The Four Food Groups, Old and New

People are increasingly concerned about what to eat in order to be healthy and to obtain or
maintain a proper weight. This has resulted in a trend toward less meat and more plant-foods in
the diets of many Americans. However, information on diet programs promulgated by
scientists, commercial sources, and governmental agents often offer conflicting conclusions.
Here are some highlights of recent developments on diet advice - in particular, the famous Four
Food Groups .
Since 1916, the United States Department of Agriculture has periodically issued food guides.
After several versions, in 1956 it recommended its Basic Four Food Groups in its Leaflet,
Food For Fitness - A Daily Food Guide. The government's Basic Four involved
(1) meats, poultry, fish, dry beans and peas, eggs, and nuts;
(2) dairy products, such as milk, cheese, and yogurt;
(3) grains; and
(4) fruits and vegetables.
Until 1992 this combination of foods was a mainstay of nutrition education in the United States
and was considered almost the definitive word on nutrition by the vast majority of Americans.
In 1992, the U. S. Department of Agriculture issued a Food Guide Pyramid, which pictures
fruits, vegetables, and grains at its broad base, emphasizing the nutritional importance of these
foods. However, the pyramid pictures meat and dairy products at the upper, smaller portion of
the pyramid, just below oils, sweets, and fats, and promotes daily consumption of two to three
servings from the meat and dairy groups.
In a major challenge to these Government recommendations, on April 8, 1992, the Physicians
Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), a health/nutrition advocacy group, primarily
health professionals, unveiled its recommended New Four Food Groups. The PCRM argues,
using recent scientific studies, that the emphasis of the Basic Four Food Groups and the Food
Guide Pyramid on animal products, with their high amounts of fat, cholesterol, and protein, is a
significant factor in degenerative diseases, such as heart disease, stroke, several types of
cancer, and osteoporosis. Hence, the PCRM is actively promoting the New Four Food Groups
and striving to make it the basis for school breakfasts and lunches, as well as diets for the
general public.
The New Four Food Groups are:
(1) The whole grain group - includes bread, pasta, breakfast cereal, rice dishes, corn, and
other grains. They provide fiber, complex carbohydrates, important vitamins, and an adequate
amount of protein (neither too much nor too little). Especially valuable are unprocessed whole-
grain products, as compared to grains which have been ground up into flour or stripped of their
bran.
(2) The vegetable group - includes broccoli, carrots, lettuce, cabbage, potatoes, and
cauliflower. Vegetables are particularly rich in vitamins and minerals. Beta carotene, found
primarily in yellow and green vegetables such as carrots, broccoli, and spinach, has been found
to reduce the risk of cancer and other diseases. Green leafy vegetables are also very good
sources of fiber, complex carbohydrates, and calcium.
(3) The fruit group - includes apples, bananas, peaches, pears, and oranges, as well as exotic
fruits, such as kiwis and carambola. Because they are very rich in complex carbohydrates,
vitamins, and fiber, fruits provide valuable resistance to heart disease, cancer, and other
degenerative diseases.
(4) The legume group - includes foods that come in a pod, such as beans, peas, lentils, soy,
tofu, and tempeh. These foods are excellent sources of fiber, complex carbohydrates, protein,
and minerals.
In addition to providing all the necessary nutrients for good health, the New Four Food Groups
contain no cholesterol and, with a few exceptions such as nuts and avocados, they are very low
in fat. The low fat-content of these foods make them especially valuable in sensible long-term
weigh control programs.
The New Four Food Groups was presented by Neal Barnard, M. D. (director of PCRM, and
author of The Power of Your Plate and Food for Life - How the New Four Food Groups Can
Save Your Life ), at a press conference. Dr. Barnard asserted that the new proposal could have
a major impact on diet-related diseases in the U. S., where heart attacks strike 4,000 people a
day, and where a third of the U. S. population may get cancer. He added that the old "Basic
Four", which involves meat and other animal products at the center of the American diet, is a
recipe for serious health problems. He noted the shift in breast cancer rates from one in eleven
American women (getting the disease at some point during their lives) when he was a medical
student to one in eight in 1992.
Dr. Barnard, a vegetarian, was joined at the press conference by three prominent non
-vegetarian doctors: Dennis Burkitt, M. D., whose pioneering research connected dietary fiber
to the prevention of disease; T. Colin Campbell, M. D., head of the China Health Study (a
major ground breaking study that the New York Times called "the grand prix of
epidemiology"), which connected degenerative diseases to meat-based diets; Oliver Alabaster,
M. D., Director of the Institute for Disease Prevention at George Washington University, and
author of The Power of Prevention. . While feeling that it is acceptable to eat small amounts of
animal products, the three doctors agreed that basing the major part of the diet on the New
Four Food Groups would have major benefits on human health.
Dr. Burkitt urged reporters to write articles that would enable the public to translate the
scientific nutritional evidence into everyday food choices. The press complied, and major
stories appeared in many American newspapers. The PCRM has received hundreds of calls
from radio and television stations across the U. S. and Canada for on-air interviews. The
response demonstrated the public's interest in new nutritional advice; many people requested
more information from the PCRM, which responded with its scientific rationale statement,
posters, recipes, and other printed material.
On January 31, 1995, the PCRM submitted its "Recommended Revisions for Dietary
Guidelines for Americans" to the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee of the Department
of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services, as part of the Federal
Government's current process of consideration of possible revisions to current dietary
guidelines. The PCRM analysis stated that the Government's current review process is an
excellent time to take advantage of recent research findings "that indicate the enormous
potential of dietary factors to reduce the risk of serious illness and premature mortality." They
emphasized the value of a shift from current recommendations which include animal products
as a substantial part of the diet to recommendations based on plant-centered nutrition. To
indicate the scope of the support for its proposals, the PCRM recommendations were signed by
24 prestigious physicians, including: Neal Barnard, M. D., William Castelli, M. D., Director of
the Framingham Heart Study, the largest epidemiological study on the causes of heart disease,
Henry Heimlich, M. D., President of the Heimlich Institute, John McDougall, M. D., author of
several well-known books on connections between nutrition and health, Dean Ornish, M. D.,
director of a program that showed that heart disease can be reversed without surgery or drugs,
Frank Oski, M. D., Director, Department of Pediatrics, John Hopkins University, William C.
Roberts, M. D., Editor, American Journal of Cardiology, and Benjamin Spock, M. D., author
of Baby and Child Care .
The Government's response to the PCRM's recommendations could mark a turning point in U.
S. nutrition policy and could be a major factor in future U. S. fiscal health. Issues related to
health care costs have become dominant in the economics and politics of our time. A shift by
Americans to diets based on the New Four Food Groups could have major effects on the
economic future of our nation and our communities.
Here are some suggestions for shifting to a healthier lifestyle based on a plant-centered diet:
1. You know yourself best. Decide on whether you want to make an immediate shift in your
diet, or make a gradual transition. You might want to try a three-week experimental change and
see how you feel and how your weight has changed as a result of it, and then adjust your diet
accordingly.
2. Become familiar with local health food stores, food co-ops, ethnic food stores, and the
produce section of your supermarket. Try new foods to add variety to your diet.
3. Know that it is not necessary to have a Ph. D. in nutrition in order to have a healthy diet. A
well-balanced plant-based diet, perhaps occasionally supplemented with animal products, will
give you all the nutrients that you need. However, you might want to improve your knowledge
of nutrition (books and magazines on healthier living are indicated in the appendix).
4. Approach each meal with positive expectations. Enjoy your food. Don't consider yourself an
ascetic. Remember that your new diet is best for your life and our threatened environment.
5. If possible, plan menus in advance. Take the time to build attractive meals using healthy
foods that you enjoy. Experiment with the many recipes in this and other books.
6. Become familiar with restaurants in your area. Find out which ones have salad bars and
other healthy options. Ask if they will prepare dishes to meet your requests.
7. Associate with other health and diet-conscious people for mutual support and
encouragement. This may be especially valuable for children, so that they don't feel isolated
while all their friend devour huge amounts of high-fat fast foods.
For more information about the New Four Food Groups, write to the Physicians Committee for
Responsible Medicine, P. O. Box 6322, Washington, D, C. 20015, or call them at (202) 686-
2210.
Food Processing, Lasting Longer / Staying Safer
Consumer confidence in food safety is basic to the food processing industry and essential to its
success.
Food Preservation
From the time meat was first cooked on a fire or salt was used to preserve what he ate, man has
been processing food.
Originally, processing was used simply to preserve food for consumption beyond a product's
normal life cycle or place where it was grown. Until the industrial revolution, food production
remained rudimentary; people generally ate what they or others living nearby could produce
and preserve. In addition, food production employed a very large proportion of the population.
Today, the food industry in Europe is totally different: three per cent of the population
produces three-quarters of the region's food. The rest is imported from all over the world.
Demographic changes have also triggered an increasing demand for convenient foods and
variety as well as nutritional quality and affordability.
All these changes have combined to shape the modern food processing industry. Despite new
products and the increasing reliance of consumers on processed food, the fundamental purpose
of food processing remains the same - to make food available when and where it is needed.
Why We Process Food
The food processing industry strives to meet consumer expectations for food that is safe,
unspoiled, nutritious, convenient, enjoyable, available in a wide variety and affordable.
Food safety. Consumer confidence in the safety of food is vital to the food processing industry.
Confidence is one of the key elements in building brand loyalty which, in turn, determines the
success and profitability of individual food companies.
 The safety of processed food involves eliminating and/or preventing the multiplication of the
microbes that exist in all food and which can cause foodborne diseases.
Preservation. Preserving the taste, smell, look and feel of food and preventing spoilage is also
an important function of food processing. Preservation is accomplished by inactivating basic
natural processes in food:
 Enzyme action - all food contains natural enzymes that break down proteins, fats and
carbohydrates to facilitate animal and plant growth. Once an animal has been killed or a plant
harvested, these enzymes, if left uncontrolled, continue to work, breaking down the food itself
and resulting in spoilage.
 Microbial action - all food can be attacked by bacteria and fungi that cause food to rot
or become mouldy. If permitted to multiply, these microbes can cause spoilage.
 Oxidation - many food components can be attacked by oxygen in the air, making them
rancid or resulting in an unpleasant taste. This, too, must be controlled.
Nutrition. Processing techniques preserve natural nutrients or increase the nutritional value of
some products such as vitamin-enriched cereals, breads and dairy products. Processing also
makes some foodstuffs more digestible, thus increasing both their appeal and the bio-
availability of important nutrients. For example, cooking can increase the bio-availability of
starches.
Convenience. With the increase in the number of families with two wage-earners, single
persons or single-parent households, providing food products that are convenient to prepare at
home is an increasingly important function of the food processing industry. Products include
complete meals for almost instant serving from freezer to microwave to table; frozen pizzas
ready for the oven; special mixes for pastries and breads.
Variety. As a result of modern food processing, today's consumer in Europe has unparalleled
choice: fish from the North Atlantic and South Pacific; frozen lamb from New Zealand; exotic
canned fruits from the tropics; fresh or frozen pastries. The list is nearly endless: the world is
the consumer's garden. Data from one large supermarket chain indicates an increase from
around 600 food products in a typical supermarket of the mid-1950s to more than 10,000 food
products available today.
Affordability. Food that is not affordable is also not available to the average consumer. The
food processing industry has played a major role in ensuring that the varied and nutritious
products available today are also affordable. In the most developed countries in Europe where
the widest variety of processed food is available, consumers spend between 12 to 20 per cent of
household budgets on food and drink; in other European countries, food spending accounts for
as much as 40 %.
What is Food Processing?
Almost all food must be processed in some way before it can be eaten. Even fresh vegetables
from the garden must be cleaned and trimmed. There are various levels of food processing:
 Harvesting crops, slaughtering livestock or catching and killing game or fish is the
preliminary step
 Cutting, cleaning, packaging and refrigeration of these raw foods make them practical
to use for the consumer while preserving moisture content, and preventing (or retarding the
growth of) microbes
 Secondary processing goes a step further in creating a whole array of food products
from canned and frozen vegetables to fully prepared dinners, baked breads, cheeses, milk,
chocolate bars, biscuits, convenience meats and a variety of other products.
The main methods of secondary food processing include:
 Heating. Pasteurisation involves heating to temperatures of at least 72°C for 15 seconds
to kill most foodborne pathogens and then quickly cooling to 5°C. However, food is not totally
sterilised; refrigeration is required and shelf life is limited. Sterilisation involves heating to
temperatures of at least 120°C or more for a couple of seconds, which kills most microbes and
inactivates enzymes; the heating process is followed by rapid cooling. Sterilisation
significantly increases shelf life and reduces the need for refrigeration as long as the package
remains unopened.
 Cooling. Refrigeration and freezing maintain food at controlled, low temperatures to
keep enzymes inactive and inhibit the growth of microbes. To remain effective, cooling and
freezing must be maintained consistently through transport, retail sale and storage at home
until shortly before preparation and consumption. The fact that food might spoil at ambient
temperatures makes temperature control critical.
 Drying. This produces stable foods by reducing their water content, which, in turn,
denies microbes the environment needed for reproduction. Food products where this technique
is used are: powdered milk and soups, pasta, meat, fish, potato flakes, cereals, etc.
 Smoking. This method both dries the food and adds extra flavour.
 Fermentation. The process by which microbes produce alcohol or acid, which act as
preserving agents. Yoghurt, beer, wine, cheese, salami and some dairy drinks are typical
examples.
 Food additives. Food additives also play a key role in food processing. For example,
some additives make food acid and thereby protect against spoilage; anti-oxidants prevent fats
and oils from becoming rancid; emulsifiers and stabilisers help produce stable mixtures of
ingredients which, like oil and water, would otherwise separate.
Ensuring Quality and Safety in Processing
Food processors rely on modern quality management systems to ensure the quality and safety
of the products they produce.
The three key systems in use are:
 Good Manufacturing Practices. These entail the processing conditions and procedures
that have been proven to deliver consistent quality and safety based on long experience.
 Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP). While traditional quality assurance
programmes focused on the quality of the finished product, HACCP, a recent proactive
technique used in the food industry, focuses on preventing defects in the production process
itself, rather than identifying them.
 Quality Assurance Standards. Adherence to standards established by the International
Standards Organisation (ISO 9000) and the European Standard (ES 29000) ensures that food
processing, catering and other food-related industries conform to prescribed and well-
documented procedures. The effectiveness of these programmes is regularly assessed by
independent experts, in order to sustain consumer confidence in the producer's quality
assurance procedures.
Environmental quality. In addition to ensuring quality and safety, food processors constantly
strive to minimise the environmental impact of their processing and products. This includes
continual efforts to reduce air, water and solid waste emissions and to reduce the
environmental impact of packaging by using recycled and recyclable materials and reducing
the weight of packaging.
Before and after processing. The quality of food products is dependent on the quality of raw
materials and on the quality of transport, storage and sale to the consumer. Therefore, quality
management systems of food processors (e.g. ISO 9000 systems) also involve working with the
suppliers (individual farmers and raw material wholesalers), transporters, product wholesalers
and retailers to ensure quality assurance procedures at each level.
 On a regular basis, processors brief suppliers on the specific requirements for raw materials
and provide technical assistance to help ensure raw material production meets specifications. In
addition, quality audits and inspections of raw materials at the point of delivery help ensure
that specifications are met. Processors also provide technical assistance to, and conduct audits
of, transporters, wholesalers and retailers to ensure that specifications for temperature,
moisture and other conditions are met and that sell-by dates are observed.
Protecting Food Through Packaging
Food packaging is an important part of food preservation and safety. It ensures that food
reaches the consumer in peak condition. Packaging is not just a simple box; it is in fact a
system for preserving the safety and quality of food products in transport, wholesale
warehouses, retail stores and in the home. It does this by:
 maximising shelf life by acting as a barrier against water vapour, air, and microbes.
Similarly, packaging also retains moisture and gases, which preserve product freshness and
safety
 carrying important information on the label (brand name, use-by dates, ingredients,
refrigeration or cooking requirements, recipes, etc.) to help the consumer store products safely
at home
 providing evidence that the product is intact and has not been tampered with
 preventing loss of aroma and protecting against odours from external sources
 bar codes on packaging identifying the date and the location of manufacture which
enables processors, transporters and retailers to keep track of products for both inventory
control and identification of potential hazards.
Loyalty Based on Trust
The fundamental purpose of food processing has always been to make nutritious food available
when and where it is needed. Equally, the success of each food processing company is
dependent on the loyalty of the consumer to each individual brand and product. In turn, loyalty
relies on the consumer's trust in the quality and safety of products.
Product safety cannot, however, be achieved by food processors alone. While the food industry
follows many rigorous internal quality assurance procedures, it must also work in partnership
with suppliers, transporters, wholesalers and retailers, as well as with the consumer and the
catering industry, who are no less responsible for the preparation of safe meals.
It is this notion of shared responsibility both in the processing and in the preparation of food
that is fundamental to ensuring that food is both nutritious and free of the contaminants that
cause foodborne diseases. For in the final analysis, only carefully produced, safe food can give
the consumer maximum satisfaction.