6 February 2011

THE FOOD WE CHOOSE TO EAT

On the 1 June 2010 I stuck my neck out on this blog and revealed my shopping habits. I went as far as to say I shopped at the Foodstuffs stores (Four Square, New world and Pak n’ Save’) and it was unlikely I would ever darken the door of their opposition supermarket chain, Progressive (Woolworths, Foodtown who have now almost all morphed into Countdown stores.) The reasons are there on my blog, http://www.laurainejacobs.co.nz/blog/?mode=post&post_id=101, and since then I have had many discussions with many people who have come to agree with my sentiments.

I also have spoken publicly, whenever given the chance, about how to shop so that a fresh and chemical-free diet is assured. So it was with a bit of that “I told you so” feeling that I read the lead story in today’s Sunday Star Times. The headline was ‘Gassing fakes meat freshness’. It was all about how Progressive Enterprises have acknowledged that some of the meat packs they sell are pumped with carbon dioxide and oxygen to extend their (refrigerated) shelf life. An Australian consumer magazine has found this and other refrigeration technology makes it possible for meat to be stored for months, and potential health hazards are posed because ‘harmful bacteria could grow to dangerous levels, while the food remains attractive to the eye.’ Perhaps a necessity when meat is increasingly processed in centralised facilities, as no doubt it is as part of Progressive’s centralised distribution system.

Foodstuffs, however, according to the SST article, do not gas flush ANY meat products. Good on them, and they will continue to get my dollars. (Dollars which stay in New Zealand!)

It’s all very scary. My mantra is ‘shop-from-the-displays-of-fresh-food-around-the-periphery-of-the-supermarket-and-only-venture-into-the-aisles once-a-month.’ That way you get to take home fresh food; meat, vegetables, fruit, fish, deli items, dairy products, and bread. These products are on the outside as that area is more accessible and often needs special daily or even hourly supervision and handling. All the stuff in the aisles is there because it is shelf-stable and doesn’t require the same sort of servicing. I can do a foray into the aisles about once a month and pick up all the necessities of life that lurk there; washing and hygiene products, the basics for baking and cooking, and cans or jars of food for total emergencies. The shelf items that are edible almost all have stabilisers and preservatives and additives chemicals that can harm my body. Fresh foods just don’t have this potentially evil stuff.

But if our supermarkets start tampering with what we perceive to be fresh food, we’re going to be in trouble. We must all wake up to what it exactly is that we’re putting in our bodies and vote with our shopping habits. I know where I will continue to shop. Somewhere I can see a real butcher.