When Shopping For Vegetables...

A recent scare in the news this week got me to thinking.  There was a beef farm in Alberta that issued a massive recall of their beef due to possible contamination of E. Coli 0157. The alerted the Food Inspection Agency that something was wrong and then issued a voluntary recall.  Thank goodness it was found and alerted before any illness has occurred, but some of the most known grocery stores were affected by this recall, including Walmart, Costco, Giant Tiger, Sobeys, the Superstore, Safeway, Shop Easy, Extra Foods, SuperValu, the Real Canadian Wholesale Club, Foodland and No Frills, among others.

I found myself thinking, thank goodness I don’t have to worry about eating contaminated meat or any animal products that could potentially cause me harm from dangerous bacteria… but then my mind wondered to a place that had me concerned. What other serious health risks are there in food that we should be considering when purchasing?  Of course there have been recalls on vegetables that have been exposed to E Coli – I remember a few years ago, bean sprouts were a big concern.

So I looked in my cupboard and fridge and basically picked out my concerns, one being canned foods, two being my fresh produce and the third being corn chips.

The first thing of course that I started my research on was pesticides. At this point in time, I would say majority of people know that pesticides and toxins that are present in food, is not healthy for us to consume and the way the food industry is going to provide “fast large amounts of foods” we can be certain that more and more pesticides are being used in our food.

Did you know that over two and a half million tons of pesticides are used each year around the world to destroy organisms that interrupt the production of their crops, the unfortunate thing is, these pesticides that are dangerous for organismas are also very dangerous for humans.  A heavy exposure to pesticides can cause serious health concerns and risks to human.

So how can we help ourselves?  

• Purchase organic where you can
• Peal your vegetables that are non-organic
• Wash everything thoroughly before eating

Then I researched my canned beans and tomatoes:

How many of us purchase canned beans or tomatoes to save time?  Guilty as charged.  As working professionals who have families to tend to, we don’t always have the luxury of time to soak beans (unless we are organized in the mornings) but lets be realistic here, most of us today are always in rush, trying to quickly put something together. Well unfortunately with living a rushed lifestyle, there are concerns with eating canned foods.

1. Bisphenol A (BPA) - manufacturers use BPA to protect their food from metal corrosion or bacteria growing in the cans.  Problem with this is BPA is linked to heart disease and cancer, among other serious health risks, even affecting neural development in fetuses.  
2. Sodium - can be vey high in canned foods, but the upside is that many manufactures will offer a low sodium product to purchase.  Yes, we do need sodium but too much sodium can lead to high blood pressure.  We just need to be careful.
3. Sulphites – used to preserve products, there freshness and color, however 1 in every 100 people are allergic to sulphites and the reaction can be sever including hospitalization.  Sulphites can actually destroy the vitamin B-1 present in food.  Just be concerned and aware.  Many products are now sulphite free, in my opinion the less additives to my food, the better!

So do we cut out using canned foods?  I concluded the answer for me is no, at the end of the day with all the unhealthy food present on our shelves, ultimately vegetables are the healthiest choice, but I think that buying organic is my best option, but fresh is the important part,  frozen or canned would be the second choice for me.

As for my last concern of Corn being in my cupboard, we did a newsletter back a few weeks ago about GMO’s – Genetically Modified Organisms.  Corn being present at the top of the list! This one was no surprise to me. But I love salty corn chips! So what can we do? 

• Buy organic
• Substitute of Lentil Chips or Black Bean Chips or Kamut Chips – but just make sure Corn isn’t in the ingredients, it carries many names including syrup & sugars

So what is in your cupboard that has you thinking you should know more about?

Have a fantastic weekend!

Lyndsay & Laurie