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Mandy Sacker

Mandy Sacker

Australian paediatric nutritionist, bestselling author, and founder of Real Food Rating; leading expert in childhood nutrition and food policy reform.

Jul 16, 2026

15:03
But is there any conversation, Mandy, around why we need these sorts of pesticides? Is it to prolong the life of the produce? Is there any conversation around that? So when we look at berries,
15:17
they are more susceptible to the weather and to pests.
15:21
So, you know, what we need to look at is more funding to look at different ways, I guess, of better farming principles.
15:29
But that's not my lane.
15:31
So in terms of regen farmers, there's a whole discussion there.
15:36
And I would say, please invite farmers on.
15:38
They are so important.
20:06
for anyone who's listening today, how confident should we be? What are some things that we can do to reduce pesticide exposure in terms of washing or what can we actually achieve?
CarlaHOST
3:36
But is there any conversation, Mandy, around why we need these sorts of pesticides? Is it to prolong the life of the produce? Is there any conversation around that? So when
3:49
we look at berries, they are a little more susceptible to the weather and to pests.
3:54
So, you know, what we need to look at is more funding to look at different ways, I guess, of better farming principles.
4:03
But that's not my lane.
4:05
So, you know, in terms of regen farmers, there's a whole discussion there.
4:09
And I would say, please invite farmers on.
4:12
They are so important.
CarlaHOST
8:40
for anyone who's listening today, how confident should we be? What are some things that we can do to reduce pesticide exposure in terms of washing or what can we actually achieve?
56:52
So just to go back to
56:55
after having a baby, I spent a lot of time and also my background was researching products for one of the world's largest treatment and prevention programs.
57:04
And I was also Australia's first chief nutrition officer in the childcare space.
57:10
So what prompted me to really start calling this out publicly was that my following on social media was growing.
57:16
So I had a bigger parent audience.
57:19
And what I was seeing being served in canteens and even in daycare centers to babies, to one-year-olds, two-year-olds, I knew nutritionally we're exceeding sodium intake and we're giving them chemicals that are actually banned in foods for infants and children in many other countries.
57:37
So that's when I went onto social media and I first began calling out Vegemite because it is an iconic Australian staple and a lot of families are having it on a daily basis.
61:27
I guess then, would you personally see the launch of Vegemite Kids as a sort of validation of some of the concerns that you've been raising? Or do you think it's more about changing consumer preferences or both?

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