Organic food in supermarkets

Fire_Fox

sophlowe45 wrote: »

i got free range eggs too, and the situation ended up with my neighbour insisting eggs are high in cholesterol and i should not be eating them, i've noticed a lot of people think eggs, cheese, milk are bad (ok they were right about the butter) Actually come to think of it, female flatmates over the years have always tried to stop me eating eggs and it got really tiring every single day to be told don't eat this

Feign interest, ask them for links to the published meta analyses and longitudinal population studies, or exclaim you had no idea they were retraining as a dietician, how exciting! :j Or explain your nutritionists/ personal chef (that would be us lot ) recommended them.

Tasty eggs: protein, monounsaturates (healthy fats in olive oil!), various B vitamins, bioavailable vitamin D, iron, phosphorous, selenium
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/dairy-and-egg-products/111/2

Tasteless chicken breast
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/poultry-products/701/2

NHS position on eggs
"Eggs are a good choice as part of a healthy, balanced diet. As well as being a source of protein, they also contain vitamins and minerals. They can be part of a healthy meal that's quick and easy to make ...

Eggs and your diet

Eggs are a good source of:
protein
vitamin D
vitamin A
vitamin B2
iodine
There is no recommended limit on how many eggs people should eat. But to get the nutrients you need, make sure you eat as varied a diet as possible.
You can learn more about healthy eating in A balanced diet.
Eggs and cholesterol

Eggs contain cholesterol, and having high cholesterol levels in our blood increases our risk of heart disease. However, the amount of saturated fat we eat has more effect on the amount of cholesterol in our blood than eating eggs does. If your GP or health professional has told you to watch your cholesterol levels, your priority should be to cut down on saturated fat. You can get advice in Eat less saturated fat. If you are eating a balanced diet, you only need to cut down on eggs if you have been told to do so by your GP or dietitian."
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pages/eggs-nutrition.aspx


British Heart Foundation position (IIRC the limit was dropped in 2007 so anyone who tells you different is years out of date!)
"I've heard that eating too many eggs can raise your cholesterol - how many can I eat?
For most people there is currently no limit on the number of eggs that you can eat in a week. However, because the recommendation has changed over the years, it's often a common source of confusion.

In the past a restriction on eggs was recommended because we thought that foods high in cholesterol (including liver, kidneys and shellfish, as well as eggs) could have an impact on cholesterol levels in the body.

However, as research in this area has developed, so has our understanding of how foods that contain cholesterol affect people’s heart health.

For most people, the amount of saturated fat they eat has much more of an impact on their cholesterol than eating foods that contain cholesterol, like eggs and shellfish. So unless you have been advised otherwise by your doctor or dietician, if you like eggs, they can be included as part of a balanced and varied diet."
http://www.bhf.org.uk/heart-health/conditions/high-cholesterol.aspx

Edwardia

So ASDA has removed two brands of corned beef from stores because one of them tested positive for horse and phenylbutazone (bute)

I have a growing suspicion that adulteration of processed food with horse, donkey even dog, is happening on a huge scale.

Seems to me that the only reason this has come to light, is because the Irish FSA started using a test which we didn't have here, which could detect the horse.

Now labs are playing catch up and call me cynical, I suspect that all supermarkets and processors have been, if not actively allowing this stuff in cheap food ranges, at the very least turning a blind eye. Churning out food down to a price rather than up to a quality.

So how to avoid it, bearing in mind that there are no guarantees in life and our planet IS polluted ?

1. I would suggest that a manufacturer which cares enough to ensure that all the fish in its' fish fingers is Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified or that its' tea bags are Rainforest Alliance certified, may be a tad less willing to use crap in those products.

The certification bodies have to have a set of standards or neither consumers or manufacturers will take them seriously. Certifying food is a major income stream for all these bodies and if they don't enforce standards, their credibility and income could slump overnight.

So certification = a standard. It can also mean traceability, depending on the scheme.

That doesn't necessarily mean food becomes hellishly expensive. Lidl sells a bunch of organic Fairtrade bananas for £1. ASDA Extra Special organic Fairtrade 100g bars of chocolate cost £1.

2. Brands came about because food adulteration was rife and buying a brand meant buying a product the company was proud of and would stand by. That might not be so meaningful today but if a zillion Facebook users start complaining that a cereal now has glucose-fructose syrup not sugar, pretty soon it's all over the media and sales are dropping.

3. Own brands were touted by supermarkets in the past as being as good as the brands but cheaper. Does it seem like that way now ? It's all very well for :money:to suggest downgrading our food but the cheaper food seems to be where the problems are being found.

4. Economising on food is not the only way to save money.

Buying a new bed we desperately need at 60% off from the Sainsbury's offer (ends 16th April), saved us £500 and picked up Nectar points. I wouldn't ever save that much money by economising on shopping.

Buying mail order on a free/cheap delivery offer can be way cheaper than forking out for fuel/parking or fares to go to the shop. Or if you can get to a shop without it costing you much lots of stores now do free Click & Collect eg Boots, Waitrose, Marks & Spencer, Matalan, ASDA, Tesco, Wilkinson.

So shopping more creatively elsewhere can save money to spend on food.

5. How can we force supermarkets like Tesco and ASDA to take notice of us ?

All of them have customer service email addresses on their websites. That's an easy cost free way of making your complaint. You may not get a personalised reply, but you can bet that someone in the supermarket is having to justify why there are complaints coming in at a rate of 600 even 6000 a day.

If you don't have email you could write a letter and hand it in at customer services in-store or if they are really good they might have a FREEPOST address you can ask for.

If you have a private pension or investment you can email the company and ask them if the particular fund has shares in X company or supermarket. Please don't ask them to switch just you out of the shares. (Don't want anyone to lose dosh) If enough people say they don't want their fund investing in this kind of company then the fund may look to sell the shares and invest elsewhere.

Of course if you're a shareholder you have the option of email/letter to the CEO and if you have sufficient shares and it won't cost you too much you could go yell at the CEO at a shareholder meeting and demand he resigns

And if you're reading this thinking well I don't shop there now, you can write/email and tell them WHY you don't.

Edwardia gets off soapbox and slinks off...after high fiving Fire Fox

bornintoit

sophlowe45 wrote: »

i've noticed a lot of people think eggs, cheese, milk are bad (ok they were right about the butter)

Actually I have recently read an article which says butter is not as bad for you as we would have previously been led to believe.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2274747/At-truth-Butter-GOOD--margarine-chemical-gunk.html

I have a job interview today so please send me good vibes people.

alfsmum

lindseykim13 wrote: »

I also find myself checking in here often lol I find theres always loads of posts when I'm busy and none when i'm looking for stuff to read!

Anyway today I finally managed to get to b&ms and managed to find the organic raisons I went looking for. 59p a bag so I bought about 10! Should keep the kids stocked up for a while and I might pinch a few.

Also took order of my goodness direct order all looked fab-got oats and rice so assume pretty standard tasting as haven't tried any yet. The kids like the jellies i'm not keen on the apricots though they aren't very sweet and quite dark in colour.
Can anyone explain the difference in the types of dried apricots? I've had really nice sweet bright coloured ones which I love but not sure why these aren't the same.

lindseykim13, I believe it's the use of SO2 (sulphur dioxide) in processing which helps the fruit retain its orange colour. This process is banned in organic production. The lack of this additive is what gives organic dried apricots their brown colour.

Edwardia

bornintoit wrote: »

Actually I have recently read an article which says butter is not as bad for you as we would have previously been led to believe.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2274747/At-truth-Butter-GOOD--margarine-chemical-gunk.html

I have a job interview today so please send me good vibes people.

Sending good vibrations xxx

smallblueplanet

Edwardia wrote: »

Sending good vibrations xxx

Plus some organic certified good vibrations too!

Good luck!

sophlowe45

Sending organic certified good vibes too

One of the problems i'm now having is finding alternative places that have good customer service if something goes wrong.

Big stores who may sell substandard products, if something goes wrong, are generally helpful, issue refunds and replacements. Not that I return much apart from clothes or shoes within the 1 month return period.

I have used Ocado a few times now and Ocado seems great, i've not had to complain about anything yet, but I think if i did, they would actually help.

I get the feeling Whole Foods would also have good customer service, but this is based on the appearance of their store and the products they sell.

I don't want to be wasting my time and a lot of money ordering a lot of things from one place then having a damaged order sent. I am defining this as shopping creatively gone wrong

http://www.fairpensions.org.uk/about

Did my post about eggs get interpreted as I think eggs are bad? I don't at all, I need to switch to organic though. Anything i cook tastes rubbish unless its junk apart from eggs so I have at least 2 a day. I'm just so fed up of people telling me things are bad while eating regular pasta with artificial sauces in front of me, or eating very little food as they need to be a size 6. I think their choices are not great, but i'm going to try to force them to change in such an aggressive manner so frequently.

Beckyy

I love butter. I haven't bought margarine for a long time, and when I was looking at the one family had when I was visiting it looked horrible. I get Lurpak Organic spreadable which is butter and sunflower oil, it's delicious, but it's getting increasingly difficult to find. My main Tesco stopped stocking it, not the smaller one I was using haven't had it in stock for a while. Might head to Morrisons at the weekend so will put some in the freezer if they have it! I'd quite like butter in a dish but the cats would find it within a few minutes of it being out!

Quasar

Well I did go into As Nature Intended in Ealing today, after a visit to the dentist (two dental implants, sore mouth and bank balance, but that's another story)

They had 1kg packs of organic carrots, 2 for £3, which is quite good. Bought two.

I also bought a 750ml bottle of Biona Italian extra virgin olive oil, £5.90 (sophlowe take note ). I saw also the excellent La Terra E Il Cielo (Earth and Sky) Italian extra virgin olive oil at £15.90 for 750ml. Very steep indeed.

Still can't find my beloved organic kale anywhere. Meh.

sophlowe45

Thanks Quasar note taken I will visit As Nature Intended sometime in the next few weeks.

Hope you can find the kale somewhere (online?)

Checked Ocado price and it is £8.49 for Biona 1 litre so slightly more expensive per litre but I may take the option of having it delivered. Organic carrots 1.2kg 1.38 at Ocado at the moment as on offer, usually 1.85 so I may the carrots too as carrots last in the fridge.

As you can see I have an obsession with online shopping.