International Food Information Council Publishes Science Communications Guide On National Science Appreciation Day 

Supporting food and nutrition communicators to convey credible information to the public and build trust in science    (Washington, D.C.) — In the wake of years marked by misinformation and polarization, trust in science is on the decline.¹ The spread of misinformation on social media, the politicization of scientific issues, and sensationalized headlines have all contributed to this erosion of trust. As a result, efforts to bridge the gap between the scientific community and the public have become increasingly crucial: Now, more than ever, scientific literacy—and tools to help increase scientific literacy—are critical.  Understanding this need, the International Food Information Council (IFIC) recently published a new science communications guidance document, Understanding & Interpreting Food & Health Scientific Studies: Guidance For Food & Nutrition Communicators, fulfilling IFIC’s mission to effectively communicate science-based information on food safety, nutrition, and sustainable food systems. In publishing this document, IFIC celebrates scientific advancements and seeks to build trust in science by making science accessible and approachable.   “Consumers are inundated with conflicting food and nutrition information every day, causing confusion about what action, if any, they should take to improve their health,” Wendy Reinhardt Kapsak, MS, RDN, IFIC President & CEO, said. “We see the Understanding & Interpreting Food & Health Scientific Studies guidance document as an invaluable resource for anyone seeking to communicate scientific concepts with clarity and impact. This document is a roadmap for communicators to navigate the complexities of science and engage audiences in meaningful dialogue,” Reinhardt Kapsak added.    Designed specifically for mass communicators—including media, health professionals, and educators, among others—this guidance document encourages critical thinking in understanding and interpreting food- and health-related scientific studies. Key features include:  “The diet and nutrition landscape is congested,” Milton Stokes, PhD, MPH, RD, IFIC Senior Director, Food & Nutrition, said. “While much of the content […]

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Functional Foods: Superheroes for Health

Taste plays a chief role in why we choose foods—as demonstrated by nearly two decades of our annual Food and Health Survey. But healthfulness is also an important driver of food purchases, and many people want to know how specific nutrients affect their health and well-being. In fact, many people seek out certain foods to support their energy, weight management, digestive, heart health, sleep, and immunity goals. Whether it’s a probiotic yogurt or vitamin D-enhanced mushrooms, eating more functional foods (sometimes hyped-up as “superfoods”) can improve our health, longevity, and quality of life. Read on to find out how. What Are Functional Foods? The term “functional foods” originated in Japan during the 1980s. In 1991, the Japanese government established a regulatory system for the labeling of “Foods for Specified Health Uses” (FOSHU) to classify foods considered to be beneficial for human health. In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also regulates functional foods, despite there being no legal definition in this country. In general, foods are considered “functional” if they provide benefits beyond basic nutritional needs, such as further enhancing health and well-being. The beneficial nutrients in functional foods may be naturally present, or they may be added during manufacturing. The production of functional foods can also include the removal or substitution of some ingredients that may improve their nutritional profile—such as fat being removed from whole milk to create reduced-fat (2%), low-fat (1%), and fat-free (skim) milks. Other examples of functional foods include fruits, vegetables, fatty fish, nuts, seeds, legumes, whole grains, and fortified or enhanced foods like cereals and probiotic beverages. As you can see, there are a wide variety of functional foods to choose from—some in their whole form, and others that have been enriched, fortified, or otherwise nutritionally enhanced. With a better understanding of […]

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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 is Intermittent Fasting?

Intermittent fasting has fast become a diet trend worth noting. For the past two years, the IFIC Foundation’s Food and Health Survey has found that intermittent fasting is one of the most widely cited diets that people have followed. But what is intermittent fasting? Its growing popularity justifies a deeper dive into the specific parameters, research and potential considerations for trying this diet. What is intermittent fasting and why is it so popular? Intermittent fasting is a diet that cycles between times of fasting and eating. Unlike other eating philosophies, intermittent fasting does not prescribe what to eat; rather, it’s focus is on when to eat. For most who adopt this eating plan, the goal is to reduce the number of calories eaten to lose weight. There are a few variations to the eating and fasting periods of this diet, including a daily 16:8 ratio of fasting hours to eating hours; the 5:2 method (five days of normal eating and two days of eating 500–600 calories per day); and the “Eat-Stop-Eat” method (which involves fasting for 24 hours one to two times per week). Regardless of fasting stage length, no food is allowed during this time; but coffee, tea and water are permitted. What does research on intermittent fasting show? Weight loss One of the top reasons people adopt a new diet is to lose weight, and some believe intermittent fasting may help with this. A systematic review and meta-analysis in 2018 examined whether different forms of intermittent fasting results in weight loss. The research included six studies ranging in duration from three to 12 months. Four of these studies included continuous energy restriction as a comparator intervention, meaning that study participants ate fewer calories throughout the day than they usually would. Two studies included a no-treatment control intervention, meaning […]

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Top Five Foods To Avoid for Food Safety

While we often recommend our safe food-handling practices like using clean utensils and storing foods properly to help reduce the risk of foodborne illness, we thought for this year’s Food Safety Month (September) it would be good to highlight five foods that can be “food safety foes” all year round. One key term you will see used is the word “raw.” Cooking foods to their proper temperatures and not consuming foods that are not meant to be eaten uncooked certainly go a long way in keeping meals safe. These tips will arm you even more in the fight against foodborne illness. 1. Raw cookie dough Skipping raw cookie dough, no matter how tempting it is and even if you have eaten it the past, is best. Cookie dough contains both raw flour and raw eggs, both of which can harbor bacteria. Flour is an agricultural food product that is designed to be cooked before it is consumed. This means that some bacterial contaminants from the grains used to produce the flour can remain in the product before it is cooked, namely Escherichia coli (E. coli). Consumption of harmful strains of E. coli can cause diarrhea, urinary tract infections, respiratory illness, pneumonia and other illnesses as well.Raw eggs can harbor Salmonella bacteria. Salmonella infections can cause many symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea and gastrointestinal pain. Typically, symptoms occur within six to 48 hours after eating contaminated food. While most people can recover from Salmonella infections without antibiotics, children, older adults and others with weaker immune systems may need medical attention. Check out these food safety tips from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to help during your next baking bash. 2. Raw chicken It may be surprising to some, but there has been a past popular “delicacy” trend of […]

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Growing Upwards: Q & A on Vertical Farming

Over time, farming practices have evolved to use less energy, pesticides, water and other needed inputs to grow the foods we depend on. A type of farming that recently has grown in popularity is vertical farming. Building off the base concept of how greenhouses operate, this agricultural system allows for large-scale farming to occur on vertically inclined surfaces. Fruits and vegetables can be grown without the use of soil or natural sunlight, and the produce is often able to grow faster than it does in a traditional farm setting. A key advantage of vertical farms is that they can operate in urban areas and don’t require wide-open land; their vertical surfaces can be easily incorporated into a city’s existing structures and buildings. Vertical farming has now been used in locations where large-scale farming previously has not been possible, such as in urban spaces throughout Brooklyn, New York and Chicago, Illinois. Vertical farming’s small land usage and positive environmental benefits have the potential to increase sustainability, lower food costs, and increase accessibility and food security across the country. We’ve touched on vertical farming in previous posts, but to take a closer look, we caught up with expert Ricky Stephens, who works with Agritecture, a vertical farming and controlled environment agriculture (CEA) strategist group. Q: What is vertical farming? Vertical farming is the growing of crops in an indoor/controlled environment setting, in vertical stacks. Typically, vertical farming is done without using soil as the main practice. Instead, vertical farming uses practices like: hydroponics (growing plants in sand, gravel or liquid, with added nutrients but without soil), aeroponics (growing plants with roots suspended in air and nutrients delivered in a fine mist), or aquaponics (using the waste produced by farmed fish as nutrients for hydroponically grown plants). Q: Why do you think vertical […]

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Appreciating Water on National Ag Day

Today is National Ag Day! The theme of Ag Day 2021 is “food brings everyone to the table.” These are words that many of us can relate to. While the global population has different ways in which we acquire and eat our food, everyone can understand how important farmers—people who produce our food—are to the rhythms of our daily lives. As we celebrate farmers this Ag Day, we are also reminded that World Water Day was just yesterday, on March 22. Thinking of these two recognition days together, you might consider how crucial both water and food are for our survival. Let’s take a closer look at how farmers are sustainably using water to produce our food and help bring us to the table. Agricultural water use in the U.S.: Then and now While there are technologies currently underway for farms to make use of salt and brackish waters for farming, the primary sources of water for farming are freshwater. The most recent U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) data on freshwater (a combination of ground water and surface water) withdrawals for all uses shows that total withdrawals more than doubled from 1950 to 1980 before roughly leveling off for a few decades, then decreasing noticeably between 2005 and 2010. Additionally, the U.S. economy grew nearly seven-fold in this 60-year time span—which significantly outpaced the growth rate of water withdrawals. The most recent data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) reports that water use in the United States in 2015 was estimated to be about 322 billion gallons per day (Bgal/d), which was nine percent less than in 2010. However, water used for agricultural irrigation increased two percent between 2010 and 2015. In 2019, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported that agriculture remained a major user of fresh water […]

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Celebrating Women Food Scientists During Women’s History Month

It should come as no surprise that women have been shaping food science for centuries. From food-product packaging to animal handling to plant genetics, women have had a hand in many innovations that have helped make today’s food system vast, safe, and healthy. March is Women’s History Month, and this year we’re highlighting two spectacular women in food science—one who revolutionized frozen food safety and another who harnessed plant science to impact the health of millions. Dr. Mary Engle Pennington Sometimes referred to as the “Ice Woman,” Dr. Mary Engle Pennington played a pivotal role in refrigerated and frozen food safety in the early 20th century. Born in 1872, Dr. Pennington was refused a bachelor’s degree by the University of Pennsylvania in 1892 because of her gender. However, she persisted and received a certificate of proficiency in chemistry and then continued her studies to garner her doctorate in chemistry at the university in 1895. Following the passage of the 1906 Pure Food and Drugs Act, Dr. Pennington became the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) first woman lab chief, heading up the Bureau of Chemistry’s Food Research Lab. During her time at the FDA, Pennington revolutionized cold food storage, discovering that fresh foods that are consistently kept at a low temperature last longer than those that go through multiple temperature fluctuations. This finding was particularly important for the transportation of food products like cheese, milk, and eggs; if these foods were kept at a consistent temperature from starting location to their final destination, their bacteria levels stayed low and they were less likely to spoil. Pennington’s discovery led to the development of refrigerated transport as a means to maintain low temperatures over long distances, as well as an upgrade to home refrigeration, which began to use technology similar to that […]

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