There are food companies who say their product is what it is not - it is  fake.

Out of the 575 million pounds of olive oil consumed last year, some was mostly made of soybean oil – actually  90% !  That leaves a mere 10 percent for olive oil.   This was discoved two years ago when testing began on extra-virgin olive oil.  Allergies to soy are on the increase which makes this fake reality a health concern. In addition, sixty to seventy percent of extra virgin olive oils tested to be a lower grade.

Fish is the most abused category for fake representation.  Red snapper may be tilapia. When tested, seventy-seven percent of the “red snapper” was something else…   Wild Salmon may actually be farmed-raised which is easy to spot when you cook.  The red dye begins to leak. 

Honey is counterfeited as well. Cane Sugar, high-fructose corn syrup and beet sugar are relatively inexpensive replacements.

Maple Syrup should come from sap collected from a maple tree and boiled down to create 100 percent syrup.  However, some products are diluted with sugar and water to assit the company’s bottom line.

There are more examples. These are ones most recently reported by USA Today. *

What is a consumer to do?  Read your labels carefully, buy trusted brands and qualify fish by asking your fish retailer to verify their products.  We have a list of trusted brands as we research all food companies.  Please go to www.BetterFoodChoices.com for more information.  Or, go to www.GoMillionMoms.com, “sign” the petition and get a Free download of our most recent edition of the Brand To Trust grocery list.

Be sure you get what you pay for.

… for the health of your family,
ellen

* Elizabeth Weise, “That label could be a costly lie”, USA Today, 1/20/09, pp. 1D, 2S.

Vanilla extract may be an aritificially flavored version.  It is supposed to be labeled as such. Watch for Vanillin,  which is banned from the US as it contain the drug, coumarin, a blood thinner.