NUTRITION FACTS - How to Keep Toxins out of a Ship’s Kitchen.

Every person on the planet known as Earth lives in an atmosphere that contains unseen, toxic chemicals. Hence, those professionals that assume the duty of overseeing the catering services for cargo ships should seek to limit the amount of toxins in a ship’s kitchen. Food and water serve as the primary source for three of the most common toxins. Consequently, experts in ship management must learn how to limit the number of foods and beverages containing toxins that get carried into the meal preparation area. Fortunately, those concerned with on board catering management can gain ready access to a trusted source of information about toxin-free fruits and vegetables. Indeed, anyone with a computer that has been hooked up to the Internet has the ability to click onto www.ewg.org/foodscores/content/user-guide. The authors of that guide have scored food according to three different criteria: nutrition, ingredients and extent processed. The nutritional value of the scored food gets weighted most heavily. The calories associated with that particular food, along with the amount of fat, sugar, sodium and fiber that it contains all contribute to its nutritional value. An examination of the ingredient list aids discovery of any possible toxin. Finally, a food that has undergone extensive processing fails to qualify as one that will be highly valued (in other words, be given a good score) by the makers of the guide from the environmental watch group. The guide posted by the environmental watchers offers advice that proves useful, if someone in charge of vicutalling must purchase the fruits and vegetables for the kitchens in a number of different cargo vessels. Yet produce should not be viewed as the only food group that is known to carry toxins. Any expert in catering services for the marine industry must also pay close attention to the types of meat and fish that get served to a ship’s crew members. The toxins of greatest concern to victualling management Meat, dairy products, fish and shellfish represent a principle source of the toxin known as dioxin. Since dioxins get stored in an animal’s fatty tissue, those authorities that hope to promote healthy eating on ships should suggest the purchase of lean meats and poultry. By the same token, a focus on meat from grass-fed animals proves capable of limiting the amount of dioxin in what will be fed to the crew members on a well-managed cargo vessel. The online guide that the environmental watchers have made available to all Internet users does help the expert on ship catering, when that same expert has been charged with obtaining a supply of fruits and vegetables. EWG’s guide facilitates the process of weeding out sources of the toxin known as atrazine. Atrazine belongs in the class of chemicals that horticulturalists refer to as herbicides. Farmers use it to limit the number of weeds growing in a field of corn or sugar cane. Atrazine-containing fertilizers also help to keep weeds out of certain golf courses and more than a few lawns. Fortunately, professionals in maritime catering management do not have to lose sleep, worrying about the amount of atrazine in a ship’s kitchen. Rather, those same professionals can push for the purchase of organic produce. At the same time, each such professional ought to stress the need to use filtered water. Whenever experts in on board catering management call for adoption of those two specific practices, their recommendations help to limit the chances that crew members will get exposed to huge amounts of yet another toxin. Frequently utilized by manufacturers, that specific toxin is named perchlorate. Makers of rocket fuel, explosives, missiles and fireworks use perchlorate during the manufacture of their chosen product. Hence, that particular toxin has found its way into produce, water and milk products. Once inside the body, perchlorate competes with iodine for entrance into the biochemical process that yields active thyroid hormones. In fact, in the absence of iodine, the body cannot manufacture the thyroid hormones that it requires. Consequently, professionals in ship crew management, i.e. those that care about the health of the crew members on cargo ships, should pay close attention to the source of the produce, dairy products and water that gets used on those same vessels.