Is this the First Lady Food PR Effect? Michelle Obama’s recently launched “Let’s Move” campaign is racking up corporate support from manufacturers and retailers. On Tuesday it was PepsiCo’s announcement, and yesterday Kraft Foods excitedly shared plans to reduce sodium in all its brands by 10% on average in the next 2 years. Here’s an excerpt from the press release:

“We are reducing sodium because it’s good for consumers, and, if done properly, it’s good for business,” said Rhonda Jordan, President, Health & Wellness, Kraft Foods. “A growing number of consumers are concerned about their sodium intake and we want to help them translate their intentions into actions.”

The company’s goals call for sodium to be lowered in a number of products up to 20 percent by the end of 2012. For example, Oscar Mayer Bologna is slated to reduce sodium by 17 percent and some flavors of Easy Mac Cups are scheduled to reduce sodium by 20 percent. read it all…

But before we all get excited, let’s take a look at that product that’s going to lose 20% of its sodium – Easy Mac Cups.

What you need to know:

This foodlike product, sorry to be so blunt, is so awful that even a reduction of salt by 100% wouldn’t make it something to be proud of. A 2 oz. microwaveable cup is a single serving.

Here is the ingredient list:

ENRICHED MACARONI PRODUCT (WHEAT FLOUR, GLYCERYL MONOSTEARATE, NIACIN, FERROUS SULFATE [IRON], THIAMIN MONONITRATE [VITAMIN B1], RIBOFLAVIN [VITAMIN B2], FOLIC ACID), MODIFIED FOOD STARCH, SALT, MALTODEXTRIN, POTASSIUM CHLORIDE, ACETYLATED MONOGLYCERIDES, MEDIUM CHAIN TRIGLYCERIDES, APOCAROTENAL (COLOR), CHEESE SAUCE MIX (WHEY, CORN SYRUP SOLIDS, PALM OIL, MILK, MILKFAT, MILK PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, SALT, CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF SODIUM TRIPOLYPHOSPHATE, MEDIUM CHAIN TRIGLYCERIDES, NATURAL FLAVOR, CITRIC ACID, MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE, SODIUM PHOSPHATE, LACTIC ACID, GUAR GUM, CALCIUM PHOSPHATE, MILK, DRIED ONIONS, YELLOW 5, ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, YELLOW 6, ENZYMES, CHEESE CULTURE).

This is plain Mac & Cheese. So why are there 37 ingredients in here? Pull out your dictionaries folks. Among the controversial ingredients here – MSG, Artificial food colorings, and milk protein concentrate.

The nutrition facts panel states that there are 700 milligrams of sodium here. That’s 29% of  the daily recommended maximum for healthy adults. Salt appears in the ingredient list before the cheese sauce! In 2012, when this product will be reformulated, it should have 20% less sodium, meaning 560mg or 24% of the daily max. That’s still quite a lot.

But get this, Kraft discovered that the 2 ounce cups are not filling enough for some kids. They now have 4 ounce cups, or a double dose. In this case the sodium is actually going to skyrocket to 50% of the daily max, instead of the current 29%. Interesting that there is no mention of that stat anywhere…

We’d also caution against microwaving food and water in plastic containers, lest who knows what chemicals  leach into lunch. But that’s the topic for another post.

While we realize that the 30 seconds it takes to pop a cup of easy mac into the microwave seems like the ideal solution for busy moms, just slightly more effort can reap a much better tasting meal for your family. You can prepare a huge batch on the weekend, and then heat up single serve portions during the week when you’re too tired to do anything else.

We’d love to hear from you – dear reader – how do you prepare mac n cheese for your kids?

What to do at the supermarket:

When looking at a product that’s gone through a reformulation, don’t focus just on what’s been taken out. Look at all the other ingredients as well. The longer the list, the less recommended the product.

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The FDA has an update for consumers on its efforts to determine the safety of BPA (Bisphenol-A), an industrial chemical unfortunately found in many plastic bottles and cans containing foods and beverages. This is happening less than 2 years after the FDA declared BPA was safe, back in August 2008.

The safety approval was given despite the over 200 animal studies that have linked BPA consumption in tiny amounts to a host of reproductive problems, brain damage, immune deficiencies, metabolic abnormalities, and behavioral oddities like hyperactivity, learning deficits and reduced maternal willingness to nurse offspring.

In December 2008, the FDA’s own advisory board accused the FDA of weighing 2 industry-backed studies much more heavily than the hundreds of other independent studies. The FDA’s excuse: all the other studies did not meet the FDA’s guidelines for determining safety for human consumption, did not provide raw data, and a host of other “reasons”.

What caused the FDA to change it mind now an reopen the “BPA Files”? Possible answers: a new administration, a BPA ban in Canada in 2008, and / or general public outcry.

At a press event yesterday, an FDA official diplomatically said the drug agency “had become more receptive to new techniques of studying the safety of chemicals.”

What you need to know:

7 billion pounds of BPA are produced annually, for use in food packaging, PVC water pipes, electronics, and more.All of us are exposed to tiny amounts, whether drinking canned juice, milk from a baby-bottle, or any other product sold in a plastic container or a can.

BPA is a chemical compound. It is used as a building block of  polymers and polycarbonates that are found in plastic bottles and cans. BPA behaves like the hormone estrogen once it enters the body and disturbs the normal working of certain genes. Estrogen mimicking chemicals like BPA are potentially harmful even at very low doses, such as those found in plastic bottles and cans.

In March 2009, six manufacturers announced that they would voluntarily stop manufacturing bottles with BPA. Playtex Products, Gerber, Evenflo, Avent America, Dr. Brown and Disney First Years decided to so in order to preempt legal action being considered at the time by several state attorney generals.

What to do at the supermarket and home to decrease your exposure:

1. If you have a baby or toddler, purchase BPA free plastic bottles.
2. Throw away scratched or worn bottles or cups made with BPA , because the chemical can leak from the scratches.
3. Don’t put hot liquids in plastic cups or bottles containing BPA.
4. If microwaving baby formula, do so in a glass bottle.
5. Opt for fresh or frozen products rather than canned.
6. Drink tap instead of bottled water.

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The December Edition of Consumer Reports, already out, is bringing BPA, a controversial chemical, back to the headlines. The non-profit publisher, Consumers Union, tested various canned foods for BPA and found alarmingly high values in daily staples such as tuna, beans and soups. You can read more about it here.

This is a good opportunity to get reacquainted with a chemical we  all consume in some form, whether we know it, like it, or not.

What you need to know:
1. Bisphenol-A  is a chemical compound used as a building block of several polymers and polycarbonates that in turn are found in plastic bottles and cans. Which means all of us are exposed to tiny amounts, whether drinking canned juice, milk from a baby-bottle, or any other product sold in a plastic container or a can.

2. The chemical has been sold since the 1940’s and starting in the 1960’s has been lining the insides of cans in order to extend shelf life.

3. 7 billion pounds of BPA are produced annually, for use in food packaging, PVC water pipes, electronics, and more.

4. In 2008, more than 22 billion cans for food and more than 100 billion cans for beer and soft drinks were produced with BPA.

5. BPA behaves like the hormone estrogen once it enters the body and disturbs the normal working of certain genes. Estrogen mimicking chemicals like BPA are potentially harmful even at very low doses, such as those found in plastic bottles and cans.

6. Toxicity questions have been around for decades, raising safety issue, especially for babies who ingest a proportionally larger amount due to their small size. Potential problems include hyperactivity, learning disabilities, brain damage, and immune deficiencies.

7. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) calculated that people consume 50 micrograms of BPA per kilogram of body weight every day over the course of a lifetime. Over 40 studies have found adverse health effects in rats given less than one hundredth of that amount!

8. Over 200 animal studies that have linked BPA consumption in tiny amounts to a host of reproductive problems, brain damage, immune deficiencies, metabolic abnormalities, and behavioral oddities like hyperactivity, learning deficits and reduced maternal willingness to nurse offspring.

9. In 2008, Canada added BPA to its list of toxic substances and plans are to ban BPA from all baby bottles.

10. The FDA has zigzagged on BPA safety. In August 2008 it deemed BPA safe. However, in December 2008, the FDA’s own advisory board accused the FDA of weighing 2 industry-backed studies much more heavily than the hundreds of other independent studies. The FDA’s excuse: all the other studies did not meet the FDA’s guidelines for determining safety for human consumption, did not provide raw data, and a host of other “reasons”.

11. In March 2009, six manufacturers announced that they would voluntarily stop manufacturing bottles with BPA. Playtex Products, Gerber, Evenflo, Avent America, Dr. Brown and Disney First Years decided to so in order to preempt legal action being considered at the time by several state attorney generals.

12. In May 2009, Chicago became the first city to ban sales of baby bottles and sippy cups with BPA. Denmark became the first European country to do the same.

13. Many other European countries conducted reviews in the past 2 years but decided to maintain BPA’s safe status for now.

14. If you think you’re safe, 93% of the population has BPA in their bodies, according to urine sampling conducted by the Center for Disease Control, CDC.

15. There’s hope – Many Japanese manufacturers voluntarily stopped using BPA in 1997. In a 2003 study, BPA levels in people’s urine had dropped by 50%.

What to do at the supermarket:
Here are some tips on how to reduce your family’s  BPA intake:
1. if you have a baby or toddler, purchase BPA free plastic bottles.
2. If microwaving formula, do so in a glass bottle.
3. Opt for fresh or frozen products less than canned.
4. Drink tap water instead of bottled water

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photo credit: Mr. T in DC

1. Extolling veggies – they are naturally low in calories, but high in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber.

2. According the USDA, we’re supposed to get 5 servings of vegetables a day. That’s about 2 and a half cups worth.

3. Unfortunately, less than one third of Americans meet their daily vegetable requirement.

4. If you buy smart, you can meet your daily requirement for less than $2.50 a day.

5. Vegetables start losing their nutrients the moment they are picked, albeit slowly. Once in contact with water or heat, the process is greatly accelerated.

6. Wash vegetables just before serving.

7. Eating raw vegetables retains more nutrients than heating them. And if you’ve ever tasted fresh corn, minutes after harvest, you know it’s not as weird as it sounds to eat uncooked.

8. Choose veggies from all color ranges, as each color represents a different set of nutrients.

9. chopping vegetables into larger pieces helps maintain nutrients better than finely chopping because less surface area comes in contact with air or water that leech out the nutrients.

10. Steaming, microwaving, and a pressure cooker are the best cooking methods to retain nutrients.

11. Keeping the vegetable peels on is recommended where possible because the peel and area just below contain large amounts of nutrients such as fiber.

12. If preparing veggies in boiling water (for example corn on the cob), nutrients leech into the water. Don’t lose them by discarding this water, use it to prepare a soup or broth.

13. Remember ADEK – Vitamins that are fat soluble (Vitamin A, D, E, K). A tablespoon of olive or canola oil on a freshly prepared garden salad actually improves the bio-availability of these vitamins.

14. Vegetables can be served as a snack – carrot sticks, celery sticks filled with peanut butter, cherry tomatoes, etc,..

What to do at the supermarket:

If you’re on a tight budget – buy veggies in season, they’ll be much cheaper than imports from the other side of the planet. Check the frozen section at the supermarket – many times you’ll find cheap vegetables as well. Their nutritional value is often close or equal to that of their fresh equivalent.

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flickr photo: Zed.Cat

The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service has issued a public health alert:

WASHINGTON, Oct. 3, 2008 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is issuing a public health alert due to concerns about illness caused by Salmonella that may be associated with raw, frozen, breaded and pre-browned, stuffed chicken entrees.

Read the entire alert…

What you need to know:

Salmonella is a nasty food borne bacteria that can be life threatening, but most people suffer from a few days of fever, stomach cramps, vomiting and diarrhea. Fully cooking poultry is the best way to reduce your risk. Microwave ovens do not do the trick.

What to do at the supermarket:

If you are planning to microwave your chicken dinner, make sure the package contains instructions on how to do so. Meals meant for the microwave are usually precooked.