Health Food Industry is Reliant on Independents for Innovation...

[Elad]

(...Say London Nutritionists)

This article is interesting. It's UK-oriented, and as usual focuses too much simply on protein to judge whether or not something is "healthy," but all in all I think it's important to realize there are a lot of vegetarian/health-food brands out there who are simply trying to ride the wave, and don't actually produce a healthy/ethical product.

http://www.prleap.com/pr/37043/

(PRLEAP.COM) "It’s a sad state of affairs for innovation in food when a £93 million annual turnover food brand product such as Premier Foods’ Quorn are investing so much more in PR (£8million) than new product development" Says Tony Bishop-Weston from Foods For Life (London Nutrition Consultants)

The self declared healthy eating brand Quorn can even be beaten by a bar of chocolate!

EG

Quorn Low Fat Chicken Style Pieces - 14% protein no declared essential fats

Foods For Life Awards Finalist Plamil Foods No Added Sugar Chocolate with Hemp has 15% Protein & omega 3, 6 & 9 essential fats

Tony adds "There are too many products out there pretending that they are healthy when they just can’t cut the mustard. It’s crazy that a bar of chocolate can have more protein than a leading vegetarian brand’s meat replacement product. The Foods For Life Awards are intended to cut through the £million marketing hype and highlight the real innovators in the food industry"

-more at link-

[NMMNG]

1. Interesting

Just another reminder to read labels carefully.


On a side note, the article's mention of Quorn products reminded me of something I read last week in the Nutrition Action Newsletter I get each month from the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

Quorn is the brand name of meat substitutes that are made from a vat-grown fungus. Some people have dangerous allergic reactions to the fungus and suffer nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and occasionally hives or difficulty breathing. Some people react the first time they eat Quorn, while some react only after building up a sensitivity.

Medical studies have proven that Quorn's fungal ingredient is an allergen, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the United Kingdom's Food Standards Agency still allow its sale. The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a non-profit food-safety organization based in Washington, D.C., has heard from more than 600 consumers in Europe and the United States who have suffered reactions to Quorn.

Despite what some of the manufacturer's (Marlow Foods) marketing materials indicate, the fungus used in Quorn is only distantly related to mushrooms, truffles, or morels. While all are members of the fungus kingdom, Quorn is made from a less appetizing fungus (or mold) called Fusarium venenatum.

CSPI urges consumers to avoid Quorn and urges natural-foods retailers like Whole Foods not to sell this product that is dangerous to sensitive individuals. Consumers who have experienced adverse reactions to Quorn may report them here.
http://www.cspinet.org/quorn/