Food Safety

Food Safety

Last year, in State College, Chipotle was closed for several days so the entire facility could be cleaned. Throughout the country, Chipotle was temporarily closing many of its branches for similar cleanings. There were reports of E. coli contamination and to prevent more people from getting sick, they started proactive cleaning. This type of contamination, whether it's E. coli, or salmonella, or botulism toxin, happens often and has many detrimental effects. 

Every year in the United States 5,000 people die from food borne illnesses, and a total of 76 million get sick. 

Consumer Confidence

Every outbreak, recall or illness further depletes consumer confidence. Wary shoppers shy away from potentially contaminated foods, even after everything is deemed safe. Chipotle's consumer confidence rating fell from a confident 9 to a negative 12.5 after the E. coli cases. The company is now trying to bounce back, but once consumer confidence is lost, the rebuild can be slow.  The company has tried to be transparent, and detail to the public how they are going about improving the safety of their production. 

Every food borne illness thats publicized turns consumers off from that brand, or store or producer. If you know that a specific brand of food was not monitored closely enough or double checked, why would you buy it? Why would you trust that they are going to do better after they get in trouble?

Cost 

Consumer confidence is directly related to cost. The loss of consumer confidence means the loss of sales, which effects everyone from the production through the distribution, and packaging. It hurts the companies significantly, and as they are trying to fix the problems at hand, they are losing money. 

Food Safety Regulations and FSMA

Most likely, you've heard of a recall of some food item on the news. Normally, you don't pay too much attention to them unless you just bought the item in question. When companies learn about a potential contamination, they can choose to recall the items themselves. Once the FDA finds out about the contamination, the FDA can ask the company to recall the item. If the company refuses, the FDA can demand that they item is recalled. This last part is new, under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). 

Recalls aren't the only part of food regulation. There are preventative measures in place so that contaminated food doesn't make it out to the public, with the implementation of FSMA, the amount of preventative measures grew. Through the use of quality control systems and preventative process control. One such program, is Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP). These are developed by individual companies and check the food products after their most susceptible points, to make sure their isn't contamination. Along with controls in place through the company, there are FDA inspections, though they don't happen very often. There are produce standards, and required access for the FDA to any companies records. In regards to imported food, FSMA increases the FDA's ability to control and monitor imported foods. If the FDA thinks that a food may be contaminated, they have the ability to detain that food product until it is inspected, if its found safe it can be sold. On the times that food gets through the monitoring system and is released to the public the USDA and the FDA can suggest and force recalls. 

FDA and USDA

A total of twelve government organizations regulate food safety. The USDA focuses mainly on meat and poultry, the FDA covers all other foods. The FDA is underfunded and as a result understaffed, which results in more outbreaks. 

The FSMA was put in place to rectify some the the issues with the FDA being so overwhelmed. With increased funding, their can be more inspections and more care put into prevention. 

Sources:

https://cspinet.org/sites/default/files/attachment/fswhitepaper.pdf

https://www.fda.gov/downloads/Food/FoodSafety/FSMA/UCM265430.pdf

https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2015/12/14/can-chipotle-mexican-grill-recover-from-the-e-coli-outbreak-impact/#442dbbe14070

http://familymedicineoldsaybrook.com/3414/e-coli-foodborne-illness

Diet & Health

Diet & Health

We hear so much about different fad diets, gluten-free, Weight Watchers, we see Lean Cuisines in the aisles of grocery markets- it’s hard to know what to listen to! Unfortunately, the growing data on diet & health in the US is showing us that we have a lot more to consider than restricting calories and temporary diets; we have to make some serious changes regarding our food choices, eating patterns, and lifestyle choices overall. How do we start this? Fortunately, Dietary Guidelines for Americans is reviewed, updated, and published every five years in order to help answer some of our questions on the matter!

Who needs to change the diet & health?

In the US, the most recent data tell us that 72 percent of men and 64 percent of women are overweight or obese, with about one-third of adults being obese. However, even for those who are not obese, poor diet and physical inactivity are associated with major causes of morbidity and mortality.

Our eating patterns are different from that of other cultures, as Americans. Although there is no single “American” or “Western” eating pattern, average American eating patterns currently don’t come close to these dietary recommendations. Americans eat too many calories and too much solid fat, added sugars, refined grains, and sodium. Americans also consume too little potassium; dietary fiber; calcium; vitamin D; unsaturated fatty acids from oils, nuts, and seafood; and other important nutrients. These nutrients are mostly found in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and low-fat milk and milk products.

What is the problem?

Americans are having no issues consuming calorie-dense foods and beverages, but are lacking in the nutrient-dense food and beverage area.

Because people consume a variety of foods and beverages throughout the day as meals and snacks, a growing body of research has begun to describe overall eating patterns that help promote calorie balance and weight management

*A dietary pattern low in calorie density is characterized by a relatively high intake of vegetables, fruit, and dietary fiber and a relatively low intake of total fat, saturated fat, and added sugars*

For this, we are encouraged to increase our awareness of what, when, why, and how much we eat, deliberately making better choices regarding what and how much we consume, and go out of our way to become more active.

Major recommendations touching on the major issues from all categories:

·       increase intake of whole grains, vegetables, and fruits:

·       reduce intake of sugar-sweetened beverages:

·       Monitor intake of 100% fruit juice for children and adolescents, especially those who are overweight or obese:

·       Monitor calorie intake from alcoholic beverages for adults

Also, an issue with food safety, and thus we are recommended to practice mindfulness in terms of:

·       clean hands, food contact surfaces, and vegetables and fruits.

·       separate raw, cooked, and ready-to-eat foods while shopping, storing, and preparing foods.

·       cook foods to a safe temperature.

·       chill (refrigerate) perishable foods promptly.

·        

Where are these problems coming from?

Here, in our environments in the US, a number of factors are contributing to both are dietary issues and thus our health issues overall. This creates an overall calorie-imbalance. We know that our food environment plays a vital role, as studies examining the relationship between the food environment and BMI have found that communities with a larger number of fast food or quick-service restaurants tend to have higher BMIs. Overall, choices are often limited by what is available in a person’s environment, including stores, restaurants, schools, and worksites. Moreover, our portion sizes have increased dramatically. Naturally, research has shown that when larger portion sizes are served, people tend to consume more calories.

That’s only half of the equation, though…

Environment affects both sides of the calorie balance equation—it can promote overconsumption of calories and discourage physical activity and calorie expenditure.

On the other side of the calorie balance equation, many Americans spend most of their waking hours engaged in sedentary behaviors. In these environments, it’s very difficult to expend enough calories to maintain calorie balance. Many home, school, work, and community environments do not facilitate a physically active lifestyle. One example of this outside of the office can be seen from the lack of sidewalks or parks and concerns for safety when outdoors. This decreases our ability to get physically active. Also, over the past several decades, transportation and technological advances have meant that people now expend fewer calories to perform tasks of everyday life.

When did these problems start to occur?

Although the problem has been growing, it seems in 2007-2008 we really began to take notice.

Why do we care?

            Not only is obesity linked to high mortality rates itself, but there are a number of other chronic illnesses stemming from a poor diet, separate from weight itself. Without having a proper diet and getting in all of the nutrients we need, we put ourselves at risk for many other problems.

Overall, we’re encouraged to

·      Limit calorie intake to the amount needed to attain or maintain a healthy weight for adults, and for appropriate weight gain in children and adolescents.

·      Consume foods from all food groups in nutrientdense forms and in recommended amounts.

·      Reduce intake of solid fats (major sources of saturated and trans fatty acids).

·      Replace solid fats with oils (major sources of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids) when possible. Reduce intake of added sugars.

·      Reduce intake of refined grains and replace some refined grains with whole grains.

·      Reduce intake of sodium (major component of salt).

·      If consumed, limit alcohol intake to moderate levels.

·      Increase intake of vegetables and fruits. Increase intake of whole grains.

·      Increase intake of milk and milk products and replace whole milk and full-fat milk products with fat-free or low-fat choices to reduce solid fat intake.

·      Increase seafood intake

I think we’re starting to take some steps in the right direction, quite literally whatwith our new trend for FitBit competitions and instagramming our food! A lot of these new fads are seen as “basic”, but they’re definitely increasing our awareness of our activity levels and what we are putting into our body! Moreover, a lot of these problems probably stem from our desire to always be efficient, get things done faster, etc. If I’ve learned anything from the recent data, while it may be faster to take the bus or elevator, it may be worth going out of our way to be less efficient and take the long way home from class, or take the stairs if it means prolonging our lives!

Sources

U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010. 7th Edition, Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, March, 2017.

Global Hunger

GLOBAL HUNGER- AN ONGOING PROBLEM Global hunger is an international struggle that involves the malnutrition and lack of food access between people, primarily due to lack of money. According to the USDA, 870 million hungry people do not have sufficient access to safe and healthy food. Not only does global hunger affect a nation’s stomach, it also tarnishes a country’s economy and overall longevity. By aiding these countries into becoming more food secure, their agricultural market, income, and population growth will gradually increase. CALORIE AVAILABILITY VS FOOD SHARE Many countries have an unbalanced ratio between how much money their spend on food, versus the amount of calories they consume. This leads to an inefficiency within the agricultural market. The United States is a wealthy country, and spends less than 10% of their food shares on food bought from grocery stores. Despite this, the U.S per capita consumes a substantial 3,639 calories per day. The opposite is true for poorer countries like Kenya, where they spend about 50% of their food shares, but they only digest 2,206 calories. CONTRIBUTIONS TO HUNGER IN THE U.S 1) LACK OF INCOME Although the United States is considered a rich country, a fair amount of people still suffer from starvation. Almost half of the counties in the Northeast have poverty rates greater than or equal to the national average. EFSNE (Enhancing Food Security in the Northeast) is a research project aimed to increase food access to the Northeast area of the United States by increasing the region’s reliance to create food.The entire operation is a collaboration between researchers and community leaders in an effort to raise the region’s income. In theory, having a deeper relationship with locally grown food will decrease the dependency on imported goods and raise more internal revenue for the state. 2)LOW FOOD ACCESS Low food access is when a household does not have a consistent and convenient supply of food. The USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) determines the level of food access by the distance between households and local food markets. For urban regions, “low food access” is defined as a person living greater than a mile away from grocery stores, while the interval for rural areas is when that distance exceeds ten miles. 4% of the population in the Northeast qualifies as “low food access” and poses a problem for low-income consumers who have a finite amount of resources to travel to a supermarket. 3)FOOD INSECURITY The ERS has also also asked a survey of questions to households in order to measure their level of food insecurity. “Low food security” is a label given to families when they have three or more insecure food conditions, like lack of healthy food or consistent scarcity of food supply. “Very low food security” exists if in a household has “low food security” , while also having at least one member having lower nutritional intake due to limited money. The rate of food insecurity in the Northeast is greater than national levels in nine of the twelve states within the region. Therefore, food insecurity in the Northeast and the United States as a whole is increasing over time. 4) SCHOOL LUNCHES IN THE U.S A program that helps low-income families is the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) a federal program that aids schools in serving healthy, delicious, and affordable food to students. According to the program, 38% of US students were able to receive free lunches due to their family earning below 130 percent of the poverty level. Despite these efforts, the United States still struggles with feeding school children a nutritious meal. One problem is regulating salt content. If a school inputs too little, then children will not eat it. However, if they input too much and students exceed their daily amount of sodium. School cafeterias would rather serve overly salty foods that children will eat, then have them starve. Another problem lies in home cooked meals, in which Americans are making less food at home. As a result, children and their family have a shallower relationship with their food and are not open to try new and healthier options. SCHOOL LUNCHES IN FRANCE The French school lunch system is more refined than in the United States. One difference is that many French schools hire certified dieticians to create menus that take into account sugar and sodium intake. These people also ensure a healthy balance of vegetables, protein, fruits, and complex carbohydrates. The food is also made fresh at the schools with staff personally serving children at their tables, unlike the cafeteria lines in the United States. Below is a website that compares school lunches from the U.S and France, along with a video that shows how school lunches operate in Lyon:
http://www.collective-evolution.com/2014/10/01/what-french-kids-eat-for-school-lunch-puts-american-lunches-to-shame/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Nth_j2jhsM WIC AND SNAP Food stores that have benefits such as: Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), make shopping for food less costly and are predominantly in regions with high poverty rates (see Table 2) Between 2008 and 2011, most of the Northeast region has steadily increased the amount of WIC and SNAP stores. However, five states in the Northeast, along with the U.S as a whole, decreased the number of stores that accept WIC benefits by 8%. This trend may be due to declining birth rates, along with the cost stores undergo by upgrading their technology to accept EBT cards from WIC supporters. SOURCES https://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?navid=food-security https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/charts-of-note/ http://agsci.psu.edu/research/food-security/about/project-narratives/efsne-food-security-narrative-pdf http://www.collective-evolution.com/2014/10/01/what-french-kids-eat-for-school-lunch-puts-american-lunches-to-shame/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Nth_j2jhsM http://www.cfare.org/events/c-fare-events/2013/seminar-to-elucidate-the-value-of-usda-data https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/03/05/the-slow-death-of-the-home-cooked-meal/?utm_term=.9cbe9f85e8f4

Animal Welfare

 

Animal Rights vs. Animal Welfare

Is there a difference? More importantly, do we, as a nation understand what that difference is?

Definitions



Animal welfare, according to the American Veterinary Medical association refers to the state of the animal; the treatment that an animal recieves is covered by other terms such as animal care, animal husbandry, and humane treatment. Protecting an animal's welfare means providing for its physical and mental needs. There are many different definitions and opinions behind the definition of Animal Rights but essentially it is this: The belief that animals belong to live free from use in medial research, hunting, and any other servies to humans.

Numbers to know 

If you are reading this, and are wondering why the definitions hold such signifance then hopefully the graph provided below will help.

The population is over 7 billion (~7.1 billion as of December 2013). This number is rapidly incresing and the world population is heading for just over 9 billion by 2050 (~9.3 billion). Some estimates put the world population at over 10 billion by 2100. Those are a lot of hungry bellies to feed. Hopefully one can see now why the differences and definitions of Animal Rights vs. Animal Welfare should be thought about. How are we going to feed all of these new people on the same amount of land?

The Issue

The biggest issue when it comes to animal welfare is that most Americans live in urban or suburban communities, where they have little contact with wildlife or farms, and therefore often rely on what they see on television, in newspapers, and on the Internet for their information about Animal Rights and Animal Welfare Issues. Without direct interaction with animals, it is easy to develop misguided attitudes because, with the exception of our pets, we lack firsthand experience. That has created a divide between human beings which resulted in Animal Rights and Animal Welfare Activists.

Google, friend or foe?

If you were to google "Factory Farming" you will find a wide range of graphic photos. Some of which I have included below.

 

 

Now lets take a look at google images for "Family Farming"

The internet can be a tool but is can also misinform and misguide the population. Another major factor when it comes to Animal Welfare is that we as humans have warped conceptions of pain and suffering. Many people will look at a pig in a pen and conclude that because it doesn't have room to roam freely, it must be suffering, because after all, a human would not want to be held in a small cage. This argument assumes that pigs think and feel in the same way that human beings do. Researchers at the Center for Food and Animal Productivity and Well-being at Purdue Univeristy have suggested that sows may be perfectly content in a small, confinded space while they are nursing their piglets and that there is no convincing evidence that such quarters cause the pigs any psychological distress.

Food for thought

Something else to keep in mind when thinking about Animal Agriculture in the United States is that 97 percent of the 2.1 million farms are family-owned operations.

There is also discussion about how slaughter is inhumane to the animal. The argument is also invalid seeing that housing, care and slaughter of animals for meat MUST be done humanely for various reasons. Not only is this the farmers income but stressed or brusied animals can be deemed unfit for market. For example, stress in pigs reults in PSE - pale, soft, exudative pork that is not fit for human consumption. Mishandled cattle can result in DFD - dark, firm, dry meat.

 
 

 The Heart or The Mind?

There is a lot of science that goes into what has been the best housing system to have, the proper ventilation and to have the proper disposal of waste and the proper sanitation requirments for each of these animals. When you and I look at these animals we can't just simply apply our human feelinig and say "Oh, I don't know if I'd like to live like that". Well, you know, many of these animals prefer to live in groups, and live in flocks. Having more space is not necessarily good, and thats where it's important that we look at what the science is... We have to apply science and not emotion.

Animal Welfare in Europe

With the support and close co-operation of the Member States, the European Commission has been promoting animal welfare for over 40 years gradually improving the lives of farm animals.  An important step in 1998 was Council Directive on the protection of animals kept for farming purposes which gave general rules for the protection of animals of all species kept for the production of food, wool, skin or fur or for other farming purposes, including fish, reptiles or amphibians. These rules are based on the European Convention for the Protection of Animals kept for Farming Purposes and they reflect the so-called 'Five Freedoms':

Freedom from hunger and thirst
Freedom from discomfort
Freedom from pain, injury and disease
Freedom to express normal behaviour
Freedom from fear and distress

International Issues

In today’s globalised food marketplace, European farmers and food producers face competition from many countries, some of which have lower animal welfare standards than those applied in the EU. This places EU farmers and producers at a commercial disadvantage, because they must invest more money in their businesses to meet the EU’s stricter rules.
To help establish a level playing field and fairness for European companies and exporters, the EU includes animal welfare issues in trade agreements and organises major international events to promote its view on animal welfare.

 

 

Sources

 



Hile, Kevin. Animal Rights. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 2004. Print.

http://ec.europa.eu/food/animal/welfare/farm/index_en.htm

http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/11/01/activists-accuse-walmart-of-condoning-torture-of-pigs-by-pork-suppliers/?action=click&module=Search&region=searchResults%232&version=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fquery.nytimes.com%2Fsearch%2Fsitesearch%2F%3Faction%3Dclick%26region%3DMasthead%26pgtype%3DHomepage%26module%3DSearchSubmit%26contentCollection%3DHomepage%26t%3Dqry357%23%2Fanimal%2Bwelfare%2Bmeat%2Fsince1851%2Fallresults%2F3%2Fallauthors%2Fnewest%2F