My kitchen is the heart of my home. My friends all like to hang out in there instead of in my more spacious living room.
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My kitchen is the heart of my home. My friends all like to hang out in there instead of in my more spacious living room.
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“Free from”, two magic words that make us feel good about our food choices.But do we really need these products, or are they just a gimmick? If you suffer from Celiac (or Coelic if you’re British) disease, or like me you're lactose intolerant, these free from products are a godsend. All food intolerance sufferers are aware that accidentally eating even tiny amounts of specific foods can lead to disaster. The golden rule is to always read the label, especially the ingredients list, looking for any potentially harmful products. People who aren't lactose intolerant but buy 'lactose free' products anyway because they've been told they're healthier, are probably not aware that some products that should be above suspicion are preserved in lactic acid. These products are a no-go area if you are lactose intolerant, as I've personally found out to my cost. Thirty years ago, wheat- or gluten-free pasta and bread could only be found in specialised shops.Expensive and hard to find, they nonetheless allowed celiac sufferers to feel 'normal' and saved them from being constantly pointed out as people who were ill. As a sufferer from lactose intolerance, I had to give up my beloved cappuccino until I discovered goat's milk and even sheep's milk were good substitutes for the more usual cow's milk. So now I can enjoy my morning cappuccino once again, with goat's milk – and no, it doesn't taste “goaty” at all! Once a niche market few supermarkets were willing to explore, now Free From products are widely promoted. And it's all thanks to those two buzz words: 'Free From'. In 2012 the European Commission tightened the regulations surrounding health claims in food , and marketing people suddenly found they needed a different angle when promoting products formerly described as 'healthy'. It didn't take them long to find a new selling strategy. People do want to be healthy, and the idea that there are foods out there that are harmful or even dangerous had already been planted in the average consumer's mind. So the 'Free From' concept was the solution. Sales grew exponentially, and Mintel now forecasts the market will continue to grow, reaching £673 million by the year 2020. So, what was once a niche market for people with well-defined medical conditions has now become as vast business exploiting the person-on-the-street's quest for well-being. After all, we all want to be healthy, and most of us are trying our best to achieve this goal. And it's easy to find all sorts of information about dieting and healthy eating. The difficult part is trying to work out which information is science-based and which is pseudo-science.
Unfortunately the pseudo-science usually has more appeal due to the fact it's often promoted by celebrities. Miley Cyrus once tweeted: “Everyone should try no-gluten for a week. The change in your skin, physical and mental health is amazing" As Berriedale-Johnson says: “If your favourite Hollywood star looks thin and gorgeous on a gluten-free diet, then there's this idea that by going gluten-free you can look that good, too”. And there we have it. Free From foods never specifically claim to be healthier than other products, but they do imply it. Is our quest for healthy food doomed? I don’t think so. We as consumers have the power to change how food is sold to us. Next time you do the shopping, have a little think about ‘free from’ products! |
AuthorI love cooking, and when it comes to quality I'm quite fussy. Archives
February 2018
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