Latest news with #KeithWarriner
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
National Post
22-06-2025
- Health
- National Post
Does rice contain arsenic? Yes, here's how you can reduce the risk
Arsenic in rice isn't a new concern, but a recent report published by Healthy Babies Bright Futures (HBBF) brought the issue back into the spotlight. The study found arsenic in all 145 rice samples bought at stores across the United States. More than a quarter surpassed 100 parts per billion (ppb) of inorganic arsenic, the Canadian and American federal limits for infant rice cereal. Article content Article content Article content Article content 'With all things to do with food safety, it comes down to reducing the risk of exposure,' says Lawrence Goodridge, a professor at the University of Guelph's Department of Food Science and director of the Canadian Research Institute for Food Safety, who wasn't involved in the HBBF report. 'People can reduce their risk by consuming less of those foods.' Article content Arsenic was 'the poison of choice in Victorian times,' says Keith Warriner, a professor at the University of Guelph's Department of Food Science, who wasn't involved in the HBBF report. It's also ubiquitous. 'The reality is, arsenic is everywhere. So it's not a case where you can avoid it.' Article content Warriner underscores that people shouldn't stop eating rice altogether because of arsenic. After all, it's a staple of many cuisines with cultural significance and health benefits. 'It's a concern to have, but it's not 'I'm going to give up rice' because there are things we can do to minimize.' Article content Article content Here are ways to reduce the risk, from the rice you buy and how you cook it to diversifying your diet with grains lower in heavy metals such as arsenic. Article content Article content The more toxic of its chemical forms, inorganic arsenic is considered a carcinogen and is naturally present in soil and groundwater. Article content Long-term exposure has been associated with an increased risk of health problems, including cancer, cardiovascular disease and skin lesions. When exposure happens in utero or during childhood, it 'may affect development and increase the risk of cancer in adulthood,' according to Health Canada. Article content Babies and young children are 'the real concern,' says Goodridge. The toxicity accumulates more easily because they're smaller and their body weight is lower. Article content 'Infant rice products can be a source of significant exposure,' he adds. 'It doesn't mean you can't give it to your kids, but limit it. It shouldn't be the primary grain cereal that they're fed. It shouldn't be the primary milk that they're given.'
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Can you eat dyed Easter eggs?
Eggs: Love them or loathe them, this somewhat controversial food has a big cultural impact. As Easter approaches, eggs become the focal point of various celebrations, from egg dyeing to traditional egg hunts (even if these eggs are often made of plastic). Yet while eggs may be everywhere this spring, not everyone is keen on consuming them, including this time of year. Whether you're unsure about eggs being part of a healthy diet or just the safety of eating them after they've been dipped in vibrant dye, there are plenty of myths to dispel. With Easter arriving this Sunday, experts spoke to Yahoo Life about all things egg. Here's what you need to know. Keith Warriner, professor of food science at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada, tells Yahoo Life that eggshells have more than 4,000 pores, meaning they readily take up paint. That's why, if you are decorating your eggs at Easter, it's best to 'stick with food colorings that are safe.' Other paints, such as acrylic, contain solvents that can get into your hard-boiled eggs — and therefore into your body if you consume them. If you want to be on the safest side, Warriner suggests using vegetable extracts to dye your eggs, noting that beetroot, for example, gives a purple color, albeit at a 'lower intensity when compared with food coloring.' Paint isn't the only thing you should be concerned about, Jason Tetro, microbiologist and author of The Germ Code, tells Yahoo Life. The process of dyeing eggs and leaving them out on display can also leave you vulnerable to foodborne illness. 'Leaving hard-boiled eggs at room temperature for more than two hours can lead to bacterial growth,' he says. 'This may not be enough time to dye all the eggs, so it's best to rotate them in and out of the fridge.' Unfortunately, Tetro adds, 'if you have dyed eggs out in the open for more than three hours, they may look beautiful, but they are no longer safe to eat.' Dr. Kirsten Bechtel, professor of pediatrics and emergency medicine at the Yale School of Medicine, says that you can't keep hard-boiled eggs as long as you could uncooked eggs — whether they are dyed or not. Hard-boiled eggs should be tossed after seven days in the refrigerator, assuming you've followed all previous food safety guidelines. The idea that eggs have too much cholesterol has some people avoiding them for breakfast. But Kelli George, registered dietitian and director of the Didactic Program in Dietetics at West Virginia University, says, 'Eat the eggs,' adding that cholesterol in general gets a bad rap. 'Cholesterol is a type of fat that's found in our bodies and in food, and it's not all bad,' she tells Yahoo Life. 'We need cholesterol — our body even makes it. Health problems only arise when we have too much cholesterol traveling in our blood, and that is most commonly due to lack of physical activity, eating a lot of saturated fat, which are found in foods like fatty cuts of meat, full-fat dairy and coconut oil, and eating a diet low in fiber.' George says that the cholesterol found in eggs, or any food, has 'almost no impact on the cholesterol traveling in our bloodstream.' Therefore she says it 'doesn't cause health-related issues like high blood cholesterol or heart disease.' Not necessarily. Despite the common belief that you should limit your egg intake, the American Heart Association says suggests eating one egg every day (or two egg whites, because only the yolks contain cholesterol) for those who like eggs. George notes that just two eggs have about 14 grams of protein, which can keep you satiated, as well as 'vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals such as choline, selenium, folate, phosphorous, vitamin A, lutein and zeaxanthin.' One thing you should limit, however, is the amount of raw eggs you consume. For most people, this is not an issue — but if you do consume raw eggs, Kelli warns that you should 'not eat one to two dozen raw eggs regularly, because that can cause a biotin deficiency.' That's because raw eggs contain a protein called avidin, which binds with biotin and can interfere with the absorption of biotin in the digestive system. But, in general, Kelli says that even people with heart disease can 'absolutely' eat eggs, if they enjoy them.
