Food is hot, but stay cool!

I like the topic of refrigeration and freezing. At home, our freezer is my best friend in tackling food waste. For example, I store bread in it and take out just as many slices as I need so that nothing ends up in the bin. Apart from bread, meat, fish and frozen vegetables, there are always a couple of ice packs in there too. They have ‘not for consumption’ printed on them. You don’t say!

Is it best to cool down or keep warm after a period of intense sporting activity? As a (marathon) runner, it’s a question that regularly crosses my mind. The experts can’t agree. Top sports physiologist Jos Geijsel swears by cooling. But Harm Kuipers, former world skating champion and sports researcher (Maastricht University) has his doubts. Not long ago, I read that the most recent studies demonstrate that icing is indeed more effective for pain relief but that, in terms of muscle recovery, it makes no difference whether you take a warm bath or a cold one. 

As I continue to feed my knowledge in this way, I regularly come across contradictions. And I know I’m not the only citizen with an inquisitive nature. Consumers are becoming increasingly savvy, thanks among other things to the rise in popular science-related TV shows that take a closer look at the latest food hypes and health myths. In the Netherlands, a recent episode of such a programme examined the link between red meat and intestinal cancer – which continues to be a hot item. However, such programmes don’t really do much to boost consumer trust in the food industry. To improve that, manufacturers must show their faces and become more open, says Philip den Ouden (FNLI): “We must take communication to the next level and explain about the processes and products face to face.”

So where was I? Oh yes, my ice packs (which are now also available especially for the transport of food and medicines, recyclable and temperature-controlled, which is really useful in view of the ongoing rise in online sales of fresh food products – but that’s by the by). Another thing that seems to be a great aid to muscle recovery is a metaphorical ‘warm bath’ – in other words, social interaction. “Social connectedness puts your nervous system back into ‘recovery mode’,” I read in the June edition of Runners Magazine. 

“After an intensive run (or meeting, or whatever), grab a bite to eat together; it has a better effect on your heart rate variability than an ice bath.” ‘Really?’, I think to myself scornfully. ‘But what I consume doesn’t even have a heart beat,’ says the voice in my head, a little facetiously.

But for many of those products without a heart beat, icy cold is actually very good (for their shelf life, I mean!). See this month’s edition as being like immersing yourself in a warm bath full of knowledge: about how to use cold efficiently and sustainably, about innovations to combat food waste and about the future of our food. I wish you a wonderful (warm) summer!

Judith Witte
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