Wednesday, July 28, 2004

Media Chumps Say BOO!

FBI says "deadly" ricin found in baby food

All the media outlets and our dear ol' local news reported that ground-up castor beans were found in jars of baby food. The deadly toxin, ricin is derived from castor beans and readily available on many farms or even in the wild.

The media said "BOO!"

Check out what was wrtitten after the headline and opening paragraph:

U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials who tested the baby food said the ricin was not in the purified form that can be deadly. Rather, it was a less toxic, natural component of the castor beans.

"It's unlikely there would be serious injury with the level of castor bean found in those two jars we tested," said Dr. David Acheson, chief medical officer with the FDA's Center for Food, Safety and Applied Nutrition.

Small amounts of the food were eaten, but the babies had no symptoms, he said.

Like Bob Dylan wrote, "There's no reason to get excited." Besides, I thought most parents feed their kids McDonald's, anyway.