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.