New Labels Coming & Water Projects

New Labels Coming & Water Projects plus Food Forethought. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Northwest Report.

Federal rules require that specific meat and poultry products carry new nutrition information. So, the beef and pork industries are working to provide those new Nutrition Facts labels. They have until March 1st to complete their tasks. The information contained on those labels is based on two nutrient data sets provided by USDA scientists.
The data sets for retail cuts of beef and pork provide retailers with easier access to the most accurate beef and pork nutrient data for the purpose of both on-pack and butcher-counter-posted nutrition labeling.

The water conservation work of farmers could have dollar value if there were a market set up for water quality credit trading. USDA is looking for ideas and projects along that line according to Under Secy' Harris Sherman.

SHERMAN: Where you have a larger group of farmers bundling and selling environmental credits to a group of buyers who need these credits, where you work through a registry or market where these credits are certified and they’re bought or sold. And it could be a way for farmers to gain additional income.

Now with today’s Food Forethought, here’s Lacy Gray.

Red wine has been widely touted for its anti-aging properties; the compound resveratrol found in grapes and red wine specifically. Now a new report says that one of the lead researchers who worked on the red wine study falsified a large portion of his data, which while it doesn’t throw out all reported health benefits of red wine, it sure clouds it with a very large shadow of doubt. That being said, it would be well to remember that numerous food items have been on the good/bad research seesaw over the years and have gone on to have stellar nutritional reputations. Many other scientists have also been researching the health benefits of red wine, and while some of them have been skeptical of various claims made about resveratrol, they are in agreement that it still garners attention as a health promoting compound. Does the scientific record need to be corrected? Yes. Does red wine need to be removed from the list of heart healthy food choices? Definitely not. Consumed in moderation red wine still offers a wide array of health benefits and antioxidant properties; not to mention its flavor pairs wonderfully with food or is simply delicious on its own.

Thanks Lacy. That’s today’s Northwest Report. I’m Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.