Organic food in supermarkets

System

very interesting vincenta, sounds good

Edwardia

Had to ask for directions since we didn't know where McDonald's was and the person who took my order had to go rummage but yes mission accomplished...McDonald's M Happy Meals 250ml British pasteurised homogenised Soil Association certified organic semi-skimmed fresh milk 79p

Looking at the nutrition label I was surprised that there was 12g sugar in 250ml of milk ie 4.8g per 100ml. I checked it against Yeo Valley and Sainsbury's SO organic semi-skimmed milks though and they state the same, 4.8g sugar per 100ml.

Didn't find organic OJ in M&S but did find organic eggs, milk and tea.

Kirri

^ I don't like milk, but never knew there was sugar in it, is that natural sugar, it's not added?

Didn't know M&S did org eggs. The OJ was in the fresh cabinet, only a 1 litre sized, orange and green carton. Wonder if they only stock selected org items in each store?

I got organic cherry tomatoes in Asda £1.30, not very red though.. they had organic peppers but from Israel so I put them back, don't mind from Spain etc but no further. Also got organic carrots £1, reasonable mix of sizes ie not all huge ones though the ones I got in Sainsbury's last week were much nicer and in a better bag too (compostable feel I think but didn't make them wet like the Asda plastic packaging).

Edwardia

In the UK our labelling laws state that if sugar is added it would have to be declared. So yes it's natural milk sugar, lactose, which some people can't have as they lack the necessary enzyme to break it down. Lactofree has less lactose than normal milk plus the lactose-digesting enzyme added and it tastes fine, but it's 1.29 per litre in Sainsbury's :eek:

I looked in all the chilled cabinets and nope, no organic OJ at all. The eggs are in green coloured packaging but the milk and tea weren't. Makes it difficult to pick out the organic products.

I wouldn't buy anything from Israel either . I bought organic carrots from Sainsbury's last week and yesterday and they are rather good.

My system failed yesterday. Usually I do my Ocado order midweek and take my BlackBerry with me whenever I go shopping with my mother. If there's anything in front of me which is same price or cheaper than Ocado I nab it and delete from the order. Couldn't get that to work yesterday so ended up with loads of carrots and mushrooms.

Bought Sainsbury's SO organic mixed herbs yesterday 11g 1.58 and really tasted flavourful. I hope they will expand the range.

rufydoofyM

Edwardia wrote: »

Pretty sure it's Mojisola who is anti-homogenisation ie breaking up fat molecules in milk. OH decided today that he would rather support a British farm than a dairy giant so we're switching to Abel & Cole milk from Berkeley Farm, which is UNhomogenised. Mojisola says the fat molecules after homogenisation are so small, that they can get into your bloodstream.

We stopped buying homogenised milk a year ago and until recently were only able to find the Duchy milk at Waitrose. Discovering that Ocado sell Calon wen unhomogenised is what spured me on in using them more, but of all the milk Berkley farm is our favourite.

We bought a water distiller for our Christmas present and have been using it for the past 3 weeks. Its amazing and frightening the sludge that is in our tap water. We had been drinking bottled water, but were concerned about the bpa leaching from plastic bottles. Hormone mimicking chemicals is a real concern to us, as is flouride, and trying to avoid them seems difficult at times. Most cans are lined with a bpa containing substance and goodness knows what else leaches from other packaging. I remember reading an article sometime ago about how chemicals in recycled cardboard boxes was making its way through plastic and into cereals. I think Jordans were one of the first to stop using recycled packaging.
Is anyone else concerned and taking steps to avoid these chemical nasties.

Kirri

I try and use mainly glass for storage, have a filter tap installed in the kitchen partly for the pets, partly for me. It's only a cheap one though, not sure how well it works. If I buy the odd bottle of fizzy water I always try and get glass.

But so much stuff comes in plastic these days it's hard to avoid


Edwardia, not noticed the So Org herbs, I usually buy herbs from Waitrose, they have a basic range.

System

Kirri, that is weird what you said about the organic carrots from Asda as I got some yesterday and today I noticed also the wet carrots in the bag which is slightly annoying!! They were £1 for 700g I think, Tesco charge £1.30.

Kirri

berbastrike wrote: »

Kirri, that is weird what you said about the organic carrots from Asda as I got some yesterday and today I noticed also the wet carrots in the bag which is slightly annoying!! They were £1 for 700g I think, Tesco charge £1.30.

Yep, the Asda carrots themselves were ok but probably best if eaten quickly given the plastic bag, don't think mine will last long without going mouldy - I had a look at mine again today and I still had a couple of the Sainsbury's ones in the fridge bought on 2 Jan and they are still perfect (think they were 30p ish more?) - the Sainsbury's bag is compostable so must be more natural/breathable, kept the carrots really well but with no wetness. Think I will have to make the effort to get to Sainsbury's more.

The Sainsbury's/Waitrose organic items are much better imo, the tomatoes I got in Waitrose earlier this week were also much nicer than the Asda ones.

rufydoofyM

Kirri wrote: »

I try and use mainly glass for storage, have a filter tap installed in the kitchen partly for the pets, partly for me. It's only a cheap one though, not sure how well it works. If I buy the odd bottle of fizzy water I always try and get glass.

But so much stuff comes in plastic these days it's hard to avoid


Edwardia, not noticed the So Org herbs, I usually buy herbs from Waitrose, they have a basic range.

Even our 19yrs cat prefers the distilled water. She seemed to be drinking rain water so when we got the distiller we put 2 bowls down, tap water and distilled and she chose distilled everytime. The money we save on bottled water will cover the cost of the distiller within a year.

On the subject of carrots I've also found Sainsbobs to be the best and cheapest.

Edwardia

Our tap water is spring water with added chlorine. I cook with it and have it in tea and coffee but otherwise drink Evian, Pellegrino or Badoit in plastic bottles. Does Perrier still come in glass bottles ?

Glass is heavier so adds to transport costs and that's not really environmentally friendly. You're kind of damned if you do or don't.

I, along with my entire family, had bad gastroenteritis as a kid when we were on holiday in Wales - the mountain springs look so inviting you forget rainwater washes off the sheep poo into the streams So even if you had your own water supply it would probably have to be tested, filtered and boiled.

We have an electronic water softener for the kitchen supply and boiler but it doesn't seem to work that well. I add Arm & Hammer natural washing soda to the Ecover when we do a wash.

Don't buy much tinned food at all. The odd tin of org chopped tomatoes, Heinz Classics organic cream of tomato soup or Biona or Geo Organics curry for OH. IF he gets the job he's after he would be able to go eat fresh organic food for lunch in the town so then I wouldn't be buying them.