH

No harmful health effects to humans are expected from the use of canola oil to repel insects. Information available from published studies indicates that canola oil's nutritional and toxicological profiles are similar to those of other vegetable oils that are used as food.

IV. ASSESSING RISKS TO THE ENVIRONMENT

Adverse effects to the environment or to organisms other than insects are not anticipated because of the low toxicity of canola oil and its rapid decomposition in the environment. In addition, canola pesticide products are not allowed to be applied directly to bodies of water; therefore, exposure of aquatic organisms should be extremely limited.

V. REGULATORY INFORMATION

Canola oil was initially registered as an active ingredient on April 28, 1998. As of November, 1999, three pesticide products were registered that contained this active ingredient.


Response to the EPA's finding.......(not my response)

At the bottom of the EPA registration is some very bothersome
information. For one, it is registered as a pesticide. In addition, note
the date of the material, ( 1983 ) they are using to claim it is safe.
They also state research data available, meaning what was only presented
to them. Further down, it states that it is classified as a toxic
category IV for acute inhalation and primary eye toxicity, referring to
the mixture of 89.5% and .5% Pyrethrins (a pesticide ingredient
extracted from chrysanthemum plants - chrysanthemums are feed to
chickens without any harm.). Am I missing something here? If a so called
food is toxic for humans to inhale or to expose to their eyes, how in
the world could it be healthy to eat? Is it the oil or the Pyrethrins
that are providing the toxic problem to humans. The EPA registration
does not make that clear. Soybean oil is also registered as a pesticide
with the EPA. But let me clarify one thing. Any oil can be used as a
pesticide because it literally smothers the insects to death. Because an
oil is registered with the EPA as a pesticide does not mean it is toxic
to humans. However, the soybean EPA registration shows no toxicity to
humans, yet the canola oil EPA registration does.

There is an interesting scientific study done on three cooking oils.
Chinese Rapeseed oil, refined U.S. rapeseed, ( known as canola) and
Chinese Peanut Oil. Now keep in mind that Chinese Rapeseed is not the
same as canola oil. However, this study was also testing refined U.S.
rapeseed ( known as canola ). This study showed that inhaling heated or
frying Chinese Rapeseed oil and Chinese Peanut Oil can increase the risk
of lung cancer, but for some reason, the results for the canola findings
were not exactly stated in the study, but more or less implied to be
somewhere in the middle of the other two oils. There's more, read on.
 
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jsizemore

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I would Guess

Just a guess I would say lard. This based on what I have seen. I usually hang out with the peasents in the shacks.
John
P.S. In regards to canola oil. If I use canola in a deep fat fryer I have an alergic reaction to the fumes. My pulse shoots way up and I get a severe rash. The had to give me the shots to stablize me once. At one point it was discussed about kickign me out of foodservice in the Navy and make me switch ratings. I was able to find a ship that I could be in charge of cooking so I make sure we do not have canola oil on board.
 
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Keith R

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Well, the households I visisted in SD always used olive oil and I was always told this is the most common cooking oil among Dominicans. Maybe "Aunt Clara" (Pib), our DR1 cooking guru, can weigh in.:cool:
 
Re: I would Guess

jsizemore said:
Just a guess I would say lard. This based on what I have seen. I usually hang out with the peasents in the shacks.
John
P.S. In regards to canola oil. If I use canola in a deep fat fryer I have an alergic reaction to the fumes. My pulse shoots way up and I get a severe rash. The had to give me the shots to stablize me once. At one point it was discussed about kickign me out of foodservice in the Navy and make me switch ratings. I was able to find a ship that I could be in charge of cooking so I make sure we do not have canola oil on board.

WOW, I can't beleive it could cause such a reaction. No other type of oils do that to you? Or maybe your an insect and don't know it .:cool:

Fried foods is quite common in DR, especially from the street vendors. Isn't Olive oil very expensive, I can't believethats what they are using on the streets
 

Keith R

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Re: Re: I would Guess

sancochojoe said:
Fried foods is quite common in DR, especially from the street vendors. Isn't Olive oil very expensive, I can't believethats what they are using on the streets
I don't eat street food (not in the DR or anywhere else, including NYC), so I can't really say. I was speaking of what's used in homes.
 
Well sorry Keith to disappoint you, many people do including myself eat food from street vending i.e. ("hole in the wall)" commonly used street term. Thats where I have found the best tasting food. Might be a cultural thing I don't now Thats why I asked.

I guess it would be Lard they use in DR. But based on the EPA I rather have natural pig fat then scientifically developed Insect poisen they claim is "healthy and low in colesterol" to cook my food
 

jsizemore

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Canola Oil

Canola oil used for frying has been chemically treat and we think it is the chemicals used to treat it that give me the problem.
We know it is the deep fat fryer. We at one tinme had me stand by a fryer wit brand new grease wheil a Corpman took may pulse. We fried some potatoes in it and the corpsman watch the rash apear and when my pulse started shiootign up we left the place and they waited until I had a normal pulse before they allowed me to be alone.
Only Canola oil in a fryer does it
I can eat it with out problems.
It may be the Citric acid in arosol form that gets me but no tother oil has bothered me.
All the gease I have seen for frying was Lard. Lard use to be the Number one in the US until the health craze.
John
 

Keith R

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DR agencies

Joe, in the DR pesticide registration (notice I didn't say assessment!) & surveillance (such as it is) is done by the Agriculture Ministry and substance envaluation & control by the Health Ministry (SESPAS). In reality, both rely heavily on the assessments done by US-FDA, USDA (APHIS) and US-EPA, as well as FAO, WHO, Codex Alimentarius and a handful of European agencies (particularly the French and Germans, it often seems). The DR simply does not have the technical & financial resources to be doing independent technical assessments of each chemical substance.

Regards,
Keith

Agriculture Ministry: www.agricultura.gov.do

Health Ministry: www.saludpublica.gov.do

FAO's Pesticide Management Unit: http://www.fao.org/ag/AGP/AGPP/Pesticid/Default.htm

Codex Alimentarius's Database on Pesticide Residues in Food: http://apps.fao.org/CodexSystem/pestdes/pest_q-e.htm

WHO/FAO & Codex Alimentarius Work on pesticide residues: http://www.codexalimentarius.net/jmpr.stm
 

Keith R

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sancochojoe said:
Well sorry Keith to disappoint you, many people do including myself eat food from street vending i.e. ("hole in the wall)" commonly used street term. Thats where I have found the best tasting food. Might be a cultural thing I don't now Thats why I asked.
Joe, I'm not at all "disappointed" & didn't mean to make it sound like a cultural judgment. ;) To me it's a food safety issue. I used to eat street food in Brazil, Mexico, DR, etc. But then after getting quite sick a time or two, and reading a very frightening report on street food from WHO's Food Safety Unit, I stopped doing so. :confused:
 
Yea, I understand. I had food poisen twice in my life and both came from established restaurants with passing food inspection grades, but I never got sick eating street food. In DR I wont eat the food that is sitting for awhile. I always ask the vendor to cook it in front of me.

Fruits and vegtables on the street I find much fresher than stores. You never know how long the store has had produce, and grocery stores do tend to relable their expired meat. FoodLion was caught with that.

I never been to a fish market in DR. Where is one located? I mean a large fish market.
 

kjdrga

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I know many Dominicans who use soybean oil. After Hurricane Georges it was imported to help people recover, it was sold in colomados. I am not sure if soybean oil is still readily available but I do believe it is much healthier than canola.

I've seen many people use olive oil but only for salad not for cooking it is too expensive.