I’m surprised (though not really) at how much the American food industry has been in the news the past few years. For decades, the federal goverment has developed guidelines for what is considered a healthy diet (based on grains, vegetables and fruits) and recommended daily allowances of a wide variety of vitamins and minerals.
But in the past several years, studies have been published that are a cause of concern for how our foods are grown and processed. A recent study from the Cleveland Clinic suggests that excess niacin (Vitamin B3), which has been commonly added to foods to boost niacin intake for decades, may actually contribute to cardiac disease. It is also widely available in supplement form. The author of the study is suggesting that the government re-examine the mandate of niacin fortification in foods.
Another recent study published in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology found that a startling 80% of tested Americans had a plant growth regulating chemical called chlormequat in their bodies due to consumption of oat and wheat products such as Cheerios and Quaker Oats. Chlormequat is used to control the growth of crops such as oats, wheat and barley so they can be more easily harvested. According to this article, chlormequat is not approved for use on food crops in the United States, but is allowed in foods we import. This last fact is a whole different topic, but it begs the question; how much of the foods we eat are being imported?
Ractopamine, a drug originally developed to treat asthma in humans but is being used in cattle and pigs to increase muscle mass, has recently come under scrutiny. The United States federal government has approved its use as a growth enhancer in the beef and pork industries and has established acceptable levels of this substance in meat, but many countries (including China, a major importer of pork) have a zero tolerance level. According to this article by Michigan State University, a major reason for this discrepancy is that although ractopamine clears quickly from muscle tissue, it stays longer in other tissues, including the liver and kidneys. The reasoning for the US stance is that the tissues this substance lingers in are not commonly eaten here. Maybe not commonly eaten here, but you can definitely buy such organ meats at grocery stores.
These are just three topics of food safety that have come up in the past year or two.