Do you look at the ingredients of products you buy and does it influence your shopping decisions?

sinar

Yes, I do look and it sometimes influences my shopping.

Yes, I always look at the ingredients, I’m trying to avoid all ultra processed food, I buy mostly fresh food, but anything with a label I check carefully.

Marvel1

Yes, I do look and it often influences my shopping.

When it contains onions, I tend to avoid buying the item.

HillStreetBlues

Yes, I do look and it often influences my shopping.

Never buy anything with artificial sweeteners in, vile stuff.

Ectophile

HillStreetBlues said:

Never buy anything with artificial sweeteners in, vile stuff.

Never buy anything with sugar in. nasty stuff.

thriftytracey

Yes, I do look and it sometimes influences my shopping.

I think nowadays it is easy to spot UPF's without even looking at the label.  I try to avoid wherever possible and home cook.  I was quite shocked that the expensive "Whole Earth" Peanut butter has listed in ingredients "sustainable palm oil".  I won't be buying that again.

knightstyle

Just have a look at what is in pate chicken liver is down to about 50% in chicken liver pate! Even fish pates have a lot of pork fat in them.

Murphybear

jon81uk said:

Murphybear said:

I never bothered much until recently when I was going to make a Victoria sponge for a friend but was short on time and bought one from a major supermarket.  The list of ingredients horrified me

INGREDIENTS: Wheat Flour [Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin], Vanilla Flavoured Buttercream (15%) [Sugar, Butter (Milk), Water, Humectant (Glycerol), Glucose Syrup, Cornflour, Maize Starch, Salt, Dried Egg White, Flavouring], Strawberry Jam (15%) [Sugar, Strawberry Purée, Gelling Agent (Pectin), Acidity Regulators (Citric Acid, Trisodium Citrate), Flavouring, Colour (Anthocyanins)], Pasteurised Egg, Sugar, Rapeseed Oil, Whole Milk, Pasteurised Egg White, Humectant (Glycerol), Butter (Milk), Glucose Syrup, Cornflour, Raising Agents (Disodium Diphosphate, Potassium Carbonate), Preservative (Potassium Sorbate), Emulsifier (Mono- and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids), Palm Oil.

Allergy Information

May contain soya and peanuts and nuts. The allergens in this product have changed., For allergens, including cereals containing gluten, see ingredients in bold.

My home made version has butter, sugar, flour, eggs, a drop of milk and vanilla extract.  I will know better next time 

Do you not add the strawberry jam? Do you make your own jam or buy one?

I usually buy it as I don’t eat enough to make it worthwhile buying my own.  I usually buy St Dalfour because it has fruit juice rather than sugar.  It tastes less sweet.  

Going back to the label reading I check a lot of things for onions or coffee.  I dislike both and my husband thinks I am a “super taster” as I can taste the tiniest bits of either.  With biscuits/crackers that have onion flavouring it’s all I can taste.  

TripleH

Regarding sugar / sweetener, I noticed the 'sweets / cakes in Japan weren't as sweet as in the UK, but this actually made them taste nicer and more satisfying although in this instance I was winging it a lot about what they actually had in them. If o lying they could cut the plastic usage.

I do minimise my consumption of artificial sweetener as well.

Nebulous2

Mnoee said:

Ectophile said:

TripleH said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Yeap, Twiglets now have palm oil in them so won't be buying those any more, I only buy chocolate that doesn't have palm oil in it as well.

I also don't want to eat anything with sweetener in it, I'd rather have the sugar and just eat less. Sweetener is excessively sweet, whilst it may not make you fat, your brain still has a similar stimulation resulting in it becoming accustomed to a heightened level of sweetness.

Aim is to eventually stop eating anything with oil in it but that pretty much means not eating anything processed, which won't be a bad thing.

I'm the same with peanut butter. I have no issue having to mix the oil in with the nuts to avoid palm oil.

That tends to mean either the expensive 100% peanut butter, or the really cheap stuff for which even palm oil is too expensive.

Sainsburys do a 100% peanut butter that's £1.80 for 340g - so more than the basics/aldi price match, but still less than any of the branded ones, most of which have oil. Quick check shows the same at Asda, not seeing one in Tesco! 

While everything else seems to be shrinking, peanut butter seems to be available in bigger sizes than ever. I've been buying it in 1kg tubs from Lidl, with peanuts being the only ingredient. You do have to stir it quite a bit. 

oldagetraveller1

Nope, couldn't care less.

I hope there's a warning on the label - "May contain nuts".

I'll get my coat.