I’ve been a vegetarian most of my life and I rarely eat processed food…I mostly cook everything from scratch. I read labels and probably eat one frozen pre-packaged meal a year…and afterwards I always wonder why I bothered!
Tired, after a long day at work yesterday, I spotted “Super Foods” frozen dinner, by a company called “Super Nature”. https://goo.gl/photos/EMEV4QNiXdEwwcoz6.
I’m usually vigilant about reading ingredient lists, but I got lured by the packaging and the photos…
“Welcome to a revolution in healthy eating…bursting (note: “bursting”) with some of the healthiest, most natural ingredients around. We’re talking SUPERFOODS, loaded with nutrients to energise your body, fuel your brain, fight infection and help you stay lean for longer.” Enticing photos show chickpeas, yellow split peas, spinach, red lentils and sweet potato.
It wasn’t until after I had eaten this, and I was feeling super thirsty, that I properly read the ingredient list…flavour enhancers 627, 631…further investigation are that these are from the “glutamate” family and usually obtained from meat or seafood sources…not vegetarian as listed on the front of the pack and not very “natural” in my book. It certainly doesn’t fit in the “Super Food” chapter.
The Dhal sauce was listed with the ingredients: water, tomatoes (tomatoes 17%, food acid (330)), …so it appears the tomatoes listed were only made up of 17% tomatoes??? As for “bursting” with super foods…spinach at 3%, equates to 8.4gms, same for the sweet potato. There was no green to be seen when viewing the food.
There was a chapatti supplied with it (20% of the weight). This is a flat bread, yet the ingredients for it are not listed…surely it has flour in it?
Do these ingredient lists have to be approved? And what about these “healthy super food” claims…? As for “no artificial flavours and colours”…how are numbered flavour enhancers anything but artificial?
Very disappointed…more so in myself, for actually believing what I read.
And yes…I have emailed the company…