There is little more in life that makes me more mad than being lied to. That's precisely what food packaging does. It outright lies to consumers. The worst part is that these lies are perfectly legal, and they work - they definitely persuade consumers to buy a food product.
Today, I am going to start a little rant on a food product I LOVE to eat. It's Sheila G's Brownie Brittle.
Today, I am going to start a little rant on a food product I LOVE to eat. It's Sheila G's Brownie Brittle.
Have you had this? It is like a fudge brownie compressed into a crispy, cookie-like, amazingly delicious square. There are a few flavors, but chocolate chip is what I have had most recently. I have nicknamed it "Crack in a Bag," because if you try it once, it becomes as addictive as crack. It is delicious, and crunchy, and sweet, and I can't stop eating it once I start. It just so happens that it is one of the snacks that is readily available in my office.
I was having a particularly stressful day. It was the 3:00 snacking hour and that darn bag was staring at me. "Yes, just one piece. I can have just one piece," I thought. I am a certified health coach. I know I should not even be looking at the bag, let alone be grabbing a piece of this deliciousness to help soothe my stress. This is the WRONG way to handle stress. However, I was in a weak state of mind, and in the bag my hand went. As I stood there crunching away, I was reading the bag.
I was having a particularly stressful day. It was the 3:00 snacking hour and that darn bag was staring at me. "Yes, just one piece. I can have just one piece," I thought. I am a certified health coach. I know I should not even be looking at the bag, let alone be grabbing a piece of this deliciousness to help soothe my stress. This is the WRONG way to handle stress. However, I was in a weak state of mind, and in the bag my hand went. As I stood there crunching away, I was reading the bag.
On the front of the bag, in the lower right corner, are the words "Made from the FINEST ingredients."
Hmm. This intrigued me. I know this is junk food. What ingredients would prompt such a statement? I flipped the bag over to find the ingredient list. Oh my. This is when the anger started to rise. This is just a partial list of what I found:
Hmm. This intrigued me. I know this is junk food. What ingredients would prompt such a statement? I flipped the bag over to find the ingredient list. Oh my. This is when the anger started to rise. This is just a partial list of what I found:
- Enriched Wheat Flour (and the list of ingredients that goes into that)
- Powdered Sugar
- Sugar
- Corn Syrup Solids
- Dry Egg Whites
- Caramel Color
- And the list goes on
So tell me...what makes corn syrup solids and dry egg whites "the FINEST ingredients?" Seriously? Really? My blood is boiling. But wait, the lies get better.
After reading the ingredient list at the bottom of the back of the bag, my eyes went to the top of the back of the bag. "A CHOCOLATE INDULGENCE YOU CAN FEEL GOOD ABOUT." No, I am not shouting at you. It is written in all capital letters. Well, I'm already upset about the finest ingredients. What on Earth makes this food something I can feel good about?
There are 5 paragraphs of text that follow that all-caps statement. None of which has any information that tells me why I should feel good about indulging in dry egg whites and caramel color.
Oh wait, maybe it's the part of the text that says it is only 120 calories per serving. Is that what I'm supposed to feel good about?
There are 5 paragraphs of text that follow that all-caps statement. None of which has any information that tells me why I should feel good about indulging in dry egg whites and caramel color.
Oh wait, maybe it's the part of the text that says it is only 120 calories per serving. Is that what I'm supposed to feel good about?
OK, let's pretend that's it. Let's go to the nutritional information and see what is in these 120 calories. First of all, what exactly is a serving? The label says it is one ounce, which is a pretty standard size for potato chips and other snack-type foods. But how many pieces are in an ounce of Brownie Brittle? Umm, yeah. It doesn't say. All I know is that there are 16 servings in a bag. Maybe I should divide up the bag into 16 servings and see how many pieces it comes out to be. Who is going to do that? If I had to guess, I would say 3-4 pieces is probably an ounce, but I could be wrong. Again...I am a health coach. I am fairly knowledgeable in this arena. How the heck is an average consumer going to know this?
Moving on down the nutritional label...14 grams of sugar. 14!! That means that of the 120 calories, 56 are from sugar. Nearly 50%. Oh yes, I am definitely feeling good about this now! Mind you...all the time I am reading, I am still crunching away. Because, well, it's crack. Oh, I mean it's sugar. And it's addictive. Read more about that here.
Moving on down the nutritional label...14 grams of sugar. 14!! That means that of the 120 calories, 56 are from sugar. Nearly 50%. Oh yes, I am definitely feeling good about this now! Mind you...all the time I am reading, I am still crunching away. Because, well, it's crack. Oh, I mean it's sugar. And it's addictive. Read more about that here.
The last item on the bag that really put me over the edge: next to the ingredient list is this - "Proud supporter of cookies for kids' cancer." Cookies for kids' cancer is apparently a charity. You can't be serious? Cookies for kids' cancer??? WTF? Let's see now... sugar feeds cancer, and nearly 50% of all calories in this snack is sugar. So, yes, I suppose you ARE supporting kids' cancer. Fantastic! Congratulations! Job well done! I have no words for this. None.
OK, enough picking on that snack for now. Let's move on to something I stumbled upon while on my way to the check-out line at World Market. Shockingly, it's a chocolate bar. Yes, I've been on a chocolate binge lately. Let's not go there right now. This particular bar of chocolate drew me in, because on the wrapper is a giant picture of a honeycomb, drizzled in chocolate. The name of the bar is actually "honeycomb." It's made by Chuao. I've never seen nor heard of the brand until this moment. Under the word "honeycomb" it said "all natural" and below that something about luscious amber honey. I happen to have a thing for honey. SOLD! I did something I almost never do; I didn't read the rest of label - not the rest of the description, nor the back with ingredients and nutritional information. I picked that bar right up, put it my basket, and headed to the check-out line.
As soon as I got in the car, I ripped open the package, broke off a piece, and took a bite. It was OK; nothing I would rave about. It was sweeter than I would have liked, and I didn't really get a honey flavor, and certainly didn't taste honeycomb. So now I decide to go look at the label. Ohhhh, I see! There isn't actually any honeycomb in this chocolate bar! If I had finished reading the description on the front of the bar it said, "luscious amber honey caramelized into crisp bits and enrobed in dark chocolate." It doesn't actually say that there is honeycomb in the chocolate there. Even better is how the ingredient list shows "caramelized honey" which consists of: sugar, corn syrup, honey, water, baking soda. Ahh, yes. This is why I didn't actually taste honey. There is hardly any of it in there. I will say this...bad on me for not reading. I know better than that. But really bad on them for calling that bar honeycomb, showing the honeycomb, and then having zero honeycomb in the product, and then barely any honey at all.
As soon as I got in the car, I ripped open the package, broke off a piece, and took a bite. It was OK; nothing I would rave about. It was sweeter than I would have liked, and I didn't really get a honey flavor, and certainly didn't taste honeycomb. So now I decide to go look at the label. Ohhhh, I see! There isn't actually any honeycomb in this chocolate bar! If I had finished reading the description on the front of the bar it said, "luscious amber honey caramelized into crisp bits and enrobed in dark chocolate." It doesn't actually say that there is honeycomb in the chocolate there. Even better is how the ingredient list shows "caramelized honey" which consists of: sugar, corn syrup, honey, water, baking soda. Ahh, yes. This is why I didn't actually taste honey. There is hardly any of it in there. I will say this...bad on me for not reading. I know better than that. But really bad on them for calling that bar honeycomb, showing the honeycomb, and then having zero honeycomb in the product, and then barely any honey at all.
I fully understand that neither of these products is supposed to be a health food. Even under the most honest labeling, they are an indulgence. Something to eat on occasion, and fully enjoy without feeling guilty - part of the 20% of the 80/20 theory of eating. That said, it doesn't make the marketing statements that play on your emotions, that try to make it appear as if by eating this, you are doing some good in the world or to your body, any less infuriating. I don't want to think about the average consumer who is bombarded with this type of messaging all the time due to eating mostly pre-packaged food (a head of broccoli has no such marketing on it).
I leave you with these words: don't believe the marketing hype! READ those ingredient and nutritional labels. Remember that just because something is marketed as natural or organic, doesn't mean it is good for you. Lastly, a treat is a treat. I am far from a perfect human being. However, I try hard to have my most of my indulgent foods to at least be made from real food, free of chemicals, artificial flavors and colors. Regardless of how natural or not they are, under no circumstances should those indulgences be confused with food that is going to make your body stronger and thrive.
Have you run into food labels that infuriate you? I want to hear from you in the comments.
I leave you with these words: don't believe the marketing hype! READ those ingredient and nutritional labels. Remember that just because something is marketed as natural or organic, doesn't mean it is good for you. Lastly, a treat is a treat. I am far from a perfect human being. However, I try hard to have my most of my indulgent foods to at least be made from real food, free of chemicals, artificial flavors and colors. Regardless of how natural or not they are, under no circumstances should those indulgences be confused with food that is going to make your body stronger and thrive.
Have you run into food labels that infuriate you? I want to hear from you in the comments.