Lettuce milkshakes, however, are out.

What would we do without the FDA to protect us?

For example, when they finally got around to checking milk supplies, it turns out milk in the U.S. is generally contaminated with perchlorate, the primary ingredient in solid rocket propellant, and a chemical linked to impaired thyroid function, which can play a role in tumor formation in the thyroid.

Ditto lettuce.

But the FDA doesn't want you to worry. According to WIRED News:

"At this point we don't know if there is any risk," said an FDA spokeswoman. "Therefore, we're telling consumers to continue to eat a well-balanced diet. We don't want people to alter their diet in ways that make them think they're removing perchlorate, when they're really removing the healthy benefits of those foods."

The Malcontent might feel better if the folks at FDA talked to the folks at EPA, who have the following in their FAQ on perchlorate:

Is perchlorate-contaminated water safe to drink?
EPA's draft toxicity assessment is preliminary and thus, it is difficult to make definitive recommendations at this stage. It is also important to recognize that estimates contained in this draft assessment are designed to be conservative. In other words, there are adjustment factors built into this estimate to help account for uncertainties in the underlying data and information used. Other factors that influence the answer to this question include how much water is consumed, the degree of perchlorate contamination and the health status of the consumer.

That's what we call around here, um, a "no."

Well, at least the folks at FDA didn't jump up, scream, and yell out "Beware the Salad of Death!" Because that would have really been unsettling.

The data? Of course.