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UNLV researchers find high levels of lead in Mexican hot sauces

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XiaNaphryz

LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
http://blogs.ocweekly.com/stickaforkinit/2013/07/hot_sauce_lead.php

Over the past week or so, the foodie world's been abuzz over a report from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas showing that there are high levels of lead in Mexican hot sauces. Researchers bought 25 brands of hot sauces in Latino grocery stores around Las Vegas and put them under the microscope to see how much lead they contained.

The answers? You can't find their full results (published in the Journal of Environmental Science and Health) online, because it costs a lot of money, and the review doesn't even allow academic databases to host their papers until 18 months after they get published. They ranked them according to those whose contents "exceeded 0.1 ppm lead, "the current FDA action level for lead in candy," per the report.

Luckily, I know people in Tepito who got me a piratería version of the report, so behold the five most dangerous hot sauces that UNLV researchers found. "Although hot sauce would not be intuitively counted amongst food products highly consumed by children, ethnic and cultural practices must be considered," the paper concluded. "The following recommendations will improve the safety of imported foods and avoid unnecessary dietary lead exposure for children in the United States."
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5. Caribbean Salsa Picante de Chile Habanero
PPM: .091

OgARnOZ.jpg


I've actually never had this brand of the muy bueno hot sauce, but it seems to be designed more for Jamaican tastes than the Mexi palate. It's still under the FDA standards, but just barely.

4. Castillo Salsa Habanera?
PPM: .14

1VrIDtF.jpg


The report does a really bad job of identifying hot sauces--the one that has the .14 ppm is just listed as "Salsa Habanera." Um, brand? I'm going to assume it's Castillo Salsa Habanera, because the scientists DID say it had a red cap, and guess what?

3. Búfalo Salsa Clasica
PPM: .17

LJ8O3yq.png


I've never been a fan of Búfalo, and now I have less reason to...

2. El Yucateco Salsa Picante de Chile Habanero
PPM: .21

YDZ2vju.jpg


Damnit! I like this hot sauce, and while the scientists didn't specify whether it's the red or green version of the sauce (and didn't even specify if it was El Yucateco to begin with), I guess there's a reason why the hot sauce has such unnatural colors.

1. El Pato Salsa Picante Hot Sauce
PPM: .23

rfmCfhr.jpg


I ate the canned version of this stuff throughout childhood, which just explained a whole lot about me, ¿qué no?

Not examined: hot sauce titans like Tapatío and Cholula, while Valentina passed the test.
Click to expand...
 
Darkmakaimura

Darkmakaimura

Can You Imagine What SureAI Is Going To Do With Garfield?
UNLV, eh? I used to live literally feet away from campus there with my ex-gf.

The only hot sauce I generally use is Tabasco which I believe is produced in the United States.
 
Grizzlyjin

Grizzlyjin

Supersonic, idiotic, disconnecting, not respecting, who would really ever wanna go and top that
Never would have guessed Mexico had substandard safety regulations for food production. *keeps straight face*

Isn't hot sauce like one of the fastest growing industries at the moment? Supposedly it's becoming way more standard, like to the point where it's going to be sitting next to ketchup and mustard everywhere.

I don't know how I feel about restricting the importation of food based on it not meeting the standards of production here. If someone wants a certain type of hot sauce because it makes them nostalgic about their home country, I'd like to remove the barriers to them getting it. Yeah, there is some danger involved. But it isn't really realistic to imagine a world where every country has the money to implement massive changes. Some people are just happy to have food. The safety of the aforementioned food is not a primary concern. Be nice if it was, but you gotta get the availability problem fixed first.
 
W

WorldStar

Banned
lol @ all the Tapatio comments

stuff is made in California. funny enough, it's actually exported from the USA to Mexico.
 
A

AntoneM

Member
The El Pato pictured is in my refrigerator right now, RIGHT NOW!

But I refuse to stop using this style:
mex-grocer_2268_104502285


It's under a buck and good as salsa for chips, enchilada sauce, or part of the concotion for slow cooking chicken for burritos.
 
Darkmakaimura

Darkmakaimura

Can You Imagine What SureAI Is Going To Do With Garfield?
Mannny said:
you're not the first resident that's told me this...
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Most people I know who live here don't like it. There's very little pride when it comes to this city. I know maybe one or two people who do actually like Vegas, but they're usually gamblers.
 
Phoenix

Phoenix

Member
I don't understand why the FDA doesn't have an issue with this or why we had to have some other researcher find this out.
 
B

buckfutter

Member
2. El Yucateco Salsa Picante de Chile Habanero
PPM: .21
YDZ2vju.jpg

Damnit! I like this hot sauce, and while the scientists didn't specify whether it's the red or green version of the sauce (and didn't even specify if it was El Yucateco to begin with), I guess there's a reason why the hot sauce has such unnatural colors.
Click to expand...
Well I'm officially fucked. I want my ashes scattered into burrito meat and served to my sworn enemies.
 
Nikodemos

Nikodemos

Member
Where's all the lead coming from? What industry could cause it to seep in the ground in high enough quantities? IIRC tetraethy lead was banned worldwide a long time ago.
 
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