I came across this article at work recently and it got me thinking. Is the food labelling that is currently typical actually appropriate.
As a health conscious parent with a child that has an allergy to dairy, nuts and, more unusually citrus, labelling is important to me. I find that I will check the allergen information for nuts and milk but still end up having to read the ingredients incase of lemon or orange being in something. You actually get to the stage where you become fairly intuitive about what will be OK and what wont, but you still read anyway.
So, ingredients and allergen info are important to me. Then there's the nutrional content - without really analysing products, how many people really gain from this? It's good for comparing similar products but never having followed a diet as such I don't know what's too much fat in a pasta dish etc. So, some shops and manufacturers (mainly supermarkets on their own brand) have now introduced the traffic light system that rates the sugar, fat, salt (and others) content of the meal. In theory, this should be great - a quick reference guide. But what it does mean is that some ready meals, full of "nasties" (by that I mean unnecessary chemicals and preservatives, sweetners etc) appear better than the separate ingredients to make an item.....
One that very few places seem to include (I've noticed M&S do on some products) is the number of portions of fruit and veg in a product, or the amount you need to eat of a fresh item to get a portion. That for me would be a great plus - it can't be argued, people understand that they should be eating 5 portions, and it's not misleading anyone.
I could go on about other labels - Fair Trade, Organic, Local, Leaf, Low Fat, "Diet" etc, but I'd be at it for ages. It does all back up my belief - cook from scratch, then you know what you're eating and feeding your family. Surely that's the easiest and safest way - best for everyone, and the environment.
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I have a lot of people who come to my store with allergies, mostly to wheat and gluten. Usually they do their research online or attend some of the seminars hosted in our cafe to know what it is that's been bothering them.
I would suggest seeing a doctor who can lead you in the right direction and give you an ideal list of what's ok so you don't have to do as much researching and reading every single label. That is, if it is a good doctor! Perhaps a nutritionist.
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