The list of things that are bad for us seems to grow by the day.
We are often told by nutritionists and health experts that we should read the labels on food we buy so we know what we're eating but the reality of most people's lives is that they don't
have time to read the back of every product they grab from the supermarket shelf.
And many people wouldn't know what all that stuff on the label means anyway.
A cancer-causing toxin has been found at what experts call "uncomfortable levels" in common foods like bread, baby food (of all things) and fried potatoes in a major study by the European Union.
It found the intake of acrylamide, a chemical classified as being of very high concern, has increased despite food safety efforts. Babies face up to three times the exposure to this chemical as adults.
Following these uncomfortable findings the New Zealand Food Safety Authority has said it's prepared to pressure food manufacturers to bring levels down.
So they should.
What Joe Public should be able to do is do the grocery shopping knowing that all products on the shelves are as safe as they can possibly be and knowing they adhere to strict standards that ensure we are not being poisoned by what we eat.
Now ensuring that may be a big and ongoing job but so be it.
We shouldn't have to read and be able to interpret every single thing that's in the food we plan to cook and serve to our families.
Just as I am not an expert in matters of law or accounting or business practice or chemistry, your average householder doing the weekly groceries at the supermarket knows very little about carcinogenics, toxins, proteins, enzymes and acrylamides.
These things are not our area of expertise and we rely on people who are experts to do what's right.
