Welcome to October's newsletter.
In September 2009, the 2008 annual report of pesticide residues on food in the UK was published. Of the 4,129 samples tested, 50 (1.2%) contained a residue that was above the legal maximum residue level (MRL).
Limits are set to ensure that any traces of pesticides left on food are at safe levels. The MRLs are the maximum amount of residues that should be found on food when the pesticides are being used correctly. The report states that foods with traces of pesticides above the MRL do not necessarily mean that the levels of residues are harmful to people’s health.
Ian Brown, the Chairman of the Committee, writes in his introduction “I understand that people are concerned about pesticide residues in their food, but as a doctor I cannot state too strongly the importance of eating at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day. Scientific evidence shows that the health benefits are far greater than the risk from pesticide residues.”
I always find these type of statements a little worrying. Mr Brown implies that there are some risks from consuming pesticide residues but does not outline what they may be. I suspect that the official line is similar to that regarding food additives - the benefits of using the chemicals outweighs the problems some people may have with them.
Wouldn’t the food be even healthier for us if it didn’t contain pesticide reisudes? Surely consuming these chemicals places a stress on the body as the body has to process and eliminate them.
Anyway, here's a summary of their main findings.
In 2008, 4129 samples were tested for many different pesticides. “In total we tested for over 606,000 food and pesticide combinations. Of the pesticides we looked for, we found that:
Fruits and Vegetables
Residues above the MRL were found in apples, beans in pods, chilli peppers, Chinese cabbage, cucumber, grapes, melons, oranges, pears, peas in pods, potatoes, spinach, tomatoes and yams. The two foods that were by far the worst offenders were beans in pods and yams.
Flu vaccines are now being made available at doctors surgeries. Recommendations for the administration of flu vaccine in children allergic to egg were published, mid September 2009, in the British Medical Journal (BMJ). You can read a summary on the Food Can Make You Ill web site or go the full article on the BMJ site.
Babu and Venkatesh tested six people allergic to aubergine to establish how many parts of the aubergine were implicated.
All showed positive skin prick tests to peel, pulp, raw, and cooked aubergine extracts.
They conclude that aubergine has allergens in all of its edible parts with a preponderance in the peel.
Full Details
Chronic spontaneous urticaria is a skin disorder that is difficult to manage and can last for years. Eliminating pseudoallergens from the diet can reduce the severity of the urticaria and so improve quality of life.
Magerl et al define 'pseudoallergens' as substances that intolerance reactions that are similar to true allergic reactions. These substances include food additives, vasoactive substances such as histamine, and some natural substances in fruits, vegetables and spices (such as Salicylate).
This study involved individuals who had moderate or severe chronic spontaneous urticaria that had not responded adequately to treatment in primary care. For 3 weeks, 140 people followed a pseudoallergen-free diet.
Full details
A 2009 report by Anandan et al found that allergic disorders are extremely
common in Scotland, affecting about one in three of the population at some time
in their lives.
Full details
A common food allergy test, in commercial use, measures IgG in the blood.
Kleine-Tebbe et al note that, whilst many of these samples show positive IgG4 results, there are no corresponding clinical symptoms. This, combined with the lack of convincing evidence for histamine-releasing properties of IgG4 in humans, and the lack of any controlled studies on the diagnostic value of IgG4 testing in food allergy, call into question the value of these type of tests.
Full details
'Food intolerance' could afflict half of UK
Almost half the population of Britain could be suffering from food intolerance resulting in weight gain, diabetes and other complications.
Mother claims teacher gave allergic boy peanuts
The mother of a 7-year-old boy names her autistic son's teacher and school in a lawsuit claiming an educator exploited the boy's allergy to prevent him from going on a class field trip.
Allergies cost NHS Scotland £130m
One in three of the Scottish population is affected by allergies at some point in their lives - higher than in England, according to a new study.
National Allergy Strategy Group UK
This site includes a link to an Online Petition to Improve NHS Allergy Services.
Seven Famous People with Food Allergies
You really would not think that some celebrities have food allergies from the
way they look on the silver screen, on TV and on their pictures. But believe it
or not, under the flawless façade that they maintain, some of them suffer from
food allergies just like everyone else.
Vegetarian
Autumn Menus
From the BBC recipe site
Food manufacturers are continuously looking at ways to enhance foodstuffs. The links below are to a few of the latest ideas circulating:
Tate & Lyle launches fat reducing starch for dairy
Tate & Lyle is introducing a modified starch that can be used to reduce fat levels in yoghurt by 30 per cent while still delivering a creamy texture – and can help keep costs down. [It is made from corn and contains E 1412.]
Vegetable oil mix may substitute for pork fat in meats
Polyunsaturated-rich oils may replace pork fat in sausages, suggests a new Spanish-Colombian study with implications for healthier meat products. [This involves a chemical modification of a variety of vegetable oils, including sunflower, soy, palm, canola, cotton, cartamo, olive and maize.]
Red wine powder gives the benefits without the booze
The health benefits of wine could be available to those who prefer not to drink alcohol, says a German team who are adapting the by-products of red wine production to make a powder for use in yoghurts and chocolates. [Well, I guess it’s one way of using up waste products...
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Copyright: Sharla Race 2009
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Food Can Make You Ill
Your Complete Guide to Food Intolerance and Food Allergy
www.foodcanmakeyouill.co.uk