Not so Natural Deli Meat!

[TaraF]

I'm sure you all have seen the Maple Leaf Natural Selections Deli meat either at your deli or prepackaged, and I'm sure you've seen that this "All Natural & Preservative Free" meat also comes with a heftier price tag than it's preservative ridden counterparts. WELL, I was just watching a CBC video online that investigated the meat and found out that it has the same amount of Nitrites in it than it's normal meat! Nitrites is a preservative that is linked to cancer and instead of spelling out "Nitrites" in the ingredient list it's actually listed as "Cultured Celery Extract" which has the same amount of Nitrites as Sodium Nitrite.



Link here if you care to check out the video:

http://ca.shine.yahoo.com/video/food...-28187231.html

[marstec]

Not good.

That's the same as Christie's crackers and cookies...when they switched over from hydrogenated margarine to saturated tropical fats. They were able to give it the transfat-free label, but the new fats weren't any better for you.

The problem is that there are very few alternatives for cold cuts, especially if you don't want to prepare it yourself (in the form of roast chicken and beef, not sure how you would make ham)....

[kazm-l]

Oh yes, i saw that last night!
They said they'll change the packages - just give them 3 months...sure,right

[TaraF]

I know that after my surgery I cut out ALL foods that had Nitrites in it (that's right no more bacon!) and had thought of paying the extra money out for this meat in order to have a "treat" sometime, but I'm sure glad I didn't! As for how they would preserve it, I have no clue BUT if they are using preservatives of ANY kind, even if it is deemed a natural one they should NOT be labeling it as "preservative free".

It does bring to the table the discussion that just because something says it's "all natural" or "preservative free" or even "low fat", doesn't mean it's healthy!

Oh kazm, I'm sure they WILL change the packaging, they'll just use some fancy marketing and mumble jumble to make it sound good and healthy

[Natalka]

I had just read about that ingredient last week.


Yup, SO many people buy into the 'natural anything is good' philosophy - but, gee, that needs some serious thinking about - not only read the labels, people, but understand what those label ingredients are.

In the example you give, if it were just 'celery' it would say 'celery' - anything 'cultured' is not 'natural'.

Drat that word 'natural' - it's really become a bugaboo.

Marketplace on CBC is having another program tonight on product labelling.

[walkonby]

I am ashamed, I bought that stuff about 5 mo or more ago, when they had coupons there for it, I did not think the taste was any better or worse, but now it is on the don't buy list.
Processed meats are sort of a no no anyway for us, but we are bad and buy them anyway when the cravings hit.

[Tweetybird999]

I am so pi****-off it's not funny. We buy this crap because we thought it was better. My DH loves meat sandwiches and now find out we've been paying a premium for the same crap!

[TaraF]

Oh thanks for the heads up Natalka, I'm going to DVR that tonight then. While I don't eat lunch meat for the fact of preservatives I think honesty in labeling is important for the consumer to make a properly informed buying decision. And WalkonBy, that's exactly why I considered buying it was to have a treat now and again but sadly it's on the same list as the other deli meats now.

[Zonny]

I figured healthy deli meats were too good to be true, DS loves that stuff. We don't generally buy them, although we do get Subway sandwiches sometimes, being aware of how unhealthy they are. I've never bought the Maple Leaf ones, too expensive for me.

I'm not a fan of the 'natural' labels on things. What about oil, they kind they refine into what goes into your car? Or the ashes from your fireplace? Natural? Sure. Wanna eat it? Heck no!

[SarahS83]

I only have ham once every 6 months or so. My wife doesn't enjoy it so we tend not to buy it. Last time I bought the natural stuff and kept wondering how it lasted a week in the fridge!! I guess now I know

[Jnazurk]

What??? Great. I hadn't eaten cold cuts in years and I actually bought these last week thinking they were better. (to chop up and put in my lunch salad).

Guess I'll be going back to none at all...

Thx for posting

[Gamerfaith]

Geez, I bought their bacon cause I can't have nitrites because of my migraines and here the damn stuff has it anyway. SO MUCH FOR THE ALTERNATIVE!

[Zonny]

Ham is a cured meat, and was created a century or two ago because adding salt to meat preserved it. Think of salt cod, salt pork, bacon, they made these in the 1700s without anything 'unnatural' exactly. The salt preserved it, so salty things will last longer in your fridge. Even unsalted butter is often stored in the freezer in the grocery store because the salt makes it stay fresher longer.

So it can have 'natural' preservatives like salt, and last a long time in your fridge without anything being horrible about it. All this salt isn't really healthy of course, but we've made foods cured with salt for hundreds of years.

[Meyou]

I know that after my surgery I cut out ALL foods that had Nitrites in it (that's right no more bacon!) and had thought of paying the extra money out for this meat in order to have a "treat" sometime, but I'm sure glad I didn't! As for how they would preserve it, I have no clue BUT if they are using preservatives of ANY kind, even if it is deemed a natural one they should NOT be labeling it as "preservative free".

It does bring to the table the discussion that just because something says it's "all natural" or "preservative free" or even "low fat", doesn't mean it's healthy!

Oh kazm, I'm sure they WILL change the packaging, they'll just use some fancy marketing and mumble jumble to make it sound good and healthy

If you have a local market you might be able to get nitrate free bacon. My mom has been getting nitrate and MSG free bacon and pepperoni from a local butcher for 20 years for my father who get migraines when he eat it. He makes it for special orders but at this point it's a huge part of his business.

[Natalka]

CBC Marketplace - Lousy Labels: Health Hype episode

http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/2012/lousylabels/