ShopSmart is a magazine with so many interesting articles on a variety of topics. They often send me information to share. I always enjoy reading what they have discovered or researched as they are huge advocates for consumers. If you are looking for the truth on products you can find it in ShopSmart. What I found recently I felt the need to share with all of you.
An incident at my local grocery store led me to be interested in the shocking facts of food you normally are not told about. Quite a while ago while shopping for fish I noticed the shelf life on a package of tilapia was very long. I inquired with a woman who was shelving the packages of fish on how it could be that this fish did not expire for 90 days unfrozen. She told me that the gun she used to stamp the expiration dates was wrong and that the fish would not last that long but she shelved it anyway thinking it would be sold out long before the actual expiration date. I was horrified, disgusted, and shocked. I was in fact speechless. It also made me wonder what other items in my supermarket were actually expired. There I was trying to make a healthy choice for my family only to find out that I could be buying something spoiled. While this may not be common place it should give you pause the next time you walk through the meat and fish aisle at your grocery store. Here are more shockers brought to you by ShopSmart to give you pause the next time you go food shopping.
BUGS IN YOUR FOOD
Because it wouldn’t be feasible to grow, harvest, and process food without a few tiny creepy-crawlies hitchhiking along, the Food and Drug Administration sets tolerance levels for what are termed “naturally occurring defects.” For example a 24-ounce container of cornmeal can have up to 13 insects, 745 insect fragments, and 27 rodent hairs.
What you can do?
If you discover unwanted visitors in a newly purchased product, return it to the store or the manufacturer for a refund. If you’re not sure whether a food is infested, freeze it for four days or heat it in the oven at 140-degrees F for an hour to kill insects and eggs.
CONSUMING CLONES
The FDA does not require labeling on most products that contain genetically engineered plant material or on meat and milk from cloned animals. Genetically modified versions of corn, soybeans, canola, and cotton are widely sold in the U.S.
What you can do?
If you’d prefer to avoid milk and meat from cloned cows and genetically modified plant ingredients, buy organic. Unfortunately, there’s no way to avoid consuming some genetically modified ingredients.
CARNIVORE CHICKEN
Livestock feed can include things like cow meat and bones, which might be fed to chickens, pigs, and even farmed fish. And cows might be fed processed feathers and waste from the floors of chicken coops.
What you can do?
Look for beef or chicken certified organic by the USDA. Claims of “no additives,” “no antibiotics,” “no hormones,” and “no steroids” are less reliable since they can’t be verified.
LABELS LIE
Some labels can outsmart even careful shoppers. “Natural” products might contain high-fructose corn syrup; a food “made with” an ingredient often includes just a smidgen; and a “whole-grain” cereal could lack substantial fiber.
What you can do?
If you want the whole story, you still have to flip to the back label and scan the nutrition facts. Check not just the calories but also serving sizes. And scan the percent of daily values.
FRESH MEAT?
Many supermarkets sell ground beef and steaks packaged with gas that keeps them looking fresh and red for a month or more, even if the meat has spoiled. In that process, used in factory-wrapped (or case-ready) meat, most of the oxygen in the package is replaced with other gases, including tiny amounts of carbon monoxide, that react with pigment and keep the meat red.
What you can do?
Ask whether your grocer sells meat packed with carbon monoxide. For fruits, buy locally or at least what’s in season. (Frozen fruits and veggies are a good option any time of year because they’re usually flash frozen immediately after harvest.)