A new report by Kaayla T. Daniel, PhD.

UPDATE 8/28/2015

The Weston A. Price Foundation has made an official statement addressing this issue that you can read here.

by Brian Shilhavy
Health Impact News Editor

The alternative health/natural foods world was shocked yesterday by a new report published by Dr. Kaayla T. Daniel, PhD, stating that “fermented” cod liver oil is allegedly not what it is advertised to be according to lab testing. The report suggests that the product is rancid and adulterated. This “fermented” cod liver oil is fully supported by the Weston A. Price Foundation, where Dr. Daniel currently serves as Vice President.

David Gumpert of The Complete Patient broke the story yesterday (Saturday August 22, 2015), but his website is currently down at the time of this writing.

The significance of this report cannot be understated, since the company manufacturing this “fermented” cod liver oil has a virtual monopoly on the product, with many consumers depending upon it for health purposes. Some, such as Dr. Ron Schmid, have gone so far as to claim that the product has damaged their health.

We are expecting a rebuttal from Green Pasture, the company in question, and will post a link to it as soon as they publish it.

As the owner and founder of Tropical Traditions, I take the matter of transparency and integrity of food products very seriously, and I encourage the Weston A. Price Foundation to conduct a full investigation into this matter, and cooperate with Dr. Daniels. We, along with everyone else in the alternative media and natural food industry, will be watching very carefully to see how Dr. Daniels is treated in her effort to protect consumers’ health.

Here is the Intro to Dr. Daniel’s report. Click this link to download the entire report.

Hook, Line and Stinker!: The Truth About Fermented Cod Liver Oil

by Kaayla T.Daniel

INTRODUCTION

It’s brown. It stinks. It burns people’s throats. And its taste has been described as “downright nasty.” It’s the Green Pasture brand “fermented cod liver oil” (FCLO), a unique product said to be the one and only truly traditional cod liver oil. It hit the market in 2006, and — thanks to the endorsement of Sally Fallon Morell — quickly captured the loyalty of thousands of people in the paleo, primal and Weston A. Price Foundation communities.

Believers promote it as the only true “traditional” cod liver oil, the “high vitamin” cod liver oil recommended by Dr. Weston A. Price DDS, and the very secret to the superpowers of the Vikings. It’s recommended for pregnant women, babies, and children of all ages. People facing health challenges know they should take extra in the belief that something that tastes so bad must really be good. In only nine years, FCLO has become nothing less than the “real food” community’s secret to optimal health, high energy and maximum longevity.

The Word is that babies and children won’t grow well without it. Parents on Facebook forums share tips on how to squirt the brown liquid down the throats of protesting babies and how to scrub the inevitable brown stains off bibs and clothing. And those who cry that FCLO is too expensive for their budgets are urged to prioritize it over everything else, including the buying of organic,
pastured and free-range foods. Parents whose gut instincts tell them to stop feeding it to their children find themselves guilt-tripped with statements like “You’d find a way if your child needed to take a prescription medication, wouldn’t you?”

Those few people who’ve questioned whether oil can even be fermented, or if the smell and color might signify rancidity, find themselves shushed and shunned. Their concerns have been summarily dismissed as ignorant, unfounded, disproven by science, seriously misinformed, and the slanderous disparagement of unethical and jealous competitors. To which, a few people have dared to push back with words like “The nose KNOWS!” “What’s become of common sense?” and “Show me the science.”

In short, lines have been drawn. FCLO is either a true miracle food given to us by David Wetzel, a farmer/saint from Nebraska, or a case of the Emperor’s New CLO.

Last summer, the FCLO flap caught my attention and I became curious enough to start investigating. I talked to colleagues with expertise in fats, oils, fish and fermentation, took a long look at the history and research, and talked to doctors, nutritionists and other health practitioners who had used FCLO in their practice. I went into the project expecting to find evidence that would reconcile the adversarial “either/or” positions into a more peaceful “both/and.” I believed FCLO would be right for some individuals, wrong for others. After all, how could so many health experts be wrong?

As I reeled in the evidence, I came to believe there was something seriously wrong with FCLO. I thought the Weston A. Price Foundation should get to the bottom of it, and advised Sally Fallon Morell that we needed to test the Green Pasture Fermented Cod Liver Oil product properly and not just rely on David Wetzel’s assurances and his testing. I expressed concerns to her and later to
WAPF’s Board of Directors about probable rancidity and possible putrefaction, and said I was skeptical of data showing improbably high levels of Vitamin D2 in the product. I furthermore shared reports from clinicians who were finding severe Vitamin D deficiencies among some members who were regularly taking FCLO. As Vice President of WAPF, I felt the safety of our members and the credibility of the foundation were at stake.

In December 2014, WAPF’s Board of Directors voted against testing based on Sally Fallon Morell’s beliefs, David Wetzel’s assurances, and scientific data of limited and questionable value. I was strongly advised to relax, leave the science to people who could be “fair to Dave” and to toe the FCLO line.

Instead I went underground and set out on my own to test FCLO at some of the world’s top laboratories. Though my initial concerns had been rancidity and nutrient density, I soon realized there might be far bigger fish to fry. FCLO might be adulterated. And it might not even come from cod!

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