From milk only for infants to harmful meat, from slimming pineapple to potassium champion bananas, passing through naturally light cane sugar. Food is one of the topics on which the most false news circulates, which is why Coldiretti has decided to collect and report the 10 most widespread and dangerous hoaxes. The initiative is part of the campaign #stopfaketable promoted by the association together with the Observatory on crime in agriculture, on the occasion of a training course organized with the Scuola Superiore della Magistratura.
Here is the ranking of food fake news.
1. “MILK IS HURT”
The vulgate among Internet users wants milk to be harmful as a food intended for growth which only man, among all animals, feeds on for the rest of his life. It's simply false.
2. “PINEAPPLE BURNS FAT”
Many praise the properties of "bromelain", a substance which, however, is found in the stem of the pineapple, therefore it is not eaten.
3. “KAMUT: AN ANCIENT CEREAL WITH SPECIAL PROPERTIES”
Not at all: "Kamut" is the private trademark, registered in the USA, under which the Khorasan variety of wheat is sold.
4. "EATING MEAT IS ALWAYS BAD AND YOU CAN DO LESS OF IT"
There is no scientific study that proves the correlation between the intake of meat (in reasonable quantities) is harmful to health.
5. “BANANAS ARE THE MOST POTASSIUM FOODS”
This is a very deep-rooted hoax, especially among tennis players. In reality, bananas are not even on the podium of fresh fruit and vegetables richest in potassium. On the other hand, they are high in calories.
6. “FATS MUST BE COMPLETELY ELIMINATED FROM THE DIET”
Absolutely not: fats are essential nutrients for our body and eliminating them completely from the diet can put your health at risk.
7. “THOSE WHO ARE LACTOSE INTOLERANT SHOULD NOT EAT CHEESE”
Hardly anyone knows it, but the prolonged aging of many cheeses reduces the lactose content and can even eliminate it.
8. "CANE SUGAR DOESN'T MAKE FAT"
False: it has the same nutritional and caloric characteristics as the refined white one.
9. “ALL FOOD PRODUCTS MADE IN THE EU COMPLY WITH THE SAME RULES”
In Italy we have rules that they don't have elsewhere: from the prohibition of making pasta with soft wheat to that of using powdered milk in cheeses to the prohibition of adding sugar to wine.
10. "THE PRODUCTS SOLD BY THE FARMER ARE LESS CONTROLLED"
All food products on sale in Italy must meet the same health standards and undergo the same controls.
