Silica found in many Whole Foods milk brands

Sam321

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On one of the Generative Energy streams @haidut mentioned many milk brands that Whole Foods carries is tainted with Silica. He mentioned he couldn't elaborate for fear of being sued. Understandable.

I'm pretty concerned about this personally as I drink copious amounts of Whole Foods milk. What is the cheapest way to send my milk of choice to a cheap but reliable lab so I can obtain this information.
 

Nemo

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On one of the Generative Energy streams @haidut mentioned many milk brands that Whole Foods carries is tainted with Silica. He mentioned he couldn't elaborate for fear of being sued. Understandable.

I'm pretty concerned about this personally as I drink copious amounts of Whole Foods milk. What is the cheapest way to send my milk of choice to a cheap but reliable lab so I can obtain this information.

Sam, all of the Whole Foods brands, including the organic brands, contain silica and gums unless it clearly says "No additives or fillers" on the label.

In my area, St. Benoit and Straus brands are the only ones without silica and gums.
 

mimmo123

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I think Haidut tested the wholefoods brands and he said the last time he checked it did not have those additives when I asked him
 

Missenger

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I think Haidut tested the wholefoods brands and he said the last time he checked it did not have those additives when I asked him
He just reported on this earlier this year, you'd have to show proof of that or he'd have to say something about that.
 

mimmo123

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I emailed him and asked him and he told me you can do the same and just ask him
 

haidut

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I think Haidut tested the wholefoods brands and he said the last time he checked it did not have those additives when I asked him
It was one of the "whole milk" organic varieties, not the "wholefoods" brand. As some other users suggested, the silica is probably coming from the vitamin A/D fortifications most low-fat/fatfree milk types have. Those vitamins are usually kept in a powdered form in storage and most such powders contain silica as an anti-caking agent. So, whole milk varieties may be less likely to contain silica. That being said, I agree with @Nemo that unless the container explicitly says "no additives or fillers" it is likely to contain some sort of gut irritant, be that silica or one/more of the infamous gums, or even carrageenan.
@Sam321
 

Missenger

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Oh yeah, they would just dump it in there along with the contaminants wouldn't they.
 
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Sam321

Sam321

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It was one of the "whole milk" organic varieties, not the "wholefoods" brand. As some other users suggested, the silica is probably coming from the vitamin A/D fortifications most low-fat/fatfree milk types have. Those vitamins are usually kept in a powdered form in storage and most such powders contain silica as an anti-caking agent. So, whole milk varieties may be less likely to contain silica. That being said, I agree with @Nemo that unless the container explicitly says "no additives or fillers" it is likely to contain some sort of gut irritant, be that silica or one/more of the infamous gums, or even carrageenan.
@Sam321
Thats highly annoying given that I'm pounding Organic Valley 1%.
 

Lollipop2

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Thats highly annoying given that I'm pounding Organic Valley 1%.
Organic Valley is the worst. They sold out 10 or 15 years ago to a big Corp who could care less about organic. They cheapened the milk. Some have even tested it and found so much crap in it. I would not touch it. There is a national brand called Health Valley (I think) that has a non homogenized grassfed milk that is decent. Also Kolana has organic non homogenized milk. Look locally for brands that are not national or even find a farmer. In Texas there is Mill King.
 
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Sam321

Sam321

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Organic Valley is the worst. They sold out 10 or 15 years ago to a big Corp who could care less about organic. They cheapened the milk. Some have even tested it and found so much crap in it. I would not touch it. There is a national brand called Health Valley (I think) that has a non homogenized grassfed milk that is decent. Also Kolana has organic non homogenized milk. Look locally for brands that are not national or even find a farmer. In Texas there is Mill King.
**** it bro, gonna get raw milk from my farmer. This is nuts.
 

Lollipop2

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**** it bro, gonna get raw milk from my farmer. This is nuts.
+1 The consumer that doesn’t read labels even at Whole Foods or any natural foods store is screwed and will be misled. There are good stuff at these stores but you have to read every single label to get the good stuff. This has kind of become my specialty being able to find the BEST products or food at every store. I show my friends how to shop and why to choose certain foods or products.
 

Dr. B

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It was one of the "whole milk" organic varieties, not the "wholefoods" brand. As some other users suggested, the silica is probably coming from the vitamin A/D fortifications most low-fat/fatfree milk types have. Those vitamins are usually kept in a powdered form in storage and most such powders contain silica as an anti-caking agent. So, whole milk varieties may be less likely to contain silica. That being said, I agree with @Nemo that unless the container explicitly says "no additives or fillers" it is likely to contain some sort of gut irritant, be that silica or one/more of the infamous gums, or even carrageenan.
@Sam321

what was on the label of the brand as far as ingredients?

i have checked with whole foods and several grocery stores and an organic milk company. apparently the industry standard for the vitamin A/D additives is propylene glycol, polysorbate 80, and sometimes sunflower oil. several milk companies sent me the ingredients label for the vitamin mix.

from my understanding, the vitamin mixes are actually stored in a liquid form. the ingredients list reads vitamin A/D, water, polysorbate 80, propylene glycol.
i believe the propylene glycol is used as a preservative since the vitamins are stored in liquid form, and the polysorbate 80 is an emulsifier ingredient which helps to blend the vitamin mixture properly and evenly in the milk. some milk brands add sunflower oil too, and i bet some of the cheaper brands may even be using carrageenan or other gums or silica. however im not sure silica has emulsifying properties? why would they use that.

were these supplements actually a pure powder form they would settle on the bottom of the milk container after being added. they would actually be safer that way as I think most vitamin A and D capsule products dont require carrageenan and all these fillers/preservatives/emulsifiers. the propylene glycol is probably needed since theyre a liquid form.

anyway, if you are on the east coast and do not have access to a good 100% grass fed raw milk, the absolute BEST milk brand i have found is called family farm stead.
it comes from new york, is sold at most moms organic markets and other organic stores. it is usda organic, 100% grass fed, and 100% A2 milk, non homogenized, and low temperature pasteurized. this stuff is the best tasting milk ive had, and it checks off all the boxes for everything milk should have other than the pasteurized part. it is pricy, it costs about 4x the price of non organic regular whole milk.

if you cant find that one, the second best one I have found is greenfield farms organics. its at whole foods and other stores. tastes great, comes from a holstein jersey cow mix. the drawbacks to it are, it is not 100% grass fed, it is only 50% grass fed. in winter months the cows are fed hay and even corn... other issue is its not A2. its a jersey holstein mix milk, so it has A1 proteins. but it is still low temp pasteurized, non homogenized, organic, no additives in their whole milk, and is one of the best tasting milks out there.
 

Dr. B

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Organic Valley is the worst. They sold out 10 or 15 years ago to a big Corp who could care less about organic. They cheapened the milk. Some have even tested it and found so much crap in it. I would not touch it. There is a national brand called Health Valley (I think) that has a non homogenized grassfed milk that is decent. Also Kolana has organic non homogenized milk. Look locally for brands that are not national or even find a farmer. In Texas there is Mill King.

if you are in texas that may be the brand i heard of, called Whole Kaluna or something. it was a non homogenized, low temp pasteurized organic whole milk.

i havent found any brand that beats the family farmstead brand when it comes to store bought milks though. this stuff tastes the best, has the best nutrition profile, 100% grass fed A2, even has a golden yellow color instead of the pure white color most milks have.

Thats highly annoying given that I'm pounding Organic Valley 1%.

i think organic valley had a decent option a few years back. they discontinued it like 2 years back. it was a 100% grass fed, organic, non homogenized milk they sold at whole foods. had no vitamins or things added. not sure if it was A2 or not. they discontinued the stuff because it wasnt selling well. its unfortunate but most people dont want to pay quadruple the price of other milks. you have regular, non organic milk which at costco, walmart and most grocery stores is as cheap as $2.29 a gallon to $3 a gallon. then you have organic but still grocery store brand milk which is double that at $6 a gallon.
then you have these specialty products like organic valleys grassmilk, which is $12 a gallon. which me and you might be willing to pay, but apparently not enough people were buying organic valleys grassmilk. i think they offer grassmilk now, but its only an ultra pasteurized version.

also if you are in the US, unless youre getting raw milk from a farm which is skimmed, anytime you are buying 2%, 1% or skim milk from any grocery store, that milk is legally required to have vitamins A and D added. and with those vitamins being added, youre guaranteed to get polysorbate 80, propylene glycol, and potentially even sunflower oil/carrageenan. no matter how high quality/organic the milk brand is the vitamin mixes will add those ingredients in and carrageenan and sunflower oil are allowed in organic products.
I think Haidut tested the wholefoods brands and he said the last time he checked it did not have those additives when I asked him

whole foods adds vitamin A and D to even their whole milk. their whole milk might not have carrageenan or silica but its likely to have polysorbate 80 and propylene glycol.
 
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Lollipop2

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if you are in texas that may be the brand i heard of, called Whole Kaluna or something. it was a non homogenized, low temp pasteurized organic whole milk.

i havent found any brand that beats the family farmstead brand when it comes to store bought milks though. this stuff tastes the best, has the best nutrition profile, 100% grass fed A2, even has a golden yellow color instead of the pure white color most milks have.
Yes it is called SuperNatural Kalona. Non homogenized organic. Good stuff.

Mill King is better - low temp pasteurized non homogenized milk. Has been a family farm near Hillsboro for generations - never bothered with Organic certification as it is expensive and political. Best milk in Texas.

Thanks for correcting my “health valley” reference. It was as you said Organic Valley. I was having a mind blip. I think they sold out as well. I need to research it.

Is Family Farmstead a national brand? It sounds good.
 

Dr. B

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Yes it is called SuperNatural Kalona. Non homogenized organic. Good stuff.

Mill King is better - low temp pasteurized non homogenized milk. Has been a family farm near Hillsboro for generations - never bothered with Organic certification as it is expensive and political. Best milk in Texas.

Thanks for correcting my “health valley” reference. It was as you said Organic Valley. I was having a mind blip. I think they sold out as well. I need to research it.

Is Family Farmstead a national brand? It sounds good.
im not sure, theyre based in new york. they may only be selling on the east coast, to whole foods, moms and other organic stores. theyve got pics and details on their website.
they even used to offer a 'maple milk' which was just maple syrup, but also offered a chocolate milk... which literally had no ingredients besides organic cocoa powder, maple syrup, and i believe celtic sea salt and vanilla. pretty much every chocolate milk on the market, even ones sold by organic brands, contain carrageenan. although ironically, the 711 stores actually have a 711 brand organic chocolate milk which i think only has gellan gum or tapioca starch as the filler ingredient, which are much better than carrageenan. some 711 stores even had an organic cold pressed juice, in flavors like blackberry and melon.

regarding the organic certification do you know what costs are involved? i researched it a bit and apparently its only $750 one time fee to get it, and you maintain it as long as your farm remains organic? if thats true, it makes it concerning if a brand isnt organic certified. makes it seem like they could be cutting corners. all the farms i have seen which offer raw milk/herdshare programs, they say their milk and farms are organic but not certified organic due to costs.

also im not sure about health valley, i havent heard of the brand.
 

Lollipop2

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im not sure, theyre based in new york. they may only be selling on the east coast, to whole foods, moms and other organic stores. theyve got pics and details on their website.
they even used to offer a 'maple milk' which was just maple syrup, but also offered a chocolate milk... which literally had no ingredients besides organic cocoa powder, maple syrup, and i believe celtic sea salt and vanilla. pretty much every chocolate milk on the market, even ones sold by organic brands, contain carrageenan. although ironically, the 711 stores actually have a 711 brand organic chocolate milk which i think only has gellan gum or tapioca starch as the filler ingredient, which are much better than carrageenan. some 711 stores even had an organic cold pressed juice, in flavors like blackberry and melon.

regarding the organic certification do you know what costs are involved? i researched it a bit and apparently its only $750 one time fee to get it, and you maintain it as long as your farm remains organic? if thats true, it makes it concerning if a brand isnt organic certified. makes it seem like they could be cutting corners. all the farms i have seen which offer raw milk/herdshare programs, they say their milk and farms are organic but not certified organic due to costs.

also im not sure about health valley, i havent heard of the brand.
I was wrong about the name health valley. You gave the correct name Organic Valley.

I will definitely look up that brand! Looks amazing. I love the Maple Milk idea!

It is not the simple application fee. It is the required testing for like 7-10yrs. Very expensive apparently. I saw a blog about it once.
 

Lollipop2

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regarding the organic certification do you know what costs are involved? i researched it a bit and apparently its only $750 one time fee to get it, and you maintain it as long as your farm remains organic?
I have looked for the blog but can’t find it. In truth, I saw many organizations offering help for the fees. Perhaps it isn’t as expensive as it once was. If you know your local farmer you can see if the practices meet high organic standards. Sometimes they might be better like biodynamic farming or regenerative farming movement.
 

tastyfood

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The one I buy in California at Whole Foods (they sell it in other stores in California too) is Clover.

I tolerate Clover 1% well, and I'm semi-confident this is not the one with silica or additives issues.

How do others do with the Clover brand? I buy the organic version, but I'm thinking of switching to the non-organic ultrapasteurized one.
 

Mito

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I tolerate Clover 1% well, and I'm semi-confident this is not the one with silica or additives issues
Does it have added Vitamin A & D? If yes, it has small quantities of Propylene glycol, Polysorbate 80 and Water.
 

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