Two months after COVID-19 began spreading around the world, many grocery store shelves remain empty, in part because the demand for food at grocery stores significantly increased at the pandemic’s onset. In addition, the temporary closure of meat processing and packaging plants throughout the U.S has led multiple grocery chains to implement purchase limits on beef, pork, and chicken purchases. Both of these scenarios have prompted concern among consumers, who are experiencing perceived food shortages today and bracing for more in the months to come.
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, there is plenty of food, but imbalances in the food supply chain has created a situation where the food we have is not in the right places. Adding a variety of healthy, shelf-stable foods to your grocery list is key to ensuring you have plenty of food on hand that will last, especially if your favorite fresh foods happen to be out of stock on your next trip to the store.
Shelf-stable foods are non-perishable products that can safely be stored at room temperature. Keeping the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans in mind when selecting shelf-stable foods is important to ensure your choices don’t have excessive amounts of unwanted ingredients such as sodium, sugar, and saturated fats.
| Examples of Healthy Shelf-Stable Foods | |
| Meat, Fish and Protein |
|
| Grains |
|
| Fruits |
|
| Vegetables |
|
| Pantry Staples |
|
Helping Consumers Make Smart Choices
The Nutrition Facts label on packaged foods is an excellent resource to help identify the amount of calories, saturated fats, dietary fiber, sodium, added sugar, and other nutrients in each serving of food. For more information on how to use the Nutrition Facts label, check out our toolkit.
References
Alabama Cooperative Extension System. “Coronavirus: Healthy Shelf-Stable Foods.” 6 March 2020.
https://www.aces.edu/blog/topics/home-family/coronavirus-healthy-shelf-stable-foods
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service. “Shelf-Stable Food Safety.” 24 March 2015.
https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/food-safety-education/get-answers/food-safety-fact-sheets/safe-food-handling/shelf-stable-food-safety
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture. “2015 – 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. 8th Edition.” December 2015.
https://health.gov/our-work/food-nutrition/2015-2020-dietary-guidelines/guidelines/
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. “FDA’s Perspective on Food Safety and Availability During and Beyond COVID-19.” 16 April 2020.
https://www.fda.gov/food/conversations-experts-food-topics/fdas-perspective-food-safety-and-availability-during-and-beyond-covid-19
To learn more about global food safety standards and what they could mean for alleviating shortages, including in the instance of baby formula, we asked IFT’s own Steve Havlik to address a few questions.
Toxic element exposure in early life and toxic metals in tainted baby foods are top of mind for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (USDA) and FDA as they work to safeguard the food supply. Last year, the USDA announced a new action plan called Closer to Zero, which identifies steps the agency will take over the next three years to reduce exposure to toxic elements from foods eaten by babies and young children. Read more about how IFT’s is engaging with this initiative.
IFT responds to scientific questions to be examined to support the development of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Specifically, “What is the relationship between consumption of dietary patterns with varying amounts of ultra-processed foods and growth, size, body composition, risk of overweight and obesity, and weight loss and maintenance?”
