An online petition is circulating on the web, asking Kraft to remove unsafe ingredients from its foods sold in the US. The petition, by MomsRising.org claims that Kraft has voluntarily removed artificial colorings and sweeteners from products in the UK, EU, and Australia. The move by Kraft was mostly due to pressure from consumer groups and government, yet here in the US, Kraft continues to sell the products with the undesired chemicals.

What you need to know:

Global conglomerates have to adapt their products to local tastes, agricultural production, and regulation. Mexican Coca Cola is a simple example, it’s manufactured with sugar, not high fructose corn syrup as in the states.

When it comes to artificial colorings, Europe is ahead of the curve compared to the US. It’s no surprise then, to see that Kraft has figured out a way to remove the fluorescent-like Yellow #5 and Yellow #6 from its Mac and Cheese products.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the exact same product sold here in the US.

Are you familiar with other examples you may have noticed in your travels? Please share in the comments below.

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1. Folate is a water-soluble B vitamin that occurs naturally in food such as spinach, asparagus, and lentils.

2. Folic acid (vitamin B9) is a synthetic form of folate. It is found in supplements and added to fortified foods such as breads and cereals.

3. Folic acid is also called folicin.

4. Folate helps produce and maintain new cells, therefore its importance during infancy and pregnancy.

5. Folic acid is is actually better absorbed by the body than natural folate, almost twice as efficiently.

6. The daily requirement for folate is 400 micrograms (mcg). Pregnant and lactating women – 600 mcg.

7. A safe upper limit to folate consumptions is 1000 mcg a day.

8. Folate deficient women who become pregnant are at greater risk of giving birth to low birth weight, premature, and/or infants with neural tube defects.

9. Beginning in 1998, the FDA has required the addition of folic acid to enriched breads, cereals, flours, corn meals, pastas, rice, and other grain products. The stated goal was reduction in rates of neural tube defects in newborns.

10. Despite the fortification, many women planning to become pregnant add a folic acid supplement to their daily routine.

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Neither. The top spot goes to Prime Beef.

Followed by Choice, then Select, then 6 more levels.

The USDA defines 9 quality levels for beef. They are stamped on the carcass but by the time you buy your cuts at the butcher counter, you’ll only know by examining the sticker pasted onto the plastic packaging.

From the USDA:

• Prime grade is produced from young, well-fed beef cattle. It has abundant marbling and is generally sold in restaurants and hotels. Prime roasts and steaks are excellent for dry-heat cooking (broiling, roasting, or grilling).
• Choice grade is high quality, but has less marbling than Prime. Choice roasts and steaks from the loin and rib will be very tender, juicy, and flavorful and are, like Prime, suited to dry-heat cooking. Many of the less tender cuts, such as those from the rump, round, and blade chuck, can also be cooked with dry heat if not overcooked. Such cuts will be most tender if “braised” — roasted, or simmered with a small amount of liquid in a tightly covered pan.
• Select grade is very uniform in quality and normally leaner than the higher grades. It is fairly tender, but, because it has less marbling, it may lack some of the juiciness and flavor of the higher grades. Only the tender cuts (loin, rib, sirloin) should be cooked with dry heat. Other cuts should be marinated before cooking or braised to obtain maximum tenderness and flavor.
• Standard and Commercial grades – are frequently sold as ungraded or as “store brand” meat.
• Utility, Cutter, and Canner grades are seldom, if ever, sold at retail but are used instead to make ground beef and processed products.

Want to take a guess what’s in your TV Dinner, hot dog, or burger?

What to do at the supermarket:

We used to never remember what the top 3 grades where. A friend suggested remembering the acronym PiCkS when buying beef. good luck.

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Here’s a children’s book we’ll be stocking on our shelf soon – We Eat Food That’s Fresh. Check out the video intro:

From the publisher:

A whimsical chef encourages children to try new foods. He stirs up their interest in fruits and vegetables in the garden, kitchen and while on an outing to the beach. It comes with a musical CD that will delight children with easy rhymes and repetitive verses. I’m sure this fun and persuasive chef will have kids tasting new fruits & veggies in no time!

More info:

Author: Angela Russ-Ayon
Illustrator: Cathy June
Our Rainbow Press
ages 4-8

What you need to know:

With so many branding messages by junk food manufacturers and co-marketing of toys at fast food places, it’s hard to find positive healthy eating messages for young children. Hopefully a book like this can help both parents and children make better decisions about what food to buy, and encourage families to spend more time together preparing meals.

What to do at the supermarket:

If you are grocery shopping with your children, here are some tips:

1. Setting ground rules in advance always helps. For example, one or two snacks, no more.

2. Choose a new and special fruit we’ve never had before.

3. Help in choosing individual pieces of produce – how to choose.

4. Have the kids “hunt” for items that are ingredients of a recipe for later preparation at home.

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The American Heart Association has just published a report on sugar consumption [PDF] in its Circulation Journal. Not surprisingly, Americans are consuming way too many teaspoonfuls of ADDED SUGAR in our diet.

How much? 22 teaspoons worth on average!

If you think that’s not typical, just add up a  breakfast cereal (3 teaspoons),  lowfat strawberry yogurt (3 teaspoons), one can of soda pop (8 teaspoons), 3 teaspoons for three cups of coffee during the day, and a serving of ice cream for dessert (4 teaspoons). You’ll have reached a similar amount. And that’s not counting natural sugars.

Added sugar is found in refined and processed foods such as snacks, breakfast cereals and soft drinks. Sugar is also naturally found in fruits, vegetables, and dairy products. And though our body reacts to sugar pretty much the same way no matter the source, when we eat fruits we also get the benefits of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber that helps us feel fuller, longer.

The by the AHA is interesting because traditionally the organization has endorsed some sugary foods as heart healthy. Companies have paid, and still pay, to get the AHA symbol on products that are low-fat, regardless of their sugar content. It’s good deal for both sides – the AHA gets much needed funds, and the companies get an “objective” approval of their product’s nutritional value.

Perhaps now the AHA will take a more holistic approach to is endorsements, and stop recommending foods that have taken out the fat but added sugar as compensation. Removing one “bad” nutrient and replacing it with another “bad” one has not done consumers any good. Just ask the 24 million diabetics and 1 million additions each year.

The nutrition panel on food products displays the total amount of sugar in a serving. Unfortunately it doesn’t tell us how much is naturally present and how much has been added. In some categories such as cereals, pastries, and sweet snacks, you can bet that most of the sugar, if not all, is not naturally present.

The FDA would do wisely to require added sugar to appear as a separate line in the nutrition panel. Until then, we’ll have to guess.

What to do at the supermarket:

The less processed a food, the less added sugars. Consuming sugars from natural sources such as fruits is excellent and tasty.

Most people, by just quitting soft drinks and drinking coffee straight, can drastically cut their refined sugar intake.

Leave the few teaspoons of added sugar to a nice scoop of ice cream over a fresh hot brownie.

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We’ve been following developments in nutrition rating schemes and front of package labeling for quite some time. Smart Choices is a labeling system that informs consumers which products are a nutritious choice using a green check mark as a quick glance visual cue. The selection criteria is based on nutrients in the foods, and has been defined by the food industry together with nutrition experts. This bias has created an unobjective system, whose purpose is to help sell more products under the guise of nutrition and health.

Here is a perfect example – Smart Choices has recently been spotted in supermarkets across the country on products such as breakfast cereals, including the sugary kid stuff. If we needed any further proof that this benchmark system is NOT IN THE HEALTH INTEREST of consumers,  take a look at Froot Loops, which has received the coveted “Smart Choice” checkmark. Froot Loops is manufactured by Kellogg’s, one of the members of Smart Choices.

What you need to know:

Let’s look at the Ingredient List and Nutrition Panel:

Sugar, Corn Flour, Wheat Flour, Whole Oat Flour, Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (One or More of: Coconut, Cottonseed, and Soybean) (Less than 0.5 g Trans Fat Per Serving), Salt, Sodium Ascorbate and Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Reduced Iron, Natural Orange, Lemon, Cherry, Raspberry, Blueberry, Lime, and Other Natural Flavors, Red No. 40, Blue No. 2, Yellow No. 6, Zinc Oxide, Niacinamide, Turmeric Color, Blue No. 1, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Thiamin Hydrochloride (Vitamin B1), Vitamin A Palmitate, Annatto Color, BHT (Preservative), Folic Acid, Vitamin D, Vitamin B12.

The first ingredient is sugar! In fact, Froot Loops is 41% sugar by weight. And Whoa(!) partially hydrogenate vegetable oil too. Doesn’t sound like a smart choice to us. A 1 oz serving (which by the way is too small for regular people) contains 12 grams of sugar – that’s 3 teaspoons. 48 of the 110 calories per serving are from sugar.

And check out the partially hydrogenated vegetable oil – that’s trans fat folks, even if there is less than half a gram per serving, it adds up to 8 grams in a box. People should not consume ANY trans fat during the day.

Additionally, there is less than 1 oz of fiber per serving, and as you probably know, breakfast cereals are expected to be an important source of fiber.

The rainbow of artificial colors (Red No. 40, Blue No. 2, Yellow No. 6) are of a dubious nature, as some may contribute to hyperactivity in kids. Europe is twisting manufacturers’ arms to get rid of the colors voluntarily.

And another note, on marketing to kids. Froot Loops, like many other kids focused “food”, has a thoroughly entertaining website filled with games and activities, all of which are embedded with froot loops and other branding messages. What a way to burn a brand into our children’s young and impressionable minds. To ease some corporate guilt, or most likely at the advice of their legal team, Kellogg’s has a tiny disclaimer at the bottom of the page that we’re sure all kids read before playing:

KIDS: This page may contain a product or promotion advertisement.
Remember, you should get a parent’s permission before you try to buy anything online or give information about yourself.

Please, please food industry executives – stop indoctrinating our children to eat crap. You have kids too!

What to do at the supermarket:

Do not trust health claims or cutesy checkmarks and recommendations on product packages. Look at the ingredient list and the nutrition panel. There should be less than 6 grams of sugar per serving, 3 grams or more of fiber, NO partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, and no artificial food colorings.

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Yesterday we wrote about the preposterous health claims on food and supplement packaging. Apparently they are still insufficient for some manufacturers. They are now suing the FDA to get more lenience in publishing marketing drivel in the guise of scientific recommendations.

We’re happy to learn that in other parts of the world, there is a more consumer friendly approach. Here is what’s happening in Europe:

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is conducting a scientific review of 4,000 health claims made by food producers, including cereal manufacturers. Most of the 60-plus rulings published so far for foods, including pro-biotic drinks and yoghurts, have been dismissive of industry health claims.

The European Commission is also developing a scheme to restrict food manufacturers promoting products on the basis of one or two healthy ingredients if they also contain “high” levels of sugar, saturated fat or salt.

Read more… (UK Times Online)

This means that most cereals will have to remove their misleading health claims, and start concentrating on reducing the vast amounts of sugar present in the most popular breakfast of the Western World.

The FDA would do well to learn from EFSA and UK’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) that, in this case, have placed consumer interest ahead of that of manufacturers.

Top o’ the morning to you all.

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Over at the LA Times Health Blog, Rosie Mestel updates on a new lawsuit targeting the FDA, demanding less stringent standards for placing health claims on foods and supplements.

An example is selenium, which manufacturers would like to embellish to the effect of:

“Selenium may reduce the risk of prostate cancer.”

Here is the disclaimer that the FDA requires on the product package:

“Two weak studies suggest that selenium intake may reduce the risk of prostate cancer. However, four stronger studies and three weak studies showed no reduction in risk. Based on these studies, FDA concludes that it is highly unlikely that selenium supplements reduce the risk of prostate cancer.”

What you need to know:

The above is an example of a Qualified Health Claim. It is different from an Authorized Health Claim, for which there is a substantial body of scientific evidence.

The first appearance of qualified health claims was in the late nineties on dietary supplement packages, as a result of a legal battle between the FDA and manufacturers. In 2003, through the Consumer Health Information for Better Nutrition Initiative, qualified health claims were allowed on foods as well. A petition process was put in place, and ever since manufacturers can file for claims.

The petition process does not automatically guarantee a health claim, and even if approved there are three levels of qualified health claims:

1. Strongest: “Although there is scientific evidence supporting the claim, the evidence is not conclusive.”
2. Medium: “Some scientific evidence suggests …However, FDA has determined that this evidence is limited and not conclusive.”
3. Weakest: “Very limited and preliminary scientific research suggests…. FDA concludes that there is little scientific evidence supporting this claim.”

Obviously manufacturers would like the strongest claims, but can’t cough up the requisite studies, despite many shelling out millions to sponsor research in universities and “independent” labs.

Thus we get funny disclaimers such as:

tomatoes/tomato sauce and prostate cancer: “Very limited and preliminary scientific research suggests that eating one-half to one cup of tomatoes and/or tomato sauce a week may reduce the risk of prostate cancer. FDA concludes that there is little scientific evidence supporting this claim.”

for green tea: “Two studies do not show that drinking green tea reduces the risk of breast cancer in women, but one weaker, more limited study suggests that drinking green tea may reduce this risk. Based on these studies, FDA concludes that it is highly unlikely that green tea reduces the risk of breast cancer.”

If history is an indicator, the new lawsuit will once again result in concessions to manufacturers in the name of First Amendment right of free speech. Our right as consumers not to be BSed by food and supplement producers are unfortunately absent from the Constitution.

What to do at the supermarket:

Ignore any marketing information you see on a product package that is not on the nutrition facts panel. Better yet, buy foods that don’t need a nutrition information panel – fresh vegetables, fruits, grains and legumes in bulk. Tap water needs no nutrition information either.

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Thank you to Bec from Food Geekery, a rehabilitated junk food addict, for sending this one over to us. Unless this is a hoax, Kentucky Fried Chicken is now offering “Double Down”, a bacon and cheese sandwich forgoing bread and opting for fried chicken filets as the bun.

Watch the video below (recorded with a cellphone, sorry for the bad quality).

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Once upon a time, people ate real food. Food that grew or was raised near their homes, and then prepared at the home. It may have been bland and boring to eat the same food over and over, and it certainly demanded a lot of work, but people intimately knew what was on their plate.

Then came trade and technology and progress and lots of great things happened in the world, including access to new foods and spices and flavors.  Refrigerators and freezer and microwave ovens and TV Dinners followed. And fast food, and food science with additives and preservatives and busy families that forgot what it means to prepare a meal by cooking it from scratch.

For a while, the abundance led to great things. People were not hungry anymore. They lived longer. They could spend time on other things rather than food preparation.

But as a society we took things too far.

And the results of abandoning our kitchens are evident all around us. The “food” we consume today is making us live shorter lives than we potentially could. We are consuming too many food-like products and too little real food. So we try to educate ourselves on nutrition and nutrients and what to eat and what not to eat. We buy diet books and diet products.

And in the last few years, we are buying more and more functional foods. Manufacturers don’t want us to stop buying their products, and so the big trend is dressing up these pretend foods with a healthy image. This is done by adding vitamins to soft drinks, calcium to ice cream, and various other fortifications that create a health halo for products that are mere snacks.

And unfortunately, we as consumers are falling for this trick:

The industry calls these products “nutraceuticals” or “functional foods.” Critics say they could lead people to consume too much of certain nutrients, plus too many calories and fats.

New York University food scientist Marion Nestle calls them “calorie distractors.”

“Functional foods are about marketing, not health,” she said. “They delude people into thinking that these things are healthy,” and they often eat more than is wise, she said.

What to do at the supermarket:

Don’t get fooled or confused by slick packaging and health claims. The more you cook and prepare meals at home, the healthier you’ll eat. The less processed your raw materials, the more nutritious your meals. And the more water you drink instead of all the vitamin/energy/soft drinks, the better off your wallet and your body will be.

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