“No preservatives” - Sugar is a preservative. Salt is a preservative. Vinegar is a preservative. Lemon juice is a preservative.
“Sugar-free” - but they add alternative sweeteners that have a range of other health issues associated with them.
“Cholesterol-free” - I once saw this on a juice container and had a laugh.
What people don’t realise is that with food formulation, what you take out, you have to put something back in to replace it. A low/no sugar product will likely be higher in something else like fat to make it a palatable product… So labels make claims on some things, but will purposely not mention the others.
“Sugar free” is such a red flag, you know they are going to go crazy with the artificial crap. I try to eat less sugar but the same goes for alternative sweeteners, plus I can’t stand the taste of them. I look for “Sugar free” so I know not to buy it, that shit’s going to be disgusting.
most of the brand names one uses aspartame. some sugar gree gum, mints use omstly xylitol. some non sugar sweeteners actually contain sugar in it, they try to be deceptive by labeling it dextrose, or maltadextrin.
Cholesterol-free is such a bullshit label anyway because dietary cholesterol doesn’t do anything special to your own cholesterol. You are not a chicken and the egg yolk will not go directly to your bloodstream. Your blood has human cholesterol that you made yourself from the rest of the sugars and fats you ate, digested, converted, stored, and reeconverted.
I give “gluten free” a pass because it’s not always obvious. Some people do have very severe reactions and some products do, unsuspectingly, contain gluten in the form of filler content or for some other mechanical use. Sausage is specifically known to use wheat product as filler and binder. Same for deli meats and veggie burgers. Some places will even throw breadcrumbs into their ground beef for burgers to fake it’s tenderness, so it crumbles like a meatloaf would.
Then there’s seasonings. Potato chips are made from potatoes, right? But not all chips are potato chips. You’d hope a gluten-issue person would be able to identify pita chips or bagged crackers from the chips selection would have gluten, but it turns out, despite being a corn chip, Dorito dust can affect gluten sensitivities. Soy sauce and malt vinegar are issues, and seasoning mixes use flour to help distribution
Oh, and processing aids. That’s another kettle of fish. Same with things that are added and then taken out, or vice versa, as long as they are the same amounts, they don’t have to be on the label unless it’s an allergen. (Australia)
I’m always wary of places that cook or bake their own food, especially home businesses. They don’t have the money to pay an accredited food lab to do their labels and testing for them. I’ve done my share of food label auditing, and I’ve seen some pretty shocking things.
“No preservatives” - Sugar is a preservative. Salt is a preservative. Vinegar is a preservative. Lemon juice is a preservative.
“Sugar-free” - but they add alternative sweeteners that have a range of other health issues associated with them.
“Cholesterol-free” - I once saw this on a juice container and had a laugh.
What people don’t realise is that with food formulation, what you take out, you have to put something back in to replace it. A low/no sugar product will likely be higher in something else like fat to make it a palatable product… So labels make claims on some things, but will purposely not mention the others.
Edit: Yay! 100th comment!
“Sugar free” is such a red flag, you know they are going to go crazy with the artificial crap. I try to eat less sugar but the same goes for alternative sweeteners, plus I can’t stand the taste of them. I look for “Sugar free” so I know not to buy it, that shit’s going to be disgusting.
most of the brand names one uses aspartame. some sugar gree gum, mints use omstly xylitol. some non sugar sweeteners actually contain sugar in it, they try to be deceptive by labeling it dextrose, or maltadextrin.
“Nitrate free! *except for that found naturally in the shitload of powdered celery we put in there”
And “low sodium”. They replace sodium chloride with potassium chloride instead.
Which can interact with blood pressure medication.
Cholesterol-free is such a bullshit label anyway because dietary cholesterol doesn’t do anything special to your own cholesterol. You are not a chicken and the egg yolk will not go directly to your bloodstream. Your blood has human cholesterol that you made yourself from the rest of the sugars and fats you ate, digested, converted, stored, and reeconverted.
Let me introduce you to “Gluten Free”. On a sausage.
I give “gluten free” a pass because it’s not always obvious. Some people do have very severe reactions and some products do, unsuspectingly, contain gluten in the form of filler content or for some other mechanical use. Sausage is specifically known to use wheat product as filler and binder. Same for deli meats and veggie burgers. Some places will even throw breadcrumbs into their ground beef for burgers to fake it’s tenderness, so it crumbles like a meatloaf would.
Then there’s seasonings. Potato chips are made from potatoes, right? But not all chips are potato chips. You’d hope a gluten-issue person would be able to identify pita chips or bagged crackers from the chips selection would have gluten, but it turns out, despite being a corn chip, Dorito dust can affect gluten sensitivities. Soy sauce and malt vinegar are issues, and seasoning mixes use flour to help distribution
Oh, and processing aids. That’s another kettle of fish. Same with things that are added and then taken out, or vice versa, as long as they are the same amounts, they don’t have to be on the label unless it’s an allergen. (Australia)
I’m always wary of places that cook or bake their own food, especially home businesses. They don’t have the money to pay an accredited food lab to do their labels and testing for them. I’ve done my share of food label auditing, and I’ve seen some pretty shocking things.
That is actually illegal in my country.
Germany. There is a reason German sausages are good. Part of it are stringent regulations.
Whereabouts are you?