It is a tough time to sell a business and make it stay afloat during this pandemic. Businesses have to be wise and take note of company valuation. Most small retailers have been dealt with a heavy blow since the start of large-scale quarantines, and lockdowns have been put up by the governments of countries worldwide. It is not to say that the bigger and much-established ones have not felt the tremendous effects of the economic crisis brought the health issue of the COVID-19.
Among those who have found themselves in a quagmire is Nestle. Nestlé’s Prepared Foods department has recently recalled more than 92,00 pounds of their product, particularly the Lean Cuisine Baked Chicken items. Singling out the recall are the 8 5/8-oz (244g) carton trays of Lean Cuisine Baked Chicken, white meat chicken with stuffing, red skin mashed potatoes, and gravy stocked and prepared on September 2, 2020.
The reason behind the said food processing debacle was the presence of non-organic materials. The conveyor belt for the mashed potatoes in the meals was believed to have broken down and left traces of white pieces of plastic on the food products. Although the Food Safety and Inspection Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture has not received any alarming reports from the said incident, it is safe to say that retailers and consumers alike would prefer to stay away for a bit from the Nestle brand altogether for a while.
Nevertheless, in this present time of thrift and shortage, can the average person even afford to have the option to choose?
Food intake and nutrition content has been a linked factor for a healthy body. Just a month before capping the year 2020, the U.S. Department of Agriculture published the Dietary Guidelines for Americans for 2020 to 2025. The main points of the publication are as follows:
-
Do not include a low-carbohydrate eating pattern or recommend limiting the consumption of carbohydrates.
As may be the case that Americans consume a lot of red meat. In turn, increased protein consumption has been linked to type 2 diabetes and its umbrella of symptoms, ranging from weight gain up to atrial fibrillation. Most of which are the leading causes of stroke, heart failure, and heart disease.
-
Recommend the intake of water instead of milk.
The development of heart disease has been linked to increased saturated fat in the daily diet. Dairy products, including milk, are a relevant source of such fat. Research in scientific journals has shown that dairy products’ consumption increases the risk of breast and prostate cancer, cognitive decline, asthma, and early death. There have also been suggestions that it offers little protection to bone health—a very paradoxical position, considering that drinking milk has always been associated with bone strength.
-
Warn against consuming red and processed meat.
It is well documented that Americans love their bacon and that 1 out of 5 of them would eat it every day if they could. It has long been suggested that red meat is less preferred than white meat in terms of nutritional value. Furthermore, processed red meat has far been cemented as carcinogenic to humans or can become the catalyst for developing several types of cancer.
-
Continue to promote plant-based eating patterns.
A wide expanse of studies clearly reflected that a diet high in plant-sourced content has a lower risk for developing an array of the leading causes of death, including type 2 diabetes, obesity, and heart disease.
These aren’t new and overwhelming news. The fact remains that in this time of projected global recession and surmounting need to safeguard food supply in the time of the pandemic (and even afterward), there shall be an undeniable need to continue the supply and demand chain, all the while keeping the infection safeguards in check.
The World Bank has looked into the alarming rise of projected food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic. The year 2020 has affected vulnerable sectors throughout many parts of the world, making it the year with the most severe increase in recent years.
With this, and considering that even a long way from the start of the spread of the dreaded disease, there has been a decrease in the buying power of median consumer households. Other problems include derailed supplies and production due to internal government conflicts, natural calamities, and a series of other tragic incidents. One can only pray about what the future might hold for humanity.
