This month we’ve been cleaning up our diets, we’ve joined Matthew’s vegetarian club and i’ve been making more of an effort to feed everyone more natural food and ditch the processed stuff where possible. So it was brilliant timing when Organix got in touch to ask me get on board with their No Junk Journey campaign.
What is the Organix No Junk Journey?
The brand is concerned about the impact engineered food is having on our children’s abilities to taste ‘real’ food, so they commissioned some research. It found that because of the need for convenience, our kids are eating foods that are getting further and further away from the real thing. For example, chicken that’s made into nuggets, this means there’s no concept of bones or skin and kids who love strawberry ‘flavoured’ yoghurts but would turn their nose up at the actual fruit.
The report also found that food labelling is misleading with things being billed as ‘natural’, ‘no added sugar’ and ‘real fruit’, but when you take a look at the long winding list of baffling ingredients such claims are far from the truth.
Personally I think it’s unsettling that children’s taste perceptions are being skewed by engineered foods and that they won’t grow up with a true appreciation of what foods in their most natural form actually taste like.
Eating raw fruit is important for growing kids in so many ways…
‘Food companies have got to be more transparent’
I’m all about balance and while I don’t feel comfortable denying my kids sweet treats or demonising convenience foods, I don’t want them to have a diet full of rubbish either.
Where possible I like to give the boys real food that i’ve made myself and can hand on heart say I know what’s in it. But when I need to reach for packets out of the freezer, which let’s be real we all do when we’re having a busy time of it, I would also like to be able to look at the ingredients list and be able to identify everything that’s there. Often the ingredients sound like something out of a science experiment.
It’s all very well if you can afford to shop for high quality organically produced food items, but what about those of us living on a budget who rely on cheaper frozen products? Food companies have got to be more transparent about what they’re selling to consumers and not dress it up as ‘natural’ and ‘real’ if it’s not. They’re making the products that our children are eating, so they need to take more responsibility for that. As parents we should be able to trust them.
Home made chicken goujons are far nicer than those out of a packet… but time isn’t always on our side as busy parents.
Of course we could all try and make our own chicken nuggets and fish fingers from scratch, using real ingredients and no junk. But who’s got time to do that every night? For this reason I’m whole-heartedly supporting the Organix campaign.
What to avoid
What do YOU think about all of this?
How much attention do you pay to food labelling? Do your kids prefer processed ‘fruity’ products to the real thing? Would they be grossed out by a chicken drumstick and opt for a more sanitised chicken nugget? I’d love to hear your views!
Also, i’d love to see any offending labels you’ve got lurking in the freezer/fridge/cupboards. Do you have products claiming to be ‘natural’ or containing ‘real fruit’ or ‘no added sugar’? Take a picture of the ingredients list and then share it with us on twitter using #OrganixTaste and tag me @cookingkt. I’m going to be taking a trip around my local supermarket today to see if I can find some BAD examples…
But on the upside I found a GOOD example of a more responsible approach to food labelling from Dorset Cereals on a pack of their Simply Oat Granola. The list starts off very clear, but then this appears: ‘antioxidant: natural tocopherol’. Like what is that?! Well as you can see in the picture below they bother to explain it. In my opinion all the big food companies should be moving in this direction
Disclosure: This is the first in a series of partnered posts i’m working on with Organix, as it’s an issue I feel strongly about and want to share with you here on my blog.
What a fab campaign – I really wish food labels were more transparent at times. I’m going to raid my freezer tomorrow and look for examples to send you!
Oooh i’ll be interested to see what you find Sam!
This is a great campaign. Reading ingredients labels is just plain scary!
It’d be useful if more food companies bothered to explain what these ingredients are and what they do!
I am in inveterate reader of labels. My current bugbear is the “no sugar added” pink grapefruit squash which is the only thing that the 3 big supermarkets near us now sell – with 2 kinds of added sweetener! I have asked them about this and they say they are “helping customers make healthier choices”. When did chemicals become healthier than a little plain old sugar?! That aside, I am all for more transparent labelling 🙂
I’m SO with you on that front Jeanne. You’d think it was freshly squeezed juice the way they label it!
I think this is great, this is what I always try to do. Making food from scratch really helps but it is nice to have brands that also share the same beliefs about the rubbish that has made it’s way into our food.
Too right Charlie!
Such an interesting read. Whilst I don’t have children, I can certainly see the importance of reading food labels for adults as well, everyone needs more education. I definitely think food labels need to a lot more transparent. Thanks for sharin, I’m going to be label reading from now on!
Thanks for taking the time to read my post Sophie, i’m glad you found it so interesting 🙂
Great post Katie and a valuable campaign. There is far too much rubbish in our diets these days and it is inevitable that our children will come into contact with additives and nasties even if we try and cook from scratch etc as much as possible. I find yoghurts are the worst offenders…
omg yes Ren, yoghurts have some real nasties in – gelatine anyone?! eeeeeeeugh!
I really do worry about food labelling – It is such a minefield and my daughters are at that really impressionable age where they completely believe everything they read written on labels, I am all in favour of transparency and a uniform system.
Completely agree that transparency is the way forward, and that it’s an important step in the process of healthier diets across the UK.
It’s great to see that you are publicly supporting this important campaign. I cover similar issues in my living with cancer classes, and everyone is always appreciative of having the tools to help them make informed choices when buying food for their families. But it isn’t easy even when you do read labels, is it?
Thanks Kellie, it feels good to be part of this campaign and also makes me want to pay closer attention to what i’m buying at the supermarket.