Food fraud a worrying trend. : Hi everyone... - Healthy Eating

Healthy Eating

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Food fraud a worrying trend.

17 Replies

Hi everyone,

After Matt's poll on cooking oils I think that we should all be aware of food fraud as we tend to read labels and take them at face value, yet in the past few years we have had milk with melamine added in China we had the Tesco horse meat scandal where cheap horsemeat was sold as expensive choice beef and we have the mislabelling of Italian olive oils.

So here's an article that claims food fraud is rife in the US and another reason to be wary of processed and especially cheap processed foods:

moneytalksnews.com/6-tips-a...

I think its so wrong that non free range and non organic foods are wrongly labelled to take advantage of the fact that we the consumer chose a higher quality item and feel that we should all be aware of this and demand better from the supermarkets who literally control the markets by demanding low prices from their suppliers.

The first step is awareness because if we all bought organic from known local suppliers they would have to get their act together.

Jerry 😊

17 Replies
Zest profile image
Zest

Hi Hidden

Thanks for this thought-provoking post - I will certainly try to be careful when sourcing and choosing products.

Zest :-)

in reply to Zest

Me too Zest its very sad that greed has caused this. 😊

Agoodenough profile image
Agoodenough

Hi Jerry,

This is a very interesting and concerning subject.

in reply to Agoodenough

It is Ali 😊

Activity2004 profile image
Activity2004Administrator

The article was very helpful and gave great information. Thank you for posting this for us, Hidden .:-) It gives me an idea for the next time I go shopping.

in reply to Activity2004

Thanks Leah, it's made me realise that we have to be more vigilant with some of our choices. 😊

Thank you Jerry for sharing the link. It so annoys me that the supermarkets and manufacturers make and sell low grade food.

in reply to

Thanks Alicia, the problem is their mantra is cost weight and space, so they have their priorities wrong. 😙

in reply to

They certainly do Jerry hence making my own food most of the time.

Matt2584 profile image
Matt2584

As you may be well aware, the vegan community is soaring.

I am not a vegan by a long shot, I still like to eat some meat here and there but I do not eat as much meat as I used to and I eat a lot more fruit and veg now, something I didn’t do a lot of at all years ago.

I have mentioned before that I have a brain injury and I do also use the Headway community forum on HU.

I have mentioned on their that I would not be surprised if my terrible diet when I was little was the main reason behind my brain tumours.

I got the response that I would expect from people who clearly were not well informed which usually followed laughter.

But after people read the link you posted, which I thank you for :), my theory about diet possibly causing brain injury does not sound so much of a joke.

I shall also point out that in US they are terrible by using factory farms.

Thousands of cows, pigs, chickens get slaughtered each day in these farms.

There is a brilliant documentary, very thorough, which explains how badly we treat animals. Not just for food but fashion, entertainment and so on.

My mum has said a few times before how the factory farms are disgusting and I don’t think UK is as bad as US.

Well no, we aren’t as bad as US but that might be because we don’t have as much land as the US.

I have signed petitions to stop some of these factory farms in UK and I was reading yesterday how they are spreading across europe. I think it was in Denmark they have them and are built near a village and residents were complaining about the smell the farms make.

If I can, I try not to drink so much cow’s milk any more and I usually buy myself cartons of plant-based alternatives like oat milk.

One time, I was running low on oat milk and had to resort for a day of cow’s milk. The taste is so plain and boring. Oat milk is creamier yet not fattening either :).

AndrewT profile image
AndrewT in reply to Matt2584

Dear Matt2584,

I too have a Brain Injury, as a result of Vasculitis, and attend a Headway Day Centre- in Colchester. I wasn't aware of an 'On Line' presence, can you give/send me a 'Link' please?

Though I DO, I confess, buy from Supermarkets- for convenience- I do TRY to buy from Independents as much as I can. My local shop, a VERY well stocked 'Corner Shop' (even if it's Not on a Corner) have a, quite reasonable, amount of Fresh Produce. They also have Smaller, about four slices, packs of- good quality- bacon, for a pound. The pre-made Sandwiches, something I DON'T often buy, seem 'Average, or above'. Overall it's a good shop- one that seems to 'Take Pride' in what it stocks.

I DO, so miss, my lovely 'Independent Butchers' near where I used to live. They Cure there own Meat, make there own Sausages, often literally 'Butcher' Chops etc in front of your eyes. I am often, near there, on a Monday- though not this week- when I go to an 'Art Group'. I bought some beautiful Stuffed Chicken Quarters, one week, and cooked them for myself and a neighbour. (Medium Hot Oven- about 3 or4- for around fifty minutes)

Overhanging out garden is, an enormous, Chery Plum Tree I retrieved a lot of 'Windfalls', that weren't quite ripe, following a Very Gusty Spell. I made a Lovely Smoothie, though I did have to use- a fair bit of- sugar. I used a sieve to gently extract, the Pectin, that I added to the Fruit Mixture. One, nice Thick, smoothie which- apart from the sugar- is entirely Natural.

As I said above, can you send me the Headway 'Link' please Matt.

Many thanks

AndrewT

Matt2584 profile image
Matt2584 in reply to AndrewT

Hi Andrew,

There’s no need to send a link to you. At the top right of this page is a search box. Type in ‘Headway’. This will take you to a new page and then click on ‘communities’ and it will list any Headway communities.

Join the community and you can start posting on there and adding comments and so on.

Sorry to hear of your brain injury as well and hope you get some advice you need on there :).

Ouanne profile image
Ouanne

I agree with you Jerry, 100%

in reply to Ouanne

Good for you Ouanne 😊

Lesley1234567 profile image
Lesley1234567

I have been suspicious of foods since a well known MP had his young granddaughter eat a beef burger in a news report to show there was nothing wrong with the beef we were eating. Only to be proved there was. Cannot recall the exact details but was then followed by foot and mouth. I now only eat the cows down the lane from me and know they are not being raised for profit entirely. I know recently we had a mini discussion about supermarket loyalty cards. I shop in a well know food hall and they have a reputation for quality. How long it will last or how misguided am I. Not sure, but I don’t buy food because it’s cheap, will buy end date. And I buy scarcely any prepared foods. Some I cannot avoid, and I always look for British produce, not ‘packed in Britain’.

in reply to Lesley1234567

Hey I remember that Lesley1234567 it was the agricultural minister and it was mad cow disease, It's that head in the sand approach of...crisis what crisis...And the funny thing is we vote for them...😊

Lesley1234567 profile image
Lesley1234567

I thought it was mad cows, but then it seemed as one crisis disappeared then it was something els, so I didn’t eat beef for years. Now I’m just careful where I buy my food from and buy British as much as possible.

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