Lead In Red Wine Vinegar
While standing in front of the shelves at my local Trader Joe's supermarket, I was reading the labels of the red wine and balsamic vinegars to see if I could find one that didn't contain sulfites. Instead, I found something worse. Lead.

The sign on the shelf read, "Warning Proposition 65. The balsamic and red wine vinegars on this shelf contain lead." Yes, the lead that was taken out of lead paint, and the lead that was taken out of gasoline, is now in vinegar.

The apple cider vinegar was not on the warning, so the lead must have something to do with the grapes. Either that or it's a "soft ban" on foreign imports. The apple cider vinegar was made from apples likely grown in California or Washington, and the balsamic and red wine vinegars were from Italy. I believe that if someone wants to ban or slow down the importation of a product from a certain country, and they can't legally do so because of trade agreements, then they will find something wrong with the product and create a fear campaign. Two common examples are the importation of beef because of Mad Cow and the importation of chickens because of Avian Flu. Yes there is some truth to both of these diseases, but is it blown out of proportion in order to achieve other objectives? You decide.

None-the-less, I didn't take any chances and I bought the apple cider vinegar. It was organic, so no pesticides used, and it didn't list sulfites as an ingredient.

So the next time you are at the grocery store make sure you buy the unleaded vinegar and not the leaded one. And of course, the mercury free fish.