Consumers Better Informed About Health and Nutrition than Ever

By Bruce Cochrane

A food scientist with the University of Manitoba suggests today's consumers are better informed than ever about the health and nutritional aspects of the foods they eat.

A report released by the cancer agency of the World Health Organization, which labeled processed meat as carcinogenic, resulted in widespread media attention.

Dr. Rick Holley, a food safety and food microbiology professor with the University of Manitoba, observes earlier reports were somewhat misleading drawing parallels between smoking and eating bacon, when the risks associated with smoking are something like 2,500 percent greater.

Dr. Rick Holley-University of Manitoba:
Consumers are in a very good position today by comparison with 20 years ago.

The baseline levels of understanding and availability of credible information I think is far better today than it ever has been and so we're in a relatively good position to be able to make informed judgments.

Certainly the information that health professionals have and continue to provide with regard to dietary habits, recommendations for eating a balanced diet coupled with adequate exercise I don't think has fallen on deaf ears.

While we accept the fact that processed meats are not the healthiest of items in the diet, moderation is certainly an element that needs to be taken into consideration in terms of the consumption of both processed meats and red meats too.

Dr. Holley says he is impressed that the media has been able to take a balanced approach toward evaluating risks associated with the hazards that were brought to the public's attention.

He suggests the media lost a few points when the story originally broke but gained them back during the course of reporting the issue.

Source: Farmscape