World Food Day: All Heroes Don’t Wear Capes

It is harvest season in various parts of the world for many different crops. In honor of World Food Day, we are spotlighting the people who work at the center of food production, the farmers. While farming is one of the oldest professions, many advances have made farming more efficient, environmentally friendly and reliable for both the farmers and us. You can think of farming innovation as the “superhero gadgets” that help “save” our food system. Below, we’ll cover four innovations that are utilized by our farming food heroes to help support our food system daily. Regenerative agriculture Regenerative ag helps farmers employ land management techniques that ensure natural elements are able to replenish themselves while they are used during food production. Regenerative ag practices are focused on building up high-quality soil, retaining rainwater, improving the water cycle, increasing biodiversity and promoting both human and animal welfare. A priority action in regenerative ag is focused on carbon management since carbon is a fundamental element that makes up all living things, including our food. Thus, keeping carbon levels at optimum ranges in soil and the atmosphere are essential. Actions such as no-till farming, composting and the planting of perennial crops all help with carbon management. Precision agriculture Technology is a “friend” to many of us to help do our jobs more efficiently, and this holds especially true for farmers. Today’s farmers use self-driving tractors, tablets, smartphones, satellite imaging and even drones. These technologies enable farmers to grow more food on their land while reducing their water, fertilizer and pest-control needs. Using these technologies can help increase crop yield but can also save resources and help to produce more food with less energy, time and related inputs. Some popular new precision ag techniques include the use of specialized sensors. There are sensors […]

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A Background on Carbohydrates and Sugars

This article provides an overview of how carbohydrates and sugars are classified, common types that are found in foods, their impact on health and what the latest dietary guidance recommends about their consumption. Carbohydrates are one of the three basic macronutrients needed to sustain human life—the other two are fats and proteins. Carbohydrates encompass a broad range of fibers, starches and sugars. Foods that contain carbohydrates provide a variety of other important nutrients to the diet (such as vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and antioxidants). Carbohydrates occur naturally in whole foods such as fruits, vegetables, grains and dairy products. Carbohydrates are in most packaged foods as well. Carbohydrate classification The basic building block of a carbohydrate is a simple union of the elements carbon, hydrogen and oxygen (CHO). The chemical definition of a carbohydrate is any compound containing these three elements which typically has twice as many hydrogen atoms as carbon and oxygen atoms (CH2O). Some types of carbohydrates may have more carbon atoms than oxygen atoms, but all carbohydrates will have twice as many hydrogen atoms as oxygen atoms (CxH2yOy). There are three classifications of carbohydrates: sugars (these include monosaccharides and disaccharides), oligosaccharides and polysaccharides. Saccharide originates from the Greek word for sugar, “sákkharon.” Mono-, di-, oligo- and poly- refer to the number of sugar units present in a carbohydrate. Sugars in foods When you hear the word “sugar,” you likely think of the white granulated version found in sugar bowls and tabletop packets. That type of sugar is called sucrose. But there are many other types of sugars, all of which scientists classify according to their chemical structures. Simple sugars are called monosaccharides; these are made up of single sugar molecules. The three main monosaccharides that we consume are fructose, galactose and glucose. These monosaccharides combine in various pairs to […]

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Cleaning Out Your Fridge for Safety

A little nudge to dig into the back of your refrigerator and remove condiments that have been sitting there a bit too long is often a welcomed reminder. November 15 is National Clean Out Your Fridge Day, and to celebrate, we’re sharing some tips on how to tackle this daunting task and other best practices linked to safe food handling. Not only will cleaning out your fridge give you more storage space, but it can help keep your personal food supply safer to eat and reduce your household waste. What You Should Throw Away Check Date Labels Before you purge any questionable packaged goods, there are a few things to remember about date labels on food packages. Most dates are indicative of an item’s quality, not safety, so don’t be too quick to throw away everything away that is past the posted date. The terms “Best if Used By,” “Sell-By,” “Use-By,” and “Freeze-By” all tell a consumer when a food may start declining in flavor and quality, but none of these phrases precede a safety-based expiration date. In fact, most of the dates listed on products are not regulated by federal food safety agencies but are given voluntarily by food manufacturers. It is important to note that dates on infant formula are federally regulated and any formula should be disposed of when it is past the listed date. Look at the Condition of the Food Itself Beyond checking date labels, if you are trying to determine if something in your refrigerator should stay or go, trust your gut and your nose. Characteristics to look out for are food that is softer than usual, discolored, has an unpleasant odor, is slimy, or has visible mold. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s “Ask USDA” tool can also help guide your decision-making when it […]

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What You Should Know About Plant-Based Alternatives to Meat

Download the Fact Sheet Here Vegetarian alternatives to meat are nothing new—veggie burgers, vegan deli meat and chicken-less nuggets have been around for decades. But while these products typically have aimed to meet the needs of vegetarians and vegans and don’t consistently match the taste and texture of meat, newer plant-based alternatives to meat are attempting to mimic animal proteins as much as possible. In this explainer, we’ll take a closer look at how these products are made, their nutritional attributes, and their environmental impact. To date, many of these new products have been created to serve as alternatives to foods traditionally made with red meat, like burgers and sausages, so we’ll focus on these alternatives. However, new products meant to mimic poultry, eggs and seafood are now also being sold, and more are coming to store shelves—an indicator that this novel wave in protein innovation may just be getting started. How are plant-based alternatives to meat made? Plant-based alternatives to animal meat are made with ingredients and processing techniques that create colors, textures and flavors that are similar to those of animal meat. Protein sources in these plant products range from soy and potatoes to peas, rice and mung beans. The type of dietary fats used to make them include canola oil, cocoa butter, coconut oil and sunflower oil, and they’re usually bound together by methylcellulose, which is used as a thickener and emulsifier in many types of foods. In addition to the ingredients needed to build color, structure and flavor, plant-based alternatives to meat are sometimes fortified with vitamins and minerals, like vitamin B12 and zinc, in order to offer some of the same nutrients that are inherent to animal meat. How do plant-based alternatives stack up nutritionally? Even though meatless protein foods benefit from a “health halo” […]

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IFIC Spotlight Survey: Americans’ Trust In Food & Nutrition Science

The International Food Information Council (IFIC) commissioned an online survey among U.S. consumers to measure knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about trust in science about food, nutrition, and diet. One thousand adults ages 18 years and older completed the online survey from July 11-13, 2024, and respondents were weighted to ensure proportional results. Key findings include:

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Can Our Diets Be Stress-Free? An Intuitive Eating Expert Weighs In

Many healthcare professionals and consumers either don’t know or don’t fully understand what intuitive eating is, which makes sense because it’s still a relatively new concept. In case it’s your first time reading this series, here’s a recap: Intuitive eating is a style of eating that focuses on listening to your hunger cues, eating a variety of foods for fullness and satiety, respecting your body, and not labeling food as “good” or “bad.” On the surface, this way of eating sounds like wishful thinking and admirable intentions wrapped up in a feel-good message. However, intuitive eating has been shown to be effective — it can help people who have been stuck in the restrict-binge-shame cycle (which has poor health implications) or others who constantly think about their next meal because the one they ate most recently was not satisfying. It’s complex because intuitive eating challenges us to figure out why we have so many subconscious rules and habits around food that may not be healthy or maintainable. Our 2018 Food & Health Survey found that, despite not being very familiar with intuitive eating, people are interested to learn more. So let’s dive into a few important questions. Is intuitive eating science-based? Despite the name, intuitive eating isn’t something we know like the back of our hands — it’s the center of many recent research studies. More and more research is being done to examine the effects of non-restrictive eating in various populations. So far the results are promising: Despite not focusing on weight loss, intuitive eaters often have lower BMIs and better psychological health. Who can you turn to for trusted information about food? It’s no secret that fear-mongering headlines related to food are constantly circulating in the media. We spoke with Rebecca Scritchfield, RDN, EPC, an expert in intuitive […]

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Microbial Misconceptions: Fermented Foods

We’ve officially (finally) made it to the last few weeks of 2017, and that means that foodies and trend forecasters are busy compiling their lists of food trends to watch for in 2018. While new fads and flavors are cropping up all the time, fermented foods have been perennial favorites of chefs, food bloggers, health nuts, and even your grandparents (shoutout to my grandma’s homemade pickles). But as their popularity continues to grow, it’s easy to lose sight of the real vs. perceived health benefits of fermented foods, and that’s where we come in. Fast Facts on Fermentation Fermenting foods takes many forms, ranging from the creation of wine from grapes, making yogurt or kefir from milk, curing meats, or converting a regular old cabbage into kimchi or sauerkraut. But they all have one thing in common: they’re produced by the actions of microorganisms. Certain species of bacteria, yeasts, or molds are responsible for the changes in flavor, texture and appearance of fermented foods. Fermented vs. Probiotic vs. “live and active cultures”: What’s the Difference? Microbes are required to turn any food into its fermented version. Some foods, like freshly made kimchi and most fermented dairy products, may still contain live and active cultures (meaning that the bacteria are still alive and working their magic). However, by the time the final products like beer, wine, vinegars, sauerkraut, cured meats and sourdough bread reach store shelves, the bacteria have been killed or inactivated through processes like pasteurization, baking, or filtering. The microbes are now out of the “live and active cultures” game. Even if a food still proclaims the presence of live and active cultures, this is not the same as being probiotic. The World Health Organization classifies a probiotic as, “live microorganisms that, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a […]

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IFIC Spotlight Survey: A Second Look At COVID-19’s Impact On Food Purchasing, Eating Behaviors & Perceptions Of Food Safety

In the United States, the COVID-19 pandemic has been entrenched in our daily lives for over two months. In the midst of its impact on the health of many and the lives of everyone, the way we’re thinking and acting around food and food safety continues to evolve. We conducted our first consumer research on COVID-19’s effects on shopping for food, eating habits and perspectives on food safety in early April. This most recent survey, fielded May 7th to May 12th, serves as a follow-up to this initial research. It tracks several questions asked previously in April and asks new ones to help us better capture the full scale of the pandemic’s effects on how we think and feel about food in these ever-changing times. Key findings include:  

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