My darling husband Pete has fallen for this marketing tactic a number of times. It began with the organic cornflakes he bought for our boys. Pete was disappointed when I pointed out to him that they contained two forms of sugar and a high salt content. Actually disappointed is an understatement he was really annoyed feeling like he had been misled.
Another example was when I was out with a friend and she offered River and Sol sweet biscuits and while handing them to the boys my friend looked at me saying "is that ok? they're organic" as if somehow the organic part made them better for them than if they were a non-organic sweet biscuit. And yes I prefer all our food to be organic, even the treats but just because something is organic does not make it an everyday food or a healthy option.
The ingredients in macro brand gluten free choc chip shortbread include sugar in four different froms and a mysterious ingredient 'natural flavour'. Processed food is processed food, sure the ingredients in organic processed food are better quality than conventional and free from artificial colours and flavours but they can still be high in sugar and salt so keep this in mind.
Pete's latest gluten free purchase was Coles brand gluten free pancakes. Normally we buy Orgran buckwheat pancake mix that is also gluten free but Pete saw the gluten free label on the Coles ones and thought he'd give them a go for $2.50. Unlike the buckwheat ones, this packet contained sugar, skim milk powder and thickener.
So, if you are buying processed food even if it is organic or gluten free read the fine print.
If you have some favorite organic or gluten free brands that you'd like to share please do in the comments.
