5 myths in the Food Industry 

In this article you will learn about some myths, relating the choice of food in the supermarket and its storage after it is ready at home. With this, 5 (five) myths related to dairy products will be addressed, such as dairy drinks, yogurts, the appearance of fresh cheese, butter and margarines, as well as an approach to the famous gluten-free diet and the proper way to store hot foods in the refrigerator. Are you interested? So pay attention to the topics below.

Dairy drinks are healthier as they are lower in calories

When we go to the supermarket we always try to opt for the healthiest food, so many of us end up choosing dairy drinks instead of yogurt, for example. In fact, a dairy drink is basically a mixture of fermented milk, whey and starch can be added to give it a better consistency. Just for better clarification, whey is the residual liquid obtained from the coagulation of milk used in the manufacture of cheese. In other words, this mixture of milk + whey + starch (and often sugar or sweetener) may even be less caloric than yogurt, but it contains fewer nutrients for a balanced diet such as proteins, calcium and bacteria that are beneficial to the body.

On the other hand, yogurt must contain at least 70% dairy ingredients and its consistency is due solely to the fermentation of milk, not requiring the addition of any food additives to check its consistency.

Cheese, the more holes the better

Calm down, calm down, let's not generalize. Here the emphasis is on fresh cheese. When we are on a diet, we usually end up opting for fresh cheese, which usually has fewer calories compared to matured cheese. Well, fresh cheese that has holes in it is a typical indicator of a hygienic problem for a food technician. These holes are generally caused by contamination of the milk by bacteria from the Coliform group. That's right, coliform, from feces! This happens due to the milk being obtained under improper hygiene conditions and not properly pasteurized (heat treatment used to preserve the milk). In other words, these holes may be due to a hygienic problem and are an indication that the cheese can cause foodborne illnesses, since a high level of bacteria from the Coliform group is present in the cheese, which has pathogenic potential and can cause diarrhea. or another more serious symptom. It's good to keep an eye out!

Margarine is healthier than butter

We were always taught that butter would clog the arteries, potentially causing a heart attack. Margarine became popular because it is of vegetable origin, causing people to draw immediate conclusions that it would reduce the incidence of a heart attack.

To explain this myth properly, we need to understand a little about the definition of both products:

Butter is the fatty product obtained exclusively from whipped cow's milk cream. Basically animal fat.

Margarine is a fatty product obtained basically from vegetable origin and for its production it is necessary to go through several production processes, which are a little more complex.

Making the margarine production process simpler, basically the vegetable oil needs to go from the liquid to the solid phase, right? And this is achieved through a step in the production process called hydrogenation. Hydrogenation is carried out through high temperatures transforming liquid fat (unsaturated) into partially saturated fat, giving it a solid appearance. This hydrogenation stage causes a high production of trans fat. Have you ever heard of trans fat? Consumption of trans fats has been linked to health problems, such as an increased risk of coronary artery disease. Yes, it changes the levels of LDL and HDL in the blood, raising LDL and lowering HDL. Which would increase the clogging of the arteries!

The tip here is that anyone who has problems with high cholesterol should avoid fats, refined and processed oils, fried foods, sugars and all types of margarine. It is better to eat butter, in moderation, than margarine.

Gluten Free Diet

Nowadays it is quite common to hear about the gluten diet, or the restriction of foods that contain gluten in the diet. However, there is no scientific evidence that gluten restriction is directly related to weight loss or reduced obesity. But what is gluten? Chemically, gluten is a protein derived from wheat and other cereals. Physiologically, we can say that some people have adverse reactions or intolerance to gluten consumption. However, the majority of the world's population does not have this intolerance, but even so, many choose a gluten-free diet.

And from a technological point of view, what is gluten for? Gluten has a fantastic function of providing viscoelasticity to bread dough, allowing the trapping of gases formed during fermentation, generating an airy dough, giving the bread a great appearance. It's also gluten, which allows for the 'al dente' texture of pasta, for example.

In short, reducing foods that contain gluten can result in a consequent reduction in important nutrients for the body. This is because gluten-free foods are generally less enriched with folic acid, iron and other nutrients. Furthermore, gluten-free foods also tend to have less fiber, more sugar and fat! That's why it's so important to get help from a professional and search for scientifically based information, especially with regard to “fad diets”.

Hot food in the fridge

Many people wait for food to cool to room temperature before storing it in the refrigerator. However, most microorganisms, including those that can cause harm to health, proliferate at room temperature. Therefore, placing the food while it is still hot in the refrigerator would not spoil the food. On the contrary! As a food engineer, I would advise dividing the food into small portions and not taking the entire pan to the refrigerator. This would ensure that ready-made foods cool faster. 

Your refrigerator's manual probably recommends not placing hot food and drinks inside it to avoid greater energy consumption. However, this increase is not that significant and depending on the type of refrigerator, it would be negligible. In other words, adding hot food every now and then won't ruin your fridge or pay a fortune on your electricity bill, but it's important that you don't let this practice become a daily habit.

As a PhD in food science working in the area, I know how great an impact information has. All information described above was based on reliable sources of scientific research results. I hope you liked it, send comments about what you discovered new with the content and share so that knowledge can expand!

Fernanda Shinagawa

My background 😊

- Graduation from UFRRJ in Food Engineering
- Master's degree at UFRJ in Chemical and Biochemical Processes.
- PhD from USP in Food Science.
- I work with Method Validation at Elopak, Norway.