Guest guest Posted October 5, 2009 Report Share Posted October 5, 2009 Being new to this forum, I'm coming in late to the discussion about reading ingredients on labels to determine whether a product is " legal. " I don't know whether you all have covered the issue of " fresh pack " vs. products made from concentrate. By law a product, such as canned whole tomatoes can only use the words " fresh packed " if the fruit is only cooked once between the field and the can. Usually, this happens within a matter of a few hours. A tricky wording is " vine-ripened. " At the moment there is controversy in the industry about the meaning of this term and when it can be used. Many tomato products in the store, especially the bottled spaghetti sauces are oooked at least twice. The bigger canners such as Hunts and Heinz, for example, often quickly process tomatoes in the summer harvest to be reprocessed later in the year into the final sauces that appear on store shelves. The word for this is " remanufacturing. " Because the " fresh pack " description is so valued, if it's not there, the tomatoes were probably remanufactured. If an ingredient is " tomato paste " you know it has been remanufactured. Another phrase that has legal import is " Not from concentrate. " This, too implies that the product, such as fruit juice, was only " cooked " once. The example of 100% grape juice begs the question, is it from concentrate? I should think that " fresh packed " or " not from concentrate " products would have priority over remanufactured foods when determining whether a product is " legal. " They usually taste better and retain more of the original nutrition. Two cautions. Italian labeling laws differ from American laws so the label on an import may not accurately describe how the product was processed according to FDA regulations. Also, when one company acquires another, the product name and label may remain the same, but sometimes the processing changes. For example, Muir Glen has been owned by at least three different companies that I know of. Sometimes the packer is a subsidiary of a larger company such as General Foods. Conversely, private labels, such as Trader Joe's Whole Italian Tomatoes may cover cans that are made by several different companies. I don't mean to make this even more complicated, but it can take a lot of sleuthing to tease out the relationships between labels and the companies that produce, vs the umbrella company that owns it as a subsidiary. Many of the " health food " labels that lead consumers to believe they are supporting small independent entrepreneurs have been acquired by the " big guys. " It's another case of " buyer beware. " Shirley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 5, 2009 Report Share Posted October 5, 2009 At 05:47 PM 10/5/2009, you wrote: I don't mean to make this even more complicated, but it can take a lot of sleuthing to tease out the relationships between labels and the companies that produce, vs the umbrella company that owns it as a subsidiary. Many of the " health food " labels that lead consumers to believe they are supporting small independent entrepreneurs have been acquired by the " big guys. " It's another case of " buyer beware. " And still another reason why " make your own " is the best policy. <g> I'm really not trying to put the people who want to use ready-mades for convenience. It's just that I've learned enough over eight years that I don't trust a lot of people. — Marilyn New Orleans, Louisiana, USA Undiagnosed IBS since 1976, SCD since 2001 Darn Good SCD Cook No Human Children Shadow & Sunny Longhair Dachshund Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 5, 2009 Report Share Posted October 5, 2009 At 05:47 PM 10/5/2009, you wrote: I don't mean to make this even more complicated, but it can take a lot of sleuthing to tease out the relationships between labels and the companies that produce, vs the umbrella company that owns it as a subsidiary. Many of the " health food " labels that lead consumers to believe they are supporting small independent entrepreneurs have been acquired by the " big guys. " It's another case of " buyer beware. " And still another reason why " make your own " is the best policy. <g> I'm really not trying to put the people who want to use ready-mades for convenience. It's just that I've learned enough over eight years that I don't trust a lot of people. — Marilyn New Orleans, Louisiana, USA Undiagnosed IBS since 1976, SCD since 2001 Darn Good SCD Cook No Human Children Shadow & Sunny Longhair Dachshund Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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