Matt Amsden Tells The Truth About Thai Coconuts and Formaldehyde
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Guest Blogger: MATT AMSDEN CEO and author of RAWvolution: Gourmet Living Cuisine
Just say "YES!" to raw foods. Cher, Carol Alt, Alicia Silverstone, Susan Sarandon, and David Wolfe have! Celebrated raw food chef, Matt Amsden says that eating your food in the raw, doesn't mean you need to give up your favorite dishes. Using natural ingredients, he's enabled others to eat his signature "Big Matt with Cheese," and other traditional type foods in the comfort of their own homes. Every week Matt creates delicious raw dishes, including soups, main entrees, sides, and desserts--all deliverable to your door. With a storefront in Los Angeles and a kitchen in New York City, he's busy, but still keeps up with the latest trends in the raw food world.
MATT AMSDEN--
Are you one of those folks whose initial excitement in discovering Thai Coconuts was quickly replaced with fear when you heard the rumor that the sweet treat is soaked in formaldehyde before reaching the United States?
I don’t know where it started nor can I remember when I first heard it, but the rumor is certainly widespread.
I have had dozens of friends and clients ask me about it in panicked phone calls, during my raw food preparation classes, or even during visits to our café.
Some fearful raw-fooders have completely removed Thai Coconuts from their diets in response to the rumor, and there are even raw restaurants that have deleted them from their menus.
In short, we have all allowed this rumor to spread based completely on hearsay and without any definitive proof.
My wife Janabai and I love Thai Coconuts and weren’t willing to leave them out of our morning shakes or delete them from our café’s menu until we received definitive proof that they are in fact, treated with formaldehyde.
Waiting for someone else to provide such proof was getting us nowhere. We decided to find the truth, not only for ourselves but also for our customers, friends, and for those spreading fear by way of a baseless rumor.
We contacted Michelson Laboratories. Michelson is a fully accredited microbiology and chemical testing lab with over 70 highly trained specialists and technicians located in Commerce, California.
Michelson was confident that after proper testing of a sample they could tell us definitively whether or not Thai Coconuts were treated with formaldehyde.
We supplied Michelson with samples from our regular stock of Thai Coconuts and waited patiently as the testing process began.
As the weeks went on, Janabai and I decided that whatever the result, we would disseminate the information as widely as possible. We would either discontinue our use of Thai Coconuts and warn others or dispel the myth and continue to endorse the use of Thai Coconuts.
On Thursday, May 11 th, 2006, we received the results from the lab.
There was absolutely no indication whatsoever that the Thai Coconut samples provided to Michelson Laboratories was ever in contact with formaldehyde.
We were excited! Not only could we continue to enjoy Thai Coconuts but we also had definitive proof that the formaldehyde scare was nothing more than rumor.
It is my sincere hope that in the future, our raw food communities will not fall prey to lies and made-up stories. These rumors divide rather than unite and spread fear rather than information.
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Reader Comments (8)
thanks
No other chemicals were tested for as I personally funded the testing and each chemical test costs several hundred dollars.
Please remember that the primary purpose for the testing was to determine the validity of a particularly widespread claim. The implication being that at some point, someone began to authoratatively state that Thai coconuts are treated with formaldehyde while that is an absolute scientific falcity.
The purpose of the testing was not to determine whether non-organic coconuts are organic, it was to shine a light on the fact that for some reason, people have an axe to grind with Thai coconuts and that they will create out-right lies under the guise of spreading health information. If one chooses to not eat Thai coconuts for some other reason, they have that perogotive. The most important lesson I learned from this experience however, is that it is unwise and irresponsible to heed or continue to spread rumor where there is no accountability of the source. Even those who made seemingly innocent statements like "I heard Thai coconuts are dipped in formaldehyde" are implicit in a culture of spreading fear by way of a baseless rumor. Health-minded consumers have enough to contend with from large corporations buying into organic produce growing, Codex and mandatory pasteurization that we need not implode from the inside by spreading mistruths throughout our own ranks. Food should be fun! Why are we searching so desperately to find fault in a food that we could be enjoying? Now that the formaldehyde myth has been dispelled; what will they say next? I challenge new detractors put their money where their mouth is and prove their claims scientifically. If they are right, I'll set Thai coconuts aside as fast as anyone.
Knowing that we can rest assured and purchase the tested and verified brand... perhaps there are other unscrupulous companies that use formaldahyde in their coconuts...
Thanks again for your innitiative.
Rawny