Navigating Food Safety: Making Informed Choices for a Healthier You

In today’s world of highly processed foods and widespread pesticide use, ensuring food safety has become more important than ever. As your Blood Buddy, we’re here to provide you with practical guidelines and actionable tips to help you navigate the complexities of food safety and make informed choices for a healthier you and your family.

Basic Food Safety Rules to Live By

1. Buy Organic Produce: Especially buy organic fruits and vegetables if they are on the “Dirty Dozen” list below.

2. Choose Meat and Dairy Wisely: Buy meat and dairy products that are from grass-fed/grass-finished, hormone-free cattle. Buy poultry that is free of antibiotics and chemicals. Avoid all processed meats (hot dogs, deli meats).

3. Avoid Charred, Smoked, and Pickled Foods: They can contain high amounts of carcinogens (cancer-causing chemicals).

4. Avoid Problematic Plastics: Avoid plastic bottles and food packaging that contains No. 3, 6, and 7 plastic.

5. Limit Processed Foods: Eat few processed and refined foods, fast take-out food, and foods containing trans fat.

Dirty Dozen vs. Clean Fifteen: Prioritizing Organic Purchases

To help you prioritize your organic purchases, here’s a list of the “Dirty Dozen” (produce with the highest pesticide levels) and the “Clean Fifteen” (produce with the lowest pesticide levels):

For items on the “Clean Fifteen” list, it’s generally safe to buy conventionally grown produce.

Pesticides in Produce: Protecting Your Health

It is very important to have a well-balanced diet that includes 7 to 9 servings of fruit and vegetables a day. Unfortunately, most produce contains small amounts of pesticides. Troubling news has come from research that studied the effects of insecticides used on plants that are later eaten. The studies have found that this food can affect the development of children’s brains. The good news is that you can lower the amount of pesticide taken into the body by buying the 12 most contaminated fruits and vegetables as organic.

Fish and Shellfish Safety: Navigating Mercury and Sustainability

Fish and shellfish contain high-quality protein, are low in saturated fat, and contain omega-3 fatty acids. (See our handout: Omega-3 Fatty Acids). These are all good things.
One thing that people should know and consider is the impact of mercury

To minimize your exposure, follow these guidelines:

• Do not eat shark, swordfish, king mackerel, or tilefish. They contain high levels of mercury.

• Eat up to 12 ounces (2 average meals) a week of a variety of fish and shellfish that are lower in mercury.

• Five of the most commonly eaten fish low in mercury are shrimp, canned light tuna, salmon, pollock, and catfish.

• Another commonly eaten fish, albacore (“white”) tuna, is high in mercury. Don’t eat more than 6 ounces per week.
  Also consider if your fish has been caught in the wild or is farmed.

Meat and Poultry Safety: Reducing Carcinogen Exposure

• Buy beef that is antibiotic-free and hormone-free. The antibiotics in beef may make some harmful bacteria hard to treat with medications. Hormones in beef can increase the risk of developing some long-term health conditions.

• Choose “grass-fed” and “grass-finished” beef as the meat is leaner. “Grass-fed” means that 95% of the cattle’s diet is grass. “Grass-finished” means that 100% of the cattle’s diet is grass.

• Avoid all processed meat (hot dogs, sausage, cold cuts). They contain additives that may cause cancer.

• Also, avoid charring or burning meats.

Okay, here is the “Plastic Number” Guide table as requested, complete in one piece: