Anca Vereen Integrative Dietitian, Counsellor, Nutrigenomics Lecturer

28/09/2025

Sunday chill with my neighbours

27/09/2025

If only the entire world would demonstrate the same intelligence!!! Here’s to hoping ! Well done guys!

"I don’t think we’re pandering to the conspiracy theorists."

25/09/2025

Nationwide Beef Recall Over Plastic Contamination Raises Fresh Food Safety Concerns

Australian shoppers have been hit with yet another nationwide food recall, this time involving a popular brand of organic beef mince. Regulators have confirmed that Free Country organic beef mince 500 g, produced by Auspork Australia, may be contaminated with pieces of plastic.

The affected packs carry a best before date of September 28, 2025, and were sold through independent retailers including IGA stores in New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, and the Northern Territory. Supabarn supermarkets in the ACT also stocked the product.

Authorities have advised customers not to eat the mince and to return it to the place of purchase for a full refund. Anyone who has consumed the product and is concerned about their health is urged to seek medical attention.

Plastic contamination can cause mouth and throat injuries, digestive damage, or choking. While this recall is being described as precautionary, the fact remains that sharp or hard fragments entering the food chain present very real risks.

This is not the first recall of its kind in recent months. Australian consumers have faced repeated alerts over food contamination involving plastic, glass, and even metal fragments. The steady rise of such cases raises important questions about supply chains, quality control, and the pressure on food producers to cut costs while keeping shelves stocked.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) lists foreign matter contamination as one of the leading causes of product recalls in the country. Alongside microbial contamination, incorrect allergen labelling, and packaging faults, it shows that the food system is far from fail-safe.

For shoppers, the lesson is clear. Always check recall notices, keep receipts when possible, and trust your instincts if something does not look right. For industry, the pressure is mounting to restore trust. Consumers should not have to worry about swallowing plastic when they buy a pack of organic mince.

15/09/2025

Voted no 1 best dietitian in melbourne ... yet again... nice to get the recognition thats aligned with the type of holistic and root cause focused work that I do.

Finding the right nutritionist can make a world of difference when it comes to your health and well-being. Whether you're looking to improve your diet, manage

08/09/2025

A new type of diabetes

A new form of diabetes, Type 3c Diabetes Mellitus (T3cDM), has now been officially recognized in the medical community.

This type of diabetes differs from the more common Type 1 and Type 2 forms and results from diseases or injuries to the pancreas, such as chronic pancreatitis, cystic fibrosis, pancreatic surgery, or pancreatic cancer.

Unlike Type 1 (autoimmune) or Type 2 (linked to insulin resistance), Type 3c stems from pancreatic dysfunction, affecting both blood sugar regulation and digestion.

Despite affecting a significant number of patients, T3c has often been misdiagnosed as Type 2 diabetes, leading to inappropriate treatment.

Proper diagnosis is crucial, as T3c patients often require both insulin therapy and enzyme replacement therapy to manage the dual loss of pancreatic function.

The recognition of this distinct diabetes type is important because it ensures more accurate diagnosis, tailored treatment, and better health outcomes.

Additionally, this acknowledgment highlights the need for greater awareness among healthcare providers, as many cases of pancreatic diabetes go unrecognized or are treated ineffectively under the umbrella of more familiar diabetes types.

There’s also emerging but still debated discussion in neuroscience regarding “Type 3 diabetes” as a term describing insulin resistance in the brain, potentially linked to Alzheimer’s disease.

While compelling, this connection hasn’t been fully endorsed as a clinical classification yet.

25/08/2025

mRNA Moves Into the Food Chain: Australia’s Foot and Mouth Vaccine Raises Alarms

Australia is celebrating what the government calls a “world-first breakthrough” in protecting livestock from foot and mouth disease. Behind the headlines, however, sits a development that could change the food supply forever.

Researchers at the University of New South Wales, working with international partners, have created a fully synthetic mRNA vaccine for cattle. Officials are quick to frame it as a safeguard against a biosecurity disaster, claiming it will protect billions in trade and keep supermarkets stocked.

But many Australians are asking different questions.

From COVID to Cattle

The public is still divided over mRNA technology in humans. Now, without much debate, the same technology is being shifted into the meat industry. If this vaccine becomes standard practice, every steak, sausage and carton of milk could soon come from animals injected with synthetic particles.

The promise is that it is biodegradable, fast to produce, and does not rely on live viruses. That makes it cheaper and easier for government rollouts. Yet critics argue it also makes it easier for authorities to slip new biotech into food supply chains with little public awareness or oversight.

Will Consumers Be Told?

Nowhere in the government’s announcement is there clear mention of consumer choice. If animals are vaccinated with mRNA, will meat products be labelled? Will families be able to decide whether they want to eat beef and lamb from livestock injected with this technology? Or will it simply become another case of “trust us, it’s safe” while the details disappear into regulatory paperwork?

Farmers in the Crosshairs

Supporters say the vaccine will protect farmers from financial ruin if an outbreak ever occurs. What is left unsaid is that this is also about securing billions in export markets, not small family farms. Many farmers are already suspicious of biotech giants pushing patented solutions that lock producers into new systems of control.

If mRNA injections become the only way to participate in trade, will farmers have any choice but to comply?

A Step Toward Synthetic Food Control

The development fits into a wider global trend. Lab-grown meat, insect protein, and synthetic food systems are being heavily promoted by corporations and international bodies. This mRNA vaccine could act as another building block in shifting agriculture away from natural farming and into the hands of labs and technocrats.

Rushed and Celebrated

The vaccine was developed in less than 18 months, a timeline the government celebrates as a triumph. For many Australians, that rings alarm bells. Rushed science and fast-tracked approval are becoming a pattern. The concern is not just about whether the vaccine works, but whether the long-term impacts on livestock, ecosystems, and human health have been properly studied.

Where This Leaves Us

Australia is still free of foot and mouth disease. The threat of an $80 billion outbreak is real, but so too are the risks of blindly inserting synthetic biology into the food chain.

AFIPN believes this should be a national conversation, not just a government press release. Consumers deserve transparency. Farmers deserve freedom to choose. And Australia must decide whether protecting trade is worth quietly rewriting the very food that ends up on our plates.

19/06/2025

Diindolylmethane (DIM) is one of the phytonutrients found in cruciferous vegetables, and DIM supplements are advertised as a means of managing estrogen levels. Read on.