83% of Food Items Sold in Stores are Ultra-Processed Junk...
Discussion
I remember once in a bar I was talking to a colleagues partner- she was the sustainability and Marketing product manager for a green supermarket...
I asked her how she felt about most of the store being refrigerated units and most items (including fresh) came wrapped in some form of plastic?
She got angry.
Apperently the plastics are sustainable. Rewind 40yrs ago we didn't need plastics in supermarkets?..
I asked her how she felt about most of the store being refrigerated units and most items (including fresh) came wrapped in some form of plastic?
She got angry.
Apperently the plastics are sustainable. Rewind 40yrs ago we didn't need plastics in supermarkets?..
ChocolateFrog said:
bagusbagus said:
Great Success 
Seriously, isn't this completely ridiculous?
Bit misleading though. Seriously, isn't this completely ridiculous?
Virtually all bread is on the list and cereals.
Yoghurt too IIRC.
Hugo Stiglitz said:
Apperently the plastics are sustainable. Rewind 40yrs ago we didn't need plastics in supermarkets?..
From what I remember, 40 years ago we didn't buy our good in supermarkets at all; it generally came in the form of basic raw ingredients from small, specialist local shops and was mostly produced at least reasonably locally. kambites said:
From what I remember, 40 years ago we didn't buy our good in supermarkets at all; it generally came in the form of basic raw ingredients from small, specialist local shops and was mostly produced at least reasonably locally.
50+ years ago my mum would take the 2 mile bus journey to the nearest Tesco supermarket to do the weekly shop.She would then supplement that with visits to the local greengrocer and Co-op.
There are no longer any greengrocers in the area
V8covin said:
50+ years ago my mum would take the 2 mile bus journey to the nearest Tesco supermarket to do the weekly shop.
She would then supplement that with visits to the local greengrocer and Co-op.
There are no longer any greengrocers in the area
Even 35 years ago mine got most of our pre-made stuff from the local outdoor market - there was a baker, a cheese monger (who also sold things like yogurts and jams), a green grocer, etc. Milk was delivered to the door every day. The supermarket (which by today's standards would be considered a corner shop) was really for ingredients rather than processed finished produce. If it sold things like bread, let alone ready meals, we certainly didn't buy it. She would then supplement that with visits to the local greengrocer and Co-op.
There are no longer any greengrocers in the area
ChocolateFrog said:
Bit misleading though.
Virtually all bread is on the list and cereals.
Yoghurt too IIRC.
Look up the Chorleywood process regarding bread. Long story short, virtually all supermarket bread is made from this process. Enzymes are added to the dough to accelerate the proofing process. Often conditioners are added, make it a particular texture for example. Then they add preservatives / anti fungals. Virtually all bread is on the list and cereals.
Yoghurt too IIRC.
Bread made with just yeast, oil, salt and flour gets noticeably stale within a day and is inedible by the 3rd.
Edited by wyson on Monday 10th July 08:59
wyson said:
ChocolateFrog said:
Bit misleading though.
Virtually all bread is on the list and cereals.
Yoghurt too IIRC.
Look up the Chorleywood process regarding bread. Long story short, virtually all supermarket bread is made from this process. Enzymes are added to the dough to accelerate the proofing process. Often conditioners are added, make it a particular texture for example. Then they add preservatives / anti fungals. Virtually all bread is on the list and cereals.
Yoghurt too IIRC.
Bread made with just yeast, oil, salt and flour gets noticeably stale within a day and is inedible by the 3rd.
Edited by wyson on Monday 10th July 08:59
To be fair to the supermarkets, if you go into somewhere like Waitrose and buy a "baked on site" loaf, it probably wont contain too much crap and it does indeed go stale within about 24 hours (maybe 48 for the heavier brown loafs). I haven't noticed a significant difference in longevity between it and the stuff we make at home (which obviously contains no preservatives beyond anything they put in the flour).
Pre-packaged sliced bread if utterly foul stuff and definitely deserves to go into the "ultra-processed" bucket.
Similarly, you can generally buy proper yughurt, cheese, etc. in supermarkets, it's just more expensive than the cheap crap full of preservatives.
Pre-packaged sliced bread if utterly foul stuff and definitely deserves to go into the "ultra-processed" bucket.
Similarly, you can generally buy proper yughurt, cheese, etc. in supermarkets, it's just more expensive than the cheap crap full of preservatives.
Edited by kambites on Monday 10th July 10:00
bigpriest said:
Some confusion here - adding preservatives and anti-caking agents, for example, is not "ultra processed". Does choosing canned Italian tomatoes count as utra processed? I'd say no, but choosing something like Dolmio does.
Depends what sort of preservatives we’re talking about. Tinned tomatoes aren’t ultra processed but they are processed. Shop bought bread is almost always ultra processed because it’s full of all sorts of crap other than flour, water, yeast, oil and salt.
To my knowledge I have posted this twice before here, but I am old and I claim the right to repeat myself. I once heard a nutritionist interviewed on the R4 Today programme saying that fresh food is good for you, processed food is not good for you, and if it’s advertised it will probably kill you.
I saw a Facebook post over the weekend saying that market research by Waitrose indicated that only 25% of people they polled knew how to boil an egg. I am prepared to believe this, not only by the comments, but also because my local Co-op sells packs of pre-boiled eggs.
I saw a Facebook post over the weekend saying that market research by Waitrose indicated that only 25% of people they polled knew how to boil an egg. I am prepared to believe this, not only by the comments, but also because my local Co-op sells packs of pre-boiled eggs.
lauda said:
ChocolateFrog said:
bagusbagus said:
Great Success
Seriously, isn't this completely ridiculous?
Bit misleading though. Seriously, isn't this completely ridiculous?
Virtually all bread is on the list and cereals.
Yoghurt too IIRC.
ks though. To the layman it plays like yoghurt is as bad for you as a Supersize big mac meal.
I heard the interview on Radio 4 where I assume this thread has come from and it just turned me off like it would most normal people.
All its done remove the impact of the words ultra processed for me.
I think most people, including us by a loaf of Warbutons or similar, its fine for toast and Sandwiches, and then we get some "nice bread" from the local bakery.
Most people work full time and arent able to bake their own or go hunting for the best Sourdough artisanal loaf, so a shop load it is, and anyway who wants a bacon or chip butty on brown bread, sourdough or a baguette ?
It has its place, just don't eat loads of it every day, I eat very little bread these days as trying to keep my weight down and find that helps with that. Having really nice bread in the house I tend to end up thinking of nothing else until its gone.
Its is kind of freaky how long it lasts, but it does reduce wastage I guess.
Most people work full time and arent able to bake their own or go hunting for the best Sourdough artisanal loaf, so a shop load it is, and anyway who wants a bacon or chip butty on brown bread, sourdough or a baguette ?
It has its place, just don't eat loads of it every day, I eat very little bread these days as trying to keep my weight down and find that helps with that. Having really nice bread in the house I tend to end up thinking of nothing else until its gone.
Its is kind of freaky how long it lasts, but it does reduce wastage I guess.
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