V3 drink, mango or mango vinaigrette salad dressing were the main features of a 2 hour food tasting at the Marketing and National Importing Board, Young Street, on Thursday June 1st 2017. The day was dubbed “Try real foods Thursday” by the Grenada Food and Nutrition Council (G.F.N.C) as part of this year’s Nutrition Week. Shoppers at MNIB were greeted by three GFNC representatives where they were given information on the dangers of heavily processed foods and encouraged to eat natural, healthy alternatives.

The highlight of the day for many, was the actual tasting of a drink and a salad with locally made salad dressings. Beetroot, carrot and cucumber were blended to create a V3 drink, as a healthy alternative to bottled drinks. The second item, a famers’ salad, was served with a choice or mango or mango vinaigrette salad dressing. The dressings were offered as an alternative to ready-made salad dressings that are high in fat or sodium. As part of “Try real foods Thursday” the public was advised to refrain from using heavily processed eats and drinks and only have foods in their most natural forms; minimally processed.

The GFNC observed Nutrition Week from May 29th to June 2nd 2017 under the theme “Preserve Your Health, Not Your Food.” Emphasis was on healthy alternatives to heavily processed foods and raising public awareness on the dangers of consuming canned, bottled, packaged or jarred items that are heavily processed. A processed food is any food that has been intentionally changed from its natural state before consumption. It falls on a spectrum of minimally to heavily processed foods, with foods losing nutrient content every time it’s taken from one stage of processing to another. Heavily processed foods include sausages, salami, soft drinks, most packaged snacks, bacon, salted ham, among others. These often contain a lot of sodium, sugar and fat and can contribute to chronic non-communicable diseases like high blood pressure, high blood sugar, obesity, heart disease and some types of cancer.

Nutrition week is annually observed by the Grenada Food and Nutrition Council to raise awareness and educate people on matters related to nutrition and healthy living.