ho ho ha ha good one.
i have a new favorite webcomic. it's kind of hit or miss but there are some exceptional ones: (warning, the following are a selection which represent my dry, occasionally dark, obscure sense of humor. The public at large may or may not consider these to be "funny".)

oh no pigeons

continuity errors

You Might As Well Punch A Poor Person In The Junk.

let us be perfectly clear

let's see how long it takes for grandma to be racist

where did it go how could this happen

art school

my favorite music is:

internet

who rubbed meat on my window?

let's do some terrorisms!
- posted by vcmc @  1/31/2009 07:33:00 PM  |  0 comments

 
Center for Drinking in the Public Interest


I know I'm in the minority here because nobody else is really obsessive about these things, but it seems like the sort of thing the FDA would have been all over years ago.

The problem:
Alcoholic beverages have next to no standardization of ingredients labeling. (the CSPI also wants serving size, nutrition info, alcohol content, etc. labeling, which I agree with, but I'm not nearly as passionate about)

Duh. Let's take the example of someone who's allergic, to, say, honey, or perhaps anise (present in various liquors and some gin), or various grains, etc... How many liqeurs, beers, etc. use these ingredients at some point during the brewing/fermenting/distilling process without mentioning it on the bottle? This sort of thing has the potential to be fatal, or send someone to the hospital - because distillers/alcoholic beverage producers DO NOT ADEQUATELY DISCLOSE this information.

Food manufacturers have been required to add "Contains phenylalanine" or "Processed in a facility which also produces nuts", etc. to packaging for decades. Why does the liquor industry get a free pass?

Secondary to concerns about allergens, but potentially affecting more people - is the issue of additives. The only way we know if an alcoholic beverage does not contain potentially harmful additives is if the manufacturer chooses to disclose ingredients, which very few do. I mean, who knows what kind of flavor enhancers, artificial flavor, preservatives, masking agents, etc. go into, say, Bud Light? Smirnoff? Cheap boxed wine? Malt liquor? Ultra-premium vodka? Scotch?

CONSUMERS NEED TO BE ABLE TO FIND THIS SHIT OUT. What's to prevent distillers from adding trace amounts of, oh, say, mercury-bearing compounds or melamine to their beverages? Sure, that's an exaggeration, but without the requirement they disclose potentially harmful ingredients, WE ARE NOT ADEQUATELY ABLE TO DETERMINE POTENTIAL HEALTH RISKS FROM MODERATE CONSUMPTION. What are we, China? Who's getting the bribes?


These guys have been writing lawyer-drafted letters to the appropriate authorities for some time, but it's a bit disheartening that they've been doing it for years and it's still not in place.
http://www.cspinet.org/booze/iss_ingred_label.htm

fuuuuuuck. PLZ PASS LABLING LAWS 10 YRS AGO K? I WANT TO KNOW WHAT IM DRINKING.
- posted by vcmc @  1/15/2009 05:23:00 PM  |  0 comments