Some meat processors have recently been on the front pages for not coming completely clean about the total ingredients in some of their products, even if not wholly known to the producers themselves. Facebook and twitter are rife with horsey references and witty one-liners. Even I have chuckled at some of the more well thought out comments but, of course, it has its serious side. As news of this has “galloped” into the worldwide media, it throws a long shadow over meat products in general. People are suddenly realising that most of the time it can be difficult
to pin point the total number of ingredients in food that has been processed, ie chopped up and put back together again with any number of other ingredients.
I stand on middle ground with the supermarkets. On the one hand, I support smaller producers believing them for the most part, to be better quality. On the other, I recognise that the supermarkets provide us with a way of buying food at a better price and for the most part, good quality. I would congratulate any small business on getting their meat products, burgers, sausages, etc onto supermarket shelves, as a herculean task. I would also expect the quality to remain constant but at what cost? Price, as always, is at the heart of the matter. It stands to reason that the better the meat, the higher the price. We have become so used to eating meat every day that we have a smaller amount of money to spend on it. I find it alarming that some will buy 5 burgers for £1 and never contemplate eating cheaper cuts of meat that may need longer cooking such as beef cheek or shin. Cooking “know-how” aside, wouldn’t you rather eat something that is as it should be and not a collection of bizarre sounding ingredients?
Bread is in a similar state, and no, to my knowledge, no foreign plants have been found in a loaf of bread! I mean that the average sliced pan contains on average, 12- 14 ingredients. For the same plain loaf to be made in a local bakery or at home might take between 4-5 ingredients. The governing bodies have continued to make every effort to make us aware of what is in our food. That is to be applauded but we also need to inform ourselves properly and don’t leave it to someone else. Understand where your ingredients come from, how important they are to our economy, our health and our reputation. So for lunch, I’d recommend you to the kitchen and make yourselves a large beef sandwich!
to pin point the total number of ingredients in food that has been processed, ie chopped up and put back together again with any number of other ingredients.
I stand on middle ground with the supermarkets. On the one hand, I support smaller producers believing them for the most part, to be better quality. On the other, I recognise that the supermarkets provide us with a way of buying food at a better price and for the most part, good quality. I would congratulate any small business on getting their meat products, burgers, sausages, etc onto supermarket shelves, as a herculean task. I would also expect the quality to remain constant but at what cost? Price, as always, is at the heart of the matter. It stands to reason that the better the meat, the higher the price. We have become so used to eating meat every day that we have a smaller amount of money to spend on it. I find it alarming that some will buy 5 burgers for £1 and never contemplate eating cheaper cuts of meat that may need longer cooking such as beef cheek or shin. Cooking “know-how” aside, wouldn’t you rather eat something that is as it should be and not a collection of bizarre sounding ingredients?
Bread is in a similar state, and no, to my knowledge, no foreign plants have been found in a loaf of bread! I mean that the average sliced pan contains on average, 12- 14 ingredients. For the same plain loaf to be made in a local bakery or at home might take between 4-5 ingredients. The governing bodies have continued to make every effort to make us aware of what is in our food. That is to be applauded but we also need to inform ourselves properly and don’t leave it to someone else. Understand where your ingredients come from, how important they are to our economy, our health and our reputation. So for lunch, I’d recommend you to the kitchen and make yourselves a large beef sandwich!
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