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The six aspects of food quality
Sensual - Does it feel good to eat. Does the taste, smell, texture and appearance produce that wonderful sensation that comes from biting into a really good apple?Nutritional - Does it contribute to a balanced diet. Does it supply the vitamins, protein and trace elements that we need for good health and vitality?
Biological - Does it produce allergic reactions? Are there additives or chemical residues? Are there beneficial aspects (such as live gut-cleansing bacteria in yoghurt)?
Authenticity - Is it the food you expect? Has it been synthesised or adulterated in production, processing or storage? Does the ‘brownness’ of bread come from the grain or is it just ‘white’ bread with added malt (for colour)?
Functional - Is the food appropriate to its specific purpose. For instance, some varieties of potatoes are more or less suitable for boiling, baking, roasting, chipping or mashing.
Ethical – Are environmental, social and political values preserved or encouraged during production, processing and distribution? Were animals treated humanely? Was the grower paid a living wage, or was a poor third-world labourer exploited. Was there unnecessary transportation of the product?
Real food provides real health. Really good real food should care for the health of the consumer, but it should not damage the environment, threaten the viability of the farmer, or treat animals badly. You can seek out food that scores well on as many of the food quality criteria listed above as possible.
"...as long as we define the problem of food and farming in narrow market terms ... simply increasing commodity prices, enhancing efficiency or convenience, or lowering consumer costs - we cannot envision a democratic system of food production and use in this society"
Frances Moore Lappe, Food, Farming and Democracy
"...in all human societies it [food] plays many roles and is deeply embedded in the social, religious and economic aspects of everyday life"
C. Helman, quoted in the Functional Foods Policy Discussion Paper, National Food Authority
