Monthly Archive: March 2015

To make this delicious condiment simply:
Blend thoroughly all these ingredients and then let the mixture ferment in a mason or kilner jar at room temperature for 4-7 days

25 fresh chilli pepper’s ,
2 cloves of garlic,
1 large bell pepper
1/4 cup of Goji berry
3 thumb’s of Turmeric,
4 oz of coconut kefir or fermented salsa juice,
4 teaspoons of Tocotrienols or 2 dried figs,
a pinch of sea salt

The post Raw fermented super food hot sauce. appeared first on Thoughts for Consciousness.

GUWAHATI – In Assam, groundwater in 21 districts has so far been found contaminated with high amounts of arsenic, while the groundwater of nine districts has been found to be contaminated with high amounts of fluoride.

Experts engaged in the fight against fluorosis and arsenicosis, maintain that information at the micro level of fluoride and arsenic contamination of groundwaters is very scarce.

Disclosing this, Dr Sundar Rajan Krishnan, executive director of the Anand, Gujarat-based India Natural Resource Economics and Management (INREM) Foundation and Safa Fanaian from the Hyderabad-based SaciWaters told this correspondent that an effort has been made to evolve a communication strategy to make the people at the grassroots level aware of the adverse impacts of fluoride and arsenic contamination of groundwater. This is expected to result in the evolution of a strategy to eradicate the menaces of fluorosis and arsenicosis.

Dr Krishnan is looking after the activities of the INREM Foundation’s Fluoride Action Network, while Safa Fanaian is coordinating the activities of SaciWaters’ Arsenic Knowledge and Action Network. These two networks are engaged in generating awareness on water quality-related issues, and, more particularly on fluoride and arsenic contamination-related issues, all over the country. They are also engaged in developing strategies to check both fluorosis and aresnicosis.

It needs mention here that INREM Foundation, supported by the Tata Trust and the Bangaluru-based Arghyam, has scripted a success story in checking the spread of fluorosis and curing the victims of this dreaded disease in Jhabua district of Western Madhya Pradesh by making safe drinking water available and providing locally available low-cost nutritious food items to the people.

Both Dr Krishnan and Fanaian visited the city in connection with a three-day workshop jointly organised by the INREM Foundation and the SaciWaters from March 10. The workshop was organised to generate awareness of the leading social activists, bureaucrats as well as doctors of the State Government on the water quality-related issues and to prepare them for a joint venture to eradicate Fluorosis and Arsenicosis.

State’s nine districts, which have so far reported presence of fluoride in their groundwaters are — Karbi Anglong, Nagaon, Dhubri, Barpeta, Karimganj, Golaghat, Sonitpur, Kamrup (Metro), Kamrup. Now around 1.5 million people of the State are affected by fluoride contamination of groundwaters, Paul apprised.

Note from Fluoride Action Network:
1080 is the common name of a highly toxic pesticide called Sodium fluoroacetate. NZ aerially sprays 1080 to kill possums throughout the country. This is its molecular formula:

The Government has given an assurance that up to $15 million of New Zealand baby formula on its way to China, won’t be held up for lack of a “1080-free” certificate.

But exporters have accused the Government of “game-playing” over a shipment already halted at a Shanghai port, even though it was sent before an agreed time frame.

Last Tuesday it was revealed Fonterra and Federated Farmers had received threatening letters last November, that included baby formula samples laced with a lethal dose of 1080 poison.

The letters threatened to contaminate infant formula if New Zealand did not stop using the poison for forest pest control by the end of this month.

Authorities kept the threat quiet for four months, to allow police to investigate and the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) to implement a testing regime before it had to alert key New Zealand’s trading partners.

On March 10 – the day the public was made aware of the threat – China’s Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (Aqsiq) announced all infant milk formula shipped from New Zealand since that date, required a 1080-free certificate.

MPI deputy director-general Scott Gallacher said $15 million worth of milk products on their way to China would arrive at the border with the correct certification.

“What we got on Friday was the approval and confirmation from Aqsiq of the language and templated format of the certificates they’re looking for MPI to sign off on,” he said.

“The requirement for those certificates have applied to all exports from after the 10th of March, which means any exports that left the country prior to that, our understanding is that they don’t require this stuff.”

Products exported since March 10, would still be on the water and would probably not have arrived at the Chinese border yet, Gallacher said.

But they would arrive with the relevant certification to pass into the Chinese market.

As well as the certificate from MPI, there would also be a certificate of analysis from the laboratory that carried out the test, confirming the products’ 1080-free status.

That however, did not help a full shipment of product shipped in February that exporters claim was held at the border late last week, because of the 1080 threat.

Infant Formula Exporters’ Association chairman Michael Barnett said a shipment that left New Zealand in February was stopped by Chinese authorities last Friday.

“About three or four days before the shipment arrived, we had the opportunity to do a pre-clearance of all the documents,” he said.

“And when they presented their documents, the Chinese said they would probably want to test for sodium fluoroacetate [1080].”

Barnett said the exporters concerned were still waiting on the outcome of that process.

But it was frustrating MPI did not seem to accept the shipment had been held up outside the agreed terms.

“We’ve gone out of our way to explain to them [MPI], and it seems to me we’re just dealing with people who don’t understand standard commercial transactions.

“To my mind it’s game-playing and it’s unnecessary.”

Gallacher said MPI had followed up with the manufacturers, exporters and Aqsiq.

“It has been confirmed that there shouldn’t have been any product encountering any difficulty as a result of this criminal blackmail threat, at any time last week,” he said.

“And so if there had been any product experiencing any difficulties from Aqsiq, they’ve indicated it wouldn’t have been because of this. But again we’re working with people to make sure we can get to the bottom of that information.”

Meanwhile, the police investigation was ongoing but it appeared little progress had been made.

Police were still trying to track down any missing 1080 poison as the hunt continued for the blackmailer.

Asked whether MPI had received any similar blackmail threats directed toward it, Prime Minister John Key said “no”.

He was not aware of any other copycat threats mailed to any other organisations.

As of Monday, about 70 people had contacted the police call line with information.

MPI had completed more than 52,000 batch tests on all milk products to be sold both domestically and offshore.