Food Safety Magazine, February/March 2012

CATEGORY: INGREDIENTScolors. However, this unique intolerancedoes not indicate a food safety issue andrepresents a very small portion of thepopulation. 6 Information about the specificpopulation that may be affected isimportant for consumers to be able todetermine whether there is a risk to themor their family, and if that risk outweighsother risks they may be taking on bychanging their consumption. 8Telling consumers how they can takecontrol—for example, by reading labelsand providing more fruits and vegetables—ishelpful, while also preservingchoice for those consumers who are notconcerned and do not wish to reducetheir consumption of food ingredients.Explaining the similarities and differencesbetween food ingredients andfoods that are perceived to be more familiarand therefore safer in consumers’minds can also be effective. For example,every food we eat—even those that arenaturally occurring—is made up of chemicalcompounds that determine flavor,color, texture and nutrient value. 9 Freshfruits and vegetables are not required tolist nutrition and ingredient information,but if they were, the list of chemicalscomposing them would rival foods containingadded ingredients.Is the Latest Always theGreatest?Food additives and “generally recognizedas safe” (GRAS) ingredients aresome of the most studied componentsof our food supply. However, new studiesthat dispute the larger body of researchare often deemed more crediblebecause they are the latest research onthe topic. It is important when lookingat food ingredient research to emphasizethat, while it may be tempting to viewthe most recent study as the best andmost reliable, this is not always the case.When communicating a study’s findings,it should be placed into the propercontext, including acknowledging thelimitations of the study, such as:• The study’s original purpose• Shortcomings in the study’smethodology• Ingredient amounts used• Sample size• Application of the findings to a specific subsegment of the populationIt is also important to acknowledge what the weight of the evidence tells us, and torecognize past research when a study disputes previous findings. 8For example, recent epidemiological studies showing greater overweight or obesityin consumers of low-calorie sweeteners do not demonstrate a cause-and-effect relationship.Other factors that could be contributing to the results should be considered, aswell as the original hypothesis/purpose of the study. Many well-done studies conductedhave found that consuming low-calorie sweeteners (continued on page 66)Food Safety RegulationCompliance ResourcesMETTLER TOLEDO has long been the product inspection industry leader in foodsafety education with our Safeline metal detection and x-ray inspection brand.We have launched a year-long initiative to provide you with the right training,educational materials and product solutions that will enable you to navigate the foodVisit www.mt.com/PINA-FoodSafetyResourcesto learn more!Contact us for more information at 800-221-2624or visit www.mt.com/piSAFELINEMetal Detection & X-ray InspectionHI-SPEEDCheckweighingCI-VISIONVision InspectionF E B R U A R Y n M A R C H 2 0 1 2 53