Month: December 2016

Fraudulent food: it lurks in our pantries; it shines with promising health halos in the stores; and it fools us into a false sense of nourishment.
(Dun dun dunnnnn!!)
No but really, I hate being The Food Police because there are a lot of really phenomenal products and brands of nutritious foods available to us; but there are also a handful of “healthy” foods that are not quite as they seem.

How Food Fraud Works

Food fraud is defined as “intentionally selling a food product that does not meet regulatory or industry standards.” We’ll get specifically to the top health food frauds I encounter regularly as a dietitian in just a bit, but there are certain broad categories of foods that are more susceptible to fraud than others.
Fish (and seafood in general) is the number one most adulterated food of U.S. origin. Other commonly fraudulent foods include milk, oils and fats, meat products, alcohol, sweeteners, grain products, produce, spices and extracts, fruit juices, eggs, coffee, and tea.
If you’re thinking that sounds like kind of everything you eat, you’re not exactly wrong. Okay, you’re kind of completely right. But that doesn’t mean every product within these categories is problematic. Deep breaths.
Now, if you’re wondering how companies get away with something that sounds so incredibly serious, the answer is, well, all too easily; and also in a number of ways.
One of the most common issues is substitution of one food for another without disclosing this on the label. Other products are diluted with less expensive fillers (including water), artificially enhanced, counterfeited, or mislabeled. Sometimes, the product’s origin is masked, it is distributed with intentional contamination, or it is stolen and resold.
A lot of these sound worse than they are. They’re all a little deceptive, but most are perfectly safe. For example, selling an acai juice that is cut with apple juice to cut down on costs is sneaky, wrong, and not ideal in terms of nutrient quality, but you certainly won’t get sick from it acutely or chronically. However, others are a bit more concerning, and it’s important to know the difference.

2. Honey

Oh, honey. Where should I begin?
There’s the fact that over 70 percent of honey in 2011 was imported, with its pollen filtered out to prevent fully tracing its origins. We do know that much of it is coming from China.

3. “Free Range”

All right, so “free range” isn’t exactly a food, but it is a term that we tend to view as an indication of a premium product for nutrition and wellness without fully understanding what it officially means.
When you hear that a meat product comes from “free range animals,” what do you picture? Probably bucolic America: rolling green hills, a red barn in the distance, and happy animals milling around in the sunshine to their hearts’ content.

4. Coffee and Tea

If you knew what was in some coffee out there, you might not think of it as the best part of waking up anymore.
Coffee is an expensive product, and the demand for it globally is staggering. Americans, after all “Run On Dunkin,” spending nearly $15.00 a week (over $1,000 annually) on coffee. Those figures do not even factor in the amount spent on home-brewed cups of joe, by the way. Some of us may be eager, willing, and able to spend top dollar for our daily caffeine habit, but most of us view it as a daily necessity to have without breaking the bank.

5. Sushi (and Other Fish)

Remember how seafood and fish are some of the most adulterated foods of U.S. origin?
It turns out that over half of “tuna” and nearly 90 percent of “snapper” are being substituted for cheaper, easier-to-procure fish.
This is not just a problem of you paying for something and getting another. Sometimes, the fish they swap in raises serious health concerns. For example, in one market in New York, tilefish was sold labeled as halibut and red snapper. Tilefish happens to be on the “do not eat” list that the FDA makes in regards to high-mercury containing fish. The same goes for king mackerel, which in one Florida grocery store was sold with the label of “grouper” on it.

6. Berry Products

Are the blueberries in your muffins the healthy, antioxidant-rich fruits you expect them to be?
Or are they simply sneaky slurries of sugar, corn syrup, starch, hydrogenated oil (yikes), artificial flavors, and blue and red food dyes?
According to one study in 2011, we might be looking at the latter, and not just in low-cost, no-name knock-offs. We’re talking major brands here, and berries aren’t the only ones falling victim to this deception.

Knowledge is power.

I know how paralyzing information like this can feel. It’s the primary reason why so many nutrition students go practically militant when they embark on their education. I’ve had many worried parents seek my counsel when their children start taking up an interest in nutrition, and suddenly nothing is good enough to eat. This is a very real concern and a growing issue in this country.
When my clients start expressing signs of this kind of food fear, I make them take a big, cleansing breath. Yes, there are some serious problems with our food supply chain. Yes, it can sometimes feel like we are powerless before these giant food companies.
But that’s far from the truth.

You will not get it right every time.

Accept it right now: you are going to buy a product that is mislabeled or misrepresented. We all do sometimes, and it’s okay. But giving yourself permission to not know everything about everything all the darn time is not the same as burying your head in the sand. Do your research. Read your labels. Put in the effort to make the informed choice, but don’t beat yourself up when you don’t predict every curve ball some companies are going to try pitching to you. Again, food fraud is not ideal, but the majority of examples are more unethical than they are downright dangerous.
It’s okay.
You will be okay.
Deep breaths.
Deep, cleansing breaths.

You’ve probably been in this situation before—you come home looking for a specific snack or you reach for a particular ingredient for a recipe, and you notice that the expiration date says it’s gone bad. Most of us grew up thinking that an expiration date was basically a set-in-stone deadline for when our food needed to be thrown out, and that anyone brave enough to try something past its prime was essentially giving themselves a one-way ticket to the bathroom. However, that’s not the case at all. Unfortunately, expiration dates are a large contributor to the millions of pounds of food waste that Americans create year after year. Coupled with the fact that one out of every six people in the country go without food every single day, it’s astounding to think of the amount of perfectly good food that we probably throw away each week.

Truthfully, expiration dates can refer to the date that a product with begin to spoil, but they commonly point to the date that a product will start to lose quality when it comes to flavor. Common sense goes a long way when it comes to determining if something has actually gone bad, and one simple rule to follow is that if you’re really not sure if something’s still fresh, safe is always better than sorry. If it smells terrible or starts to look noticeably different, there’s no question that it’s time to toss. Thankfully, there are a few different foods and drinks that are typically safe to consume after their noted expiration date has come and gone—and, yes, you can just slice that moldy spot off your block of cheese and keep on snacking.

Milk, Cheese, and Yogurt

Milk is one of those things that, when it’s gone bad, it’s not hard to tell. We hope you’ve never been unfortunate enough to take a swig out of the gallon of milk in your fridge, only to discover it’s gone bad after it’s already hit your tongue. However, milk is something that typically stays food for at least a few days after the expiration date printed on the container, though you’ll still need to give it a good examination before you use it. Milk that’s gone bad usually has a noticeably sour smell, might look slightly yellow in color, and may even develop a chunky texture. If it’s still good, though, you really shouldn’t smell anything when you give it the sniff test, or really notice anything off about it.

If you’ve got any expired yogurt on your hands, you can pretty much check it for freshness the same way you would milk—just make sure it smells normally, check for spots of mold, and then make yourself a smoothie if it’s all good.

Cheese is another dairy product that has an amazing shelf life, and it makes sense once you think about how cheese is actually made. Though it contains additional ingredients, cheese is essentially just aged milk, and most cheeses can last for up to four weeks past their expiration dates even if they’ve already been opened. Pieces of brick cheese that develop a mold spot can still be eaten, just as long as you make sure to cut the mold away before you eat it—moldy shredded cheese might be a different story, though, as it could be a little more difficult to make sure you’ve actually removed all of the mold.

Meat

Most packages of fresh meat you’ll see in the grocery store will come stamped with a “sell by” date, which is essentially what lets a retailer know when it needs to pull that item off its shelves. When it comes to keeping fresh meat in your fridge, like steaks or chicken, it can typically be kept fresh for a couple of days after the date on the package before it’ll need to be either cooked or frozen for later use. Contrary to what you might think, fresh meat that begins to look a little discolored after a few days isn’t necessarily bad—for example, raw ground beef often turns slightly brown after a few days due to exposure to light and air. Just like milk, if you suspect your meat has gone past a certain point, the truth will lie in the way it smells.

Fresh meat that’s still good can be put into the freezer to prevent it from going bad, and it’ll actually make it last for much, much longer. When it’s stored correctly, meat that’s been frozen can be stored for a year or more, so it’s never a bad idea to stock up on your favorite products when you see there’s a sale going on. Processed meats like hot dogs and bologna can sometimes last beyond their expiration date, especially if they haven’t been opened yet. It’s best to consume these types of products within 10 days after the sell-by date, and within three to five days once the package has been opened. When something like this has gone bad, it’ll typically take on a pretty funky smell and might even look sort of slimy on the outside.

Eggs

Would you believe us if we told you that Americans are some of the only people in the world that actually bother to refrigerate their eggs? It’s pretty much required to due widespread factory farming practices, as well as certain regulations that require eggs to be washed a certain way before being sold. Because salmonella isn’t uncommon in many factory farm setting, eggs must be power-washed before being sold, and it’s this process that removes the natural barrier the egg has when it’s first laid. Like an food product, eggs always come with an expiration date, but you can use it as more of a guideline for when your eggs are actually bad, as opposed to a concrete date of when they should be tossed. Typically, raw, whole eggs will be good until about four to five weeks after the date that is printed on the carton.

A good way to tell if an egg can still be used is to place it in a bowl of water—you can still eat it if it sinks to the bottom, but it’s time to get rid of it if it floats to the top. Once an eggs has been hard boiled, you typically have about one week until it won’t be good anymore. Peeling can also affect this timeline, as a hard boiled egg that has been peeled with often go bad up to two days before a hard boiled egg that still has its shell on. It’s not recommended to keep pre-scrambled, raw eggs in the refrigerator for more than a day or two unless you bought them pre-packaged, as this type of product is typically made to last a while. 

Bread

Who hasn’t reached for the loaf of bread on their counter, the one they just bought three days ago, only to find that one of the slices has mold on it? It’s easy to think that bread goes bad fairly quickly, but that’s actually not the case when it’s stored properly, and you can eat whatever bread you have as long as it’s not moldy or hard. Packaged bread should be stored out of the sun and away from any potential sources of moisture—it’s when moisture makes its way into the bread bad that mold has a chance to form a ruin an entire loaf. Those who live in high-humidity environments often store their bread in the refrigerator to keep the moisture at bay, though the fridge can easily dry the bread out. Freezing bread, however, is typically the best option, as it won’t dry your bread out and it will actually help it keep for a much longer period of time.

If your family goes through a lot of bread each week, definitely consider stocking up the next time you see a sale at the store and freeze what you can’t use right away. For anyone who’s thought about checking their local bakery or farmers market for a great deal on day-old bread, you can rest assured that they’re not selling old bread because there’s something wrong with it. In fact, it’s often cheaper because it’s not as fresh as something baked that day, but it has plenty of uses, many that work even better when you’re using bread that’s a little more dry. Day-old, crusty bread is excellent to use when it comes to things like French toast, croutons, or bread pudding.

Pasta

You might not think too much about your box of pasta expiring, and that’s because pasta can be used way past the date printed on the side of the box. This is definitely good news for all of us, as most people use just half a box of dried pasta for a recipe, and then end up throwing what’s left back in the pantry until they need it again. Because pasta is considered a dry good, it is typically given a shelf life of around one to two years, though it can last far beyond that because it doesn’t contain any water. As long as it’s stored in a place that’s both cool and dry, it can actually last for up to another two years before you’d want to consider tossing it out. Who are we kidding, though—does anyone actually let pasta go unused for that long?

If you do have any dried pasta that’s been sitting around the house for a while, there’s a simple way that you can test the pasta to see if it’s got much life left in it—just give it a quick glance to see if it’s discolored, smell it to see if it smells off at all, and try cooking a few pieces to see if the texture feels off. You should also never store dry pasta in the refrigerator, as that could help it absorb moisture and cause it to spoil. Fresh pasta, however, should always be refrigerated, and has a much shorter shelf life than dry pasta. Fresh pasta will typically last for a couple of weeks past the date on the package, though it’s important to toss it out if it starts to smell funny or discolor.

Condiments

Condiments often get pushed to the back of the fridge for weeks at a time, or they’re only bought for a specific recipe and then never used again. It can sometimes be tough to use condiments by the time their containers say they expire, especially for a single person trying to make it through something like a squeeze bottle of fancy mustard all by themselves. Thankfully, most condiments will still be good for up to three to four months after the expiration date listed on the packages if they are opened and have been properly refrigerated. However, just make sure to give anything you plan on using a quick sniff before you eat it, and also check for spots of mold, dryness, or discoloration. Condiments that are still sealed can be stored in your pantry for quite a long time as well, since oxygen is not able to enter the package.

For anyone who keeps condiment packets from fast food and takeout restaurants, those also have a shelf life, too, though any expiration dates will typically tell you when they will start losing flavor.Things like ketchup and mayonnaise packets should be tossed out after about a year if you want the best flavor, but they won’t necessarily be bad after that. Condiment packets for things like hot sauce, mustard, and parmesan cheese should be used within two years for the best taste. No matter what’s in them, these little packets do have real expiration dates, though they’re listed on the box that was sent to the restaurant, not the packet itself. It’s probably best that, if you don’t actually remember when exactly you got one of the packets, you should probably toss it out.

Canned Goods

Canned food was invented as a way to ensure that food products could still be consumed long after they were done processing. These days, using canned food often gets a bad rap for many reasons, some of which have nothing to do with the actual food itself. Though there are some who aren’t too fond of the texture and flavor of canned food, others choose to stay away because of the materials in the cans themselves, including BPA (bisphenol A). In addition, frozen produce is often just as affordable as canned, which leads people to buy people the food that they perceive to be fresher. However, it’s worth noting that studies have shown canned foods to contain just as much fiber and just as many vitamins as their fresh and frozen counterparts, and sometimes even more. Fortunately, we have some good news for anyone who’s a fan of canned goods—their expirations dates are pretty much meaningless.

Food that has been canned will typically for last for years after label says it expires, because there is no way for oxygen to enter the can and affect the food. This is exactly why so many people like to keep plenty of canned food on hand in case of an emergency—you just have to make sure to remember a can opener. Believe it or not, there’s also a proper way to store canned goods, even if they’re not open. Cans should be kept in a cool, dry, and dark place for the most effective storage, and should never be frozen. Meat and fish that has been canned will typically not last longer than one year, and shouldn’t be kept for more than a few days once opened.

Salted cashews are stationed everywhere, your raw veggie consumption has doubled, and you go to bed hungry more often than not. With a health plan like that, no wonder you—and so many others—fall off the bandwagon.
There’s a common misconception by those trying to get “fit” that the more hunger pangs you endure and sweat you burn, the svelter and healthier you’ll be. You’ll be pleasantly surprised that this is, in fact, not the case. We’ve all been told plenty of half-truths and straight up lies throughout our lives about the food we eat, how we should cook it, and how it will affect our bodies.
As you do more research, you may be a little put off when you realize some of your nutritious go-tos are actually a bigger mistake than that Kit Kat you snuck in last week. Check out this list to make sure you’re really taking two steps forward and not two pounds back!

1. Fresh is healthier than frozen.

Frozen is actually the most optimum food item unless your produce or meats are coming directly from farm to table. Fresh foods typically lose their high volume of nutrients only three days after being harvested. When you take into consideration travel time and fluctuation of temperature changes, it’s easy to see how the nutritional value has become depleted before your food hits your grocer.

2. Flavored yogurt is a healthy choice.

Yogurt is one of those health foods that is laden with sugar. Unless you’re indulging in Greek yogurt, your intake should be kept to a minimum. Flavored yogurt is loaded with unnecessary grams of sugar that outweigh the probiotics it holds. Even if you’re opting for the sugar-free or fat-free brands, the false additives are only temporarily staving off your hunger, which will eventually cause you to overindulge.

3. Raw veggies are more nutritious than cooked.

People love going on juice cleanses simply because it’s fresh and raw. These juices contain helpful enzymes when the fruit or vegetables are freshly squeezed, whereas anytime you heat produce above 118 degrees, these minerals are drained out.

4. 100 percent fruit juice is a healthy beverage.

Fruit juice is arguably one of the worst “health foods” you could possibly choose, especially if it’s not fresh squeezed. The amount of natural and added sugars for one serving of a drink can easily push you over the suggested daily sugar intake for three whole days.

5. Multigrain is the only bread that’s nutritious.

It may be all the rage to toss aside the white breads and pastas and go the multigrain route. But don’t get too caught up in your briefly self-satisfying lifestyle choice. What really matters for bread is the refinement quality. Most grains found in bread have already been stripped of their most important nutrients. Keep your standards high, even when you’re on the prowl for whole grain. The only bread worth buying is that which advertises 100 percent whole wheat. If you at all see “refined wheat,” that’s a big red flag that it’s just carbs and sugars.

6. Fats should be avoided.

There are different categories of fats—polyunsaturated, saturated, and unsaturated fats are just a few. Nutritional experts often debate the benefits and dangers of fat consumption, so there is not always a clear consensus, but they do agree that eliminating fat from your diet deprives your body of something it actually needs.
Polyunsaturated fats can be found in avocados, nuts, fish, and vegetable oils. These fats help lower your cholesterol, and since the human body doesn’t produce these types of fats on its own, it’s essential that you integrate them into each meal.

7. Brown eggs are more natural than white ones.

When you walk into a farmers market, there’s just something about seeing fresh eggs out at a stand. You can already smell them frying back home. However, there’s a common misconception that brown eggs are an indicator of being produced in a more organic state.

8. Eating after 7 p.m. causes weight gain.

How many midnight hunger pangs have you tried to ignore when you’re dieting? There’s just something about eating a tub of ice cream in the evening that seems so appealing; it can become an all-consuming thought.
However, eating after 7 p.m. isn’t the problem; it’s the overeating that inevitably ensues. Those late-night cravings are actually due to an undernourished system.

9. The more calories you cut the more pounds you lose.

This is definitely false. Let’s create a scenario. Say you have a 100-calorie cookie in front of you. Then you have a 100-calorie bowl of veggies. Which do you think is going to help you lose weight quicker? Obviously the vegetable. Yet the calorie count is the same.

10. Microwaving removes the nutritional value from food.

Yet another false statement! Don’t be so hasty to toss out your appliance just yet. The very act of cooking food, no matter what the method, does result in the loss of nutrients, but limiting the cooking time and the amount of liquid used is the best way to preserve the nutritional value of your meal. Guess what is specifically designed for this purpose? Your microwave.

11. Fiber is a cure-all.

Fiber products are quick to boast their nutritional value, but as science continues to develop experts are discovering that not all fiber is created equal. You’ve probably begun to notice the latest fad with yogurts now boasting their fiber-rich products, and many white bread products and cereals claim to be a “good source of fiber,” too. Well, the fiber that’s been supplemented into these products is not exactly natural, and adding something good like fiber to junk food doesn’t magically make it healthy.

12. Granola and nuts are healthy snacks.

When you reach for that granola bar or a handful of peanuts, you are probably thinking that you’re choosing a healthy snack, right? This may be true when we’re comparing these items to Cheez-Its. But did you know one cup of mixed nuts can contain up to 800 calories? That being said, nuts can be healthy if you avoid the unsalted varieties—almonds and cashews are high in monounsaturated fat, which, as stated previously, is the good kind of fat that is essential to your health.

13. Genetically modified food is bad for you.

Much of the public believes that genetically modified produce is less nutritious than organic food; a large sector of that group believes it can actually have negative effects on your health. Genetically modified organisms have been a hotly debated topic for several years now, but the latest study done by the National Academies of Sciences reports that there is actually no scientific evidence that suggests genetically modified food is unsafe to eat. In fact, the majority of scientists agree that it poses no danger to your health whatsoever.

14. On the flip side, organic food is healthy.

Labeling a food organic has nothing to do with its nutritional value, but over 60 percent of people under the age of 30 believe that organic produce is healthier than genetically modified foods. If a product is labeled organic, that means it is mostly free from pesticides, fertilizers, and additives. The USDA strictly regulates what can and can’t be labeled organic, but that doesn’t stop companies from marketing those products as healthier.

15. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

Your parents may have warned you against skipping breakfast as a child, but science suggests that people who do aren’t any less healthy than those who religiously eat a bowl of cereal every morning. Waiting until lunch is increasingly becoming more popular, and studies indicate that our eating habits have shifted with time—millennials are more likely to skip breakfast than their older counterparts.