Consumer columnist and West Hartford resident Harlan Levy has more than 20 years of experience writing stories about everyday experiences that anyone could encounter.

Harlan Levy. Courtesy photo

By Harlan Levy

How many of you readers use aluminium foil to line a pan for oven-cooking or to wrap up food – like sandwiches, grilled fish (salmon for me), leftover pizza, other items for the refrigerator?  I never questioned it – until I received a new report from the D.C.-based nonprofit Environmental Working Group. Here are its surprising, concerning findings:

• Cooking: When you cook with aluminum foil, some of that metal ends up in your food. “A peer-reviewed study examining 11 types of food – including Atlantic salmon, mackerel, and duck breast – confirmed that aluminum leaches from foil into food during baking. The hotter you cook, the worse it gets. At temperatures under 320°F, the leaching is modest. Above 428°F the rate climbs fast. Temperature matters more than how long you cook, because the heat changes the foil’s oxide layer from an amorphous structure to a crystalline one – basically, the foil’s protective barrier breaks down. And it doesn’t matter which side of the foil faces your food.”
• Acidic food: If you’re wrapping something acidic (tomatoes, citrus, anything with vinegar) the aluminum dissolves into your food at a much higher rate. The study found that marinated food samples showed statistically significant increases in aluminum content compared to unmarinated ones. Aluminum dissolution depends heavily on pH and temperature. Italian researchers also confirmed the same thing: aluminum release happens even in unseasoned food, but acids and marinades speed it up.
• Your body: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says most aluminum from food and water leaves your body quickly. The World Health Organization and Federal Drug Administration agree that intake below 2 mg per kilogram of body weight per week is unlikely to cause problems. But aluminum doesn’t just come from foil. It’s in drinking water, cosmetics, your deodorant, certain medications, and even the air. Only about 4% of our total aluminum intake comes from things like foil and utensils. Your body is already processing aluminum from a dozen different sources every single day.
• Children and people with kidney problems: Children, especially younger kids, have a low body weight, so it takes far less aluminum to approach thE weekly intake limit. People with kidney disease: Compromised kidneys don’t flush out the aluminum. They store it. Stored aluminum has been linked to anemia, dementia, and osteomalacia (a bone-softening condition).
• Alternatives: Beeswax wraps – reusable cotton fabric coated in beeswax, parchment paper (non-stick, heat-resistant option for wrapping food, baking, or roasting), silicone bags for storing vegetables or sandwiches, cotton or linen cloths for wrapping bread or sandwiches, lidded casserole dishes/Dutch ovens, silicone baking mats.

Use parchment paper for wrapping food instead of aluminum foil, which leaches aluminum into your body. Photo credit: Harlan Levy

BirthCertificateState.com: scam … or embarrassment?

After I received a letter from our Department of Motor Vehicles that my drivers license was expiring next month I needed to go to our local AAA office before it expired with a copy of my birth certificate, my license, and two forms identifying me and my home address (two utility bills work). Unfortunately, I could not find my birth certificate. So I Googled  “birth certificate,” and up came birthcertificatestate.com.

So I filled in all the information, provided a photo of my license, and used my credit card to pay $30 per copy plus all the extra fees. I then emailed the form and the payment as instructed and received confirmation that it had been received.

A day later I received an email saying I had not submitted all the required information. What the fudge??? Yes I had. So I called hoping to speak to a person but could only leave a message. The next day I received an email from this outfit repeating that I needed to submit the additional information that I had already submitted and fill out the long damn form again. I called back and could once again only leave a message, explaining that my request had been accepted and asking what the hell was happening. Again I received an email repeating the request for information.

One page of the required information for obtaining a birth certificate copy from third-party birthcertificatestate.com. Courtesy of Harlan Levy

Exasperated, I searched for “Is birthcertificatestate.com a scam,” and found this: “It is not a technical scam, but it operates as a costly third-party middleman [not a government agency]. They deliver the service they advertise, but their business model often surprises consumers with hidden fees and unnecessary steps. The Cost: They charge their own processing fee (often ranging from $30 to $65 on top of the actual government vital records and state fees.”

Next I contacted my credit card company to try to void my unfortunate charge. The agent looked for it and all she could find was a $91 charge paid to the company on May 8. So I filed a complaint, and the agent said she’d contact the company and get back to me with the result. Good luck to me. So extremely aggravating!

Meanwhile I emailed the company Monday night asking it to cancel my submission and refund the charge.

But 19 minutes later the company emailed back, saying, “Your certificate has already been reviewed for accuracy, verified and internally processed directly to your state and can not be canceled at this point.”

Aaaarrrggghh!

Advice: If you need an official, certified copy of your birth certificate, you don’t need to use a third-party service. You can apply directly through official channels, which will only cost you the standard state fees: Search online for the vital records office of your birth city, and you should find the necessary forms and fees. For me, a copy from Hartford costs only $20. Embarrassing for a consumer columnist! Again Aaaarrrggghh!

Now you know.

NOTE: If you have a consumer problem, contact me at [email protected] (“Consumer” in subject line), and, with the power of the press, maybe I can help.

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