Health passes largely through nutrition. Here are the foods whose consumption should be limited according to EFSA.
Nutrition plays a very important role in our health. In fact, eating well makes us feel good. For this reason, it is always advisable to follow a healthy and balanced diet which consists in consuming quality and genuine foods, to give our body all the nutrients it needs.
Various foods have ended up under the eye of the storm, cataloged on the black list by the EFSA (European Food Safety Authority): in particular, these are those that may be more subject to the formation of nitrosamines.
What are the foods in which nitrosamines can form, which ended up on the EFSA black list?
EFSA has declared that various foods are subject to the formation of nitroxamines during the preparation and processing stages. This compound can be formed from nitrites, therefore i meat products are the ones most exposed to these substances.
Foods on EFSA’s black list: cured meats and cheeses – tantasalute.it
But there are many other suspect foods, in addition to cured meats, such as:
processed fish cheese soy sauce olives processed vegetables grains fermented foods, pickles and spices cocoa or beer and other alcoholic beverages milk and dairy products and even breast milk
The alarm is due to the fact that ten nitrosamines present in food are carcinogenic (they can cause cancer) and genotoxic (they can damage DNA). EFSA has made its assessments by estimating the potential damage of this compound to both humans and animals.
Dr. Dieter Schrenk, chair of the Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain, said: “Our assessment concluded that for all age groups of the EU population, the level of exposure to nitrosamines in food is of health concern. ”, finally referring to the fact that – on the basis of animal studies – there was the possibility of finding the incidence of liver tumors in rodents as the most serious effect on health.
Even if there are still some gaps on the presence of nitrosamines in specific food categories, the solution to limit the damage is to vary one’s diet, in order to limit their consumption to a minimum.
In any case, the EFSA report will be sent to the European Commission which will discuss possible legislative initiatives with the Member States. So, all that remains is to wait for further updates and what you can do is follow the advice to vary your diet in a healthy and balanced way.