"The quality of processed foods in Brazil is worse than in other countries," says anti-dietician

Sophie Deram thinks Brazilians deserve more. Doctor in nutrition and professor at the University of São Paulo (USP), the Brazilian-Brazilian believes that even though the country has a good supply of natural and healthy products, the Brazilian chooses what to eat. And when you choose industrialized foods, you have fewer choices than in other countries.

"The industry is making an ultra-transformed party in Brazil, and it must surely take a closer look at the government to limit these excesses. not allowed to do it in other countries. "

Deram is a nutritionist, agronomist, and specialist in childhood obesity, nutrigenomics, eating disorders, and behavioral neuroscience.

"The Weight of Diets" (Ed Sextante), argues that a less elaborate diet avoids the adoption of fad diets which are, according to her, "a trigger for to gain weight. "I think that as Brazilians we should be asking for an improvement in the quality of processed and natural foods: more vigilance on agrochemicals, more fresh foods in processed foods, less preservatives. "

The Food Guide for the Brazilian Population Ultra-processed foods such as those that are" industrial formulations made wholly or largely from food substances derived from food constituents, synthesized in the laboratory, enhancers taste and additives ". For example, soda and instant noodles.

Other, such as canned tuna and fruits in syrup are considered processed.

"We see that 95% of people who go on a diet fail, that is, everyone is failing." The restrictive diet paves the way for fattening, says

Sophie Deram – What got worse was not our food, it was the people's neuron. They are absurdly stupid. You can eat superbly by going to the market, cooking and eating less processed foods.

But everyone is still on the diet, many professionals do what I call "food terrorism" and the industry places sweet products and sweeteners on the shelves, for example. Studies have already suggested that this sugar exchange by sweetener is unhealthy.

Finally, there is a set of forces that go against good food, although in Brazil there is an abundance of fruits and vegetables.

BBC Brasil – What kind of forces?

] Deram – Brazil has gone through what is called a nutritional transition, a cultural shift in food. We see this in all countries, and this has to do with globalization and accelerated urbanization. This completely changes the model.

Women, men, including educators, often had no childhood in the city and now have to invent a new model of life. Many had their mothers in the kitchen, picking vegetables at the market or in the yard. Suddenly, they have to live in town and buy everything at the supermarket without even knowing what's in each package.

This transition has led the population to consume more and more processed and ultra-processed foods. In 2007 and 2008, Brazil was identified as one of the countries in which the food and beverage industry is experiencing the fastest growth in the world.

There was a very big marketing investment in this industry here. People who went to live in cities ended up being educated by the marketing industry, on TV. I see this in my office: many of these people believe that the juice in the box is better because it gives more energy to the child or because it says that it is safe. he has calcium and other vitamins on the packaging

BBC Brazil – to eat well by cooking more, by buying more in-kind products at the fair and less processed.

They gave – It's a challenge to cook, cook, cook, cook, cook, cook, cook, that's true but it's also a planning issue.

I worked in a childhood obesity lab, and many low-income mothers did a good job over the weekend preparing ready-made food. But many thought it was healthier to buy ready because the ready food contained more vitamins.

It is worth remembering that this role is also that of parents, not just mothers. We need to reorganize society, learn to cope with the reality of today, where everyone works and lunches out.

BBC Brazil – You launched the #quality campaign, and said that Brazilians need to demand better foods, both in-kind and processed. What exactly does it mean to demand more quality?

Deram – In the case of natural foods, we need more vigilance on agrochemicals. But you have to be cautious with the figures disclosed, saying, for example, that the Brazilian consumes five to seven liters of pesticides a year.

These figures are published by the inhabitant, but we must not forget that Brazil is the world's leading exporter of agricultural products. So all that is produced here is not consumed by the Brazilian population. These data are not always adequate. I think we should know the amount of pesticides per kilogram of food produced.

Another important thing to remember is that we are in a tropical country that is less likely to produce organic foods like the United States or France. A tropical country needs pesticides

Organic farming in Brazil is an art, and we can never have enough to feed everyone. I am an agronomist, I understand also the difficulty of farmers. We must prevent terrorism from blaming agriculture in this way, but the government needs more vigilance. Yogurt comes with a strawberry image, but inside it does not fit.

BBC Brazil – And what does it mean to demand quality in processed foods? almost no strawberry. There is a syrup, a perfume. Because the Brazilian law allows you to have nothing strawberry. If you take the same product in Europe from the same company, you will get 8 to 10% fruit. According to Deram, the food and beverage industry places excess additives and preservatives in products sold in Brazil "src =" https://p2.trrsf.com/image/fget/cf/460/0/ images.terra.com/2018/07/28/102488445gettyimages-171366863.jpg "title =" According to Deram, the food and beverage industry add additives and preservatives in products sold in Brazil "width = "460 “/>