Safe Food: Eating Wisely in a Risky World

by Michael F. Jacobson

Describes food hazards and how to avoid them

234 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1991

About the author

Michael F. Jacobson is an American scientist, nutritionist and co-founder of the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

Reviews

[Anne Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

The edition I have is dated, but still holds valuable information nonetheless. Dealing with the hazards—mostly human-created—of our modern diet, the book examines such issues as pesticide and herbicide residues in foods as well as additives that run the gamut from artificial colors and flavors to preservatives. Some of the observations I, as someone holding a degree in biochemistry, found perhaps a bit unfounded, but this may be because our understanding of what contaminates food, whether accidentally or intentionally, has changed with the additional research that has been done since this book was written. If there is one thing to take away from this book, though it's this: read the label. Further, educate yourself about what the label is and is not telling you.

About the only thing I found distressing about this book is the inclusion of numerous sidebars that interrupt the flow of the text. This is a major peeve of mine—especially when the sidebar exists in an area that actually breaks a line of text. There is value in those sidebars, but they come at the expense of interrupting the main text.