And why it is so important to read ingredient labels
We pride ourselves on the fact that we do not use any additives, preservatives or fillers in our products. Just check out our ingredient list of our dehydrated beef bone broth as an example and you will see that ALL of the ingredients are actually real food! There is also no addition of fillers (tapioca, corn starch, salt, powdered vegetables) that are often used to bulk out end product. Our dehydrated powders are produced from the liquid broth that is left after our long, slow simmering process only.
Did you know there are hundreds of food additives approved by Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) that can be added to our processed foods? To be honest, this is an area of food production makes me pretty mad. But rather than wallow in frustration I am using that energy as a force for good to help bring awareness to this very topic!
There was a shift in the food industry back in the 1950s where it moved from farm and family based to laboratory based. It seems interesting that there has also be an increase in allergies, behavioural issues and chronic autoimmune and inflammatory diseases in this time. Perhaps our bodies are not coping with these toxic chemical food additives?
More and more dietitians, nutritionists, naturopaths, integrative and functional practitioners are recognising that these food additives can cause a range of health issues. And even if you’re not experiencing a state of dis-ease at present, it is worth avoiding additives and chemicals as a preventative measure!
Frankie Bell from Additive Free Kids is an expert on this topic due to her own family’s journey with food intolerances and behavioural issues. We were recently placed in the BEST Category of a review she conducted on over 70 stock and bone broth products on the market (which you can read here). Why? Because our products only contain the good stuff (real food INGREDIENTS) and none of the BAD stuff like additives, fillers, extracts and flavour enhancers.
The best way to avoid food additives is to eat wholefoods and to choose minimally processed foods. A simple way to check is to read the “ingredient” list on any packaged food you buy. It can be quite an eye opening exercise!
Good questions to ask yourself when reading ingredient labels –
- Do I recognise the names of the ingredients as real food?
- What additives does it contain?
- Do I know what these additives actually are?
- Is there a way that I can make this myself?
- What is the sugar content of this product?
- What is the salt content of this product?
Certified organic products should also come under this level of scrutiny too as organic certification does not limit the use of sugar, salt or certain additives either.
What are food additives?
So what is a food additive and why are they used? Some food manufacturers use sneaky tactics when it comes to additives and enhancers. Once you are aware of what these are you are then more equipped to make better choices.
Food additives are substances added to processed food to:
1. Improve the taste
2. Improve the appearance
3. Improve the keeping quality
4. Improve the stability, or
5. Extend its storage life.
6. Improve profits for big food production companies
Common food additives have a numbering system associated with them and are grouped as colors, preservatives, antioxidants, artificial sweeteners, flavour enhancers, emulsifiers, stabilisers and thickeners. You can find a list of the Top 10 Food Additives to Avoid from Food Matters here.
eMediHealth also explains why we should be avoiding these additives and more here
However, there is a new term in the food industry called ‘clean labelling’, where the numbers and names of the additives are changed to make it look like a food rather than a chemical additive, and no numbers are required.
No doubt you have seen ‘natural flavour’ written as an ingredient on packaged foods? Perhaps this has lead you to believe that you are making a healthier choice. And while it may have initially come from a natural source, by the time it is in your food it actually contains 48 different chemicals! Crazy right! Well if that’s not mind blowing enough, another additive to watch out for is “Rosemary Extract”. Sounds healthy right? Probably just the aromatic oil extracted from natural rosemary right? Wrong. The wording is a substitute for BHA and BHT (petroleum-derived antioxidants and suspected carcinogen) and is found in foods such as potato chips, cereals, salami, margarine and cooking oils to help preserve their shelf life.
To help you decode the food additive numbering system, check out this article from Nutritionist Cyndi O’Meara for more information.
As a transparent food producer with a mission to share the amazing health benefits of bone broth you can be assured that we use no fillers, preservatives or additives in our bone broths - otherwise what would be the point?
