In honour of Valentine’s Day Week (I’ve been a little slow at posting on my blog this week...sorry!), I thought I would dedicate this blog post to an author who knew how to write about tragedy love (okay, mostly tragedy!). When you think about a love story, which author comes to mind? Nicholas Sparks? Paulo Coehlo? Adriana Trigiani? Gabriel Garcia Marquez? Leo Tolstoy? Alice Munro? Jane Austen? Well, today, I’m going with William Shakespeare because of his tragic love story....Romeo and Juliet! In my mind, one of the most memorable “love” scenes is the following (Romeo And Juliet Act 2, scene 2, 33–49):
Juliet:
O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?
Deny thy father and refuse thy name;
Or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love
And I'll no longer be a Capulet.
Romeo:
[Aside] Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this?
[Aside] Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this?
Juliet:
'Tis but thy name that is my enemy:
Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.
What's Montague? It is nor hand nor foot,
Nor arm nor face, nor any other part
Belonging to a man. O be some other name!
What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other word would smell as sweet;
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name,
and for thy name, which is no part of thee,
Take all myself.
'Tis but thy name that is my enemy:
Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.
What's Montague? It is nor hand nor foot,
Nor arm nor face, nor any other part
Belonging to a man. O be some other name!
What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other word would smell as sweet;
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name,
and for thy name, which is no part of thee,
Take all myself.
Hence the name of my blog post! The truth is that today’s blog post should really be dedicated to my brother because he was the catalyst for today’s this week’s blog post “what’s in a name?” but once I started thinking (oh! oh!) about the content of today’s this week’s blog post, I started thinking not only about names but labels too so I should also note that my BFF who has celiac disease and my daughter who is a long-time vegetarian (BFF’s daughter, aka NVD, is now a vegetarian too) also inspired “what’s in a label?" because food labels are very important to them (and me since I cook for all three freaks of them!).
Before I start blooging blogging, you should know that the following is really five-blog posts-in-one (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday) so it's a long one (you've been warned!). You may want to pace yourself like you would a bottle of red wine (ahem!) but remember that this blog post is abundant in educational, heart-warming, funny and somewhat revealing information (I know, I know, all are debatable!). Before reading, you may want to devise a strategy for getting through this blog post (hmmmm....maybe I should include a table of contents?). Good luck and remember that you can do it :)
First up, my brotha from another motha (yes, we actually have the same mother but it’s fun to say, okay?!?). On Sunday or Monday (I’ve lost track of the days this week), after reading my blog post “Just Words”, my brother brilliantly (it runs in the family!) discovered that an anagram for my name is as follows:
TRACEY
When you rearrange the letters:
CRY EAT
Holy crap!!!! Hello??? Did my parents know this about me when they named me? How is it possible that they could foresee a future filled with crying and eating for their
So I can’t help but wonder, what else my name has damned me reveals about me. I think some extensive research is required!
According to www.thinkbabynames.com, my name has the following meaning:
Tracey \t-ra-cey\ as a girl's name (also used as boy's name Tracey), is a variant of Theresa (Greek) and Tracy (Irish, Gaelic), and the meaning of Tracey is "late summer; warlike".
According to www.quickbabynames.com, my name has the following meaning:
Based on our research, most people would imagine a person with the name Tracey to be: Cute and full of energy. In one word, you might describe Tracey as an "energetic" person.
Well, all I can say is that I’ve been too busy crying and eating to be “warlike” or “energetic” or “cute” so I guess those websites are wrong. Oh wait, I guess I have spent the last 38 years being “cute” while crying and eating so I guess that’s pretty accurate :)
Now that I’ve divulged my personal “labels”, I thought I should look at other labels, particularly the labels that have the potential to save lives, keep people healthy, and allow people to make ethical decisions about the food that they eat and the liquids that they drink.
I thought it was timely to write about food labels on Monday (I know, I know, it’s Friday today! Geez, are you ever going to let me live this down? So I missed a few blogging days, who cares?) because the Canadian Health Minister made an announcement regarding the current food labelling guidelines. According to current food labelling regulations, ingredients must be listed, but their components do not so that means "seasoning" can appear on a label, without detailing exactly what spices have been used. The Minister has promised “labels that will use plain and simple language." Under the new laws, food, beverage, and wine and spirits manufacturers will have to adopt standardized labels that note gluten and common allergens. So-called component ingredients, like spices or seasonings, will also list allergens, gluten or sulphites. Foods most commonly linked to severe allergic reactions in Canada are eggs, milk, peanuts, seafood, sesame, soy, sulphites, tree nuts and wheat. The proposed new rules require labels to include the warning statement, "Allergy and Intolerance Information -- Contains:" followed by whatever combination of Health Canada's ten priority allergens including tree nuts, milk, eggs, shellfish, sulphites and gluten sources are present in concentrations over 10 parts per million. For example, there's wheat in most but not all soy sauces making it non-consumable by people with celiac disease who eat a gluten-free diet. The new guidelines will ensure that all ingredients are listed not just "soy sauce".
Despite protests by allergy advocates, however, the presence of gluten will not have to be included on beer labels. Claiming that people with celiac disease are already painfully aware that beer is made with cereal grains such as wheat, rye and barley, brewers had claimed that including those ingredients on their labels would be a waste of time and money. Many small- and medium-sized breweries, they argued, have opted to use painted labels on their bottles. Because those bottles are re-used up to 20 times, new labelling requirements could represent additional costs of millions of dollars (oh no...what would all of those beer drinkers do if beer prices increased?).
In an open letter sent to Prime Minister Stephen Harper earlier this month, the heads of eight allergy advocacy groups said granting brewers a special exemption would be unfair to the approximately 1 in 133 Canadians who suffer from the gluten-intolerant condition. "Public safety must take precedence over private interest," they wrote. "Consumers with food allergies and celiac disease have a right to know whether a food or beverage contains a substance which could make them ill, or worse, kill them." Regardless of the protests, beer will not be included in the new legislation as the Minister suggested that the policy is in line with her government's emphasis on protecting Canadian kids. Once the new regulations go into effect, manufacturers and importers will have up to 18 months to phase in the changes. Some say that this is too long!
Don't forget to use your voice by calling or sending a letter (e-mail!) to your Member of Parliament to bring about positive change (hmmmm....I guess I should have mentioned it to my Member of Parliament when I was playing hockey with him last Saturday!).
Don't forget to use your voice by calling or sending a letter (e-mail!) to your Member of Parliament to bring about positive change (hmmmm....I guess I should have mentioned it to my Member of Parliament when I was playing hockey with him last Saturday!).
After some extensive research, I found the “Guide to Food Labelling and Advertising” in Canada on the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) website.
As a consumer who purchases “organic” food, I was interested to find out what can be labelled as “organic” (I’ve been told I’m naive in thinking that an “organic” label really means “organic” product). So this is what I found:
The Organic Products Regulations (OPR) require mandatory certification, by a CFIA accredited Certification Body, to the Canadian Organic Standards (Canadian Organic Production Systems Standards: General Principles and Management Standards and the Permitted Substances Lists) for agricultural products represented as organic in import, export and inter-provincial trade, or that bear the federal organic agricultural product legend (or logo). Imported organic products may also meet the requirements of the Organic Products Regulations by being certified to a standard deemed to be equivalent under an equivalency determination agreement with a foreign country by a Certification Body accredited by that foreign country.
The Canada Organic Regime (sounds militia-like!) is the Government of Canada's response to requests by the organic sector and consumers to develop a regulated system for organic agricultural products. The Organic Products Regulations are designed to protect consumers against false and misleading organic claims and govern the use of the new organic logo. Only products with organic content that is greater than or equal to 95% may be labelled or advertised as "organic" or bear the organic logo. Labels or advertisements bearing claims such as "organically grown", "organically raised, "organically produced", or similar words, including abbreviations of, symbols for and phonetic renderings of those words, must meet the requirements to make an "organic" claim. For multi-ingredient products, the organic contents must be identified as organic in the list of ingredients.
Multi-ingredient products containing between 70-95% organic content may use the declaration "contains x% organic ingredients" on the label or in advertising, specifying the percentage of organic ingredients. These products may not use the organic logo nor the claim "organic". If the declaration "contains x% organic ingredients" is used, the words "organic ingredients" must be of the same size and prominence as the preceding words, numbers, signs or symbols that indicate the applicable percentage. The organic contents must be identified as organic in the list of ingredients. Multi-ingredient products containing less than 70% organic content may identify ingredients in the list of ingredients as organic. These products may not use the organic logo nor the claims "organic" or "contains x% organic ingredients".
Certification is required for products making an organic claim. This includes products labelled as "organic", that bear the organic logo, or that declare "contains x% organic ingredients". To be certified, operators must develop an organic production system based on the Canadian Organic Standards and have their products certified by a certification body accredited under the Canada Organic Regime.
The CFIA regulates the use of the “organic” logo. The use of the organic logo will only be permitted on products that have an organic content that is greater than 95% and have been certified according to Canadian requirements for organic products. The use of the organic logo is voluntary.
It’s important to note that if you are shopping at a farmers’ market or buy your produce directly from a farmer, you should be asking the farmer about his/her agricultural practices (i.e. organic, traditional) because he/she may actually be providing organic produce that isn’t certified (certifying your produce as organic is a costly process!). SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL FARMERS & GET TO KNOW THEM!!! Last year, I joined a local food co-op and now I have access to fresh, local, organic produce. Find out if there’s a local co-op in your community.
The other interesting bit of information I obtained from the CIFA website was about “Product of Canada” vs “Made in Canada” labelling. Very, very interesting! A food product may claim Product of Canada when all or virtually all major ingredients, processing, and labour used to make the food product are Canadian. This means that all significant ingredients are Canadian and non-Canadian material must be negligible. Ingredients that are present in a food at very low levels and that are not generally produced in Canada, including spices, food additives, vitamins, minerals, and flavouring preparations, may be used without disqualifying the food from making a Product of Canada claim. Ingredients in a food that are not grown in Canada, such as oranges, cane sugar or coffee, when present at very low levels, may be considered minor ingredients. Generally, the percentage referred to as very little or minor is considered to be less than a total of 2 per cent of the product. For example: a cookie that is manufactured in Canada from oatmeal, flour, butter, honey and milk from Canada, and vanilla may use the Product of Canada claim, even if the vitamins in the flour and the vanilla were not from Canada.
A qualified Made in Canada claim could be applied to a label or advertisement when the last substantial transformation of the product occurred in Canada, even if some ingredients are sourced from other countries. When a food undergoes processing which changes its nature such that the food becomes a new product bearing a new name by which the food is generally known by the consumer, it is considered to have undergone substantial transformation. When a food contains ingredients which are sourced from outside of Canada, the label would state “Made in Canada from imported ingredients.” When a food contains both domestic and imported ingredients, the label would state “Made in Canada from domestic and imported ingredients.” For example, a cookie manufactured in Canada from imported flour, oatmeal, shortening and sugar may be labelled or advertised with the claim “Made in Canada from imported ingredients”. A cookie manufactured in Canada using Canadian flour, oatmeal and shortening and imported sugar may use the claim “Made in Canada from domestic and imported ingredients”.
I remember reading a few years ago about “Canadian Apple Juice” which was made with Canadian apples plus apple concentrate from China. How is that “Canadian Apple Juice”? If you want to know what you’re eating, you need to educate yourself!
Another food label that is important to me is the “vegetarian” or “vegan” label. My daughter has been a vegetarian for 8 years now, and it’s sometimes a challenge trying to figure out if a product has animal products in it or not. For example, gelatine is derived from the collagen inside animals' skin and bones, and is used in so many products including many yogurts, Jell-O, candies (i.e. gummy bears), chocolate bars, marshmallows and even vitamins. There’s also red dye used in food and cosmetics called carmine or carminic acid or calcium carmine that is derived from cochineal which is an insect! The red dye is sometimes labelled as E120. Unfortunately, the red dye can be found in meats, cookies, jams, alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, sauces and sweets. Cochineal is one of the colours that the Hyperactive Children's Support Group recommends be eliminated from the diet of hyperactive children. These are just some examples of ingredients on a label that don’t really provide you with a good understanding of what you are eating (not to mention all of the chemical names that you can’t even pronounce!). Thankfully, many manufacturers have started labeling products as vegetarian or vegan but I think the best way to know what you are eating is to cook your meals from scratch! Again, education is the key to eating healthy!
The other product that was of interest to me was bottled water. Do you ever wonder what you are drinking when you open that bottle of water? Currently there are two categories of bottled water defined in the Food and Drug Regulations. The first, spring or mineral water, is bottled water that originates from an underground source which is not part of a community water supply and is fit for human consumption at its point of origin. Mineral water generally contains a larger amount of dissolved mineral salts than spring water. Spring or mineral water may not be subjected to any treatment that would modify the original composition of the water. It may be treated by the addition of carbon dioxide for carbonation, ozone for disinfection during the bottling process and fluoride for the prevention of dental carries.
Bottled water that is not labelled as spring or mineral water may be from any source and can be treated to make it fit for human consumption or to modify its original composition (tap water!!!). The label of these bottled waters must show how they have been treated. When a water has been treated by distillation it must be labelled as "distilled water". If carbon dioxide has been added for effervescence, the label must identify the product as "carbonated water". When a water has been treated by a method other than distillation to reduce its dissolved mineral content to less than 10 parts per million, the product must be identified as "demineralised water".
All bottled water must carry the following basic labelling information: common name, net quantity, name and address of the responsible company, list of ingredients if it consists of more than one ingredient, nutritional information, and - fluoride ion content.
The following additional information must be on the label spring and mineral water: dissolved mineral salt content, statement indicating whether ozone or fluoride has been added, and statement relating the geographic location of the underground source of the water. The label of bottled water, other than spring or mineral water, must also include a description of any treatment the water has undergone.
I highly recommend that you check out www.insidethebottle.org for more information on bottled water. For more information on the labelling of bottled water and other foods, please consult the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's Guide to the Labelling and Advertising of Food.
Finally, I’d like to share with you something that I read on a friend’s Facebook page:
Please consider this my re-post :)
Tracey you will always be my favorite Sister, Love you! :)
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