By Muhammad Abdullah

July/August 2023

Did you know “homemade” sandwiches, “organic” granolas, and “plant-based” milk has up to 40 ingredients? An April 2023 report in the U.K. Daily Mail states “ultra-processed” foods make up more than 70% of the U.S. food supply. A national survey suggests that 1 in 8 U.S. adults are addicted to these foods. America’s obsession with ultra-processed foods, some of which have up to 100 ingredients, have been linked to heart disease, dementia, and cancer. They could be fueling a growing wave of chronic diseases. 

Ultra-Processed Foods are Cheap and Delicious

Ultra-processed foods are higher in salt, sugar, and fat, and contain ingredients you would not add when cooking at home (such as coloring, sweeteners, high fructose corn syrup, preservatives, hydrolyzed proteins, hydrogenated oils, and monosodium glutamate etc.). Common examples of ultra-processed food include sugary beverages; chips and cookies, fast food, reconstituted meat products such as hot dogs and fish sticks, pizza and TV dinners, energy and protein bars and shakes, ice cream, sweetened yogurt, and plant-based milks. 

The American Medical Association states that ultra-processed foods are industrial creations made with little — if any — whole foods that often contain large amounts of added sugars and salt and infused with artificial colors and additives. They are cheap, convenient, and tasty.

The use of additives has become more common these days due to the increase in demand for processed products at an affordable price. In meat processing, certain animal tissues such as meat trimmings, bone scraps, or certain internal organs such as intestines, which are usually not sold in fresh meat marketing, are integrated into the food chain as valuable protein-rich ingredients. Animal gelatin that acts as a cohesive agent to meat mixes is used to make the cooked products solid, elastic, and easy to slice. Added water containing phosphates and dextrose is used to make the meat more succulent.

According to CBS News, there are more than 10,000 chemicals and additives allowed in food in the U.S., often in small amounts. But many haven’t been evaluated by the FDA in decades. What we consume becomes a part of the body, and can affect us physically as well as spiritually. 

The Prophet (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam) advised: “The son of Adam does not fill any vessel worse than his stomach. It is enough for the son of Adam to eat a few mouthfuls to straighten his back, but if he must (fill his stomach), then one third for his food, one third for his drink, and one third for his breath.” (reported Al-Miqdām ibn Ma‘di Karib; Ibn Maajah).

The two common factors leading people to consume higher amounts of ultra-processed foods are cost, and a lack of making healthy choices. A Huffington Post survey shows that people living in full-service grocery store areas where healthy nutritious foods were available still chose unhealthy foods. The convenience of ordering online is yet another factor.

To make it easier to understand, researchers have separated foods into four categories, based on the extent of processing, using the NOVA classification system. NOVA was designed by the Center for Epidemiological Studies in Health and Nutrition, School of Public Health, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. 

NOVA Group 1 consists of such foods as fresh vegetables, fruits, pasteurized milk, chicken, fish, beans, and eggs because these go through no or minimal processing before you buy them. In contrast, NOVA Group 4 (ultra-processed), contains little, if any, of the foods or ingredients from group 1, and often include unhealthy levels of added sugars, sodium, and fat. These ingredients make the food taste better, but too much of them leads to serious health issues like obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes. 

How to Read Labels

The first thing about avoiding ultra-processed foods is to have some knowledge about reading the ingredient list. The Nutrition Labeling and Education Act (NLEA), requires all prepackaged products with more than one ingredient to list ingredients in descending order by weight. In this way the first ingredient listed is always present in the largest amount and can be useful when comparing products.

Experts advise avoiding products with more than five ingredients and cooking from scratch at home as often as possible. When people eat sweet foods, high in caloric value, pleasure hormones like dopamine are released in their brains and they feel better. 

The nutrition label shows key nutrients that may impact your health. For example, Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a painful gastrointestinal-tract disease linked with consumption of diets with higher amounts of sugar and fat. Celiac, an autoimmune disease, damages the small intestine whenever gluten is consumed. Consumers should use these labels to meet their personal dietary needs.

The size of the ingredient list is a key as to whether the food is ultra-processed or not. For instance, corn is minimally processed. Canned corn is processed, and a corn chip is ultra-processed. Ditto for an apple, apple juice, and apple pie. Milk, reduced fat milk, and unsweetened almond milk.  

Eating Healthy and Tayyab Foods

Verse 7:157 of the Qur’an, states that for us to consume a thing it must not only be halal, but also be tayyab (pure). In this verse, tayyab is contrasted against the Arabic word “Al-Khaba’ith”, which is translated as “evil.” This could mean anything not tayyab is impure, disgusting and harmful. Islam emphasizes food safety and frequently associates halal with tayyab. 

“O ye who believe! Eat of the clean and pure that We have provided for you, and be grateful to Allah, if it is Him ye worship” (Quran 2: 172). 

The “USDA Inspected & Passed” stamp on commercially produced meat and poultry products serves to put the consumers at ease that these products are safe, wholesome, properly labeled and are produced in a sanitary environment. The first thing the USDA inspectors do in a plant is perform a sanitation inspection. In case of halal meat, each animal carcass receives the halal logo after the animal has received the “USDA Inspected & Passed” stamp. 

USDA also provides grading services. There are eight grades for beef, based on the age of the animal and its marbling — prime, choice, select, standard, commercial, utility, cutter, and canner. Prime being the highest quality and canner the lowest. Chicken may similarly be marked as Grade A, B, or C. Meat inspection and meat grading are two different things. Meat inspection is performed to determine the meat’s fitness for human consumption and this service is paid for by the government. Whereas, the grading is about the quality and yield of meat, and the plants pay the USDA for this service. For this reason, not all meats are graded.

The USDA does not get involved in “Halal” meat certification. Instead, the plant contracts services to a halal certification organization. Thus, it becomes the certification organization’s responsibility whose “Halal” stamp is on the product.

The global meat industry is very complex. All animal raw edible parts are sourced from slaughter and processing plants around the world and are used to produce different types of processed products. It provides many opportunities to engage in substitution, mislabeling, and other types of food fraud. For example, a researcher at the University of Guelph (Ontario) found mislabeling and cross contamination in 20% of sausage samples.

Caution with Some Labels

Food labels are supposed to allow consumers to make more informed decisions by knowing the quality or standards in the production of meat. However, some labels can be vague and confusing. For example, claims that a brand of chicken has no steroids or hormones can give the impression to a consumer that it is because of this company’s special efforts. The fact is that steroids and hormones are not allowed in any U.S. poultry or hog production. 

“Chemical Free” is another term that is disallowed to be used on a label. The reason could be that some chemicals are naturally occurring and there is no way to assure that products are free of any chemical substance. “Humanely raised” or “sustainably farmed” is, yet another such term for which there are no regulatory standards. However, some labels do tell how the animal was raised, what it ate, if any chemicals were added to its feed, etc. and can be helpful towards healthy and tayyab eating.

“Naturally Raised” labels indicate that no growth hormones, no antibiotics, and no animal by-products were fed. “Grass Fed” label indicates that only grass and forage was fed for the lifetime of the animal. The only exception is the milk consumed prior to the animal’s weaning. “USDA Organic” label indicates that the animals were fed an organic grain or forage diet, no animal by-products, no use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, products were kept separate from non-organic products, and documentation was maintained for traceability. 

Conventional meat, with the above labels, have been in the supermarket for decades but not the halal meat. It is unclear why. Consumers expect the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to do something in this matter. OIC recently published its 10-year plan that aims for uniformity in standardization and accreditation activities, after its 5-year strategic plan (2016-2020) could not succeed. Hopefully, OIC should be able to resolve this issue while it continues with its 10-year plan. 

The above-mentioned labels may have some deficiencies and need better enforcement (How Organic is “Organic” Food – Islamic Horizons – Nov/Dec 2022). However, they are defined by USDA and other government agencies, and based on what these labels claim, this is the closest one can get to healthy (nutrient-dense) and tayyab foods.

Dr. Mohammad Abdullah retired after serving 29 years with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, the agency that regulates the meat industry. He is also the author of “A Closer Look at Halal Meat from Farm to Fork” (2016)

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By Mohammad Abdullah

May/June 2023

As of last Jan. 1,  “GMO” labels on grocery store food and beverage products were replaced with round green USDA-created label saying “bioengineered” or “derived from bioengineering” or providing a phone number to call, text for more information or a QR code that takes you to an online disclosure. These changes are part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s new rules on controversial genetically modified organisms (GMOs), crops and ingredients. The National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard (NBFDS), published by the Federal Registered (December 2018), requires that products containing GMOs be labeled by 2022 (www.foodbusinessnews.net).

Currently 65 or so countries, including the U.S., require labeling of genetically modified foods, although the laws may vary widely (www.justlabelit.org). This new law, directed at grocery products, requires food manufacturers, including manufactures of dietary supplements, importers and retailers, to disclose whether foods are bioengineered or contain bioengineered ingredients.

However, it only requires labeling bioengineered foods intended for human consumption that contain more than 5% of GMO ingredients. Under the new rule, a food does not contain genetic material if it cannot be detected. If one or more ingredients come from a modified plant, but the ingredients themselves contain that plant’s DNA, a voluntary label may carry a “derived from bioengineering” disclosure. The problem here is that starches, oils and sweeteners made from bioengineered plants are so highly processed that no DNA remains. Therefore, they aren’t likely to be labeled. 

Another loophole — the new disclosure rules don’t cover products that list meat, poultry or eggs as their first or second ingredient after water, stock or broth. Thus, meat lasagna, chicken burritos and many other prepared foods may contain modified ingredients without disclosure. The milk from a cow that ate bioengineered alfalfa isn’t considered a bioengineered food. Moreover, according to The Washington Post (Jan. 1, 2022), it ignores more than 100 million Americans who have no access to smartphones or cell service, because companies are allowed to rely on smartphone-based scannable QR codes to share information with consumers. 

The USDA’s Organic and Non-GMO Project Verified labeling will be allowed. Food sold by restaurants, food trucks and delicatessens or served by airlines aren’t required to carry bioengineered food labels even if they are produced with GMOs. This is true for companies whose annual sales are less than $2.5 million (www.specialityfood.com). 

The Center for Food Safety Consumer and other advocacy groups say that there are too many loopholes and that the rules will leave most genetically modified foods unlabeled. They maintain that all genetically engineered foods should be labeled, regardless of whether the GMO material is detectable, and that disclosure statements should be made through labels with clear understandable terms (www.ota.com).

What is a Bioengineered Food?

A bioengineered plant or animal has a new gene inserted into it to give it a useful trait, such as making it resistant to a pest or disease or enhancing its nutritional value. Many GMO crops are used to make ingredients found in cornstarch, corn syrup, corn oil, soybean oil, canola oil and granulated sugar. Few fresh fruits and vegetables in GMO varieties include potatoes, summer squash, apples and papayas (www.fda.gov).

A host of animals are being researched for genetic modification. Researchers behind many of the projects want to breed more efficient, nutritious animals for human consumption, such as goats whose milk can prevent children from contracting diarrhea, a potentially deadly disease in some parts of the world (www.medicalnewstoday.com).

Researchers are also using gene-editing technology to create pigs that could provide organs to save human lives. Early this year, history was made when a team that included Dr. Mohammad Mohiuddin, a graduate from the Dow Medical College, Karachi (now a U.S. citizen) transplanted a pig’s heart into a human. It demonstrated for the first time the feasibility of a pig-to-human heart transplant, a field made possible by new gene editing tools (www.nytimes.com).

Genetic Engineering 

The use of microorganisms to make cheese, yogurt, bread, beer and wine, as well as selective breeding and crossbreeding to breed plants and animals with more desirable traits, has been ongoing for centuries. Early farmers developed crossbreeding methods to grow corn with a range of colors and sizes. But changing plants and animals through traditional breeding can take a long time, and it’s difficult to make specific changes. By developing genetic engineering in the 1970s, scientists could make similar changes in a more specific way and in a shorter amount of time by inserting DNA from one organism into another. The first genetically engineered product for human use was insulin, which the FDA approved in 1982. However, genetically modified food only received FDA approval in 1994, when a GMO tomato became the first to go commercial.

According to World Health Organization (WHO), “GMO” (genetically modified organism) has become the common term for foods created through genetic engineering, such as corn and soybeans. Genetically modified (GM) foods are derived from organisms whose genetic material (DNA) has been modified in a way that does not occur naturally (e.g., by introducing a gene from another organism). The technology is called “gene technology,” “recombinant DNA technology” or “genetic engineering” (www.who.int).

The processes for creating a GMO plant, animal or microorganism may be different. For example, to create a GMO plant scientists must first identify the desired trait (e.g., resistance to drought), find an organism (e.g., plant, animal or microorganism) whose genes contain that trait and copy it and then use tools to insert the gene into the plant’s DNA. Scientists are developing new varieties of crops and animals via “genome editing,” which can make it easier and quicker to make changes that were previously done through traditional breeding (www.fda.gov).

It’s quite likely that you’ve eaten GMO food recently without even knowing it. GMO-derived ingredients are prevalent in processed foods, such as lecithin and emulsifiers from soybeans and high-fructose corn syrup, which is found in everything from soft drinks to bread, cereal, frozen meals and sweetened yogurt. GMO soy can be found in infant formula, protein drinks, tofu, canned tuna and salad dressing. GMO grains, especially corn, soybeans and alfalfa, are fed to most of the livestock used in the meat and dairy industries. 

GMO foods are also marketed as healthy vegan alternatives to meat, such as the popular brand of Impossible Burgers. These plant-based burgers contain GMO soy protein and heme, the molecule responsible for replicating the beef-like taste and appearance. This molecule is genetically engineered by combining soybean DNA with yeast. It’s said that unless an item is sold under an organic label or considered a whole food, it likely contains GMOs (www.ecowatch.com). Also, consumers are being blindsided by the pricing mantra that because they can save on resources, food producers can also charge lower prices for GMO foods. In some cases, the costs of foods like corn, beets, and soybeans may be cut by 15% to 30%.

What Are GMOs

WHO, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and several other major science organizations across the globe that reviewed available data on GE foods found no evidence that they are harmful. A NAS report says there is no difference in potential or adverse health effects in GMO crops compared to non-GMOs, which means that GMO crops are just as safe to eat as their non-GMO counterparts (medlineplus.gov). 

However, according to another report, some consumers feel that GM foods are unnatural, immoral and unsafe, which is ironic because some 70% of processed foods in the U.S. already contain GMOs (www.ama.org).

Concerns about GE foods 

According to one report, GMO is a concern because it could escape and introduce engineered genes into wild populations, the gene’s persistence after the GMO has been harvested and the susceptibility of non-target organisms (e.g., insects that aren’t pests) to the gene product (www.who.int). Another report says consumers are mainly concerned about the biotech-crops’ long-term human health effects (e.g., antibiotic resistance, allergenicity, unnatural nutritional changes and toxicity) (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov). 

In short, biotechnology offers potentially enormous benefits but also risks. It utilizes living cells and cellular materials to create pharmaceuticals, vaccines, diagnostic, agricultural, environmental and other beneficial products. Genetic engineering can create pest-resistant crops that can fight drought, improve yield and help fight world hunger. While not the only answer for food security, GMOs can play an important role in this regard because the global population is expected to reach 10 billion by 2050. 

However, although the FDA considers GMOs safe, their long-term effects are still being studied — but only on animals. This may be why several countries ban them either partially or completely. Given that many questions remain unanswered, biotech companies must proceed cautiously and avoid causing unintended harm to human health and the environment.

The USDA needs to understand that enforcing the new rules requires that consumers understand them well enough to be able to ask relevant questions. Meanwhile, consumers should read labels and become knowledgeable so they can choose the best product for themselves. They can also choose organic food by buying from local farmers.

Dr. Mohammad Abdullah, who retired after serving 29 years with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, the agency that regulates the meat industry, is the author of “A Closer Look at Halal Meat from Farm to Fork” (2016)

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