The Safety of Our Food

We continue to receive letters from readers who are understandably concerned about the safety of their food. Whether it be related to the outbreak of swine flu, the discussion of MRSA in pigs, or the recall of peanuts, pistachios, and sprouts, collective awareness around the healthfulness of our food is increasing.

As such, we wanted to compile our thoughts on this subject.

If you feel a growing concern about the safety of your food, you're not alone. Two-thirds of all U.S. adults describe themselves as worried about the safety of their food, and in one public opinion poll, this worry ranks higher than the worry over natural disasters like hurricanes or flooding. Included on your list of food concerns may be concerns about the safety of your peanuts, salads, tomatoes, peppers, spinach, fish and shellfish, beef, eggs, almonds, fruit juices, vegetable juices, or sprouts.

Even though you will find many of these foods included among the World's Healthiest Foods, we believe that the Healthiest Way of Eating as presented on our website is also the World's Safest Way of Eating. To learn more about ways we try to maximize your food safety with the World's Healthiest Foods, please our article Why the Healthiest Way of Eating Is Also the World's Safest Way of Eating, which includes information on how proper food selection, handling, and storage can increase safety.

If you would like more information about current warnings and announcements related to food safety, we encourage you to visit the What's New section of the website of the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (FDA/CFSAN) as well as their Recalls, Market Withdrawals and Safety Alerts section.


Reference: Bok Choy