The Quality of Our Food

[sleepy]

I had a "Healthy Choice Salisbury Steak" frozen dinner last night.
Before consuming it, I checked the box. This is because I might have some old stuff in the freezer that I should have sorted out by now.

The box was marked, "Best If Used By: July 2016". And I bought this about a month and a half ago. Now, I'm an old dude at 61, and let me tell you. This is unheard of. When I was a young lad, frozen beef was considered expired after 6 months. And refrigerated meats and dairy products were considered expired after 2 weeks. This still tends to be the rule for refrigerated perishables, although some dairy products which are polluted with bitter, sour Sorbates (Deadly to my heart) are considered "as safe" for up to 6 months in the fridge.

What the Hell is up with 15 month old food?

And food poisonings. In the 1960's I might of suffered a food poisoning once in a decade. Now it's several times a year, at fast food outlets, etc.

And Why does the government consider saltpeter (Potassium Nitrate) "as non-toxic" and Ammonium Bicarbonate "as safe for food" when Saltpeter is rancid urine salts that will put your brain and sinuses to sleep as a Stroke, And Ammonium Bicarbonate which is baked urine, and destroys the natural sweetness of foods. Eating wastes to clean the system, which is partially what good food does for us, in addition to providing nutrients and energy, can't be sane.

Does anybody here own a food processor? A blender? I bought a blender to replace my missing teeth.

 

[Isaac Sauvage]

hmm, the only frozen stuff i buy these days are berry mixes to put in my oatmeal. i'll have to look at the healthy choice line for old times sake to see what's up with that. i remember eating those sometimes when i was visiting my mom's place.

maybe it's also a nomenclature thing. "best if used by" is not the same thing as "expired," right? or is it? also, since healthy choice is a little bit of a gourmet line, they probably want you to associate it with the best taste possible... i.e. less chance for freezer burn or old-tasting food that way.

in general i rarely eat processed foods because there's so many ways to go wrong with them, starting with preservatives and additives. the FDA is fairly lax on that stuff (compared to europe, say) so i'm certainly not surprised they would allow the stuff you're objecting to.

sure i have a blender, which i sometimes use to make hummous / salsa / etc... altho i make soups and stews so much that the teeth thing is rarely an issue. (i'm missing three molars)

re: dairy,
if you like butter then you might want to check out ghee (clarified butter). apparently the process turns it from a sketchy food choice in to a much healthier choice.

when i'm too lazy to cook i often get a veggie omelet from the diner and plop it on a chopped salad from subway. only about $10 and lasts two meals. my problem is not my food tab or healthy diet but my preference for scotch after exercise and during social drinking. :/

 

[sleepy]

A veggie omelet? That is an egg with veggies, right? I used to be a vegetarian, before the folks zonked my finances to hold me in place.

And no. "Best if Used By" is a shorter time frame than the longer "Expiration Date".
This "Best If" date was 15 months!

Funny thing. The Healthy Choice Salisbury Steak patty tasted nothing like meat, and exactly like a Loma Linda ReadyBurger (Vegan). I know the Loma Linda faux meat flavors very well. Nothing like meat, though the taste of it can be pleasant.

 

[Isaac Sauvage]

oh, whoops... i see. i had misread the year on the "best by" date you posted... thought it was 2015, not 2016. still, 15 months doesn't surprise me, and doesn't surprise me that TV dinner frozen steak would taste like that. (*shudder*)

it's almost certainly more of a processed meat product than anything resembling steak. the wonders of preservatives and processed food.

 

[sleepy]

I caught a new trick yesterday. I bought a frozen egg roll. I normally read the ingredients before buying, though you can't even trust that sometimes. But the ingredients were in fine print.

It's an Asian treat, in mass production for the stores. So you might expect to find MSG (monosodium glutamate) in the mix.

After I found my microscope lens, I found that it did not contain MSG. Instead, they use MonoAmmonium Glutamate. They've removed the potentially nutritional sodium from the unpopular compound and replaced it with household ammonia in order to avoid being rejected by the consumers.

As though the consumers are a bunch of knee-jerks who only jump at the sight of the term " MSG" on the package, and who would be Totally Fine with eating Household Ammonia??? A few of the food companies have been doing this now for a couple of decades. They have been replacing sodium in unpopular known compounds with ammonia, labeled as "Ammonium". And they are doing this because this then allows them to legally list a lower Sodium Content on their Nutritional Facts panel on the package. I'd rather go with the sodium than the piss.

But our government is Totally Fine with the piss.

 

[Isaac Sauvage]

processed, preserved foods are already some of the worst things you can eat.

MSG at reasonable quantities is safe for almost everyone. the only reason companies are legally looking for alternatives is because of the fad consumer scare unsupported by study.

this is not a govt issue, unless of course research shows that MAG has health issues. AFAIK it does not.

 

[Isaac Sauvage]

sleepy, no offense... but the reason why i'm still alive is primarily due to checking this stuff out and making life-or-death decisions that my health critically depends upon.

you're obviously way better at chemical arguments than i am, but... well... so we're cool?

 

[sleepy]

You're cool Ike. :)

 

[Isaac Sauvage]

 

[Isaac Sauvage]

hey, how about this idea?

 

[Coil_Smoke]

There is nothing healthy in "Healthy Choice"... How do they get away with calling it that ? And you guys know how I feel about MSG...I don't know what those 'meat' patties actually are. I kinda like those processed meat-like food substitutes. I miss being able to eat Banquet Salisbury Steaks. But the migraines, fluid retention, tingling and numbness in extremities from the MSG are long gone.

 

[Coil_Smoke]

Make My Own Tooth Paste, Outa Ground Up Teeth...

hey, how about this idea?

Does all toothpaste have detergent in it ? AND... Look at the fluoride content, wow. I almost missed it hidden amongst the sodium, mono and phosphate ... 1000 times stronger that US tap water... CLEVER !

 

[Coil_Smoke]

It is ironic that the Mono Sodium Glutamate fad started as an attempt to lower sodium content. When the anti-salt craze hit manufactures realized they could achieve 30% reduction in sodium by replacing salt with MSG. And still retain the same flavor profile or better. So adding a potent neurotoxin to our food is supposed to be a "Healthy Choice"...?

 

[sleepy]

Yeah, I miss eating Banquet Salisbury Steaks too. They used to be Beef. Now they're made with chicken, pork and beef. They are no longer the same, with or without the MSG. And I figure I could substitute MSG in a homemade version by using Bok Choy and onion with leeks broth in the gravy, but would those plants contain naturally-occurring MSG?

MSG is a Glutamate. A salt of Glutamic Acid. And for instance, Tomatoes are high in Glutamic Acid. It's what gives tomatoes their savory flavor. But if you add salt to a tomato, some of that sodium will separate, join up with the glutamic acid, and convert to MSG.

EDIT: So, if your favorite can of Chili con Carne used to be made with brown gravy and MSG, but is now predominantly made with tomato sauce, it's because they are swapping the MSG by using the tomato as a cheat.
And because tomato sauce is cheaper than beef stock.

And I Really Hate the government for destroying the product labeling requirements. It used to be that the manufacturers were required to list all nutrients. And then, the government decided to introduce the current Nutritional Facts crapper, which allows the manufacturers to skip listing most of the information. If a product has 15% RDA of Riboflavin and 20% RDA of Vitamin C, the current Nutritional Facts label is allowed to ignore listing the Riboflavin. And if the product has had the Riboflavin Stripped/Removed, then they no longer have to list that either.

So, you buy your canned veggies assuming the Riboflavin is still in there, just because it is native to the plant, and it's been removed without notice. Sometimes because of that crappy Facts Law, we're now only eating wax apples.

 

[sleepy]

Actually, the manufacturers lobbied for the Nutritional Facts lebeling because, in the old version, they were required to list all of the essential vitamins and minerals, even when their product contained none of them. It was required for the smart shoppers, because the junk food ended up listing a long set of 0% values, empty calories, and those manufacturers didn't like their products looking bad.

 

[Coil_Smoke]

This Shit Is Damn Near Imposible To Avoid !!!

Yes,' There are all kinds sources for naturally occurring MSG. They have a weaker effect on me. Mostly just fingers falling asleep. I think some dietary glutamate is required for brain function. Mono Sodium Glutamate is a neurotransmitter. This is why altering its level in the brain causes all kinds excititory actions on neurons. Brain cells begin to die from too much MSG. Also the normal MSG in food is not accompanied by other chemicals that enhance MSG...Beware the triple threat MSG+DISODIUM GUANYLATE + DISODIUM INOSINATE !!! (LOOK AT YOUR DORITOS LABEL)
In 2014 the FDA gave manufactures the right to leave some flavors/enhancers off the label completely. These chemicals are so potent that they are used in trace amounts. Lab analysis of those slight concentrations is too expensive for these poor corporations. Manufacturers will never tell you what their "Natural Flavors" consist of. For sure NATURAL they are NOT !

1. Disodium guanylate
2. Disodium guanylate, also known as sodium 5'-guanylate and disodium 5'-guanylate, is a natural disodium salt of the flavor enhancer guanosine monophosphate. Disodium guanylate is a food additive with the E number E627. Wikipedia

As it is a fairly expensive additive, it is not used independently of glutamic acid; if disodium guanylate is present in a list of ingredients but MSG does not appear to be, it is likely that glutamic acid is provided as part of another ingredient such as a processed soy protein {yeast, yeast extract, hydrolyzed yeast/protein...C_S} . It is often added to foods in conjunction with disodium inosinate; the combination is known as disodium 5'-ribonucleotides.
Disodium guanylate is produced from dried fish or dried seaweed and is often added to instant noodles, potato chips and other snacks, savoury rice, tinned vegetables, cured meats, and packaged soup.

 

[pinballdaveh]

does anybody remember the swansom hungry man XXL meals? i did eat them until i read the calorie, fat, and sodium listing on the box.

 

[sleepy]

Do they still make those? I think Swanson discontinued those Man Sized meals when the prices went up. For the same reason that the ice cream carton went from 1/2 gallon down to 1 1/2 quarts, because a 1/2 gallon of ice cream went to over $6 and the public resisted that price.