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Food Labels Revealed will shed some light onto the sometimes mysterious and inscrutable food ingredients label , which is found on all processed food containers.
Episodes
Friday Jun 30, 2017
Friday Jun 30, 2017
In today’s show, I’m going investigate two very popular toppings in the processed food industry, namely Kraft’s Cool Whip and Cheez Whiz. It seems like those products have been around forever. What are they made of? Are they okay to eat from a health and nutrition perspective? If you’ve been consuming them, should you continue? This episode will give you the skinny on those processed foods, plus I’ll take a look at a new product on the grocery store shelves.
INGREDIENT OF THE DAY: Gums
Show Notes:
To Contact Show: foodlabelsrevealed@gmail.com
The podcast can be subscribed to at the iTunes store. Search under Food Labels Revealed.
Book References:
Swindled: The Dark History of Food Fraud by Bee Wilson
Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us by Michael Moss
Wednesday May 31, 2017
Wednesday May 31, 2017
In today’s show, we’re going to delve into your knowledge of food ingredients. Yes, that means there’s a quiz, BUT don’t panic. Don’t get nervous. Don’t get your cheat notes out. It’s all for fun and education. In the second part of the podcast, I return to the feature called “New Food Inventions” to take a look at a new food product on grocery store shelves.
Show Notes:
To Contact Show: foodlabelsrevealed@gmail.com
The podcast can be subscribed to at the iTunes store. Search under Food Labels Revealed.
References:
None
Monday May 01, 2017
Monday May 01, 2017
In this episode, I’m going to delve deeply into chewing gum, taking you places you probably don’t even want to go to … answering such questions as “Who the heck started chewing gum?”; “When did it become an industry?”; “Who are the major players in that industry?”; “What are the major components in gum?”; “What’s the connection between automobile tires and chewing gum?”; “Why did I stop chewing gum around 2002 and didn’t return until 2 years ago?”; and, as usual, “What are the ingredients in chewing gum, in particular, my old-time favorite Juicy Fruit and the gum that I chew today?” This is not a journey that is likely going to change your life, but, hopefully, it will be fun and entertaining and maybe a little bit eye-opening.
Show Notes:
To Contact Show: foodlabelsrevealed@gmail.com
The podcast can be subscribed to at the iTunes store. Search under Food Labels Revealed.
References:
The Dorito Effect: The Surprising New Truth About Food and Flavor by Mark Schatzker
Tree Hugger Bubble Gum (All Natural)
Friday Mar 31, 2017
Friday Mar 31, 2017
INGREDIENT OF THE DAY: Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate
Hands down, Oscar Mayers’ Lunchables, meal-in-a-box for kids, has got to be the most chemicalized and industrialized food product on the grocery store shelves. Although, at first glance, it’s nutritional deficiencies are not blaring, the sheer number and poor quality of the ingredients is shocking, particularly since the Lunchables product targets children, the most vulnerable people in our society. In this episode, I’ll look at what’s in the box, explore some new, never-before-seen ingredients (at least in this podcast), compare the Lunchables option against a healthy, but unlikely, alternative, and finally address the overarching issue of childhood diseases directly affected by products like Lunchables.
Show Notes:
To Contact Show: foodlabelsrevealed@gmail.com
The podcast can be subscribed to at the iTunes store. Search under Food Labels Revealed.
References:
Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us by Michael Moss
The Dorito Effect: The Surprising New Truth About Food and Flavor by Mark Schatzker
Trashables: Oscar Mayer’s Lunchables Are Nasty – But the Message to Kids Is Worse by Michael Jacobson, Huffington Post
Tuesday Feb 28, 2017
Tuesday Feb 28, 2017
For this show, I'm turning my attention to America's all-time favorite food: pizza. Americans spend an annual $37 billion on frozen pizza; that's one-third of the global market. The average American family eats pizza at home 30 times a year, about once every 2 weeks, and we eat 3 billion pizzas each year. That's a lotta pizza! I selected two frozen pizzas for comparison: Red Baron's Classic Crust Supreme Pizza and its natural, meatless, and organic counterpart, Amy's Italian Sausage, Mushroom & Olive Pizza. How do these products compare? Which is costlier, which is healthier, and which one should you expose your body to? Along the way, we'll learn some food history, as well as get exposed to a few new food ingredients.
Ingredient-of-the-Day: none for this episode
Show Notes:
To Contact Show: foodlabelsrevealed@gmail.com
The podcast can be subscribed to at the iTunes store. Search under Food Labels Revealed.
Book Reference:
Swallow This: Serving Up the Food Industry's Darkest Secrets by Joanna Blythman
Monday Jan 30, 2017
Monday Jan 30, 2017
This program is a continuation of the 10th episode, which dealt with the ingredients found in 3 of the most popular energy drinks: Monster Energy, Red Bull, and Rockstar. For today's show, I address the benefits and detriments of energy drinks. What do they do for us? Are they harmful? Should they only be sold as adult drinks? Then towards the end of the show I examine two alternative forms of energy-enhancing drinks, namely energy drops and energy shots.
Show Notes:
To Contact Show: foodlabelsrevealed@gmail.com
The podcast can be subscribed to at the iTunes store. Search under Food Labels Revealed.
A very comprehensive and well-researched website that describes the effects of caffeine and the composition, benefits, and problems of energy drinks is The Caffeine Informer:
http://www.caffeineinformer.com/
What's the Buzz All About? - Senators Blumenthal and Durbin report on energy drinks (April 2013)
Saturday Dec 31, 2016
Saturday Dec 31, 2016
It's been a long day on the job or at school. You need a pick-me-up. Maybe an energy drink will do the trick. But what's in those drinks? Is it just soda water with a stimulant added? Or are there other things in the beverage that you need to be concerned about. In this episode, the top 3 players in the energy drink industry will be examined and commented on. Plus, the host risks his life (not!) by trying his first energy drink.
INGREDIENT OF THE DAY: caffeine
Show Notes:
To Contact Show: foodlabelsrevealed@gmail.com
The podcast can be subscribed to at the iTunes store. Search under Food Labels Revealed.
A video version of the podcast is available at YouTube. Search for the Food Labels Revealed channel.
A very comprehensive and well-researched website that describes the effects of caffeine and the composition, benefits, and problems of energy drinks is The Caffeine Informer:
Wednesday Nov 30, 2016
Wednesday Nov 30, 2016
What could be more basic and simple than making a bologna sandwich? Just get some white bread, swab it with sandwich spread, throw some bologna on it, along with a slice of American cheese, and, wallah! But wait! The process is simple, but the sandwich is not. Contained in that sandwich are a whopping 62 ingredients and 34 of them are industrially made. In this episode, I examine the making of a bologna sandwich, reveal the vast array of its ingredients, delve into a bit of food history, and warn about some health concerns.
INGREDIENT OF THE DAY: sodium nitrite
Show Notes:
To Contact Show: foodlabelsrevealed@gmail.com
The podcast can be subscribed to at the iTunes store. Search under Food Labels Revealed.
A video version of the podcast is available at YouTube. Search for the Food Labels Revealed channel.
Book Reference: Pandora's Lunchbox by Melanie Warner
Thursday Oct 27, 2016
Thursday Oct 27, 2016
Long before you get to the label on a food package to evaluate whether it's good for you or not, there are various influences at play that may be unconsciously directing you to a particular product. One of those influences is merchandising. When you're in a grocery store, it's merchandising that tells you, unconsciously, where to go, what to put in your cart, and what to buy. In other words, merchandising is a masterful application of psychology that subtly and effectively influences your decisions. In this episode, nine techniques of merchandising will be explored and what we can do to minimize their effects. To learn about these techniques, come take a grocery store tour with me.
Show Notes:
To Contact Show: foodlabelsrevealed@gmail.com
The podcast can besubscribed to at the iTunes store. Search under Food Labels Revealed.
A video version ofthe podcast is available at YouTube. Search for the Food Labels Revealed channel.
"How Visual Merchandising Can Help Boost Supermarket Spending"
Wednesday Sep 28, 2016
Wednesday Sep 28, 2016
This program is Part 2 of the investigation into Pillsbury Cream Cheese & Strawberry Toaster Strudel, the Grand Champion of processed food with more than 49 ingredients. The investigation continues with the 12th ingredient in the pastry. Also, the back story to sucralose, a high-intensity artificial sweetener, is reported. It's in many products, but will you look at it in the same way again? INGREDIENT OF THE DAY: sucralose
Show Notes:
To Contact Show: foodlabelsrevealed@gmail.com
The podcast can be subscribed to at the iTunes store. Search under Food Labels Revealed.
A video version of the podcast is available at YouTube. Search for the Food Labels Revealed channel.