Latest news with #FoodScience
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Organic vs. Conventional Strawberries: Experts Explain the Difference
• Strawberries top the Dirty Dozen list, averaging eight pesticide residues per non-organic sample.• Even though pesticides are present, they're at low levels.• Washing strawberries reduces pesticide residue but doesn't eliminate it.• The health benefits of eating fruits outweigh potential pesticide exposure strawberries are one of the most popular summer fruits, but according to studies, they are most likely to be contaminated with pesticides. Strawberries are again at the top of the Environmental Working Group's (EWG) Dirty Dozen—a list of the fruits and vegetables found to have the most pesticides. 'Strawberries are a hard crop to grow and susceptible to insects and other pests, including spoilage microbes. This is the primary reason why pesticides are needed, or there is no crop to pick or harvest,' says Keith Warriner, professor in the Department of Food Science at the University of Guelph in Ontario. While the EWG's list for 2025 hasn't been released yet, information from the previous year's findings is still helpful. For the EWG's 2024 guide, researchers at the environmental and health advocacy group considered more than 47,000 samples of 46 fruits and vegetables. Non-organic strawberries had an average of eight pesticides per sample. The rest of the list includes spinach, leafy greens (kale, collard, mustard greens), nectarines, apples, grapes, bell peppers, cherries, peaches, pears, celery, and tomatoes. Warriner underscores the stringent regulations governing pesticide use. He assures consumers that strawberries are unlikely to exceed these limits, and even the smallest amounts would be promptly detected. 'Therefore, even though pesticide residues are present, they would be low levels. So consumers should not be overly worried as the benefits of fruits and vegetables outweigh the negative.' Carl Winter, Ph.D., emeritus professor in food science at the University of California, Davis, questions how the Dirty Dozen rankings are made, suggesting that 'it's the amount of a chemical, not its presence or absence' that determines how much of a risk there is. 'The best thing consumers can do is to consume fruits and vegetables, period, regardless of whether they are conventionally- or organically-produced,' Winter says. 'My concern is that rankings like the Dirty Dozen make consumers afraid of fruits and vegetables and may result in less consumption of these healthy foods.' It's a good idea to wash all produce before you eat it. That can lower the risk of foodborne illness, but cleaning won't always remove pesticides. 'You may notice that some strawberries have a waxy coating to prevent mold growth,' says Warriner. 'This is not easily removed by washing and even without the coating, washing would only remove a proportion.' He says researchers need to continue to develop ways to grow strawberries without pesticides and ways to remove the pesticides on produce. 'Washing with water is not effective to remove either chemical or microbiological contaminants on fresh produce,' says Xiaonan Lu, Ph.D., a professor in food safety at McGill University in Quebec. 'Cooking is effective to kill the microbes, but chemical residues remain under thermal processing.' Although small amounts of pesticides may be washed away when you clean produce, Winter says, 'the normal levels of pesticides on fruits and vegetables pose no risks to consumers.' Fruits and vegetables are an important part of a healthy diet, so the EWG doesn't want the Dirty Dozen list to scare people away from produce. The organization recommends that shoppers opt for organic versions of the foods—like strawberries—on the list. Warriner says the organic label doesn't mean no pesticides were used, but there are usually more restrictions. 'Although organic would imply pesticide-free, the reality is that pesticides can be used when needed,' he says. 'Organic growers may select cultivars that have natural resistance to some pests and grow in soil-free systems with coverings.' Buying organic can be a choice for shoppers who want to know they are getting fewer contaminants. Winter says, 'But they should be prepared to pay much more for organic berries while the tiny levels of pesticide residues that might be on conventional berries pose no risk to consumers.' Read the original article on SIMPLYRECIPES
The Hindu
13-06-2025
- Science
- The Hindu
Research papers on desalination and nutrient dense duckweed crop by Bharathidasan University team published in journals
Two research articles authored by P. Chellapandi, Head, Department of Bioinformatics, Bharathidasan University, and his research team have appeared in the prestigious scientific journals, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews and Trends in Food Science & Technology, the university said in a release on Friday. In the Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Prof. Chellapandi proposed a novel bioenergy-powered desalination model that utilises seawater and marine microalgae. The system generates biogas-driven electricity to power desalination units, integrating smart automation and Industry 4.0 principles to enable real-time processing. This advancement positions Bharathidasan University as a frontrunner in the field of Green Desalination Technology. In the other contribution, published in Trends in Food Science & Technology, Dr. Chellapandi along with his research team analysed the genomic potential of duckweed, earth's smallest flowering plant, and identified it as a radiation-resilient, nutrient-dense crop suitable for future food systems on earth and outer space. Their work emphasised the potential of duckweed in bioregenerative life support systems, which were key to sustaining human life during long-term space missions. Dr. Chellapandi's research team included S. Saranya, S. Dhayanithi, L. Thamanna, L .Lourdu Lincy, and V.P. Sreekutty, the release added.
Newsweek
01-05-2025
- Science
- Newsweek
Woman Goes on Walk, Unprepared for What She Finds by Lake: 'Horror Movie'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A post about a woman who came across a strange plant with a "meat-like texture" has gone viral on Reddit. Images of the peculiar plant were shared in a post on Reddit shared by Grace (u/applementionpies). The post has amassed 19,000 upvotes since it was shared on April 21. The pictures show a thick, skin-toned plant stalk dotted by giant dark circular spots laying on a patch of grass. The post was titled: "Seriously WHAT is this." The caption notes: "Found this thing (?)...been wondering since wtf [what the f***] it is since. Had a very strange smell and was almost meat-like in texture." Grace, who did not share her last name, told Newsweek that she came across the plant on the shore of Lake Lida in Minnesota while visiting her friend's cabin there among a group of people aged from 22 to 25. "It was actually May 2022, so the warm weather was just starting to come in. Since it was the beginning of the season, there was debris on the shore that washed up from the frozen months. This was one of them," she said. Grace said the strange sighting "haunted me for 2.5 years" in a later comment. An image of a water lily root found on the shore of a lake in Minnesota, shared in a viral post on Reddit. An image of a water lily root found on the shore of a lake in Minnesota, shared in a viral post on Reddit. u/applementionpies on Reddit The mysterious plant is a water lily root, food scientist Bryan Quoc Le told Newsweek, noting that "it appears that the water lily root has gone through some decay and browning." The food scientist, who is the author 150 Food Science Questions Answered: Cook Smarter, Cook Better and founder of Mendocino Food Consulting, said the water lily root can be consumed. He explained: "These roots are edible and often used in soups or eaten baked, but need to be boiled first to ensure the starches have gelatinized. They're actually quite high in starch, much like a potato or a yam. Most of the water lily is in fact edible." Michael Clarke is a landscape architect and horticulturalist who is the founder of Yardwork, an online plant and tree nursery and landscaping platform. He told Newsweek: "Water lilies are aquatic plants found in freshwater environments such as ponds, lakes, and slow-moving streams. Their roots grow from rhizomes, which are thick, horizontal underground stems." Clarke explained that rhizomes are buried in muddy soils at the bottom of the water and have fibrous roots that extend into the soil to absorb nutrients and water. The roots stabilize the plant as well as the soil, helping to reduce erosion. "Rhizomes also serve as storage organs for starch and other nutrients, helping the plant survive through dormant periods or unfavorable conditions," Clarke noted. Water lilies have a long history in traditional medicine where all of their parts are used, explains the book Dietary Interventions in Liver Disease, published in 2019. Crushed and mixed with wine, the root of water lilies was used by monks and nuns for hundreds of years as an anaphrodisiac. In addition to its use as "a painkiller, anti-inflammatory, astringent, cardiotonic, demulcent, with sedative and calming effects upon the nervous system," the water lily root can also be used to "insomnia, anxiety, and similar disorders," according to the book. The dried roots and rhizomes of white water lilies have also been used as oral treatments for gastrointestinal, genital and bronchial conditions. The leaves and roots have been used externally to various dermatological conditions, the book explains. 'Something Out of a Horror Movie' Grace told Newsweek that the water lily root "smelled rotted and moldy." She said: "The stench wasn't too pronounced until we poked it with a stick, then it almost started wafting. The outside—with the dots—was hard like a shell, where the inside was softer, almost like the fatty part of steak or pork." Grace knew about water lilies but not so much about their roots. She said: "The group I was with and I have wondered about it for the past two years and randomly would bring it up as a joke. I've shown lots of people and everyone was just disgusted, no one had any context as to what it is until I brought it to Reddit." Redditors were spooked and grossed out by the unusual plant sighting in the viral post. U/Previous-Wasabi-4907 said: "This looks like something out of a horror movie! I can't be the only one who sees the 'head' and 'face'?!" U/UarNotMe wrote: "I was already grossed out by me feel nauseous looking at it." U/BabyOnTheStairs simply said it is a "water lily root" and u/truthhurts2222222 said: "I'm inclined to agree [it's a] water lily root." U/moldylindsey was amazed, noting: "That's wild, because I've been around water lilies my whole life, and I guess I've never seen the root." Do you have a travel-related video or story to share? Let us know via life@ and your story could be featured on Newsweek.
