mgr Sławomir Uta
WSJO PNJA communication classes year one
EATING BY NUMBERS
FOCUS September 2005
visuals from http://www.food.gov.uk/healthiereating/ and www.pbs.org
-
a range of foods
a staggering (number)
acceptable daily intake (ADI)
saccharin
accurate representation
acesulfame-K
acute adverse reaction
additive
additive studies
adverse effect
adverse reaction
allergen
allergic reaction to sth
allergic skin rash
allergy
alongside
amount
animal studies
anti-oxidant
artificial ingredient
aspartame
asthma
asthmatic
azorubine
bacon
benzoate
benzoic acid
bladder
cancer
cancer-causing
carcinogen
chemical
chronic headache
colouring agent
colouring compound
compound
conclusive; conclusively
confidential
congestion
-
consumer
contaminants
corned beef
dermatitis
difficulty breathing
discolouration
dye
eczema
emulsifier
E-number
evaluation process
evidence
expert panel
exposure to sth
flavour
flavouring (n)
flavouring compound
flushed skin
food additive
food additives industry
food packet
food poisoning
food scare
foodstuff
frankfurter
ham
hazard; hazardous
health and safety officer
health official
hives
hyperactive child
in the public domain
incidence
inconsistent
independent laboratory
inflammation
ingredients
intense studies
itching
legitimate
link between
luncheon meat
manufacture
-
monosodium glutamate
mould
nasal apssage
nettle
nettle rash
offender
opportunistic
over a life-time
polyphosphate
porpyl galate
potassium sorbate
preservative
rancid
ready meal
relevance; relevant
respiratory system
rhinitis
safety level
sausage
selective
shelf-life
significant risk to sth
smoked fish
sneezing
sodium nitrite
soft drink
squash drink
stabiliser
sufferer
sugar substitute
suitable
sulphite
sweetener
sweetening compound
tartrazine
testicular
testing system
texture
the premises
therefore
thyroid
to acknowledge widely
-
to affect sb
to aggravate
to ban
to be confronted by
to be consumed
to be declared safe
to be exposed
to be financially beholden to sth
to be triggered in sb
to bewilder; bewildering
to boil down to sth
to bring on
to carry out a study on sth
to collect evidence
to come under scrutiny
to conduct studies
to erupt in rash
to establish
to exacerbate
to fund sth
to have a sensitivity to sth
to have an effect on sth
to have one's reservations
to have relevance to
to link sth to sth
to list
to move off
to permit
to pose toxic hazard
to provide a model
to question one's relevance
to raise doubts
to regulate tightly; tightly regulated
to report headache, nausea
to suffer from
to turn over
to vest
trade unions
tumour
up-to-date study
urticaria
wheezing
yeast
1 What is eating to you? Nourishing your system? A social event? An everyday ritual? A habitual action?
Do you pay attention to what and how you eat?
2 What does the E-number mean? Is placing it on food packets obligatory for the producers?
3 Present the arguments for and against the use of food additives.
4 Present the specific threats to the consumer's health, caused by the additives' intake.
5 What are the most realistic ways to avoid the excessive intake of additives? Can their use be escaped
from at all?
6 What are the controversies connected with the results of the studies conducted on food additives?
Think about the ethical and economical side of this issue.
7 What tricks do food producers use to deceive their customers?
8 Paradoxically, some additives are certified for use in EU, some other likewise in the US or GB. Human
system, however, seems to be identical throughout the world. Why does such situation happen?
9 "Tell me what you eat and I will tell you who you are." How much truth is there in this statement in view
of the food additives issue?
10 Do you prefer processed food or do you prepare your meal from raw and fresh ingredients?
WHAT YOU GET http://www.faia.org.uk/index.php
Processed food
Food is processed because in modern societies life no longer revolves around a family kitchen in which the household food is prepared freshly
from raw ingredients.
We eat relatively few foods in a natural, raw state and very many of the most familiar foods are processed in one way or another – bread and
cakes, pasta, mayonnaise, ice cream, beer, wine and spirits, chocolate, for example. Most of these foods could be prepared at home in the
kitchen, but most people with busy lifestyles choose to buy them ready made from their local shop or supermarket. (…)
The benefits of food processing are that it provides consumers with convenience and choice - a vast range of branded and own-label products
foods, including low fat and low sugar foods, and an increasing variety of traditional and ethnic ready meals.
Organic food
To be labeled 'organic' 95 per cent of the inputs must be organically produced; that means without prohibited pesticides, fertilizers and additives.
Moreover, when a producer has converted from conventional to organic farming, two years must have elapsed since the last non-permitted
inputs (three years in the case of perennial crops). There is a second recognized category with at least 70 per cent organic content but less than
95 per cent. Such products can be labeled: 'made with x per cent organic or organically produced ingredients'.
Genetically modified food
European Union legislation defines GM food as “food containing, consisting of or produced from a genetically modified organism”. This means
that any product derived (either directly or indirectly) from a GM crop is defined as GM.
Where GM technology is widely used, as in the USA, ingredients such as oils will often be derived from GM sources. All genetic material will
have been removed in the processing, but such oils would still have to be labelled as GM if imported into the EU. Under EU regulations agreed
in 2004 all products derived from GM crops have to be labelled as GM, whether or not they contain genetic material. (…)
There are two main concerns about GM. The first is the possibility that unwanted traits could be added to an organism as well as the desired
ones thus creating a health risk. So before any GM food can be sold in the EU it is subject to a rigorous safety assessment that includes a check
for possible changes in its allergenic potential or nutritional profile. (…)
Functional food
A food can be described as functional if it can be demonstrated to affect beneficially one or more target functions in the body, beyond adequate
nutritional effects, in a way that is relevant to either an improved state of health and well-being and/or reduction of disease.
Vitamins and minerals are functional foods that have been used for many years; they are well understood and have clear recommendations
from most governments for minimum dietary requirements.
MORE ON CHEMICALS IN FOOD http://www.faia.org.uk/whyadditives.php
http://www.food.gov.uk/safereating/chem_safety/
Contaminants
and
additives
There are many potentially harmful or toxic chemicals present in the food we eat, whether occurring naturally, as
contaminants, or as deliberate additives. But these chemicals are not necessarily harmful in small amounts; the
effects they have depend upon the amounts that we consume.
Supplements
Some people choose to take supplements which are thought to have beneficial effects. Supplements include vitamins and essential minerals,
which our bodies need in small amounts, as well as other chemicals for which there is less evidence of beneficial effects. But in most cases, we
receive adequate amounts of these chemicals from food and all of them may be harmful if taken in excessive amounts.
MORE ON ALLERGIES AND BEHAVIOUR http://www.faia.org.uk/foodallergy.php
http://www.faia.org.uk/dietbehaviour.php
http://www.food.gov.uk/safereating/allergyintol/
Most reactions to foods are caused by natural food ingredients, but some reports suggest that certain food
additives may cause behavioural changes in some children. Independent experts agree that it's difficult to come to
firm conclusions from the tests that have been carried out so far in this area. (…)
'May
contain'
labelling
People with some food allergies, particularly peanut allergy, have to be extremely careful what they eat. Food
labelling is very important to these people because the consequences of eating the food they are allergic to could be very serious.
Manufacturers often use phrases such as ‘may contain nut traces’ to show that there could be traces of nut in a food product, either in the
ingredients, or because it has entered the product accidentally during the production process.
It’s not a legal requirement to say on the label that a food might contain traces of nut, but many manufacturers label their products in this way.
ADDITIVES APPROVED BY ALL EU MEMBER STATES AT THE TIME OF WRITING:
http://www.faia.org.uk/organic.php
E153 - Vegetable carbon
E325 - Sodium lactate
E160b - Annatto, Bixin, Norbixin
E331 - Sodium citrate
E170 - Calcium carbonates
E400 - Alginic acid
E220 - Sulphur dioxide or E223 (Sodium
E406 - Agar
metabisulphite), or E224 (Potassium
E407 - Carrageenan
metabisulphite)
E410 - Locust bean gum
E270 - Lactic acid
E410 - Sodium alginate and E402 (Potassium
E290 - Carbon dioxide
alginate)
E306 -Tocopherol-rich extract
E412 - Guar gum
E322 – Lecithin
E414 - Arabic gum
remember Da Vinci Code?
E415 - Xanthan gum
E440(i) - Pectin
E464 - Hydroxypropylmethylcellulose
E500 - Sodium carbonates
E509 - Calcium chloride
E938 - Argon
E939 - Helium
E941 - Nitrogen
E948 - Oxygen
By-The-Way Stuff
a point on avian inluenza (bird flu)
http://www.food.gov.uk/news/newsarchive/2005/dec/avianflu
‘The risk of acquiring avian influenza through the food chain is low, and there is no direct evidence to support this
route of infection. Evidence from human infection indicates that direct contact with infected birds is the main risk
factor, and that consumption of infected chickens has not been identified as a risk factor.
'Several factors will contribute to preventing or limiting infection following ingestion of viruses, including lack of
appropriate receptors, and non-specific defences such as saliva or gastric acid. Proper cooking will destroy any
virus present in meat or eggs.’
a full list of E numbers
http://www.faia.org.uk/enumbers.php
a full list of E numbers in Polish
http://www.chemia.px.pl/roznosci/zywnosc_dodatki.html