Jun 3, 2026
Unlike the PFAS rule the EPA moved to cut in 2026, the federal lead rule is getting stronger, not weaker — the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements are phasing in now, with the action level dropping to 10 ppb in November 2027 and a mandate to replace nearly all of the country's ~9 million lead service lines by around 2037. Here's what the rule actually requires, how to find out if you have a lead line, and which filters are certified to reduce lead — sourced to EPA, CDC, and NSF.
Jun 2, 2026
The seed oil debate is exhausting and polarized. This piece sidesteps it entirely and walks through what actually happens to a soybean — and a canola seed — between the field and the bottle. Hexane extraction, degumming, caustic neutralization, bleaching clay, 240°C deodorization, winterization. The process, as it actually works, sourced to FDA, USDA, AOCS, and peer-reviewed references.
- seed-oils
- ingredients
- processing
May 27, 2026
Most "whole-house vs point-of-use" comparisons are written by people who sell one or the other. Here's the honest breakdown — what each technology actually does, what it costs over five years, when whole-house is the right call, and when a single point-of-use filter handles 95% of what you actually care about.
May 25, 2026
For the first time in a decade, federal food-additive review is moving. Here's a factual timeline of what HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has actually done since taking office in February 2025, what's on the FDA's review list today, what's announced versus enforceable, and what's likely next.
- labels
- regulation
- additives
May 25, 2026
Microplastics in drinking water is a genuinely contested area. Some claims are well-supported by peer-reviewed research, others have outpaced the evidence. Here's what's actually known as of May 2026, what regulators are doing, and which filtration technologies have demonstrated reduction performance.
- water
- microplastics
- regulation
May 24, 2026
For eight years after the 2016 AMS rescission, "grass-fed" had no federal definition. In August 2024 the FSIS published a substantiation guideline that fills part of the gap. It addresses feeding protocol and not much else. Third-party certification still does the heavy lifting.
May 23, 2026
Most viral "banned in Europe" lists are out of date. Red 3 and BVO were federally banned in the US in 2024-2025. Here are the seven additives and feed-stage agents the FDA still permits that the EU has rejected, with specific regulations cited.
- labels
- regulation
- additives
May 18, 2026
On May 18, 2026 the EPA published two proposed rules that, if finalized, would preserve federal MCLs for PFOA and PFOS while rescinding the limits set in 2024 for PFHxS, PFNA, HFPO-DA, and the Hazard Index mixture. Here's the full picture as of today.
May 12, 2026
Americans coming home from Italy or France routinely report eating bread without bloating or fatigue. The "American bread vs European bread" story is partly real and partly wrong — the regulatory differences on flour additives, pre-harvest glyphosate, fermentation time, and folic acid fortification between American and European wheat are bounded but real. Here's what the regulations and milling practices actually say.
Apr 10, 2026
Most "grass-fed" beef in the U.S. spends its last weeks on grain. Here's how to read past the marketing and what to look for on the package.
Mar 2, 2026
The annual Consumer Confidence Report your water utility sends out is full of numbers that look reassuring and aren't. Here's what to actually pay attention to.