- With Mayo Clinic nutritionists
Jennifer Nelson, M.S., R.D. and Katherine Zeratsky, R.D.
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Jennifer Nelson, M.S., R.D. and Katherine Zeratsky, R.D.
Katherine Zeratsky and Jennifer Nelson
Jennifer K. Nelson, M.S., R.D., L.D., C.N.S.D.
Jennifer Nelson is your link to a better diet. As specialty editor of the Food & Nutrition Center, she plays a vital role in bringing you healthy recipes and meal planning."Nutrition is one way people have direct control over the quality of their lives," she says. "I hope to translate the science of nutrition into ways that people can select and prepare great-tasting foods that help maintain health and treat disease."
A St. Paul, Minn., native, she is certified by the National Board of Nutrition Support Certification, has been with Mayo Clinic since 1978, and is director of clinical dietetics and an associate professor of nutrition at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine.
She leads clinical nutrition efforts for a staff of more than 50 clinical dietitians and nine dietetic technicians and oversees staffing, strategic and financial planning, and quality improvement. Nelson was co-editor of the James Beard Foundation Award-winning "The New Mayo Clinic Cookbook." She has been a contributing author to and reviewer of many Mayo Clinic books, including "Mayo Clinic Healthy Weight for EveryBody," "The Mayo Clinic Family Health Book" and "The Mayo Clinic/Williams Sonoma Cookbook." She contributes to the strategic direction of the Food & Nutrition Center, which includes creating recipes and menus, reviewing nutrition content of various articles, and answering nutrition questions posed to Ask a Specialist.
Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D.
As a specialty editor for the Food & Nutrition Center, Katherine Zeratsky helps you sort through the facts and figures, the fads and the hype to learn more about nutrition and diet.A Marinette, Wis., native, she is certified in dietetics by the state of Minnesota and the American Dietetic Association. She has been with Mayo Clinic since 1999.
She is active in nutrition-related curriculum and course development in pediatrics at Mayo Clinic Rochester and nutrition education related to the physiology and recommended intakes for premature infants.
Other areas of interest include breast milk and formula safety, neonatal feeding, and nutrition for breast-feeding mothers.
She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, served a dietetic internship at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, and worked as a registered dietitian and health risk counselor at ThedaCare of Appleton, Wis., before joining the Mayo Clinic staff.
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Nutrition-wise blog
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Sept. 26, 2009
Protecting our food supply protects our health
By Jennifer Nelson, M.S., R.D. and Katherine Zeratsky, R.D.
Our government is leading health care reform. I'm not talking about insurance reform but food safety. I'm talking bold changes that will help ensure our health by making our food safer to eat.
In the past 5 years, there have been outbreaks of food-borne illnesses linked to our water supply, spinach, infant formula, pet food, peppers, spinach, peanuts and even cookie dough.
In March 2009, a Food Safety Working Group was formed by the president to make recommendations about modernizing the U.S. food safety system. The group has already launched efforts to improve the safety of our food supply, including:
- Rules for safer egg handling, refrigeration, storage and transportation to prevent salmonella contamination. These changes are projected to reduce salmonella illnesses by 60 percent and save more than $1 billion dollars.
- Advice to industry on reducing E. coli contamination in the production and distribution of tomatoes, melons and leafy green vegetables.
- Establishment of product tracing systems to improve detection and recall of tainted food — from "farm to fork."
- New standards by the end of this year to reduce the prevalence of salmonella in poultry.
- Increased testing for E. coli 0157:H7 in raw beef.
In addition, the House has passed and sent to the Senate the Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009. This legislation would allow the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to increase inspections of food companies from once every 10 years to annually — or even more frequently — for high-risk facilities. It would also empower the FDA to issue mandatory recalls of tainted foods. Currently, FDA does not have this authority.
This is the type of health care reform that provides coverage for everyone. Although everyone may not applaud this "big brother" approach, I'm sure that we all agree that we want safer food.
What are your thoughts?
- Jennifer
3 comments posted
January 1, 2010 3:47 p.m.
Unhealthy foods have been hospitalising my family for years and I'm determined to ensure my kids eat without fear. car leasing
- Bobby
October 1, 2009 9:27 a.m.
I think it's way past time to try and get a handle on this situation. A movement back to food that we are not scared to feed our kids would be worth fighting to earn.
- Eva
September 27, 2009 6:09 p.m.
I take issue with your basic premise that protecting the food supply protects health. This is complete baloney. Protection of health comes from nutrition that must be intrinsic to the food being grown. To get this nutrition it must come from the soil. Industrialized agriculture grows the very low quality food. This plus big brother government inspection does not equal health. The solution is to sell food on the basis of nutrient density. The surprising result is that top quality food is not susceptible to all the toxic problems that industrialized agriculture produces. From the perspective of healthcare Mayo will get a lot more business from people eating low-quality food than from people eating a regular supply of top-quality produce. The best way to get top quality is to grow produce in a fully mineralized soil. See: www.mineralizedgardens.com for more info. Jon
- Jon
3 comments posted