Every few weeks there’s a headline seemingly designed to strike fear into food lovers’ hearts. Should we all be avoiding apparently killer foodstuffs such as burnt sausages and pork pies? Frankly, no. Ask yourself these three questions to decide which concerns you can safely ignore:
QUESTION 1: WHAT’S THE SOURCE?
The first thing that should set alarm bells ringing is whether the organisation behind a story has a vested interest – especially if it’s a food manufacturer warning you off one thing and encouraging you to buy something from which they’re going to benefit. It doesn’t have to be malign intent – in fact, health charities, however worthy, have been known to give oxygen to dubious-quality statistics. Raising the profile of ‘their’ health concern is a priority, so putting it on your agenda in an attention-grabbing way is part of the press officer’s brief.