MRLs: What You Need to Know

Ever notice how fruit and vegetable stands or freezer aisles in grocery stores can be such a “mixed bag?” Many of us can buy everything from apples and avocados to yams and zucchini all year long. In warmer months, many of us also see an increase in the availability and variety of many fresh fruit and vegetables. Some are grown here in the U.S., but many are imported from other parts of the world. This brings me to pondering a bit how all of these foods, grown on many different farms all over the world, are monitored for pesticide safety—the regulated use of pesticides and the subsequent residues (trace amounts) that can remain on produce once it reaches the consumer.    Safety in Your Salad Bar I didn’t randomly come up with this “pondering exercise”: It was sparked when I was recently invited to the California Specialty Crops Council’s MRL Harmonization Workshop in San Francisco. Sunny California has more than 75,000 farms and produces over 400 commodities, so it’s a great place to hold a forum on fruit and vegetable production safety. MRLs are the “maximum residue limits” set for pesticide residues for all food. At this workshop I met strawberry, almond, cherry, citrus, walnut, pomegranate, pulse and pistachio farmers, to name just a few. I also heard about the work farmers are doing to uphold the federal safety standards, established by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), that limit and monitor the amount of pesticide chemical residues that can remain on food post-harvest. This includes foods that are both grown in the United States or imported from other countries. You may gasp at the idea of pesticides lingering on your beautiful pineapple (from Mexico or Hawaii), kiwi (from Chile or California), or squash (from Georgia or Michigan) after it is […]

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Seeing Sustainability Soar in 2018

What makes you pick one type of cereal, juice, bread or milk over another while you are shopping? Purchases we make can be influenced by a variety of factors, with some having more influence than others. Our 2018 Food and Health Survey has uncovered various insights on what drives people when they make food and beverage purchase choices. It turns out that some factors are more significant than others. One of them happens to be sustainability. Check out our new video and read more below about how this “values factor” impacts how people decide what ends up in their pantries and refrigerators. The importance of sustainability in food production grew larger in 2018, with 59 percent of people saying it was important that the foods they purchase and consume be produced in a sustainable way, jumping up from 50 percent in 2017. Out of those 59 percent who believe sustainability is important, their top two most important individual factors of sustainability increased significantly over 2017: 33 percent in 2018 said “reducing pesticides” was their top priority, up from 27 percent in 2017, while “ensuring an affordable food supply” increased to 16 percent in 2018 from 10 percent last year. But how does the desire to make sustainable purchases match up to more time-tested purchase drivers such as “taste” and “price?” Taste still reigns supreme (as it has every year the Food and Health Survey has been conducted), with 81 percent saying it has at least some impact in their buying decisions; price was cited by 64 percent of consumers as having an impact. Trailing behind, 39 percent of people said sustainability impacts their purchase choice. Not too shabby, and certainly a purchase driver to keep an eye on. Sustainable practices in food production are certainly key in maintaining a reliable […]

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What’s the Carnivore Diet?

A few weeks ago, I was on Facebook scrolling through my timeline, and a particular post caught my eye. It was a picture of steak with the caption, “Trying the carnivore diet”. A bunch of thoughts ran through my mind: “What about the fiber?”, “No apples or strawberries?” and “This can’t be healthy!” I went to Google to see if this was really a thing; lo and behold, it is, and it comes with a few supposed health claims. But is the carnivore diet really a health savior or just savory? The carnivore diet is a more extreme version of the keto diet, and, like the name suggests, involves eating only animal foods.  You can eat all meat, including beef, poultry, fish, organ meats – such as liver and kidneys – and, if you’re feeling adventurous, entrails and brain. Also, the meat can only be seasoned with a little salt and pepper, no other seasonings are allowed. And while some variations of the carnivore diet allow for full-fat dairy, the most extreme followers omit dairy completely. While this sounds (and is) extreme, proponents of the carnivore diet say that consuming only meat helps with many health ailments, such as fatigue, obesity and digestive health.  The downside of the carnivore diet is that it is only meat, which means an entire macronutrient, carbohydrates, is completely missing from the diet. Carbohydrates are necessary for the body to properly function. They are the food source of the primary  fuel (glucose) utilized by the brain and working muscles and contain nutrients that are nearly non-existent in meats, such as fiber, vitamins C and K, and folic acid. And while emerging research is heating up the conversation on dietary fats, a diet of only meat, especially meat high in saturated fat, may negatively affect cardiovascular […]

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Fiber Fact Sheet

Download the Fiber Fact Sheet here Dietary fiber is a plant-based nutrient found in a wide variety of foods. “Fiber” is a broad term that encompasses several types of non-digestible carbohydrates that offer a diverse array of health benefits. In recent year, significant developments have been made in our understanding of fiber and its role in the promotion of health and disease risk reduction. A wealth of scientific evidence demonstrates that adequate dietary fiber intake has a number of health benefits, including maintenance of a healthy gastrointestinal tract and reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and some types of cancers. This fact sheet will examine many topics of interest around dietary fiber, including its definitions, food sources and associations with human health. Definition of fiber There are several definitions of dietary fiber worldwide and a singular definition remains the subject of ongoing discussion. Some of the definitions were the result of analytical methods used to isolate dietary fiber whereas others stemmed from the physiological benefits associated with this food component. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) Food and Nutrition Board (formerly known as the Institute of Medicine Food and Nutrition Board) defines dietary fiber as, “nondigestible carbohydrates and lignins that are intrinsic and intact in plants”, whereas “added fiber” consists of isolated, nondigestible carbohydrates that have beneficial physiological effects in humans.” NASEM defines “total fiber” as the sum of dietary fiber and added fiber. The Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses offers a more technical definition of dietary fiber as, “carbohydrate polymers with a 10 or more monomeric units…not hydrolyzed by the endogenous enzymes in the small intestines of humans…” Additionally, Codex included a footnote that the “Decision on whether to include carbohydrates of 3 to 9 monomeric unites should be left up to […]

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Questions and Answers About Fructose

What is fructose? Fructose is a monosaccharide, or single sugar, that has the same chemical formula as glucose but a different molecular structure. Sometimes called fruit sugar, fructose is found in fruit, some vegetables, honey, and other plants. Fructose and other sugars are carbohydrates, an important source of energy for the body. What other types of sugars are there? The food supply contains a variety of sugars called monosaccharides (single sugar units like fructose and glucose) and disaccharides (two monosaccharides linked together). Glucose is the main source of energy for the body because most complex sugars and carbohydrates break down into glucose during digestion. Starches contain many single sugar units linked together. The various sugars perform different functions in the body, but they all can provide energy. Sucrose is a disaccharide that contains equal parts of glucose and fructose. Known as table or white sugar, sucrose is found naturally in sugar cane and sugar beets. Other sugars in foods and beverages include: Lactose Disaccharide containing glucose and galactose Naturally occurring in milk Maltose Disaccharide containing two glucoses Crystallized from starch Dextrose Another name for glucose Crystallized from sugar cane, sugar beets and starches Corn Syrup Primarily single glucose units Produced from corn starch High Fructose Corn Syrup Primarily a mixture of glucose and fructose single units Produced from corn starch Is fructose safe? High fructose corn syrup and all other sugars are “generally recognized as safe” by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The Surgeon General’s Report on Nutrition and Health, the National Academy of Sciences report Diet and Health, and Healthy People 2000: National Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Objectives by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services support this conclusion. In a 2002 scientific statement on sugar and cardiovascular disease, the American Heart Association concluded that, for […]

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What Are You Looking For from Food?

Think for a minute: What exactly are you hoping to get from the food you choose? Is food simply a foil to hunger, or are you more deliberate about the enjoyment, taste or nutrition of your meals? It can be a tricky question to answer—and your answer might change depending on the time of day, how hungry you are, your health goals and of course, your budget. But no matter what your circumstance, on some basic level we all tend to want the same thing: a delicious, (at least somewhat) nutritious meal or snack for a reasonable price. And if it’s convenient, then that’s even better. At least, that’s what our years of consumer research have shown. Taste and price are, and likely always will be, the top drivers of our food decisions. But for today, let’s put those two aside and focus on another major priority: health. When you think of how food relates to health, the first thing that may come to mind is body weight. It makes sense—food has calories, and the number of calories we eat impacts our body weight. Currently, about 70 percent of U.S. adults are reportedly overweight or obese, and 40 percent of people in our 2018 survey said they are interested in weight loss or weight maintenance benefits from the foods they eat. This is second only to cardiovascular health when it comes to benefits that people are seeking from their food choices. Our research also shows that, despite seeking health benefits from foods, many people tend to have difficulty making direct connections between specific foods and a health benefit. When it comes to foods and nutrients that might help with body weight and cardiovascular health, we see some similarities. For example, vegetables and protein lead the way for perceived benefits in […]

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Glyphosate 101: Gaining Food Safety Insights

You may have recently read news about glyphosate, a widely utilized pesticide, and concerns about the safety of it being used and potential consumer exposure. With this increased focus on glyphosate, we thought it would be good to address some food safety considerations that may be on your mind. What is glyphosate? Glyphosate is a pesticide that has been used for crop protection since 1974. It is widely used in farming practices because it is considered non-toxic to consumers and animals, and is effective for broad-range weed control. However, those attributes come with an important caveat: Glyphosate, like all pesticides, must be used as prescribed on the pesticide product label. As one of the most widely used agricultural compounds, glyphosate has been the subject of numerous toxicological research experiments to establish the safety for both consumers that could encounter glyphosate and for field workers applying this pesticide to crops. For the past 40 years, the safety of glyphosate has been reviewed and confirmed by the scientific community and multiple government agencies. The findings from these reviews reveal that, when used properly, glyphosate does not cause adverse human health effects. Studies also indicate that at low levels (pesticide residues that can be found in foods, discussed below), glyphosate does not act as a carcinogen, endocrine disrupter or a developmental toxicant. Although there have been reports of farm worker safety being compromised due to specific exposure scenarios, the use of glyphosate by farm workers to tend to crops is regarded as safe when done with regulated protocols. In the case of farm or field workers who may be exposed to high levels of glyphosate during the mixing or application of the products, there are guidelines to help support safe handling and application. Who Monitors and Regulates Pesticides? The use of pesticides, including […]

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Going Low-Carb? Here’s What Your Diet Will Be Missing

Whether it was cookies or candy, frozen or fried, or chocolate or crackers, I’m willing to bet that there was no shortage of carbohydrates in most of our holiday-season diets. The start of the new year often coincides with the end of the overindulgence and the start of…dieting season. Low-carbohydrate diets have been a popular weight-loss option for decades and come in all kinds of different styles, with Paleo and keto being some of the most well-known variations. We’ve written about the basics of carbohydrates before (and made this video), but in this article we lay out exactly what your diet may be missing if you drastically cut back on carbs. What’s a Carbohydrate? Carbohydrates are typically our body’s main source of energy, which comes in the form of glucose. Energy from glucose is used by our body to support everything from digestion and absorption to cell growth and repair, as well as physical activity. Carbohydrates consist of both simple sugars – like table sugar and sugars found in fruit and dairy products – and more complex carbohydrates, which are formed when simple sugars link up together to make long chains. These chains are then broken down into glucose during digestion. Carbs are found naturally in plants like fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes, as well as animal products like milk and cheese. What Might I Miss Out on While Following a Low-Carb Diet? Going low-carb might sound like a great solution to overdoing it after the holiday season. While some have found success with it in the short-term, it’s not without dietary consequences. Rather than restricting all food sources of carbohydrates, focus on eating nutrient-dense foods that are high in fiber, vitamins and minerals – like whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes and dairy. Eating fewer sugary sweets, sodas and snacks […]

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