Check, Check, And Check Again

You're standing in a supermarket aisle looking at two similar products, trying to decide which to choose. You want to make the healthier choice but, as usual, you're in a hurry. Well, help is at hand.

A growing number of supermarkets and food manufacturers are using traffic light colours on the labels of some products to help you make your choice.


Food labeling is now compulsory here in the UK, mainly brought to bear, by the public with heightening amounts of allergies, so all food must be labels for nut traces, gluten etc.

As a member of the public you must be able to trust this labeling, but in the U.S. recently, Tyson Meats, one of the largest meat companies in the U.S., was caught in a truth-in-labeling violation.

Responding to the demand for fewer additives in food, Tyson introduced a chicken product labeled "raised without antibiotics." Except it's not true.

How can we hope to make informed food choices if we can't trust or believe the information provided on the package label?

Monosodium glutamate, or MSG, is an ingredient many of us have known to avoid for 15 years. We assume that if not specifically mentioned among the ingredients, MSG is not present. Not true. It is very often included in prepared foods under a different name, as glutamate, "natural flavors" or other code words. Those among the growing segment of the population with MSG, corn and/or soy allergies must be skilled detectives and inveterate label readers. Corn and soy do not have to be listed among the ingredients if they are derivatives of corn or soy, such as citric acid, guar gum, lecithin or "enriched" flour.
The Best Solution, grow your own, and then make your own, and you will know exactly what you are using, lets get back to the “Market Garden” culture.

One of the best solutions is to purchase locally produced food. When you can look the farmer in the eye, ask how the food is produced (chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides), what the animals are fed and how they are raised (hormones and antibiotics), plus other questions in alignment with your values, you can make choices with confidence.

And while we're asking, ask our legislators to promote accuracy in labeling with regard to foods in particular, and everything in general. We do not deserve to be misled in any way about the foods we choose to support our families.

By: Spud Larkin

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About the author: Spud Larkin is an up and coming food writer and critic, already renowned throughout the north-east of England for his honest and open reviews that come straight from the heart and tongue. read more of his reviews at Only good food

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