General > General Technical Chat
absurd marketing bullshittery
<< < (12/23) > >>
Stray Electron:

--- Quote from: Zero999 on May 23, 2022, 11:24:15 am ---
--- Quote from: dunkemhigh on May 23, 2022, 10:57:14 am ---Indeed. Although there is a peanut allergy the warning is no doubt about possible contamination from other foods processed in the same facility which would be actual nuts.

--- End quote ---
It's arse covering. There's always the tiniest risk of contamination so they have tell people, so they don't get sued.

--- End quote ---


   Not as much as you might think.  In the US most nuts (not peanuts) are grown on very large commercial farms that usually grow a WIDE variety of nuts and that use the same machinery and the same production plants to harvest, handle, process and package the nuts.  Cross contamination is almost a given in those mega scale operations.

   Go to California and take a tour of the "Nut Tree" between Sacramento and San Francisco sometime. Or go into one of the Hershey's plants where they make nut laden chocolate bars.
Gyro:

--- Quote from: free_electron on May 23, 2022, 09:51:59 pm ---
--- Quote from: Gyro on May 23, 2022, 07:27:19 pm --- Packaging and processing equipment etc. - Did you not read what I wrote?

--- End quote ---
yes i did. company makes chips. only chips. but, granted there are others.


--- Quote ---Have you any idea how long it takes to read through the ingredients of every processed food product you buy (and then search for the 'May contain traces... disclaimer)?

--- End quote ---
Granted. the lists these days are long (do we really need all that crap in our food ?)
I agree having upfront warnings are great but that raises the question : where do we stop ? Peanut allergy ? (they can use peanut oil to make fries ..) . Certain anti foaming agents used can cause severe reactions.

Soon on a package of chips near you : Gluten free, peanut oil free , olestra free , soy free , vegetarian (fries can be made in animal fat) ... see where this is headed ?
We live in a reverse world . The front says nothing, the ingredient list on the other hand...
The other problem is consistency. Brand a clearly labels their product "gluten free", other brands don't. And their products may very well be gluten free as well. Do you really think they do it out of compassion towards people who suffer from gluten allergy ? What is the size of that audience ? I mean the people who actually have a gluten problem versus the group who thinks they have a gluten problem ? That's my "irritation" .

--- End quote ---

I agree, at least partly, there is definitely an an issue of where do you stop. GF is a fairly straightforward one. Most hospitals have a Coeliac clinic, mainly targeted on helping people manage their diet and checking that it is successful, after diagnosis. For 'old hands' it usually a matter of an annual blood test, the occasional bone density scan (it affects Calcium uptake) and a chat with a dietician. Fail one blood test and you feel like a naughty child, fail two in a row though and you're likely to be threatened with the three-eyed snake heading towards your gagged mouth! It's a matter of managing a long term condition. Things like nuts, egg, dairy (? not sure about that one) cause acute life threatening symptoms. (Diagnosed) sufferers carry an epi-pen and with prompt medical attention, adrenalin, maybe breathing support normally fully recover within a few hours. These all clearly need to be specifically labeled. Things that cause contact dermatitis in some people, for instance, can probably be left to the customer 'that brand gives me a rash' response. Vegitarian, Vegan etc. are personal choice, but are already normally clearly marked. In short, anything that can cause medical 'damage' should be included. Consistency in labelling is definitely an issue, although in the UK, lobbying of government and manufacturers has lead to the widespread adoption of the 'crossed grain' symbol for instance.


--- Quote ---Read the following attentively (there is a danger i will get flamed again) : Any new "fad" that comes along is picked up for marketing. I AM NOT CALLING GLUTEN ALLERGY A FAD ! i'm saying that there is so much buzz these days (like said before : by certain "specialist" magazines") that people start believing all kinds of things and start doing all kinds of things. Marekting picks that up very quickly and exploits it. That is what irks me.

--- End quote ---

As I mentioned the "the group who thinks they have a gluten problem" actually have a benificial effect for those of us who really do. The market and variety has grown rapidly in the past 10-15 years to exploit these people, it's supply and demand. I'm happy about this (things used to be grim, and would otherwise have remained so), apart from getting irritated by these people, their rattling on about it witout following it up, and the articles that drive them (but lots of people irritate me - I've reached that age!).


--- Quote ---We live in a world where people go to the doctor asking (mandating) for all kinds of medications "cause they saw a commercial on tv". but doctor it hurts everywhere , it must be severe ! it hurts if i push here, and there , and there and there and there , anywhere and everywhere. In reality it turns out their finger is broken....

--- End quote ---

At least that isn't a problem in the UK. Advertising of prescription medication is banned (I think). It certainly doesn't happen anyway. The first time I saw it on US tv, I was truly shocked!


--- Quote ---I was reading the label on some prepackaged bread ... you need a phd in chemistry to unravel what the hell is in that. if i make bread it's whole wheat flour (none of the bleached, enriched monthiamin crap) water , yeast (no aluminum-whatever) , a pinch of salt and a pinch of sugar (to start the yeast) . My mom used to go to the local mill to buy flour ( there was a farm closeby that had a windmill. The farmer harvested wheat at the end of summer , ground it in the windmill. the only additives you would find in that flour would be an accidental unfortunate bug that got ground down by the millstones.)

--- End quote ---

[Informative rant]
That's an interesting one actually. Gluten is a completely man-made problem. Primitive wheat type grains, eg. Sorghum, were naturally virtually gluten free. It's many generations of selective breeding that have resulted in increasing gluten levels, first in hand baking, and then a massive increase with industrial scale food production, where manufacturers have demanded higher and higher gluten levels in their Wheat supplies. Wheat is (was?) cheap, it's the gluten which is the aptly named 'glue' that makes it possible to manufactur the 'nice' soft uniform supermarket sliced loaf, likewise cakes, pastry etc. It's a dirt cheap binder and thickener. Without it things just crumble, can't be machine sliced etc. If they can't use gluten then they have to resort to more expensive alternatives like pure corn starch, Xanthan gum etc. to achieve the same effect - it costs them more. Gluten levels are now so high that even people without an actual medical condition may actually be starting to suffer the magazine article 'bloating' etc. I don't know.
[/Informative rant]
Stray Electron:

--- Quote from: CJay on May 23, 2022, 05:09:43 pm ---

It's not bullshittery, a coeliac friend really opened my eyes to foods that *shouldn't* contain gluten but often do without listing on the ingredients (grated cheese for instance)

--- End quote ---


   Yeap, just about all grated cheese is dusted with flour to prevent the strands from sticking together.  That's just one of the many products that you won't expect to find gluten but you do.  I dare any of you to look through the list of ingredients in your regular food purchases and see how many contain gluten! In my experience probably well over 80%.  It's RARE that any soup doesn't have gluten and even things like the roasted chicken and sliced meats sold in the delicatessen have been injected with water containing gluten in order to make them weigh more and thus more profitable.  Go read the list of ingredients! 
Stray Electron:

--- Quote from: nightfire on May 24, 2022, 12:43:43 am ---

Sugar is a natural taste intensifier, and can help (by drawing some water) with drying bacon.
Yes, bad world, as sugar is not considered something you have (legally) to declare for its taste intensifying abilities, so a producer could claim that it is "free of artificial intensifiers"

--- End quote ---

   Yeap, anytime that I see words like "artificial" my BS meter goes off! You would be amazed at some of the "natural" and even "Organic" crap that is added to food today!  Go look up the list of ingredients of a package of Twinkies!

   As one previous posted pointed out, you can buy a bottle of "Cranberry Juice" and, if you choose well, it will say "100% juice", but if you read closer you're likely to find that it's 80%  apple or other cheap juice instead of the Cranberry Juice that you wanted.
Ranayna:
Among the more ridiculous looking food marketing claims i have seen is certified organic mineral water.
Mineral water is already extremely regulated in Germany, the organic certification does not really do much, if anything.
Not even mentioning the question whatever the heck is "organic" ("Bio") about Mineral Water. I very much hope so that there is nothing organic in that water :p

Another thing that looks ridiculous, but may not actually be, is vegan apple juice. It should be obvious that apple juice is vegan.
But it does not have to be: To get clear juice, gelatine can be used. Enough of it removed afterwards so that it is not required to be listed as ingredient.

From what i can see, call the current "Gluten awareness" a fad or not (i'm sure it is a fad in many cases), it has made getting groceries for people with celiac disease a lot easier. Those labels, similar to Vegan, Vegetarian, Kosher or Halal don't take anything away from me, so i just do not really care about them.

I myself have a mild food intolerance. Interestingly my case seems to be somewhat rare, and i can't find much about my circumstances. I can't eat anything containing "Yeast Extract". If i do, i will get a lasting headache for about a day, the strength is related to the amount i eat. But, and that is the interesting thing: I am totally fine with MSG.
But since there is a lot of FUD going around regarding MSG, many manufacturers replaced MSG with yeast extract.
I dread any product that claims "New improved recipe" or "No artificial flavor enhancers". Almost all of these have introduced yeast extract.
Navigation
Message Index
Next page
Previous page
There was an error while thanking
Thanking...

Go to full version
Powered by SMFPacks Advanced Attachments Uploader Mod