never a dull moment

There’s never a dull moment in the food business: devising new healthy eating advice, developing new ‘5 a Day’ guidelines, and putting red and processed meat on the ‘cancer list’ at the same level as asbestos and smoking. What a commotion! Before long we won’t be allowed to even breathe because who knows what could be floating around in the atmosphere.

The consumer doesn’t know what to believe any more and promptly stops eating red meat. And what constitutes ‘processed meat’ anyhow? Minced beef is not classed as processed meat but roast chicken fillet is – are you still following this? In that case, perhaps it’s best to avoid meat and meat-based products altogether for now.

I’m sure there’s an element of truth in the claims, but I’m really struggling to accept that it has been placed in the same risk category as cigarettes and asbestos. Thankfully the reporting on this matter has since become more nuanced, but consumer confidence has been considerably dented.

So organic, sustainable or animal-friendly would seem a logical choice…but then I hear that checks have revealed eggs from free-range hens are most likely to display higher levels of dioxins, and it makes me question what on earth we’re all doing. Good for animals and the environment, but not (always) good for humans. As a consumer, you’re passed from pillar to post and left without a clue about what you should do for the best.

Let’s just stick to ‘everything in moderation’ and, as the food industry, ensure that we continue to safeguard food safety and maintain good standards of cleaning and disinfection. Then we’ll get there in the end.

Saskia Stender