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Food Fraud: What is on Your Plate?
By: Debra Meszaros
Body Performance Coach
www.Clubmx-SC.com
www.MxSportsNutrition.com
There has never been a time in history more important than now, to raise your own awareness about the food you decide to consume each day. Unfortunately the days of knowing your local farmer have been replaced with corporate supermarkets. We are left to trust what we read on the labels that accompany our food. But should we be?
In the past year alone, reports have surfaced about many common practices of modern food manufacturing. How can a fast food burger be left out for a decade and not decompose? Why does a McRib pork sandwich contain 70 different questionable ingredients and its meat portion consist of restructured meat? Is the meat you have chosen to purchase at the grocery store held together by “meat glue”? Does your child’s school lunch contain a combination of ground up beef scraps and some connective tissue mixed with an ammonia solution, a/k/a “pink slime?" Did you miss the full page ads that a supermarket chain ran in national newspapers apologizing for selling hamburgers that contained 30% horsemeat? Supporting that dollar menu at many local establishments may be doing more damage than you think. With each dollar you spend, are you supporting food fraud?
When you deliberately substitute, add, tamper or misrepresent food, its ingredients, or packaging, or make false or misleading statements about a product for economic gain, you are committing food fraud. The U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) reports 800 new reports of food fraud over the last two years. At this rate, wholesome food may be very hard to come by in the near future.
Where can we find a solution? Could it be right in our back yards?
Getting back to the basics is the way to preserve our food safety and our health. Small family farms still exist in our area, and those that respect the laws of nature are helping to preserve a healthy food chain. Local farming is very important to all of us. Buying from smaller community farms with free-range animals that are organically fed, removes you from possibly being a victim of food fraud and unwanted food contamination. Look for signs in your local supermarket for local products. Understand that contamination is mostly found in products raised in confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs); so research the brands you buy and keep a sharp eye out for that local farm stand. Stop in and buy some wholesome food, and don’t forget to say “Thank you."
©2013 Debra Meszaros MXSportsNutrition.com. All rights reserved; no duplication without permission.
DISCLAIMER: When you read through the diet and lifestyle information, you must know that everything within it is for informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for advice from your physician or other health care professional. I am making no attempt to prescribe any medical treatment. You should not use the information here for diagnosis or treatment of any health problem or for prescription of any medication or other treatment. The products and the claims made about specific products have not been evaluated by the United States Food and Drug Administration and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease. You should consult with a healthcare professional before starting any diet, exercise or supplementation program, before taking any medication, or if you have or suspect you might have a health problem. Confirm the safety of any supplements with your M.D., N.D. or pharmacist (healthcare professional). Some information given is solely an opinion, thought and or conclusion based on experiences, trials, tests, assessments or other available sources of information. I do not make any guarantees or promises with regard to results. I may discuss substances that have not been subject to double blind clinical studies or FDA approval or regulation. You assume the responsibility for the decision to take any natural remedy.
You and only you are responsible if you choose to do anything with the information you have read. You do so at your own risk. I encourage you to make your own health decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional.
Food Fraud: What is on Your Plate?
February 11 2013
Food Fraud: What is on Your Plate?By: Debra Meszaros
Body Performance Coach
www.Clubmx-SC.com
www.MxSportsNutrition.com
There has never been a time in history more important than now, to raise your own awareness about the food you decide to consume each day. Unfortunately the days of knowing your local farmer have been replaced with corporate supermarkets. We are left to trust what we read on the labels that accompany our food. But should we be?
In the past year alone, reports have surfaced about many common practices of modern food manufacturing. How can a fast food burger be left out for a decade and not decompose? Why does a McRib pork sandwich contain 70 different questionable ingredients and its meat portion consist of restructured meat? Is the meat you have chosen to purchase at the grocery store held together by “meat glue”? Does your child’s school lunch contain a combination of ground up beef scraps and some connective tissue mixed with an ammonia solution, a/k/a “pink slime?" Did you miss the full page ads that a supermarket chain ran in national newspapers apologizing for selling hamburgers that contained 30% horsemeat? Supporting that dollar menu at many local establishments may be doing more damage than you think. With each dollar you spend, are you supporting food fraud?
When you deliberately substitute, add, tamper or misrepresent food, its ingredients, or packaging, or make false or misleading statements about a product for economic gain, you are committing food fraud. The U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) reports 800 new reports of food fraud over the last two years. At this rate, wholesome food may be very hard to come by in the near future.
Where can we find a solution? Could it be right in our back yards?
Getting back to the basics is the way to preserve our food safety and our health. Small family farms still exist in our area, and those that respect the laws of nature are helping to preserve a healthy food chain. Local farming is very important to all of us. Buying from smaller community farms with free-range animals that are organically fed, removes you from possibly being a victim of food fraud and unwanted food contamination. Look for signs in your local supermarket for local products. Understand that contamination is mostly found in products raised in confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs); so research the brands you buy and keep a sharp eye out for that local farm stand. Stop in and buy some wholesome food, and don’t forget to say “Thank you."
©2013 Debra Meszaros MXSportsNutrition.com. All rights reserved; no duplication without permission.
DISCLAIMER: When you read through the diet and lifestyle information, you must know that everything within it is for informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for advice from your physician or other health care professional. I am making no attempt to prescribe any medical treatment. You should not use the information here for diagnosis or treatment of any health problem or for prescription of any medication or other treatment. The products and the claims made about specific products have not been evaluated by the United States Food and Drug Administration and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease. You should consult with a healthcare professional before starting any diet, exercise or supplementation program, before taking any medication, or if you have or suspect you might have a health problem. Confirm the safety of any supplements with your M.D., N.D. or pharmacist (healthcare professional). Some information given is solely an opinion, thought and or conclusion based on experiences, trials, tests, assessments or other available sources of information. I do not make any guarantees or promises with regard to results. I may discuss substances that have not been subject to double blind clinical studies or FDA approval or regulation. You assume the responsibility for the decision to take any natural remedy.
You and only you are responsible if you choose to do anything with the information you have read. You do so at your own risk. I encourage you to make your own health decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional.
