84-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 22, 2000
Consuming
Thoughts
by
Fay Strickler
Penn State Extension Home
Economist For Berks Co.
Are you having trouble find
ing nutritious snacks for your
children to eat? Have you ever
wondered about the nutritional
benefits of prepackaged veggies
compared to fresh?
Don’t be mislead into think
ing that ready-to-cook (or eat)
vegetables are nutritionally su
perior. They should be thought
of in the same category as frozen
and canned products. All such
processed foods, from a practi
cal standpoint, are equally good
for you.
Somewhere along the line
people have gotten the idea that
unless a fruit or vegetable is
fresh it’s completely worthless.
That’s just not so according to
nutritionists. Pre-cut and
bagged vegetables and those
that have been frozen and even
canned have, in the larger
scheme of things, about the
same nutritional value.
Consumers tend to think that
there’s some subtle hierarchy of
"freshness” ranging in value
from, say, a head of broccoli sit
ting on ice in the produce section
(high in nutrients) to canned
peas on the shelf (having none).
To counter this idea, a study re
ported by the Institute of Food
Technologists shows that by the
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time you stick the product in
your mouth, the nutrient con
tent is about the same regardless
of whether it was fresh, frozen,
or canned, because in the end,
all of these require different
amounts of further processing.
With the canned peas, for ex
ample, they need only be barely
heated, while frozen peas re
quire a bit more. Fresh peas,
however, must be shelled,
rinsed, and cooked considerably
longer. So at some point along
the line, all three “versions”
have been subjected to about the
same amount of heat to make
them edible.
In addition, commercial pro
cessors typically pick right from
the field and preserve the vege
tables within hours, allowing
less nutrient loss than occurs in
that head of broccoli that’s been
trucked across the country, left
to sit in the store for a day or
two, taken home, stored even
longer, and then overcooked.
The popularity of pre-cut veg
etables packaged in plastic bags
is definitely on the rise. Cost
notwithstanding, they are very
appealing to busy, health
conscious shoppers who’d like to
eat more fresh fruits and vegeta
bles but have less and less time
to prepare them.
Remember - pre-cut vegeta
bles packaged in plastic bags are
a “processed” food. First, the
vegetables are cut, then typically
washed in a chlorine solution to
kill harmful bacteria, and rinsed
in plain water. They’re placed in
plastic bags that use a technol
ogy called “modified atmos
phere packaging” to slow down
nutrient loss and spoilage. How
this works is that the plastic
films used in the packages deter
mine the amount of oxygen and'
carbon dioxide that can move in
and out of the bag. Controlling
this “respiration” (a natural oc
currence that continues even
after vegetables have been har
vested) maintains nutrient qual
ity significantly longer than if
the same product sat out in the
open air.
For this reason it’s important
to note the sell-by date on pre
cut vegetable products and to
use them up promptly once the
bag has been opened. When the
“modified atmosphere” is torn,
deterioration accelerates. Be
sure the store displays bagged
products in refrigerated cases,
similar to those used for chilled
orange juice, and keep them
cold at home as well, as cold
temperature is critical to prod
uct quality.
The important thing to re
member is that the message re
minding consumers to eat “Five
a Day for Better Health” doesn’t
mean you have to eat garden
fresh produce every day.
The form of those five serv
ings really isn’t that important.
What counts is that you get
them from your plate and into
your mouth.
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(Continued from Page B 2)
at an all-time high, “There are immunizations sites through the
still too many children who have state Department of Health. To
not had the state required im- those in needy, free vaccines are
munizations,” said Norine also available through state
Mountcastle, Pennsylvania De- health centers. Child Protect re
partment of Health immuniza- quires hospitals and health de
tion coordinator for the partments to provide free
southeast district of Pennsylva- immunizations to underinsured
nia. “To be informed that a or noninsured children.
child has died from complica
tions of a vaccine preventable
disease is inexcusable.”
Continual research is done to
eliminate serious illnesses. One
of the newer vaccines is called
Hib, which stands for Haemo
philus influenza type b, a serious
disease caused by a bacteria that
usually strikes children under S
years old.
Before Hib vaccine, Hib dis
ease was the leading cause of
bacterial meningitis among chil
dren. About 20,000 children
under 5 years old got severe Hib
disease and about 1,000 died an
nually in the U.S.
Meningitis is an infection of
the brain and spinal cord cover
ings, which can cause lasting
brain damage and deafness. Hib
disease can also cause pneumo
nia; severe swelling in the
throat, making it hard to
breathe; infections of the blood,
joints, bones, and covering of the
heart; and death.
Mountcastle said that dosages
of the Hib vaccine should be
given to children at 2,4, 6, and
12-15 months of age.
Parents should not let the cost
of immunization stand in the
way. It costs only $5 per child at
“We never turn anyone
away,” Zuck said.
Parents should keep a record
of their child’s immunizations.
These are needed for school en
trance, college, and for jobs if
they travel outside the country.
“The future health of children
depends on decisions made
now,” Mountcastle said of the
continual effort to have children
immunized.
The Lancaster County Im
munization Coalition is a com
munity-based group that focuses
on improving immunization
rates of children and adults
through community education
and monitoring.
The Lancaster County Coali
tion meets monthly and wants
new members. Meetings are con
ducted the first Wednesday of
each month from 8 a.m. to 9:30
a.m. at the Lancaster General
Health Campus Wellness
Center, Harrisburg Pike, Lan
caster.
For more information on the
Coalition, call Michelle Har
graves at (717) 290-3144.
For more information about
immunizations, call your doctor
or local state health center or
call 1-800-986-KIDS.
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