Letter to CDC _Raw Shea

[CanaDawn]

Nope. There's likely been a bug leg or egg in a candy bar you've eaten. (bonus protien!) lol
You'd definitely need to understand the specific refining process and track down the regulations, but I would not be the least surprised if they will include some percentage of foreign material (twig bits, bug parts, etc)

 

[pamielynn]

Nope. There's likely been a bug leg or egg in a candy bar you've eaten. (bonus protien!) lol
You'd definitely need to understand the specific refining process and track down the regulations, but I would not be the least surprised if they will include some percentage of foreign material (twig bits, bug parts, etc)

Hey, the people want "natural" don't they?

 

[CanaDawn]

Hey, the people want "natural" don't they?

Even in the regular, highly processed stuff there's specific limits for bug bit content (obviously they will not be listed on the label....they're sort of incidentals, or collateral inclusions, I suppose....:twisted: )

 

[sassanellat]

Gah!

I think it would be interesting to know just how refined the refined products are and what the processing regulations are regarding quality and so on. I don't think that a leg would be so bad after all

Unless the product has meat in it, it's pretty much up to the company to create their own standards, execute them, and report them (which means, well, it's pretty lax). There are some much more rigorous rules for meat-containing products, but you'd still be appalled.

 

[CanaDawn]

Unless the product has meat in it, it's pretty much up to the company to create their own standards, execute them, and report them (which means, well, it's pretty lax). There are some much more rigorous rules for meat-containing products, but you'd still be appalled.

lol. Apparently the wildlife branch of the govt here regularly gets requests for replacement deer/etc tags when people discover parasites in their game....even after they are identified as harmless when cooked.

Substantiated rumour has it that there are some great BBQs in that department (wasting game is a criminal offense....), but they do usually give replacement tags because they just can't make people ok with what is ok.

 

[pamielynn]

If you can find it, watch Nancy Today's video on soapmaking outside. Even if her ingredients don't come with bugs, she'll add them herself "Just a little bit of nature" says she.

 

[CanaDawn]

wow...ok...so I'm not a vegan or a Buddhist, but finding animals and purposely mixing them into a hot lye solution seems a little over the top....I won't weep about things that fall in accidentally, but.....nope, that's just not for me...

 

[lionprincess00]

wow...ok...so I'm not a vegan or a Buddhist, but finding animals and purposely mixing them into a hot lye solution seems a little over the top....I won't weep about things that fall in accidentally, but.....nope, that's just not for me...

Bugs in soap is a no go for me. But really, it isn't much different than the bug man coming out here and spraying for crickets and spiders, ants and such. I think the hornet spray I used when two yellow jackets got in and dive bombed me was a slower death than a hot hot lye solution. But I can't speak for certain on that.
It seems yucky, bugs in body cleaning products, no matter how you put it. And yes I know bugs are used for colorants too...still...yucky. I try not to think about that lol!

 

[OliveOil2]

Nancy Today should come with a warning to new soapers! I think that most of what she does is making fun of how serious most soap makers take measurements etc. I had to stop watching the youtube video where she was dancing around and shaking the full pitcher of lye water.

 

[CanaDawn]

Bugs in soap is a no go for me. But really, it isn't much different than the bug man coming out here and spraying for crickets and spiders, ants and such. I think the hornet spray I used when two yellow jackets got in and dive bombed me was a slower death than a hot hot lye solution. But I can't speak for certain on that.
It seems yucky, bugs in body cleaning products, no matter how you put it. And yes I know bugs are used for colorants too...still...yucky. I try not to think about that lol!

I'm not squeamish and don't care about bug bits, but I DO care about what seems to me to be the unnecessary cruelty of specifically seeking a bug to add. (and nope nope nope to spraying for harmless/helpful things like crickets and spiders, and the collateral damage of pesticide use. sorry, also not on my agenda.)

 

[CanaDawn]

Nancy Today should come with a warning to new soapers! I think that most of what she does is making fun of how serious most soap makers take measurements etc. I had to stop watching the youtube video where she was dancing around and shaking the full pitcher of lye water.

o. my. goodness.. ok, the adding of bugs at least now falls under "not that unexpected" though still not "ok"....

 

[navigator9]

I'm finally back on line after a truck rolled by my house and pulled the cable wires off the pole....then unable for some time to schedule a day when I had a six hour window available!!! So here I am, anxious to find out what I've missed while I was away, and this is the first thread I read. Well, I guess it's a good thing, since I haven't yet used the beautiful shea butter that a friend from work, who is from Ghana, had his daughters bring me on a recent visit. I have scraped bits off, and rubbed them on my hands, without any ill effects, so I'm guessing I don't have to worry about this particular batch of shea, but I won't use it to make soaps for sale,and I'll be keeping an eye on this thread. What a shame.

shea.jpg

 

[CanaDawn]

um...there's the off-chance that you're kidding so don't be offended....but scraping bits off and rubbing them on your hands wouldn't tell you anything about the safety, ebola- or other similar disease- wise, of any product, especially over such a short timeframe....and is that how you'd want to test, if there was a risk? Plus you mention you will soap with it, which would negate the risk IF it were there. (It's fairly clear to me by now, from what I've read, that there is no risk).

I think worrying about ebola from raw plant butters is an unnecessary fear, and you can safely use your lovely shea.

 

[lionprincess00]

I'm not squeamish and don't care about bug bits, but I DO care about what seems to me to be the unnecessary cruelty of specifically seeking a bug to add. (and nope nope nope to spraying for harmless/helpful things like crickets and spiders, and the collateral damage of pesticide use. sorry, also not on my agenda.)

Lol! Good thing you weren't around when hundreds, literally hundreds, of crickets invaded the farm field behind our home and next to our home with many coming into our home, invading the interior through every crack and crevice they could. Not to mention the massive amounts of spiders that too crawl into the home....finding a wolf spider in your bed isn't a good thing, my oldest can attest to that, and especially with several little one running about. If it wasn't for our bug man coming out quarterly, we would be overrun. it's the best investment we did here, I think! Ah, not to mention the hornets that fly in through the fireplace....that yr we had about 10 in the living room, we had to literally seal the fireplace off. Then there were the ants last yr.......

Living out of city limits does have some down points.....and spraying pesticides around the exterior, I'm sorry, it the only way we keep our home safe for ourselves. So you see, maybe your a tougher person than I and you find them helpful :thumbdown:
I however do not find them helpful (unless they're in our veggie garden. Yes, THOSE ARE helpful!)

 

[lionprincess00]

And that thumbs down was for my opinion of said bugs, not you being tougher....lol, I could use a lesson on bug toughness my hubby would say! So that wasn't meant for you, just for the horrible memories on the bug invasions :sick:
Also, yeah it's totally unnecessary and I agree 100% with you on that!

 

[shunt2011]

Nancy Today is hands down one of the scariest soapmaking videos I've ever seen. She is wrong on so many levels and thinking of all the new soapers out there who see her videos and may follow her ways is frightening. She's been the topic of what not to do many times on several forums. She is entertaining though.

 

[hmlove1218]

Not to mention the massive amounts of spiders that too crawl into the home....finding a wolf spider in your bed isn't a good thing, my oldest can attest to that, and especially with several little one running about.

Nope, nope, nope! I'd have to move because I think my house would burn down for some mysterious reason..lol. Spiders and I just don't get along. I have some really creepy jumping spiders that like to stalk people. They come in through my front door, so I mainly find them in the living room. If I found one in my bed I'd die.

 

[navigator9]

um...there's the off-chance that you're kidding so don't be offended....but scraping bits off and rubbing them on your hands wouldn't tell you anything about the safety, ebola- or other similar disease- wise, of any product, especially over such a short timeframe....and is that how you'd want to test, if there was a risk? Plus you mention you will soap with it, which would negate the risk IF it were there. (It's fairly clear to me by now, from what I've read, that there is no risk).

I think worrying about ebola from raw plant butters is an unnecessary fear, and you can safely use your lovely shea.

I think you're reading something into my post that wasn't there. I didn't mean to imply that I had rubbed the shea butter on my hands as a safety test for ebola, or anything else. Just that I had done so when I received it about a month ago, to see what it felt like on my hands. I had never made any connection between shea from Ghana and the risk of ebola until I read this thread today. Just stating that I rubbed the shea on my skin over a month ago, not knowing that there might ever be a question of an ebola connection, and that I've had no ill effects, that's all.

 

[Susie]

Listening to ebola nursing forum. Ebola is transmitted through aerosols as well as direct contact to body fluids. I will not be getting anything from Africa for the foreseeable future.

 

[lionprincess00]

Nope, nope, nope! I'd have to move because I think my house would burn down for some mysterious reason..lol. Spiders and I just don't get along. I have some really creepy jumping spiders that like to stalk people. They come in through my front door, so I mainly find them in the living room. If I found one in my bed I'd die.

We don't NOW, well now that we pay to get the exterior and windows sprayed 4 times a year. But yeah, after we moved in...that first spring was quite a shock to say the least!! I get cha though lol! Little fat round black jumping spiders with a white dot on its back?? We get those too.

Susie, I couldn't agree more.

You can tell me til your blue in the face you have to physically touch bodily fluids and rub it on an entry eyes, mouth etc. But some studies, mentioned, state it can live in optimal conditions for up to six days on services, there have been studies that have shown that it can be transmitted through sputum with sneezes, and finally viruses adapt! They learn and evolve. I'm not touching anything from Africa until this dies down and I am so greatful to Carolyn for bringing it up! Being a new soaper I didn't even put two and two together when it came to where shea butter and cocoa butter was coming from. I realize after the fact, but I wouldn't have thought of it and I was going to be buying some more pretty soon.

I'm not panicking, but being where I am :thumbdown: this is a big deal to me right now and I don't want to jeopardize my family for anything.