Our tainted food supplies by H.J.Heinz. Another corporate sell out?
photos from Heinz.com & stockphotos&images.com
Is H.J. Heinz just one more food manufacturer who is more concerned with net profits than human safety, health and welfare? Or are they making an honest attempt to adapt to public pressure?
Today i want to talk about False advertising, specifically by Heinz company regarding their "original" cocktail sauce.
First lets take a look at the ingredients in this particular "original" cocktail sauce.
They are listed in order of quantity - from most to least.
- Tomato concentrate (tomato and water)
- distilled white vinegar
- high fructose corn syrup
- horseradish
- corn syrup
- salt
- soybean oil
- dehydrated onions
- "natural flavorings" (see hub linked below by Chefsref on what is harmful or disgusting ingredients make up this "natural" flavorings")
- spices - unnamed and questionable if not individually listed
- onion powder
- garlic powder
There is a toll free number listed on the label welcoming anyone to call with questions or comments. that number is: 1-800-577-2823
My conversation with them today (07/31/2013):
After telling the representative in customer service who i was, and that i am seeking information for an article i am doing on Heinz products, i only had one question for her.
My question:
- What is your company's stance on using GMO, or other unhealthy, ingredients in your products?
The representative was very polite, courteous, and willing to answer to her best abilities.
She asked which ingredients i was concerned about.
I told her that there were four: tomatoes, soybean oil, high fructose corn syrup and corn syrup
She told me that Heinz does not use any GMO tomatoes or potatoes. They grow their own vegetables, in partnership with local farmers, for all of their products; and they use their own seeds that are NOT Genetically modified.
She was not sure where the soybean products came from.
She also informed me that she has no information on the source of the corn that supplies the corn syrup, and/or the high fructose corn syrup.
She also informed me that they have had many questions and complaints about using high fructose corn syrup, and corn syrup, in their products. As a result Heinz is phasing out the use of these corn products and using cane sugars instead of corn.
She tells me they currently have on the market two new ketchup products:
"Organic Ketchup" and "Simply Heinz".
I have not seen these on the selves of the grocers where i shop, but will look and speak with the manager about stocking these items and why they are preferable over those they do stock.
What brought this investigation about?
I bought a bottle of cocktail sauce based on the front label claims:
"a classic favorite" and a seal proclaiming that in 2011 they received the "chefs' best taste award".
Before i used any of the contents i decided to read the ingredients on the back. I was horrified to find them as listed above in this article.
Of course i dumped the contents down the sink and decided to call Heinz with the above questions.
I replace this cocktail sauce with Kraft brand cocktail sauce. It had no harmful or unnecessary additives listed. Water was the number one ingredient and tomato paste was second. The only other questionable ingredient was soybean oil listed under the heading
"Less that 2% of the following"....."
Although these items (tomato/soybeans) are questionable as to whether they are made from GMO vegetables, it is much safer than the Heinz version.
My conversation with the Kraft representatives will be the subject for another hub.
Some foods to NEVER use in your home cooking recipes:
- baking powder (main ingredient is corn starch with other harmful additives.) This is not a necessary ingredient in any recipe and can be substituted with baking soda.
- corn starch itself
- corn syrup
- high fructose corn syrup
- hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils of any kind
- monosodium glutamate (MSG) - a known cancer causing agent
- margarine (one molecule away from being plastic) and not very heart healthy
- spices with the first ingredient listed as "salt"
- non iodized salt (though it is OK for use as flavoring when cooking veggies (if desired)
- any artificial sweeteners
- any known GMO products
- soybean and/or corn oil - unless they are 'certified' organic products
- canola oil (this was originally used as a motor oil made from the rapeseed plant that is highly poisonous to humans. Now marketed for human consumption after discovering that after several "refining" treatments it is now consumable and cheaper than natural oils.)
Until such time when Heinz products are free of corn syrup, and high fructose corn syrup, and are stocked on the grocers shelves, I would highly recommend NOT feeding your family Heinz cocktail sauce that says on the label:
- "Original" or shows the "chefs' best taste award seal".
It is best to always check ingredients on any product we serve our family - especially the children who may be more susceptible to the high risks of ingesting ANY GMO foods.
It only takes a few seconds to read the ingredients label to ensure a lifetime of safe foods being served to our families.
Never be afraid to speak to the grocery store manager about the ingredients that are unhealthy. State your concern and ask that they stock safer foods for your family/children. It is our right as a consumer to demand better quality foods.
Those safer foods are out there. Unfortunately the store managers are not very informed about what is in the foods they order for our consumption. They are only interested in which are the cheapest for them to buy, that will give them the highest profits.
After informing them of the high risks associated with eating foods with harmful ingredients, you will undoubtedly be amazed when they tell you they were not aware of this problem - and they probably are not. The store managers are not nutritionists, and they are often told which products to stock by their corporate headquarters.
Until there are more complaints registered to those cold and callous corporate headquarters, nothing will ever change. The only thing they understand, or care about, is increasing their profits.
Always feed your family, especially the children, natural organic foods without harmful additives, or preservatives. Sooner or later, when the profits start to decline, corporate America just might get the picture, and the message, that we are all fed up with their underhandedness.
by: d.william 08/03/2013
- FOOD ADDITIVES and MSG
Many people try to avoid MSG but do you know how many types of MSG are in our foods? Is MSG an allergen or a food sensitivity? Food companies try to hide MSG bygiving it different names
Links to Heinz website
Around the world, Heinz means good food.
Heinz means different things to different people.
In the United States, we’re synonymous with Ketchup.
In the United Kingdom, "Beanz Meanz Heinz."
But did you know that Heinz also is a leader in Infant/Nutrition, frozen potatoes, frozen entrées, sauces and much more?
And perhaps you didn’t realize that our products are sold in more than 200 countries across North America, Europe, the Asia Pacific region as well as a variety of other international markets.
So while you may think of Heinz as The World’s Favorite Ketchup®, that’s only the beginning of our global portfolio of trusted products.
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