Smaller is Better

The bigger sizes of fruits, vegetables and fish in the market may look more attractive and appealing to customers. But bigger sizes of the products are usually the result of growth hormones and harmful chemicals injected in them. “Therefore we recommend that people buy agriculture products that are smaller and more natural in size,” said Zahra Abdollahi, director general of the Health Ministry’s Nutrition Office. Pointing to the best way to identify the level of nitrates in onions she said, “Bigger onions with green tops are likely to have higher levels of nitrate content,” IRNA quoted her as saying. Bigger fish may also have more levels of mercury, “as the older the fish, the more mercury they absorb.”