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Good news for moms. I read last week in The Globe and Mail that Loblaws has announced plans to remove all artificial colours and flavours from their signature line of President’s Choice products.
Artificial additives in food have quickly become one of the biggest nutritional issues for Canadians in recent years. Consumption of faux-coloured and flavoured foods has been linked to everything from allergies and ADHD, to behavioural problems and, in some cases, cancer.
While members of the medical and scientific communities are still divided as to whether there are risks with ingesting these products, most consumers don’t want to wait around for the professionals to form a cohesive opinion. Instead, according to the article, they are demanding there be a shift in the food manufacturing industry, and companies are starting to respond.
Loblaws will be the first Canadian chain to embrace this movement, and by the end of this year, all artificial colours will be removed from the PC line; the artificial flavourings will follow in 2013. Now that Loblaws is positioning itself as a company that is highly interested in our health, experts are predicting this could translate as a good move for their bottom line.
However, according to a professor at Ryerson University, we need to be cautious about assuming that all naturally enhanced products are good for us. Despite the lack of dyes and chemical flavourings, they may still contain stabilizers, preservatives and excessive amounts of sodium and sugar which aren’t good for our health either.
I’m curious, are artificial additives a concern to you when it comes to feeding your family?
So, it turns out that Nutella is officially not that good for you after all.
Last week, Ferraro, the company that manufactures the addictively sweet chocolate spread, agreed to a $3 million dollar payout in order to end a class action lawsuit filed against them by four American mothers.
The mothers, all of whom purchased Nutella under the guise that it was a nutritious part of the breakfast meal—based on the commercials for the product—were shocked to discover that there is more sugar and palm oil than skim milk and hazelnuts in the popular morning food.
Athena Hohenberg, a San Diego-area mother of a four-year-old, who initiated the legal claim, says she found out from her friends what was really in Nutella. Apparently she was ‘shocked to learn that Nutella was in fact not a ‘healthy, nutritious food’, but instead was the next best thing to a candy bar,’ her lawsuit said. Her discovery will not only see Ferraro making the large cash payout, but, more importantly in my opinion, will also result in the company reversing its labelling and advertising campaigns.
I’m curious though, who do you think is ultimately responsible here? Should companies have to pay for making unhealthy products or should parents be more informed about what they are feeding their kids? As a parent, do you think it’s difficult to know which packaged products are healthy, and which aren’t?
Here’s a homemade alternative to this spread.
It’s not hard to make healthful choices. The parents suing the corporation that produces Nutella obviously have an underlying issue that disables them from being able to commit to making informed choices: perhaps they cannot read well, or are unable to process the information they read in the way that anybody else with common sense would.
Our household uses Nutella, in strict moderation, because it is basically cake frosting or a melted chocolate bar in a jar, and we know that is NOT a healthful choice to depend upon for nutrition.
What’s next, people suing the company making Fun Dip fruit flavoured sugar candy because it’s not really the goodness of fruit?
An alternative to Nutella that is easy to make, chocolate-good, and yes, remotely healthy:
Chocolate Hemp Seed Spread
Recipe By : Theresa Albert, DHN, RNCP
Serving Size : 12 Preparation Time 2 minutes
1/2 cup hulled hemp seeds
1/4 cup cocoa powder (not “Dutch processed”)
1/4 cup maple syrup
¼ cup water
1 tsp cinnamon
In a mini food processor or magic bullet, whiz hemp seeds with cocoa powder to combine. Add maple syrup, water and cinnamon and blend thoroughly. To make a thinner consistency for a fruit dip, add a little more water.
Comments
Not that I’m a fan of artificial flavours and colours but they will replace them with “natural” ones. These will have to be sourced from nature, which last time I checked included metal oxides, beetles and dubious plants. Try to remember it is the compound which is bad for us not the source.
thanks for your posting but I’m more interested in knowing more about that ‘however’ part because that’s where the hidden agenda of the corporates are hidden!