Source Australian Farm Weekly

EEK Palm OIL yuk !



Generic food brands could cost health
MARK METHERELL
16/04/2009 6:43:00 PM
Tough times are driving many people to cheaper, generically branded
food, but it could be at the cost of their health, the National Heart
Foundation says.

Early results of a foundation analysis comparing generic products with
branded goods show the cheaper in-house brands generally contain
significantly more salt, saturated and trans fats and more calories than
branded products.

Concerned that the supermarket chains are increasingly loading their
shelves with home brands in an era when consumers are tightening their
purses, the foundation has analysed 5000 packaged food products,
including canned food, margarine, breads and breakfast cereals.

Dr Lyn Roberts, the foundation's chief executive, told the National
Press Club yesterday that more than 60 per cent of consumers said they
had switched to cheaper supermarket brands.

Dr Roberts said if the rising incidences of obesity, diabetes and
physical inactivity continue, cardiovascular death rates could begin to
rise, after years of decline.

One reason for this is the pressure on shoppers to be influenced by
clever marketing.

The number of products with the Heart Foundation tick had failed to
increase at the same rate as that of the number of choices confronting
supermarket shoppers.

"Cheaper foods often equal cheaper, less healthy ingredients such as
cakes, biscuits, and fried chicken cooked in cheap imported palm oil
laden with saturated fat," Dr Roberts said.

Palm oil, used for frying and in products such as biscuits, ice cream
and chocolate, contain 55 per cent saturated fat, compared with about 12
per cent in sunflower-canola blend oil.

Woolworths has challenged the findings, claiming that branded and
unbranded products were often identical.

"In many instances, supermarket private label products are exactly the
same as the branded equivalent: same ingredients, same recipe, same
factory, same manufacturer," Luke Schepen, a spokesman for Woolworths, said.

He said the company benchmarked its products against those of branded
competitors regularly, "to ensure we can match or better them in terms
of quality, ingredients, nutritional content and value."

Coles's response was not available as this report went to press.

phil..c wrote:
> Source Australian Farm Weekly
>
> EEK Palm OIL yuk !
>
>
>
> Generic food brands could cost health
> MARK METHERELL
> 16/04/2009 6:43:00 PM
> Tough times are driving many people to cheaper, generically branded
> food, but it could be at the cost of their health, the National Heart
> Foundation says.
>
> Early results of a foundation analysis comparing generic products with
> branded goods show the cheaper in-house brands generally contain
> significantly more salt, saturated and trans fats and more calories than
> branded products.
>
> Concerned that the supermarket chains are increasingly loading their
> shelves with home brands in an era when consumers are tightening their
> purses, the foundation has analysed 5000 packaged food products,
> including canned food, margarine, breads and breakfast cereals.
>
> Dr Lyn Roberts, the foundation's chief executive, told the National
> Press Club yesterday that more than 60 per cent of consumers said they
> had switched to cheaper supermarket brands.
>
> Dr Roberts said if the rising incidences of obesity, diabetes and
> physical inactivity continue, cardiovascular death rates could begin to
> rise, after years of decline.
>
> One reason for this is the pressure on shoppers to be influenced by
> clever marketing.
>
> The number of products with the Heart Foundation tick had failed to
> increase at the same rate as that of the number of choices confronting
> supermarket shoppers.
>
> "Cheaper foods often equal cheaper, less healthy ingredients such as
> cakes, biscuits, and fried chicken cooked in cheap imported palm oil
> laden with saturated fat," Dr Roberts said.
>
> Palm oil, used for frying and in products such as biscuits, ice cream
> and chocolate, contain 55 per cent saturated fat, compared with about 12
> per cent in sunflower-canola blend oil.
>
> Woolworths has challenged the findings, claiming that branded and
> unbranded products were often identical.
>
> "In many instances, supermarket private label products are exactly the
> same as the branded equivalent: same ingredients, same recipe, same
> factory, same manufacturer," Luke Schepen, a spokesman for Woolworths, said.
>
> He said the company benchmarked its products against those of branded
> competitors regularly, "to ensure we can match or better them in terms
> of quality, ingredients, nutritional content and value."
>
> Coles's response was not available as this report went to press.

I see that is out of Oz. Many generic foods in the United States
are exactly the same as brand-name ones, just with other labels
attached. However, this is a good reminder to read the labels and
compare the contents and nutritional information.

--
Jean B.

On Fri, 17 Apr 2009 10:07:52 -0400, Jean B. wrote:

> phil..c wrote:
>> Source Australian Farm Weekly
>>
>> EEK Palm OIL yuk !
>>
>> Generic food brands could cost health
>> MARK METHERELL
>> 16/04/2009 6:43:00 PM
>> Tough times are driving many people to cheaper, generically branded
>> food, but it could be at the cost of their health, the National Heart
>> Foundation says.
>>
>> Early results of a foundation analysis comparing generic products with
>> branded goods show the cheaper in-house brands generally contain
>> significantly more salt, saturated and trans fats and more calories than
>> branded products.
>>
>> Concerned that the supermarket chains are increasingly loading their
>> shelves with home brands in an era when consumers are tightening their
>> purses, the foundation has analysed 5000 packaged food products,
>> including canned food, margarine, breads and breakfast cereals.
>>
>> Dr Lyn Roberts, the foundation's chief executive, told the National
>> Press Club yesterday that more than 60 per cent of consumers said they
>> had switched to cheaper supermarket brands.
>>
>> Dr Roberts said if the rising incidences of obesity, diabetes and
>> physical inactivity continue, cardiovascular death rates could begin to
>> rise, after years of decline.
>>
>> One reason for this is the pressure on shoppers to be influenced by
>> clever marketing.
>>
>> The number of products with the Heart Foundation tick had failed to
>> increase at the same rate as that of the number of choices confronting
>> supermarket shoppers.
>>
>> "Cheaper foods often equal cheaper, less healthy ingredients such as
>> cakes, biscuits, and fried chicken cooked in cheap imported palm oil
>> laden with saturated fat," Dr Roberts said.
>>
>> Palm oil, used for frying and in products such as biscuits, ice cream
>> and chocolate, contain 55 per cent saturated fat, compared with about 12
>> per cent in sunflower-canola blend oil.
>>
>> Woolworths has challenged the findings, claiming that branded and
>> unbranded products were often identical.
>>
>> "In many instances, supermarket private label products are exactly the
>> same as the branded equivalent: same ingredients, same recipe, same
>> factory, same manufacturer," Luke Schepen, a spokesman for Woolworths, said.
>>
>> He said the company benchmarked its products against those of branded
>> competitors regularly, "to ensure we can match or better them in terms
>> of quality, ingredients, nutritional content and value."
>>
>> Coles's response was not available as this report went to press.
>
> I see that is out of Oz. Many generic foods in the United States
> are exactly the same as brand-name ones, just with other labels
> attached. However, this is a good reminder to read the labels and
> compare the contents and nutritional information.

i was going to say the article smelled funny for just that reason.

your pal,
blake

On Apr 17, 10:07*am, "Jean B." > wrote:

> I see that is out of Oz. *Many generic foods in the United States
> are exactly the same as brand-name ones, just with other labels
> attached. *However, this is a good reminder to read the labels and
> compare the contents and nutritional information.
>
> Jean B.

Store brand frozen veggies, fruits, and the like are comparable. I
know frozen pizza is, since it's one of the concessions I make for my
dd during the school months. Anything to keep her out of the cookie
box after school when she's hungry and not willing to work for her
food. She'll also eat yogurt (only yoplait whips) and apples, so it's
not all bad.

No problem with the unsugared cereals--don't know about the sweet
ones.

And while TJ's frozen bowl meals are actually healthier than the usual
ones, they taste like cr*p.

maxine in ri

maxine wrote:
> On Apr 17, 10:07 am, "Jean B." > wrote:
>
>> I see that is out of Oz. Many generic foods in the United States
>> are exactly the same as brand-name ones, just with other labels
>> attached. However, this is a good reminder to read the labels and
>> compare the contents and nutritional information.
>>
>> Jean B.
>
> Store brand frozen veggies, fruits, and the like are comparable. I
> know frozen pizza is, since it's one of the concessions I make for my
> dd during the school months. Anything to keep her out of the cookie
> box after school when she's hungry and not willing to work for her
> food. She'll also eat yogurt (only yoplait whips) and apples, so it's
> not all bad.
>
> No problem with the unsugared cereals--don't know about the sweet
> ones.
>
> And while TJ's frozen bowl meals are actually healthier than the usual
> ones, they taste like cr*p.
>
> maxine in ri

You did see, though, that TJ's food composition seems to have
changed, with one person mentioning much higher sodium levels than
had been the case?

--
Jean B.