Ken Mercurio

Last updated
Ken Mercurio
Born
Nationality American
Alma mater University of California, Davis
UCLA
OccupationExecutive, author

Ken Mercurio is an American business executive and author. He is best known as an expert in nutrition labeling and for having survived and recovered from a serious cycling accident. [1]

Contents

Career

Mercurio worked 31 years for Carnation and Nestlé USA. He held many positions culminating in director of nutrition and food-product labeling, [2] which included involvement with the U.S. delegation to the United Nations Codex Committee on Food Labeling [3] and service on the Institute of Food Technologists Expert Committee on Functional Foods. [4]

While working for Nestle, Mercurio was a member of the American College of Nutrition, the California Nutrition Council (serving as President in 1984), the Institute of Food Technologists, [5] and the Society for Nutrition Education. He was a founding Board Member of the International Food Information Council and was a Board Member of the International Life Sciences Institute. [6]

Background

He resides in Monroe, Ohio after being born in Petaluma, California and living most of his life in the Los Angeles area. He graduated from University of California, Davis, home to the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame, with a degree in nutrition science. His master's degree is also in nutrition, from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Mercurio continues to endurance-ride his bike despite his permanently stiff neck and near-death bike accident. [7] [8]

Writing

Head Over Wheels – a ‘lucky stiff’ turns tragedy into a cycling triumph is his first book and focuses on his comeback from a near-death broken neck. [9] He also authors an ongoing blog about bicycling safety. Mercurio has been published in three scholarly journals. [10]

Related Research Articles

Food additive substances added to food to preserve flavor or enhance its taste, appearance, or other qualities

Food additives are substances added to food to preserve flavor or enhance its taste, appearance, or other qualities. Some additives have been used for centuries; for example, preserving food by pickling, salting, as with bacon, preserving sweets or using sulfur dioxide as with wines. With the advent of processed foods in the second half of the twentieth century, many more additives have been introduced, of both natural and artificial origin. Food additives also include substances that may be introduced to food indirectly in the manufacturing process, through packaging, or during storage or transport.

Food irradiation Sterilization of food with ionizing radiations for enhanced preservation and longer shelflife

Food irradiation is the process of exposing food and food packaging to ionizing radiation. Ionizing radiation, such as from gamma rays, x-rays, or electron beams, is energy that can be transmitted without direct contact to the source of the energy (radiation) capable of freeing electrons from their atomic bonds (ionization) in the targeted food. The radiation can be emitted by a radioactive substance or generated electrically. This treatment is used to improve food safety by extending product shelf-life (preservation), reducing the risk of foodborne illness, delaying or eliminating sprouting or ripening, by sterilization of foods, and as a means of controlling insects and invasive pests. Food irradiation primarily extends the shelf-life of irradiated foods by effectively destroying organisms responsible for spoilage and foodborne illness and inhibiting sprouting.

Bicycle wheel Wheel designed for a bicycle

A bicycle wheel is a wheel, most commonly a wire wheel, designed for a bicycle. A pair is often called a wheelset, especially in the context of ready built "off the shelf" performance-oriented wheels.

Trans fat type of unsaturated fat that occurs in small amounts in nature, but is also produced industrially from vegetable fats for use in foods

Trans fat, also called trans-unsaturated fatty acids or trans fatty acids, is a type of unsaturated fat that occurs in small amounts in meat and milk fat. It became widely produced as an unintentional byproduct in the industrial processing of vegetable and fish oils in the early 20th century for use in margarine and later also in snack food, packaged baked goods, and for frying fast food.

The Reference Daily Intake (RDI) used in nutrition labeling on food and dietary supplement products in the U.S. and Canada is the daily intake level of a nutrient that is considered to be sufficient to meet the requirements of 97–98% of healthy individuals in every demographic in the United States. While developed for the US population, it has been adopted by other countries, though not universally.

Olestra fat substitute

Olestra is a fat substitute that adds no calories to products. It has been used in the preparation of otherwise high-fat foods such as potato chips, thereby lowering or eliminating their fat content. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) originally approved olestra for use as a replacement for fats and oils in prepackaged ready-to-eat snacks in 1996, concluding that such use "meets the safety standard for food additives, reasonable certainty of no harm". In the late 1990s, olestra lost its popularity due to side effects and has been largely phased out, but products containing the ingredient can still be purchased at grocery stores in some countries.

Sunset Yellow FCF chemical compound

Sunset Yellow FCF is a petroleum-derived orange azo dye with a pH dependent maximum absorption at about 480 nm at pH 1 and 443 nm at pH 13 with a shoulder at 500 nm. When added to foods sold in the United States it is known as FD&C Yellow 6; when sold in Europe, it is denoted by E Number E110.

David A. Kessler Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration

David Aaron Kessler is an American pediatrician, lawyer, author, and administrator. He was the Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from November 8, 1990 to February 28, 1997.

Science Diet

Science Diet is a brand of cat and dog foods marketed by Hill's Pet Nutrition, Inc.. In the United Kingdom, Science Diet is known as Science Plan.

Pet food

Pet food is plant or animal material intended for consumption by pets. Typically sold in pet stores and supermarkets, it is usually specific to the type of animal, such as dog food or cat food. Most meat used for nonhuman animals is a byproduct of the human food industry, and is not regarded as "human grade".

Marion Nestle American academic

Marion Nestle is an American academic. She is the Paulette Goddard professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University. She is also a professor of Sociology at NYU and a visiting professor of nutritional sciences at Cornell University.

Wire wheel wheels whose rims connect to their hubs by wire spokes

Wire wheels, wire-spoked wheels, tension-spoked wheels, or "suspension" wheels are wheels whose rims connect to their hubs by wire spokes. Although these wires are generally stiffer than a typical wire rope, they function mechanically the same as tensioned flexible wires, keeping the rim true while supporting applied loads. The term suspension wheel should not be confused with vehicle suspension.

The International Union of Food Science and Technology (IUFoST) is the global scientific organization and voice for food science and technology representing more than 200,000 food scientists and technologists from over 38 countries. It is a voluntary, non-profit association of national food science organizations. IUFoST is a full scientific member of the established in 1962, devoted to the advancement of, one of only 31 scientific unions worldwide and the only global representative of food science and technology to notable organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, United Nations Development Programme and (UNDP), CODEX Alimentarius.

The Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition is the branch of the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that regulates food, dietary supplements, cosmetics, drugs, biologics, medical devices, and radiological products.

Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990 US law

The Nutrition Labeling and Education Act (NLEA) is a 1990 United States Federal law. It was signed into law on November 8, 1990 by President George H. W. Bush.

American Society for Nutrition

The American Society for Nutrition (ASN) is an American society for professional researchers and practitioners in the field of nutrition. ASN publishes four journals in the field of nutrition. It has been criticized for its financial ties to the food and beverage industry.

Fred Ross Shank II was the Director of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition of the Food and Drug Administration for nearly ten years before he became Senior Advisor to the Commissioner for External Academic Affairs in January 1998. Before joining FDA in 1978, Shank performed program evaluations and served as a nutrition specialist with the Food and Nutrition Service for domestic food assistance programs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Shank earned his doctorate in nutrition at the University of Maryland, College Park. He has authored or co-authored numerous papers and has made many presentation on public health, nutrition and food safety. His best known work was the implementation of the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act in 1990. In 1994, he was the recipient of the Babcock-Hart Award.

Axona chemical compound

Axona was previously marketed as a medical food for the clinical dietary management of the impairment of metabolic processes associated with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease. It is a proprietary formulation of fractionated palm kernel oil, a medium-chain triglyceride. Cericin, the company that makes Axona, states that during digestion, caprylic triglyceride is broken down into ketones, which provide an alternative energy source for the brain. Its use is based on the idea that the brain's ability to use its normal energy source, glucose, is impaired in Alzheimer's disease. Axona was first sold in March 2009.

Vishweshwaraiah Prakash is an Indian structural biologist, food technologist and a former director-general designate of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). He is a former director of the Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), Mysore and was involved with the International Union of Food Science and Technology as the chairman of its International Academy during 2008-10. He received the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize, the highest Indian award in the science and technology category in 1996. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri in 2004,

Nina Teicholz Author of The Big Fat Surprise

Nina Teicholz is a journalist who became an advocate opposed to the mainstream nutritional principle that saturated fat is unhealthy and should be minimized in the American diet.

References

  1. "Monroe Cyclist To Conquer 4,200 Mile Trek To Alaska" MSN. Retrieved 2014-12-10.
  2. "Draft Guidance for Industry and FDA Staff: Whole Grains Label Statements" FDA. Retrieved 2014-12-10.
  3. "RE: Codex Committee - Chocolate : Draft Proposal ALINORM 99114 Appendices 11-V" USDA. Retrieved 2014-12-10.
  4. "Speakers" USC Regulatory Science. Retrieved 2014-12-10.
  5. "Panel Members" IFT Expert Report. Retrieved 2014-12-10.
  6. "A REPORT OF THE TWENTY-FOURTH SESSION OF THE CODEX COMMITTEE ON FOOD LABELLING" Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 2014-12-10.
  7. Monroe bicyclist prepares for 4,200-mile roundtrip" Journal-News. Retrieved 2014-12-10.
  8. "Ken Mercurio's Journey" WLWT. Retrieved 2014-12-10.
  9. "Head Over Wheels: Book Review" Drawing Around Dayton. Retrieved 2014-12-10.
  10. "Kenneth C. Mercurio" Microsoft Academic Search. Retrieved 2014-12-10.