Corn tortillas warning while pregnant

[Lucy]

Hi all,

I just heard a very brief word or two in passing the tv about corn tortillas being possibly harmful for pregnant mom's to eat during their pregnancies. Reason given, I think, had something to do with bacteria.
Wayne is probably the best person to comment on this. Hello, Wayne!

Yours, Luce

[tex]

Hi Luce,

I didn't see or hear that announcement, so I don't know what their point was.

Grocery stores typically display their tortillas for sale without refrigeration. While tortillas made with wheat flour are stable, (due to all the preservatives), corn tortillas should be refrigerated, especially if they are made without preservatives. The acidity matters also. Just lowering the pH from 5.2 to 5.0, for example, can extend the shelf life of corn tortillas by up to 12 days. Without refrigeration, corn tortillas can spoil in a day or two. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that they are spoiled, since molds are usually a primary cause of spoilage.

I would like to point out, though, that if corn tortillas were actually detrimental to pregnancies, the Hispanic population in the U. S., and especially the Southwest, would not be increasing at an almost unbelievable rate. The Hispanic population has increased by more than 50% since 1990. That's pretty impressive. Texas will soon be Tejas, again.

http://www.scouting.org/factsheets/02-972.html

I'm not saying that a problem doesn't exist, I'm just wondering if maybe a newseditor was short on news stories for the day.

Wayne

[tex]

Ok, I found the probable source of that newscast item. The problem occurred in the early 1990s, before fumonisin was regulated. Fumonisin is one of many micotoxins that can sometimes develop in grain, as a mold byproduct, (aflatoxin is another, and is a carcinogen), and it is especially risky for horses. It has been regulated in animal feed for several years now. The extent of risk for humans is still in the early stages of discovery. Here's the actual story:

http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WS ... 54852.html

Wayne

[CAMary]

This is interesting! Though I have to say when it comes to pregnancy there seems to be hypervigilance, I think due to a fear of lawsuits!! My friend is pregnant and had her 1st prenatal visit last week. They said the new guidelines say NO FISH AT ALL due to mercury concerns! This seems a bit extreme, but again I think it is due to liability concerns...

I find it a bit ironic that there is all of this concern over what pregnant women eat - what about the crap filling our air and water!?!? But if you can't do anyhitng about that - I guess there is no sense looking to it as a source of problems...

Mary

[Momster]

That's interesting. I've never heard that warning before, but there are so many warnings coming out a person culd get very paranoid about eating anything.
I agree that the foods we buy today in grocery stores are a lot different than the food grown or raised on farms. When my children were young we had a milk cow, raised our own beef, pork, chicken and had farm fresh eggs and two huge gardens. it was great and the kids were very healthy. Pegster will tell you about a special relationship she had with a Rhode Island Red hen if she feels like it.
Anyway, now that everything is shipped to stores preservatives have to be added to keep things from spoiling and animals are fed many chemicals for fast growth, increased egg production, and on and on. It can't possibly be good for us.
When we produced our own food at home, there were problems also. People got sick from food improperly prepared, eg: canned food that hadn't been properly prepared could cause bochalism (sp)?
I guess the bottom line is to read lables carefully and that includes the expiry dates and to refrigerate what has to be refrigerated. I just found out recently that orange juice in the cardboard containers should be stored in the fridge at all times. We used to buy 3 or 4 containers at a time and just put one in the fridge until one day one nearly exploded in the pantry and found out that they must always be put in the firdge.
Anyway, it's very interesting and we can learn something every day. I have gotten to researching more on the web also.

Have a nice day - Love - Momster

[barbaranoela]

Reading labels----This is nothing to do with FOOD but with *an eye lucbricant*----
one never knows anymore~~~~


I use REFRESH (PRESERVATIVE FREE) EYE DROPS---MY opto. told me thats the best to use---did a great job---but ran out so

Well we got to AZ and went to Walmart and bought* EQUATE* preservative free eye drops---packaged by OCuSOFT,INC. ---
Used them yesterday and this morning and *EYES* irritated --both lids RED and a slight burning~~
So I called this place and told them that I appear to be having a reaction to this PRESERVATIVE FREE eye drops~~~~what did they say!
Gee---sorry and blah blah~~~

Am bringing them back to WalMart and will stick with REFRESH!!

Also spoke with a rep. from Walmart and they directed me to OCuSOFT,INC. due to them packaging this item~~~

Again---hoping U get the winning hand in choosing stuff---

Barbara----