Food News
We're not afraid to get our fingers burnt. We look into the freshest food issues in Food News - served with a healthy smattering of opinion.
FOOD WATCHDOG AIMS TO BATTER OBESITY
Date added: 2nd July 2008
As part of a drive to encourage healthy eating and tackle rising obesity, the nation's chip shops, sandwich bars and restaurants will soon have to start displaying nutritional information about the products they're serving up.
Tim Smith, who was appointed as chief executive by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in November and took up his post this March, has told the Observer newspaper that details on the fat, salt, sugar and calorie contents of food will have to be made highly visible, either on menus, behind the counter or on packaging. The initiative has been designed to warn people of the 'hidden calories' in the food they buy during working hours or in their leisure time.
SPREADS - DO YOU BELIEVE THE HYPE?
Date added: 18th June 2008
The £100 million market for cholesterol-lowering foods such as spreads, yoghurts and drinks has been dealt a blow after official health guidelines failed to support their use.
The makers of products including Flora pro.activ and Benecol have claimed there are clinically-proven results to show that regular use of their foods cuts cholesterol.
However, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), which drew up the guidelines, has told GPs and nurses there is 'not enough evidence' to encourage patients to buy products designed to cut their cholesterol.
The guidance aims to help 1.5 million patients reduce their cholesterol in an attempt to prevent 15,000 heart attacks and strokes each year. But lifestyle advice such as encouraging exercise and healthy eating does not include the use of so-called 'cholesterol-lowering' foods, patients at higher risk will be prescribed cholesterol-lowering statins (medicinal drugs).
So, do spreads offer us real health benefits or is it all just clever marketing?
THE GREAT 'TINNED VS FROZEN' DEBATE
Date added: 9th June 2008
While fresh fruits and vegetables may boast the best taste and textures, some varieties simply aren't available all year round, leaving the health-conscious shopper facing a dilemma: what's the safest and most nutritious option - tinned or frozen?
Frozen food has long had a poor reputation, but it's come a long way since the seventies and early eighties. As food nutritionist Jane Clarke points out, nowadays, if the food is properly cleaned and wrapped, freezing is rather like suspending it in a "nutritional time warp".
Meanwhile, tinned fruits and vegetables are often thought to be inferior to their frozen counterparts. While this may be true regarding sugar and salt content, it's not necessarily the case when it comes to other nutrients.
And surprisingly, frozen and canned produce is sometimes nutritionally superior to fresh, because it's usually processed immediately after harvest, when nutrient content is at its peak. The longer a fruit or vegetable sits on a lorry or in the supermarket, the more it loses its nutritional value.
So, which is best?
TODDLERS NEED MORE FAT
Date added: 20th May 2008
Toddlers have very different dietary requirements to adults, and according to a group of charities, nurseries are filling up small tummies with plenty of fibre-rich fruit and vegetables, but not enough fat, protein and sugar.
Child nutritionist Sarah Almond believes that up to 80% of nursery workers are applying the principles of adult healthy eating to the under fives - relying on diet tips from the media. She concluded that:
"Fruit and carrots were served too often, as well as things like popcorn, which is very light but has no nutritional value. Often the portions weren't big enough either."
With pressure from The Pre-School Alliance, better guidelines and a new framework for the teaching and care of young children are coming in September 2008.
BREAKFAST. IS THAT WHAT LITTLE BOYS ARE
Date added: 8th May 2008
Can eating breakfast help you to conceive a boy? Scientists seem to think so.
A new study suggests that a pregnant woman who eats more around the time her baby is conceived is more likely to give birth to a boy. But will this information encourage the idea that producing sons is somehow preferable than having girls? Or is it all just down to the luck of the draw?
Re: Spreads - Do you believe the hype?
Footprint, I think Lurpak should send your nan a t...
Fruitylicious, 2008-07-06
Re: Nutritional information labelling
Nutritional information in the Chip Shop! Well, i...
Fruitylicious, 2008-07-03
