The Milkweed Dairy’s best marketing info and insight Issue No. 318, January 2006 Silicone–Based Chemical in Hut’s —Polymethylsiloxane The 900 ppm of Polydimethylsiloxane in and allows concentration of up to 10 parts per mil- Leprino’s “” that puts on lion active silicone (Polydimethylsiloxane) in non by John Bunting its is 90 times FDA’s legal limit for indirect standardized foods.” Section 173.310 is limited to Last month, The Milkweed detailed how residues of that chemical in food products. boiler water additives in plants Pizza Hut restaurants illegally claim to use “Moz- and has nothing to do with cheese or cheese-type zarella” cheese on certain menu items, when in Follow the trail of evidence … products that a consumer might ingest. fact, Pizza Hut’s salt, starch and water-laden Trace the evidence … from Pizza Hut back to Clearly, ’ use of Dow-Corning “Pizza Cheese” does not conform to FDA stan- Leprino Foods’ patents. Antifoam FG 10 as an agent contained in an aqueous dards of identity for . Start with an empty box of “Pizza Cheese” lib- solution sprayed directly on “cheese granules” does In this issue, writer John Bunting details how erated from a dumpster behind a Pizza Hut. The con- not conform with FDA’s rules governing ingredients Pizza Hut’s cheese supplier—Leprino Foods— tents were Pizza Hut’s “Pizza Cheese.” Weight (when used in human foods. uses a silicone-based industrial chemical in the full): 15 lbs. The box contains a statement noting In The Federal Register of April 17, 1997 (Vol- patented manufacturing of “Pizza Cheese.” That the product is “packaged exclusively for use by Pizza ume 62, Number 74), FDA published a document chemical—Polymethylsiloxane—has no FDA ap- Hut Inc., its franchises and licensees.” titled, “Substances Generally Recognized as Safe: proval for use as a food ingredient. Leprino Foods is obviously the supplier. The Proposed Rule.” That document details fundamen- Polymethylsiloxane is sold by Dow-Corning USDA plant number (identifying the cheese plant at tals of GRAS rules on food ingredients: as “Antifoam FG 10”. THIS MATERIAL IS AP- which the product was made) is “Plant No. 26-930.” “In 1958, in response to public concern about PROVED BY FDA FOR USE IN FOOD PLANTS That’s Leprino’s plant at Allendale, Michigan. the increased use of chemicals in foods and food pro- ONLY AS AN ANTI-FOAMING AGENT FOR The box also notes “U.S. Patent No. 4894245 cessing and with the support of the food industry, BOILER WATER. and other patents pending.” Leprino Foods received Congress enacted the Food Additives Amendment In its patented manufacturing process, U.S. patent #4894245 for “coated cheese granules” (the 1958 amendment) to the act. The basic thrust of Leprino Foods liberally sprays in 1990 (among many other “cheesy” patents that the 1958 amendment was to require that, before a Polydimethylsiloxane on “cheese granules”. Leprino holds). That patent’s abstract states: new additive could be used in food, its producer dem- Leprino’s “Pizza Cheese” supplied to Pizza Huts “Coated frozen cheese granules are prepared onstrate the safety of the additive to FDA.” contains about 900 parts per million of by freezing the granules and applying an aqueous Polymethylsiloxane: 90 times higher residue con- coating containing one or more modifying addi- Why use an “Antifoam Emulsion” on cheese? centration than FDA allows when tives.” On baking the cheese the additives in the Dow-Corning refers to FG-10 as an “Antifoam Polymethylsiloxane is used as a boiler water anti- frozen coatings distribute throughout the cheese Emulsion”. Why apply an antifoam emulsion be ap- foaming agent. to obtain modifications of flavor and other prop- plied to cheese? Part of the answer is found in Leprino Repeat: Polydimethylsiloxane has no FDA erties.” patent #5,200,216. approval as a safe food ingredient. It is a viola- The abstract from Leprino patent #4894245 That Leprino patent incorporates a process tion of FDA rules to use an unapproved ingredi- clearly states that the “aqueous coating” ent in human foods. (Polymethylsiloxane) is contained in the cheese of Continued on Page 7 Silicone is amazing stuff. In its various forms, the finished, cooked pizza—silicone-based substance silicone may “enhance” the female anatomy (ala in the cheese atop Pizza Hut pizzas. December Federal Class III Steady Leprino patent #494245 reveals detailed infor- amply-endowed actress Pamela Anderson). Silicone mation about the role of the cheese emulsifiers: The federal order Class III (cheese milk) price products can caulk seams around the bathtub to seal essentially held steady in December at $13.37/cwt., out water. Silicone compounds are used for lubri- “When the coated frozen cheese is applied to pizzas and baked thereon, the coatings will liquify up 2 cents from November. cants. However, using silicone products in human first. This permits the flavor additive and/or emulsi- The Class III outlook is uncertain coming into foods is a novel, if extra-legal, application. winter, as Chicago Mercantile Exchange traders ae Leprino Foods, the world’s largest Italian cheese fier to spread over and into the cheese particles as their outer surfaces become thawed . . . Cheese emul- working hard to lower cash Cheddar bids. manufacturer, is the nearly exclusive supplier of sifiers applied in this way can function to soften the USDA said the December federal order Class “Pizza Cheese” to the 6000+ Pizza Hut restaurants IV (butter-powder) price had been placed at $12.57/ in the U.S. Leprino is based in Denver, Colorado. outer portions of the cheese granules. This will im- prove melting and fusing of the granules.” cwt., down 33 cents from the November Class IV. To control costs (and boost profits), Leprino Foods Leprino patent #494245 targets the emulsifier: uses patented manufacturing processes that add large 1/06 volumes of water, salt and food starch to so-called “A silicone emulsifier (Dow Corning FG-10) is mixed with water to form a 0.05% emulsifier solution. This The Milkweed “granules” of “Pizza Cheese” prior to flash-freezing. solution is sprayed on the frozen cheese granules at a Invest in your best source for dairy news and Food starch is a particularly profitable addition to analysis. Know what’s really going on! processed foods, since food starch holds ten times its rate of 1.75 parts of solution per 100 parts by weight of cheese. This should achieve a final content of Visit our Web site: www.themilkweed.com own weight in water. All that food starch, water and To subscribe, send your check to: salt in the Leprino’s “Pizza Cheese” creates prob- around 0.09% emulsifier on the cheese.” lems for both cooking and refrigerated shelf-life. The Milkweed To “solve” these cooking problems, Leprino’s No compliance with mandatory GRAS rules P.O. Box 10 patented process for making cheese granules sprays The federal Food and Drug Administration re- 1.75 parts of a water-based spray containing 0.05% quires ingredients used in human foods to comply Brooklyn, WI 53521 Dow-Corning Antifoam FG 10 for each 100 parts with the “Generally Recognized as Safe” (GRAS) cheese. Yield: 900 parts per million of Antifoam FG rules, which specify that each food ingredient devel- $40 per year (12 issues); 10 (generically known as Polydimethylsiloxane) in oped after 1958 must meet exacting safety tests. $75 for two years, OR 2 subscriptions. “Polydimethylsiloxane” does not appear on FDA’s the “Pizza Cheese” that Leprino sells to Pizza Hut. Foreign rates, one year: Web site as a GRAS-approved food ingredient. Polydimethylsiloxane is approved by FDA in Canada: $50 U.S.; foreign air mail: $75 U.S. food industry use only as an anti-foaming agent for A call to Dow-Corning headquarters in Mid- boiler water in plants processing non-standardized land, Michigan yielded the statement that no Dow products complied with GRAS. However, informa- foods. FDA permits no use of Dow-Corning Antifoam (Name) FG 10 directly in or on foods. FDA does allow up to tion faxed by a Dow-Corning representative stated: “Dow-Corning Antifoam FG 10 complies with FDA 10 parts per million of Polydimethylsiloxane residues (Street or Rural Address) in food products, as residue from the product’s use regulation 21 CFR.173.310, which covers second- ary direct food additives used as defoaming agents as a boiler water anti-foaming agent. (City, state, ZIP) Heifer Demand STRONG, Prices Rising for Good Animals Posilac use creating more ers wanting to fill orders for heifers. Just that morn- anticipated delays in calvings (and milk production) ing (before 9 a.m.), Harrison said he’d had calls from in 2006. Sources say that California dairy producers twins and ‘Free Martins’ New York, Pennsylvania, Missouri, and Texas look- are particularly troubled with expanding calving in- ing to buy large numbers of dairy heifers. tervals and problem breeders. by Pete Hardin Harrison figured that as the predominant dairy With cheap grain prices (and despite high costs animal broker in the Southeast, he was getting calls for hay), demand for replacement heifers by large The Milkweed’s contacts indicate that the dairy from out-of-region buyers because they couldn’t fill dairies across the country is very strong. Many of industry is witnessing very, very strong demand for orders in their regions. these large dairies cannot maintain their own cattle springing heifers and all dairy animals. Expect sig- numbers by using internally-raised replacement heif- Another anecdote: at the Topeka, Indiana heifer nificant price run-ups for good, young dairy animals. ers. So they’re forced to buy them. And the heifers livestock auction in late December, one attendee We emphasize the word “good” because buy- simply aren’t available. ers are increasingly aware of problems associated talked with a heifer buyer who had three orders of 600 springing heifers for each of three big dairies with purchased heifers and calves. Buyers are find- Posilac screwing up cows, calves that needed to buy heifers to fill their barns. Those ing that a large number of heifers they purchase are Meanwhile, the resurgent use of the recombi- operations cannot maintain their milk cow numbers carrying twins. Another big complaint: purchased nant, milk-stimulating, injectable cow hormone without buying large numbers of replacement heif- calves and open (unbred) heifers are “Free Martins” (Posilac) sold by Monsanto is creating dramatic prob- ers. (farmer “slanguage” meaning reproductively sterile). lems for buyers of heifers and calves. Other dairies are expanding and need simply Posilac causes greater incidents of injected ani- need more animals. Heifer demand very strong mals to sustain multiple ova—twins. How can it be Strong demand??? When The Milkweed chat- that a milk-stimulating hormone that’s injected after What’s going on here? ted with Lewis Harrison of the Walnut Grove Auc- the animal is confirmed pregnant can cause more First of all, it looks like weather-related reasons tion Sales & Realty in South Carolina on January 5, twins??? That’s because Posilac stimulates dramatic over the past year-plus have helped create widespread Harrison said he’d never seen anything like the num- increases in blood flow throughout injected cows’ breeding problems in dairy. Breeding problems mean ber of phone calls he’s getting from out-of-state buy- bodies. Research reported by Monsanto in Califor- nia in the late 1980s or early 1990s showed that blood flow through the hearts of Posilac-injected cows in- Dr. Burroughs Made Enemies in High Places creased by about one-third. That extra blood flow goes to the uterus, also, where mammals normally carry of whom embraced the rbGH program. Continued from page 4 multiple fertilized eggs through the first third of their The meeting was formatted so attendees could nine-month pregnancy. More blood to the uterus dur- administrative law judge, appointed under Ronald ask questions to a panel consisting of the above two ing the pregnancy means more fertilized eggs will Reagan; she found for the FDA (and Monsanto). In gentlemen and two dairy farmers. One farmer attend- grow to maturity—resulting in more twins. Additional the trial, the counsel for FDA, Monsanto, and other ing the meeting, Bruce Krug, was an anti-rbGH ac- “twinning” by Posilac-injected cows has been com- co-defendant drug companies, continually reminded tivist from Lewis Co. (NY), received the floor, and monly acknowledged and reported in the dairy press. Burroughs that if he used any proprietary secret in- prepared to make a statement. He was squelched by Dairy farmers generally don’t want twins. First formation in his defense, they would sue him. the moderator, who said only questions were to be of all, “twinning” is tough on the cow. Second, sur- Burroughs then appealed his case. Two years later, posed, no statements. Krug was frustrated. Two other viving twins are less sound. And third, virtually all the original ruling against him was overturned. dairymen were more verbal in their frustration, and of the female animals born with male twin partners were threatened with being escorted from the meet- One supervisor testified that the FDA had “set are reproductively sterile. These animals cannot be ing if they didn’t return to order. I looked around and him up”. He then got his job back with CVM, but made pregnant under any circumstances. saw some plain-clothes goons who could bounce this time it was with swine and poultry research. In late 2003 and early 2004, Monsanto had to trouble-makers as needed. Burroughs said that his reappointment was a set-up, restrict sales of Posilac because of widespread qual- The moderator said there was time for one more because there “I really didn’t know what I was do- ity contamination problems at the sole production fa- question. For some bizarre reason, they chose mine. ing. I was there two years, under uncustomary re- cility in Austria. Full volume of Posilac sales was I asked, “Since BST is a skeletal- and muscle- target- strictions, was miserable the whole time, then left.” not achieved until late 2004 or early 2005. Monsanto ing hormone, rather than a milk production hormone, He then re-entered private practice, ultimately return- does not provide sales data. But the surge in Posilac per se, what research, if any has been done to assess ing to Central New York, where he is now semi-re- use has taken place since product was fully avail- the hormone’s residue, in any form, in the meat of tired, working part-time for a couple local veterinary able. Now the surge of heifers and cows carrying treated animals?” The Monsanto rep said that as far clinics. twins … as well as “Free Martin” female calves … is as they knew there was no bovine muscular residue Author’s experience: don’t buck Monsanto appearing. of BST. LaDue couldn’t come up with a better an- I got a small taste of the persecution experi- This whole evolving episode typifies the dan- swer. Then the moderator thanked people for com- enced by Richard Burroughs. In 1994, an informa- gers of modern mega-dairying management that sub- ing and closed the meeting. tional meeting was put on by Monsanto and a local stitutes hypodermically-delivered synthetic hormones I got an answer from Dr. LaDue about a week veterinarian on their payroll, namely Robert LaDue. in lieu of good, old-fashioned husbandry skills. Yes, later, when I went to get an order from a customer The well-attended meeting was held one evening at Posilac-injected heifers may make more milk, but for whom he was providing nutritional consultation the Cooperstown High School cafeteria. their calving and offspring can be bollixed by residual (in addition to vet work). Turned out, mysteriously, The meeting’s agenda was very well structured, damage from use of Posilac. with a Monsanto rep explaining why rbGH was safe that the dairyman in question no longer needed any- thing that Paris Reidhead was selling. Like I said ear- for cows and consumers, as well as profitable for Tales of woe: Bull-calf laden costly heifers lier, it was just a tiny taste of what Burroughs experi- dairymen. Dr. LaDue explained that genetic engineer- One farmer in Texas recently told tales of woe enced. That particular dairyman has since sold his ing, the science creating rbGH, was good because it about heifer buying. The farmer bought a trailer load cows and works at the nearest Wal-Mart. was already in use in human medicine; in fact it would of expensive bull calves last year from a cattle dealer most certainly save the lives of some people attend- Paris Reidhead is a sustainable farming activist in Minnesota. Strangely, every one of those heifers ing the meeting. Interesting also was the fact that a living in Hartwick, New York. delivered a bull calf! What happened? The Minne- number of medical people were at the meeting, none sota cattle dealer later confessed that he had checked each pregnant heifer to see if she was carrying a heifer calf or a bull calf ... and sold the Texas buyers only Industrial Chemical in Pizza Hut Cheese springing heifers carrying bull calves! Continued from page 1 ing a minor amount of starch ot a natural mozzarella More recently, an offer to pay $2500 per head cheese, the baking characteristics of the cheese when for springing Holsteins delivered to Texas could not which, “Within about 48 hours after brining, the used to make a pizza can be altered, making it more be filled by another Minnesota cattle dealer! cheese should either be used or frozen. This discov- suitable for a particular set of baking conditions, e.g., ery saves at least seven days of aging and permits the involving time, temperature, type of oven, crust thick- Conclusion: higher prices for heifers, calves use of a continuous process of making mozzarella, ness, and toppings used … Without the addition of Here we go again. Despite low milk prices, the which, from the to loading of the fro- starch, the cheese, although melted, is not browned dire need for dairy replacements—now and at least zen product on the truck, can be performed in as little or blistered by the time the crust is ‘done.’” two years ahead—is poised to further drive up prices time as eight hours.” Wallpaper glue is nothing more than starch and for dairy animals. But buyers are increasingly aware Leprino Foods’ patent has removed the aging pro- water. Cook starch and water and the mix will bubble of problems caused from twinning and “Free Mar- cess. But doing so risks creating huge bubbles, which and foam. Hence, all that starch and water in Leprino tins” that they’re looking for good, health dairy heif- rise on the pizza, then blacken and burst. That unsightly Foods’ “Pizza Cheese” require Dow-Corning’s ers and cows. mess is avoided by adding the anti-foaming agent. Antifoam FG 10” to cook in an appealing fashion. Perhaps it’s time for a healthy premium on A second reason for using an “Antifoam Emul- FDA GRAS food ingredient safety rules be d——d. “rbGH-Free” dairy animals, too! sion” in Leprino’s “Pizza Cheese” is to prevent the What’s next? Pamela Anderson promoting cheese from foaming due to the high level of food “stacked” Pizza Hut pizzas? January 2006 -- 7 starch. Leprino patent #5,200,216 states: “By add-