This is an opinion article. The views expressed belong to the author.
A number of things have happened recently to make me question whether we really know what we’re eating. What are we actually putting into our bodies? Are foods really what we think they are (or, should I say – what we are lead to believe they are)? Do we put too much trust in familiar products – assuming that anything on the shelf must be good for us, even though we might not want to eat it if we actually knew what was in it?
Perhaps I should have asked these questions long ago; perhaps, you’re wondering, have I been living under a rock for the last few years? But honestly, unless I have a specific reason for doing so, I don’t (or rather, didn’t) generally check ingredients lists. I am fortunate not to have allergies that mean I have to scour the backs of products.
This oversight might in part be due to the fact that I’m a creature of habit and tend to gravitate towards the same products, and eat similar things for two out of three meals a day. But it’s this feeling of familiarity with products that, I realise, has lulled me into a false sense of security as I (naїvely) assume that what I’m buying is good for me, simply because I’ve ‘always’ eaten it.
Something that has led me to asking these questions is an awareness that some of the treats that formed part of my childhood – English household names, like Penguins and Clubs as reported by the BBC, as just two examples, can no longer don the word ‘chocolate’ on their packaging. The level of cocoa solids is such that, even though they might taste like the ‘real deal’, and indeed have been carefully crafted to keep the same chocolate taste, the coating on the biscuit is not (any longer) real chocolate, but merely chocolate ‘flavour’.
This very concept makes me wince. Do I want to eat something that is chocolate ‘flavour’? But, more importantly, if it is not chocolate, then what is it? As the aforementioned article mentions, manufacturers can use ingredients like palm oil or shea butter instead to try to create the same taste... but if I think I’m eating chocolate, then do I want to actually be eating a concoction of fats and oils? I think we all know the answer to that.
Another well known brand that I grew up eating, about which, much to my chagrin, there has been a furore about in the press recently, is Cadbury, and whether Dairy Milk can still, technically speaking, be deemed chocolate. The answer seems to be ‘yes’, in the UK – it does contain the minimum amount of cocoa solids necessary to be called chocolate there (20% minimum cocoa solids for milk chocolate); but not in the EU, as the threshold here is 25% minimum cocoa solids, and it must therefore be labelled differently here.
For some perspective, it was interesting to do a quick comparison with a few other well known brands – Lindt’s Classic Recipe Milk Chocolate, Tony’s Chocaloney Milk Chocolate, and Milka’s Milk Chocolate – which contain much higher levels of cocoa solids – 30%, 32%, and 33% respectively.
Due to the soaring prices of cocoa, it doesn’t come as a surprise that manufacturers have been conjuring up new and innovative ways to make ‘chocolate’ products taste like the real thing, whilst containing reduced quantities of cocoa solids. One can’t blame them. But whilst this may seem like a trivial example, this all contributed to my moment of epiphany, when it dawned on me that in all likelihood I probably have very little idea of what I’m eating and, even worse, what I’m feeding my children.
Since this moment, I’ve tried to be much more intentional about looking at ingredients and being aware of what I’m buying and consuming. And in some ways it feels like a depressing story – oaty bars masquerading as ‘healthy breakfast bars’ can be high in sugar. Not a problem per se, but not what I necessarily want to be naїvely eating – or feeding to my children – as a breakfast substitute. Yoghurt is another one – a great product on the face of it, but can contain a surprising amount of sugar and other ingredients if you’re not careful.
Taking the time to check these things out whilst standing in a bustling supermarket aisle is not something that fills me with joy, but being able to retain a little more control and knowledge over what I’m eating does feel worth the time and effort.
