This Woman Wrote Down Lists Of Ingredients Of US And UK Products, And The Difference Is Disturbing
It’s no huge secret that food products sold in different countries have slightly different ingredients used in making them. But we do tend to forget this fact in our day-to-day lives, and this usually becomes apparent to us only when we go abroad.
This difference in product ingredients is most notable when going to the United Kingdom from the United States or vice versa. And let me tell you, it’s shocking when you sit down and compare some of the products from the two countries. That’s exactly what American author and food industry critic Vani Hari, better known as Food Babe, did. Read on for Bored Panda’s interview with Food Babe!
More info: foodbabe.com | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube
McDonald’s French Fries
Image credits: Food babe
If you’re living in the US, then the fries you order at McDonald’s might have more than just natural vegetable oil and salt used in the cooking process. While the Quaker instant oatmeal you make yourself for breakfast is also much, much healthier in the UK. When considered broadly, quite a few food products have healthier UK alternatives. This brings into focus the question of whether the extra ingredients are having an effect on Americans and what it might be.
Facebook user Kacey Birch shared Food Babe’s comparison photos online with the words “Are we going to talk about this yet???” and the post went viral, getting more than 8,500 likes, 6,200 comments, and 128,000 shares.
Quaker Instant Oatmeal Packets
Image credits: Food babe
Bored Panda reached out to Hari, aka Food Babe, to get more info about food, nutrition, and the reasons why products have different ingredients in the US and the UK.
“Europe takes a “precautionary principle” approach towards food additives that are potentially risky. They ban or add warning labels to these additives for their citizens. The US does not take this approach. It does not remove additives from our food supply until they have been proven dangerous – which can take a very long time and a lot of red tape.”
“Big Food companies will tell you that the European regulators are just being overly cautious, that all of the ingredients they put in their American products are perfectly safe. But are they really?” Food Babe asked. “If a company can get away with using cheaper ingredients, they will. Given a choice, they’ll always opt for the cheaper flavor enhancer, and the cheaper color additive, and the cheaper preservative, even if these cheaper alternatives potentially have a negative impact on our health.”
Mountain Dew
Image credits: Food babe
“As I discuss in my book Feeding You Lies, the statistics on the health of Americans is downright grim. The U.S. spends 2.5 times more on health care than any other nation and when compared with 16 other developed nations, we come in dead last in terms of health. More than two-thirds of U.S. citizens are overweight and more than 18% of children are obese. After smoking, obesity is America’s biggest cause of premature death. “
Heinz Ketchup
Image credits: Food babe
“While there are many causes behind these dire statistics, undoubtedly one of the primary causes is the American diet, which is full of risky ingredients that are not used to the same extent in other countries. American food is overloaded with bad fats, way too much cheap refined sugar, and heaps of synthetic additives,” Food Babe explained.
Doritos
Image credits: Food babe
Hari also talked about what the biggest mistakes that people make when it comes to diets are: “Blindly trusting what it says on the front of a food package is a big mistake.”
“Claims like “natural”, “healthy”, “diet”, and “sugar-free” mean very little. Instead, always flip over the product and read the ingredient list. This will tell you the truth about what you are eating. If the food contains any additives or preservatives, ask yourself why they are used and whether they’re really necessary. If you don’t know what an ingredient or additive is or how it can affect your health, put the product back and look for a product made with real food instead.”
Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes Cereal
Image credits: Food babe
Food Babe is well-known in the US and the world, with over 1.2 million followers on Facebook, 283,000 supporters on Instagram, 104,000 fans on Twitter. Hari has had quite an effect on the food industry: she influenced Kraft to stop putting in the artificial orange color in its macaroni and cheese, and also in part helped convince Subway to drop the bread additive azodicarbonamide.
“When I first saw Kellogg’s new Baby Shark Cereal my heart sank. My daughter, who is 2 years old, loves the Baby Shark song — and I knew when she saw this she would beg me for a box! These ingredients do not belong in our food — especially for children. This is why I launched a petition two weeks ago asking Kellogg’s to remove the artificial colors, artificial flavors, and BHT from their cereals in the U.S. as they do in other countries. It has surpassed 40,000 signatures and climbing.”
Macaroni & Cheese
Image credits: Food babe
“In 2015, Kellogg’s announced plans to remove artificial colors and flavors from their cereals by the end of 2018. Over 4 years later, Kellogg’s continues to sell several cereals made with artificial ingredients such as Froot Loops and Apple Jacks, and is launching new limited-edition cereals targeting young children made with these additives,” Food Babe claimed.
“Why is Kellogg’s creating brand new cereals with artificial ingredients if they truly want to remove these chemicals from cereals? Kellogg’s makes Froot Loops and Unicorn Cereal in other countries without artificial colors or BHT, so they already have the formula. We deserve the same, safer cereals that other countries get,” Hari expressed her feelings.
Image credits: kacey.dawn.37
So, dear Pandas, what do you think about the product ingredient differences in the US and the UK? What’s your opinion on Food Babe? Do you have any personal advice on how to eat and live better? Let everyone know in the comments.
Some people criticized the post
While other internet users had a different opinion
I an'tjust can't believe that one commenter who thinks the UK is somehow communist and doesn't have choices at the supermarket... So much eyeroll!
Yeah, I really laughed at that one, too. Americans can be so dumb...
Correction, Trumptard, FakeSnooze watchers are the real idiots. We have a huge food/agri lobby and they are a juggernaut. Hard to defeat.
People can be so dumb, doesn't matter the nationality.
Correction, not all Americans are dumb.
SOME Americans can be so dumb, very far from all, but the American on the sleeper train from Amsterdam to Copenhagen was. He was shocked when, after not very long at all, the train came to a stop and uniformed officials came aboard checking everybody's passports (this was before the Schengen agreement) and then in asked the rest of us in the compartment if we had to apply for permission to leave the city we live in. We were entering Germany from the Netherlands...
So you laughed about an American making a generalization and then followed it with one of your own.
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What do you mean can be?
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Really? One comment and you condemn the whole country?
Me too!
such eyeroll, much annoy, wow so unsettle
Sorry Martha Meyer, but if your despicable leader, PM Boris Johnson, will succeed in having the UK crash out of the European Union at the end of the month, it will not take long until he has brokered a trade deal with the USA abandoning all EU Food Safety regulation in favour of what the American corporations get away with selling to the Americans. The USA has long been a "democracy of sorts", for large corporations and the very wealthiest of individuals, often, of course, with a large overlap. I hope, for the sake of all wonderful Americans, that they will stop accepting this status quo and put a stop to both large "donations" to politicians and to political parties, as well as to gerrymandering. In the UK, you also have a "democracy of sorts" adding another two more groups to the mix of who decides: the aristocracy and the outdated class system that remains well and kicking, and you need to replace FPP (first past the post) system with a representative one.
Boris can do whatever deals he wants but the UK public just won't buy shit from the USA on the basis that it is available. Media will eviscerate any suppliers of inferior USA products.
When will the USA learn they are eating chemical crap and we have food laws, they seem unable to accept reality.
One of the comments there implying that the UK isn't disclosing all the ingredients - yes they are. They are bound by a law and inspections to list all ingredients, undeclared ingredients result in immediate total recalls. Besides, if they didn't and someone had an allergic reaction their entire business will fall, it's happened. Oh, going vegan or vegetarian won't stop this, some of those were vegan and vegetarian.
It's a lack of education... and the blind patriotism.
A lot of americans are so dumb, ignorant and arrogant that simply can't believe other countries are ruled bettere than USA. Good for them, they're free to poison themselves and become hugely obese.
Unfortunately, many dietary choices made by my fellow Americans are governed by cost. High-quality ingredients, "real" sugar, spices, etc. are rather expensive, and make for a more expensive final product. If there is a less expensive option, many people choose that for economic reasons, they are willing to overlook the fact that fat and sugar have been substituted for things which actually contain flavor.
Lol John Smith the UK has obesity problems too, as do many western countries. I've never heard of the UK being known as "svelte"
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pebs is right, the English are known for being svelte
They disclose it in different ways. For example on the doritos, both list cheese but the US label then lists the ingredients that go into that cheese. That said, American food always has more sugar in it and probably salt. So there are legitimate differences here but it also comes down to how ingredients are listed based on national regulations.
According to dorito they are milk cheese cultures salt and enzyme
What are the ingredients of cheese?
"Why these food additives are banned in Europe—but not in the United States" https://www.advisory.com/daily-briefing/2019/01/03/banned-foods and here is an article: "What Foods Are Banned in Europe but Not Banned in the U.S.? The European Union prohibits many food additives and various drugs that are widely used in American foods." https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/28/well/eat/food-additives-banned-europe-united-states.html
Hilarious thing is - those labeling regulations were passed by EU. The same evil oppressive empire that never did anything good and only wants to destroy poor old UK.
Yes, and if they leave, they will soon embrace the American food standards. "A 1958 amendment to the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act prohibits the Food and Drug Administration from approving food additives that are linked to cancer, but an agency spokeswoman said that many substances that were in use before passage of the amendment, known as the Delaney amendment, are considered to have had prior approval and “therefore are not regulated as food additives.”" As if repeating a bad use would somehow make it OK...
It appears the difference is if the ingredient listed is the comprised of multiple ingredients (case in point, the macaroni and cheese - the US version listed all of the ingredients the pasta was made from, whereas the UK version only listed the kind of flour used, not any of the binding agents). I worked in the food manufacturing industry and had to learn about the US labeling laws; the only ingredient that doesn't have to be broken out is if you have proprietary blend of seasonings (such as Heinz ketchup's seasonings) and they have to be below a certain % of the overall product formulation.
Anony Mouse : "The flavor enhancers and preservatives BHA and BHT are subject to severe restrictions in Europe but are widely used in American food products. While evidence on BHT is mixed, BHA is listed in a United States government report on carcinogens as “reasonably anticipated” to be a human carcinogen." https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/28/well/eat/food-additives-banned-europe-united-states.html
That’s legit in some of these cases but isn’t the entire story.
Exactly - check out the Frosted Flakes. The US version contains one additive, BHT, which is an antioxidant used to maintain the freshness of the product, but otherwise has more vitamins and minerals than its counterpart. But all those vitamins have scary long names! Chemicals are bad!
In America it won't say "cheese powder" it gives the full ingredients. Milk, enzymes etc. So there is some variation between the labels but the UK food definitely does have a different make up.
Actually it's only recently they have brought out 'Natasha's Law' after someone did have an allergic reaction with tragic consequences in 2016 due to improperly labeled food but it isn't even coming into force until 2021.
Alright, each one of you calling us Americans dumb are belittling your own argument by name calling. The issue isn't the consumer. It's the billionaires that higher lobbyist to control polices and profits. As a consumer if I stop buying something, do you really think an international company like Kraft will care?
Hey in new Zealand they have tried to change several foods (Cadbury, vegemite, shapes) and the fallout from angry consumers has made them renege and return product to original. And we have a population of less than 5 mil. If enough people say I might be one person but I'm still gna fight It, you can effect change
How do we do in Europe and others countries? Just copy! It's easy to complain but it changes nothing. Just act! Be responsible of your lifes and politics. Fight! Rights are not gifts from companies, they are won.
If one person stops buying a product, of course they won't care. But if thousands and thousands of people stop buying products that contain certain ingredients or additives, they'll be forced to stop using them. It's your choice and your responsibility.
First: You wanted to say that "the billionaires that HIRE LOBBYISTS...". Second: Yes, I "really think an international company like Kraft will care" if and when ENOUGH CONSUMERS CARE! The more vocal you can be about it, the more sound alternatives you can recommend, the faster they will listen. They care very much indeed about the bottom line and if you spend your money elsewhere, they will be all ears.
I live in the UK and our food is highly regulated - I've tried American food from our super markets and I can instantly taste the artificial colours and flavours. The UK may be highly regulated but atleast we care about what we eat (mostly).
That's the real reason Americans think our food sucks - theirs is so artificial. Look at how bright their ketchup is compared to ours. What the hell kind of chemicals do they add to it to make it almost neon? And before anyone mentions our Mountain Dew bottles are brighter, that's just the plastic, not the liquid inside. Also, I've tasted both Mountain Dews, and it wasn't the UK version that kept me awake all night.
Exactly! Have you tried American mustard, it's awful - it didn't even taste like mustard!
Your food is awesome. I eat far too much of it every time I'm there.
nuclear fusion
OK, I was in a B&m in Scotland and saw these 2 different coloured Heinz Tomato Ketchup bottles and was freaking out about the colour of it! Until my auntie lifted the bottles - one was in a clear bottle, the other was in a red coloured bottle! Trust me, I felt like a fanny lol! I have a picture of the 2 together in my phone, I'll try and post it on here if I can!
The bright ketchup is due to the plastic colouring, that specific container is not translucent.
Why is everyone dissing the US just because of a post? What did it ever do to you?
Are you totally dumb? The comparisons are between British and American ingredients for the same products.
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I kept reading about Lucky Charmes. So when I found a store in Cardiff, selling American sweets, I bought it. That sugar-induced coma... Never again.
@Bob Beltcher Literally none of the cereals made for kids contains anywhere near as much sugar here in Europe. And guess what? Our kids are fine with it.
I expect that a cereal for kids should be made to be healthy for kids. If it is a sugar-bomb, it is a fail. As simple as that.
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It's a kids cereal, WTF did you expect?
Same here in Ireland. A lot of our foods are made in the UK. And any that are made here taste completely different to the same product made in the US. Also, since Kraft/Mondelez bought out Cadbury, all their chocolate (Ireland and UK made) taste crap.
I agree on Cadbury! Grr they replaced the cocoa butter with palm oil. I buy Whittakers choc now ^-^
Well, the first thing they did was change the ingredients, it now included palm oil which is the main reason the Amazon rainforest is being destroyed. Strange Cadbury's managed over 100 years without it.
That is who we needed, someone FROM the UK who knows about their food to talk about what is in it.
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American food in your super market has to pass UK food regulations, so they're fine. The US have to disclose everything going into their food to satisfy the FDA even if it's 0.00002g, but not in Britain/EU. Basically if it's a negligible amount we don't bother sticking it on the pack on this side of the pond, whereas the Yanks insist on everything. Their TV ads for medicine have to recite the potential side affects, they go a bit over board on the 'nannying'. On the flip side though, some Tic Tacs have so little sugar they don't have to list it as ingredient this side of the pond and they actual call them sugar free Tic tics, but you couldn't get away with that in the US.
You have no idea what you are talking about. Read the posts
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Well except for the amount of rat droppings allowed in your wheat flour. That's why the UK is not allowed to export to the US. Blech.
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Ha! Tell that to all the fat children I see on a daily basis. The UK is the fattest country in Europe.
That's because most of those children are in poor families and it's cheaper to buy takeaway or cheap food than it is to buy healthy organic food. The US is still probably the fattest country in the world...
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The US is pretty fat, but so is Britain. The Mean BMI is 28.8 in the us, making it the 17th fattest country, whereas the UK is number 40, but still high up at 27.3. Basically, the average person in both countries are overweight. Just because foods might have more artificial colours and flavours in the US doesn't mean everyone looks like balloons. Poverty exists in both countries, so don't gatekeep child obesity. Both countries have problems, so don't brag about the UK being "better" at it.
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I don't see how a £1 pack of six apples is more expensive than a £1 pack of 5 donuts. That microwave lasagne costs more than buying ingredients for a lasagne in bulk and froze the rest. I hate that "poor family, poor meal" argument because it simply doesn't exist. Laziness, on the other hand...
You know the funnier part of it all ? If the regulation against hazardous or unhealthy ingredients in food in the UK is so strict, it is THANKS TO THE EUROPEAN UNION, where consumers protection is taken very seriously. These are the kinds of EU regulations that the Brexiters want to rid their country of. Give them a couple of years after Brexit, and processed food in Britain will be just as trash-filled as its US counterpart. So, just like those American posters who sounded proud to have the « freedom » to fill their plates with junk, many people in the UK right now have been actively pushing for political agendas that are AGAINST their own direct interest. This is where propaganda and lack of a proper education will lead you ....
I totally agree, and I am an American who has traveled. I was shocked at how good the food was in the EU (and elsewhere), when I first started traveling and found out those regulations were why.
Actually, I have found excellent food and products in the US as well. What struck me however is that they were generally in the upper tier, price-wise (especially when it comes to organic vegetables). Another issue I noticed was a generally strong correlation between a family’s education level and their healthier regimen. In a country where education is not free (and getting absurdly costly!), this feels like a double unfairness towards the poorer section of society: not only do they get fed trash products, but they are also denied the cultural tools to help them make better choices. It seems to me that the US stopped being a land of opportunity a long time ago, alas. Pretty much when college fees started skyrocketing well above the means of all but the richest families. So many of the problems in today’s USA would be solved already, had the successive governments of the past 40 years truly put emphasis on education. But educated people are harder to turn into blind consumers...
After the 31st of October, the differences may be gone.... ;-(
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Don't do that. England has been out of the EU longer than it's been in it. How did we manage before? lmao.
By conquering other nations and stealing their resources. In the interlude between where the UK stopped that and joined the EEC, the UK had such a bad economic depression they were known as the sick man of Europe
Does America not have real sugar (you know like from sugar cane or sugar beets) instead of high fructose corn syrup? It's just gross (tastes gross)
easiest answer: 1) government subsidies for corn production. 2) government tarrifs (extra costs) on sugar production. ie this is happening, by choice, by the US government.
A contributing factor is that much of the "real sugar" in the US can only be grown in very small areas of the south, or imported from overseas, while corn can be grown in virtually all latitudes of the mainland USA. Also, the government has historically been more desirous to promote the interests of business than the health of its populace.
THIS, exactly.
It's much cheaper
All sugar is the same, regardless of the source (assuming it's been properly processed & purified)
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I believe HFCS results in a more temperature stable product as well.
@Dippin Dot, not exactly. Most commercial soft drinks and baked goods containing HFCS are using HFCS-42, which is somewhat less expensive than HFCS-55, and has a composition somewhat less akin to table sugar.
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Chemically, HFCS and sugar are identical. It 100% has to do with cost.
US citizen here. Here's another problem: Unless you buy meat directly from a farmer, it includes 15% SALINE. We grilled chicken breast yesterday with garlic from our garden and paprika. It was so f'g salty that I thought my husband salted it. The USDA says only a small percentage is injected. We've not found meat without it. Organic doesn't have any, but the prices are unaffordable. I also cook for my parents who are both on a sodium -restricted diet. Regarding the comment KFC honey: In stores here, you also need to check honey and maple syrup ingredients. Many are corn syrup with flavoring. On a side note: Many of us know Orange Guy is an ass.
Wow! My friend works for a food processing plant. He just told me that any products that are made for other countries must have 60% less corn syrup and sugar than ours.
The meat is with question mark in EU too, in special the chicken meat. But we dont have sweetening in everything, thats for sure. Usually its labeled if theres artificial sweetening. With EU rules we have everything more healthy, or less dangerous for us, from medicine to cosmetics.
Dave P. - It states 15% saline solution on the packaging. No matter the brand or store.
And it is labeled as such. You can also buy meat that isn’t injected with saline. The packaging is really clear, and most groceries are moving away from the injected meat.
As Valeria Rosca points out, the differences in banned chemicals do not only apply to food. "US cosmetics are full of chemicals banned by Europe – why?" https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/may/22/chemicals-in-cosmetics-us-restricted-eu NOW READ THIS: "In cosmetics alone, the EU has banned or restricted more than 1,300 chemicals while the US has outlawed or curbed just 11."
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The saline is a long debunked myth, only processed has salt added, or if you buy Kosher were as part of the Kosher Process the meat is salted and rinsed to remove blood.
I'm curious. In the UK, the ingredients list has to be ordered from most to least, so if your main ingredient is sugar, it has to be featured first, etc, while flavourings and trace amounts are at the end. Do they do that in America too?
Yes they do. But they have very different standards about ingredients - GMO products, HFCS, and a wide variety of drug residues in meat and dairy products are deemed okay in the US and banned in the UK. Same with a number of additives and colourings. This is what is worrying a lot of people about a post-Brexit trade deal with the US, in general terms our ingredients are more tightly controlled throughout the EU.
Same in Canada.
If you compare the ingredients in a vanilla shake in US and EU McDonalds you will learn that the US one has 5 time the amount of sugar... No wonder majority of US citizens are morbidly overweight.
It's pretty crap isn't it! Shame man. It's that little treat you give your self once a month which in the eu results in the equivalent of a once a month treat and in the US the equivalent of a five times a month treat. And if you don't choose junk food as a study area in your life you're none the wiser.
Packet of "honey" from a US KFC. Honey was the 4th ingredient! Wouldn't it be less expensive to just.. have honey?
No, corn syrup is cheaper. The US subsides corn. It's why we ruin our engines with it and substitute it for cane sugar. We force feed our meat animals with it. The US grows the most corn in the world (by design), so we use it. As far as I am concerned, it's a garbage grade vegetable. It's hard to digest and can pass through the digestive tract, intact. We shouldn't consume or use it, which is why we subsidize it, which is why we have so much of it. See the pattern?
I noticed the use of corn syrup too, thank you for explaining ^-^ is it like the use of palm oil in foods? We have a lot of palm oil being substituted into foods :(
If it can be done without adding all the extra chemicals, then why add them? Surely that's more expensive for the manufacturer? Actually, I once had an American friend tell me that she thought Fanta Orange in the UK tasted almost like natural orange. I've never had the American version but the fact that I find (UK) Fanta too sweet, made me think it must be vile in the States.
Shelf life. The EU has better food standards than the US and this is why. I have traveled all over the world and it saddens me that food overseas always tastes better than here in the US for common food stuffs. Don't get me wrong, you can get good food here, but you have to pay more for it or cook it yourself, which I regularly do. All my coworkers are always amazed by my lunches and how good they smell. Yeah, I make my own meals...
Extra chemicals are much cheaper than extra real food. That's why an orange juice, for example, is cheaper than the oranges you need if you make it yourself. And of course that's for any processed food.
Personally, I find all the top soda brands to taste like hazardous sweetened chemical waste. It buggers my imagination that I used to drink them, but I quit years ago.
Taste. It's all in the conditioning,no matter which country. I like the plant 'meat',which is a lie from smell to taste. The veggies want their taste and to feel superior at the same time. Sigh.
Why is this surprising ? The US government has not given a fuck about its people for decades. (Probably since the 1950's). It's not like the US is known for its luxury or gormet standards anyway. Food there has always been dreadful as the size of the population demonstrates. Anyone seen the mobility scooters at Disneyland? Literally 1000's
It's because EU laws are way stricter to the food additives.. A lot of the banned ones in EU are still ok to use in USA
damn pinko commies regulating the stuff we put into our bodies. What next, removing poo from water?!
I think processed food is not healthy by definition, in any country.
Yes, but it can be just a bit worse or directly cancer killer. There're a lot of qualities and, if someday you use it, you'd like that it's the healthier as is possible.
I think that you hi the nail on the head, Daria. Processed food was originally "invented" for their convenience and for the very fact that they saved people time preparing meals. I believe that there was a huge surge with pre-packaged foods in the 1950s where they were seen as being quick, cheaper, and all the "rage." I hate to say it, but I am seeing this surge again in my own country where people find it more convenient to grab a fast-food meal as they are rushing from one task to another.
The United States had the highest rate of obesity within the OECD grouping of large trading economies. Now we know why.
Food babe? She still around after all the scandals she had?
I'm with you on that. I agree with this article in principle, but food babe is just the worst.
https://foodbabe.com/
https://foodbabe.com/
So if I get it the strawberries in the Quaker oat meal actually are dehydrated apples with artificial strawberry flavor?!
And most 100% fruit juices (for example: cranberry) are 80+% apple juice. We were going to buy acai berry juice. 90% apple, 5% acai, 5% grape.
Interesting fact: As of 2015, the world-wide production of strawberries was much too small to provide for all strawberry-favoured products sold in the US only, had they all been naturally flavoured. In other words, western societies (and the US first among them) have created such a demand for strawberry-flavoured stuff that it would require several Earths just to grow them. This is how silly we are.
Who chose which comments to feature in the article? Because hoo-boy, there's some ignorance on display.
The power is in the hands of the purchaser. If you Americans don't like the toxic additives - don't buy the product, there will be alternatives, and the manufacturers will soon wake up to their profit reductions.
In the US they have no real alternative, or really expensive one so most people don't really have the choice actually....
The Food Babe is dumber than a box of rocks. https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/12/04/364745790/food-babe-or-fear-babe-as-activist-s-profile-grows-so-do-her-critics
Just don't eat any of that stuff or make up your own versions at home with real ingredients. There. Problem solved.
Many Americans can't afford to do this. This crappy food is much, much, much cheaper than healthy, fresh food and it just isn't affordable for a large amount of people. And the healthcare industry just loves it. Sicker people mean more $$$!! More diabetes = more demand for insulin $$$$$$
Many Americans do this.
This could be why many American tourists find UK food bland. They're used to stronger tastes from different ingredients.
In-spite of your downvotes I agree, as an American. When you've spent your life eating salty processed food, you lose the taste for natural food. I try to eat as little processed food as possible and was amazed at the taste of food in the EU, when I started traveling for a living.
Really disrespectful not using the proper British flag.
Hi, Reuben, our Photoshopper team is already busy fixing it :)
What happened? The original post at Food Babe shows the correct flag on each picture.
The Union Jack is the flag for Britain? Unless you're thinking of the white/red flag, which is the flag for England, which doesn't encompass Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland...
I live in USA and think maybe if all this artificial crap was not in our food we wouldn't have such an obesity problem !
The significant differences between US and UK processed food ingredients are 1) sugar vs high fructose corn syrup, 2) "flavouring" vs specific synthetic flavorants, and 3) additional vitamin enrichment in US markets.
They missed the last message, but there wasnt a pic, so , it doesnt surprise me. In Europe is banned lots of american food because of the chemicals they use in their food. Question, why there has to be sweetening in everything?
I would argue that a lot of this has to do with shopping and food storage habits. Here in the states, people have a habit of buying an entire car load of food and storing more of it at home. In Britain and most European countries, people will buy less but more often and keep less on hand. So there's less need for preservatives because things aren't being shoved into the pantry and forgotten as often.
So the food babe's minions are here, downvoting everyone who cites her documented history of half-truths and pseudoscience. I'm sorry that this site, which constantly points out the garbage that anti-vaxxers try to pass off, is allowing this post to stay.
As soon as I saw these were from the "Food Babe" I stopped reading. She's known liar and manipulator. Don't trust anything she has to post to the internet!
Eh, either you work as a lobbyist, or you get your information from gawker, vox, and fox news. https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/12/04/364745790/food-babe-or-fear-babe-as-activist-s-profile-grows-so-do-her-critics?t=1570196722858
Sorry Monika, but she's not all that she's cracked up to be. She's pushing pseudo science, anti-vax bullshit and other woo stuff. https://amp.businessinsider.com/why-vani-hart-the-food-babe-is-wrong-2015-4
https://foodbabe.com/
I can't believe the strawberries and cream one. It's not even real freeze dried strawberries but strawberry flavored apple pieces. Because money. Kinda sad actually.
I think y'all would be appalled if you check what being sent to Africa.....Nigeria to be precises. What he have here is NOT Kellogg's. I have no idea what it is but it's being pumped here by the truckload.
Yes,sadly Africa has been the dumping ground for lots of 2nd rate products for years and years.Stock-piles of out of date medicine,air-planes with at least 25 years service elsewhere,pesticides banned in Europe but good enough for Africa and has also become the final resting place for ships being chopped up as scrap,to mention just a few cases because the list of unwanted stuff being sent to Africa reads like an old fashioned telephone book
Oh PLEASE don't get me started on the airplanes!!!!!
Most people don't eat that food in Uganda. Hell I have never even seen most of the products there. So I guess we are good here
Oh man I knew Americans were dumb, but not THAT dumb they don't even see what's in front of them. The main difference is in products with sugar. Sugar seemingly is banned in the US and they use high fructose corn syrup, then they have to use a butt load of other crap to try mimic any sort of flavour. This is why American food tastes of nothing. How are they such fat bastards there's no taste in anything?!
I have worked for a few months in the US, and for many years with colleagues and customers from the US and I can guarantee you from my own experience that the average American is not dumb, at least not dumber than average people in Europe or elsewhere. And their food is not tasteless. You can have anything from expensive meals at fancy restaurants to cheap fast food and most of it tastes good. Finally, even though obesity seems to be more common in the US than in other countries (from what I’ve seen on the streets), calling them fat bastards is an inappropriate exaggeration.
@frederic eeckman: I know you try to be sarcastic, but your comment is stupid. Even my limited experience with the US and US citizens is by far enough to disprove the insulting claims made by suckmyloli f that "Americans are dumb", "American food tastes of nothing" and they are "fat bastards". However, based on your comment, this might be too complicated for you to understand.
Here, have an upvote - I don't get why you were downvoted
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Nope it's actually EXTREMELY LOUD, OBNOXIOUS, RUDE, fat bastards to be exact ;-) I live in 1 of the touristic area's of Amsterdam, on the our streets I see these examples of (many but not all) Americans every. single. day. :-(
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Nothing beats the wise experience of spending few months in a country and relate to what one see on the streets :D
I lived in several countries in Europe and in the US. Cannot generalize though. While in some places in the US eat badly, especially the uneducated, low income people, some eat in a very similar fashion as in Europe. Also, I have never been to a place where people eat healthier in terms of quality and what they eat than in California
Totally agree Joel, thank you for not jumping on the bandwagon. I lived in CA and TX and there is a BIG difference on diet and lifestyle.
I'm with chi-wei shen on this. The comments certainly don't represent all Americans. This is not a statistically balanced comment list. It's sensationalism. Be smart when you criticize others for being stupid. Haha
I'm not American but I find your self righteous tone incredibly offensive. You know you're downright xenophobic. Don't you believe that every nation have their good and bad. Also, stupidity and poor education are not the same thing. Perhaps it would be better to say that some of the people who commented where really daft. I would totally agree with that.
I think you'll find there are more countries than just the US who are fat. The UK, Mexico, Greece, New Zealand, Australia. Are all of those inhabitants stupid, too? Or did you just go LOL MURRRRCA?
I just opened all the profiles of BPs who outright criticized the articles author, the Food Babe. Most of them had less than 10 votes. 1 had 400+, 1 had 600+, and only Phil Boswell had over 1,000 votes. It sure looks like most of those who severely discredit her came on BP just for that purpose. “Anony mouse” did it twice. I’m just saying, this makes your name calling and highly critical remarks about look her look very suspicious. Are you food lobbyists? If you are - get off BP.
I am Norwegian but live in Canada. Also disgusted by all the s..t that is allowed in NA foods. However, have also found that there are some ingredients added I Europe that they don’t have to list! So their food may not be a clean as it seems. I thought GMO food was banned in Europe , but no, some foods are allowed. Don’t know about Roundup? It makes me sick that this cancer causing weed killer is still allowed to be used on our foodplants , now so much it has crept into our water system and even organic food gets contaminated. I guess Monsanto got sick of being called the bad guy so now Bayer has bought it. I saw a whole page newspaper ad from Bayer saying Glyphosate (roundup) was safe . Well the World health organisation in Geneva disagrees! Who do you believe?
Currently finding people to bring lawsuits against Roundup manufacturer for causing non-Hodgkins lymphoma cancer in the USA. GMO producers needs to be banned and majorly fined out of existence.
This has somehow turned into a bash on the USA...not everyone here thinks this artificial crap is ok
Very true.
I'm from USA our country has an obesity rate that is rediculous. maybe if we had better regulations on the junk they put in our food it wouldn't be so bad !!
We Americans wonder why our population is increasingly unhealthy and overweight. Who cares about choice when all the choices are full of synthetic, lab-created filler? They could be selling us antifreeze as a new mountain dew flavor and the "patriots" would scream "free market". Avoiding artificial junk shouldn't require reading a novel's worth of ingredients on product labels for every item and every trip to the store.
Amen. I am totally flabbergasted at how industrial lobbies (and, to be fair, most of the RP) have succeeded in convincing a whole population that regulation is an attack on freedom ! But when people already believe that regulating guns is communism, how could you ever have them accept regulating food ?
Our food is ALL about population control. Have you researched the rise of cancer rates? Want to stay relatively healthy? Eat food that doesn’t have an ingredient list attached to it. Whole food.....like our grandparents ate. When you cannot pronounce and ingredient? That’s the number one reason to stick that item right back on the shelf!
this is why we campaigned against TTIP, and this is why we don't want to swap sensible EU safety laws for a bad trade deal with the US, where we will be forced to lower our standards
Great Britain has the National Health Service, which until recently -- when conservatives got hold of it -- provided 95% of health-dental-vision-psychiatric without charge to all citizens. Even with Tory tinkering, it is still worthwhile for government to be involved in regulating processed foods -- there are proven cancer-causing agents in American foods, but corporate shills have been injected into regulatory agencies and even crap like GMOs are almost untouchable.
A ton of the US things have disgusting corn ingredients..like high fructose corn syrup, since the government subsidizes corn so much. It needs to stop for the sake of health and the economy.
The last-listed US french fry ingredient, dimethylpolysiloxane is "a silicon-based polymer used as a lubricant and conditioning agent. It functions as an anti-foaming agent, skin conditioning agent, occlusive and skin protectant. It is found in many cosmetic and hygiene products like nail polish, conditioners, make-up, contact lens solutions, sunscreens, deodorants, and shampoo. Examples of products that contain dimethicone include Aveeno Moisturizing Lotion and Johnson's Baby Cream."
Firstly. We have Mac and cheese and that's what we call it. I've never seen cheesy pasta before. Second ,people in the UK generally don't have such a sweet tooth as America. Neither is bad just different. On the whole I don't like the food in America and obviously Americans don't like English food. That's fine, why we all need to be the same is beyond me.
I am still scratching my head over the guy who believes not eating meat has ANYTHING to do with the above article! Nothing in there even touches on meat and as a farm raised gal, the MAIN dish in ANY meal starts with REAL MEAT, Be it beef, pork, poultry, venison or other "wild" meat! From there, you add. As for the additives, I don't eat most cereals save for rolled oatmeal and that's not the instant or flavored varieties. I make my own condiments and I DO read labels. I have too many chemical allergies not to!
Sharon Windus like
Sharon Windus -
I would not trust that Food babe, she knows nothing about chemistry and science... https://theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php/food-babe-misinformation-on-travel/
America is finally waking up to things like hydrogenated oils but clearly we have a long way to go. They do it because it's cheaper and they can get away with it here.
I have checked some of these in the uk and they are not always comparing the same products, e.g. the original porridge doesn’t have raspberries. However, the volume of food dyes used in America is shocking. Sunset yellow and brilliant blue are both azo dyes that can cause hyperactivity and (in my case) Anaphylaxis. My honeymoon nearly killed me when I ate some “cheesy” crisps at the airport.
While the UK porridge box shown doesn't mention raspberries or strawberries, but they are there in the ingredient listing, so it's a fair comparison.
I don't care what anybody says, high fructose corn syrup is not an acceptable substitute for sugar. I quit drinking pop because of that. Now I make pop myself, with real sugar in it.
The Fraud Broad is a charlatan, profiteer, and a Queen among the Karens. She has been debunked by rational writers all the hell over the internet. ~~ https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Food_Babe ~~ https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/12/04/364745790/food-babe-or-fear-babe-as-activist-s-profile-grows-so-do-her-critics ~~ https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/vani-hari-a-k-a-the-food-babe-the-jenny-mccarthy-of-food/ ~~ Etc.
Yeah...we have food standards in the UK.
As a brit (who recently moved away to colombia oof) jm very proud
Pretty simple shit I learned years ago. If you shop for food in the usa always do your best to find the label that says that the food is real food or at least quality food. Always look for Made in any place that is NOT usa or Imported from _____
Please do not give further attention to food babe. She is a complete hack. Go visit scibabe's website instead.
I dunno UK or any other countries have less of those, also depends of what you buy. We always look on the ingredients first, if those are the codes on it we don't buy. Better eat fresh than some of these killing stuff.
Stop eating processed junk and you don't have to worry as much. I get there's pesticides, hormones and who knows what else, but fresh is still better than processed.
Holy shit, why is there so much corn syrup in the ketchup!? Also, it did really bother me that the oatmeal was two different flavours because that feels like missing the point, or that it's going to cause readers to miss the point.
It surprised me too. Heinz is - according to the label - one of the few ketchup brands in the EU that is actually made from tomatoes, without the addition of corn or potatoe fillers.
I've been screaming about this for years!
Wanna see something crazy? Compare the bag ounces of Quaker Oatmeal to its 35% Lower Sugar alternative. It's 35% less sugar because the bags are 35% smaller. That's all!
Just so you can check out the "Food Babe": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vani_Hari "Vani Deva Hari , who blogs as the Food Babe, is an American author, activist, pseudoscientist, and affiliate marketer who criticizes the food industry.…Hari's ideas on food safety have been criticized by scientists as pseudoscience and chemophobia, and others have drawn attention to her financial interest through promotion and marketing of natural foods."
Great comparison, actually nothing new, makes me wonder if it was worth giving foodbabe publicity. Dangerous quack
Isn't she the idiot that proclaimed she didn't eat anything with chemicals ins it?
And then they wonder why health costs in America are so high...
* gags in German *
All of the comparisons given are junk food. American grocery stores also carry carrots, potatoes, wheat flour, etc. Those that prefer junk food can eat that if they wish. Most Americans do care about what they eat, but just like Brits A high percentage are not as well educated about food as they should be. Now I've had spotted d**k before. My doctor gave me an antibiotic and it went away.
It is really sad that Americans have to call Britain either Communist or Socialist to excuse the way they lie to themselves
That is typical American, theirs look better so they must be cheating, not that America allows all sorts of crap in it's food.
crazy how some of the Americans are commenting that they have more choice and dont live in a communist country. it's banned for a reason, its been proven to cause cancer etc. the regulations are the same in all EU states.
Americans eat shit. Come to Australia.
While visiting UK I noticed everything (junk / snacks ) tasted different. I began to not eat junk/snacks (too busy touring anyway), and I began to think about how I ate in the US. I got used to eating a decent meal...and not grazing over junk all day. The soda taste different too... much less sugar. I drink much less of it now. One little vacation influenced my diet in major ways.
FACT. EU regulations stipulate that ALL ingredients are listed. FACT. EU food standards are higher/ stricter than anywhere else in the world. FACT. UK must brace itself after brexit when we strike new trade deal with US, for plane loads of inedible shite to hit the shelves. God only knows what ingredients are in US pet food, if this is the crap made for human consumption.
Sometimes labels between different countries are misleading. Compare Czech republic (I will not say Czechia) and Germany. On meat products here we have to write down "% of meat", "% of fat", "% of skin", etc., in Germany they just use "% of schweinefleisch". They use the fat too, because in some products it just belongs. They use the skin too because it is needed for the structure. But on the label of the salami made in Germany it says 95% meat, on (the same) Czech product it would be 55% meat (and 30% fat and 10% skin) (the rest is mostly water, some spices and salt). (Still we have some magicians who can produce sausage with 5% skins and who knows what made mostly from soy, beans, bread crumbs hold together by dark magic and chemicals with names longer that silk road. It is nearly vegan friendly product.)
when america gets fat, so does europe
There is absolutely NOTHING that The Food Babe says that can be trusted.
wow there's other things besides cardboard in Dorito's !
But regulations are bad!
Why eat this rubbish anyhow, of USA or UK origin...?
the problem might originate from the point that American taste has changed gradually during years of course BY these industries and they cannot risk to go back to make healthier product unless they loose some share of they market. For example in artificial colors, if they use natural ones that are usually paled, probably there would be some unsatisfied customers that move the rival products with stronger (artificial) colors.
The reason all ingredients are listed in USA is that if you are allergic to something you can sue.
Canola oil is another name for rape seed oil. According to the Australian Macular Degeneration Foundation, Canola is detrimental to the health of the macula in the retina of the eye.
Tastes like bad fish oil too, and smells worse when cooking.
Did anyone notice that the oatmeal was comparing two clearly different products? The UK oatmeal isn't even strawberry flavour but Vani put strawberries on the ingredients list anyway. No one saw that?
When "this woman" is the stupid bitch known as Food Babe, you know you're in for a ride on a wave of bullshit.
i dont care its still good
I'm in Canada, and I'm sure we're similar to the USA. It's so disgusting
America's are so needy of everything but that is so impressive of all the time she had to write all the ingredients
Lol, I don't know htf to post a picture on here, can someone please tell me how to do it! I've managed to make the picture into a sticker on my phone keyboard ffs, just can't get it on here! Please help me........
I have lived for decades in both the UK and the US. I remember having a real issue with the way all American food tasted, but then I got used to it. When I returned to the UK after many years, everything tasted kind of bland. It was really weird. Then my taste buds healed and I started enjoying more natural food again, and British food tastes really fresh and lovely. But when I went back to the US again, I was hyper aware that everything was saturated with salt and sugar, and often fat. Like, the bread seriously tasted more like cake than bread, because it had so much sugar in it. Your palate gets used to things being a certain way and that's really why things taste bad or good to us. It's familiarity, and not necessarily a sign that what we're eating is good for us.
What's very sad is that a bunch of the additives (especially the red and yellow colors) have been banned throughout Europe for a very long time, because they were clearly proven to cause a number of issues, including cancer and behavioral issues in children, among other things. The FDA knows all this, but is quite happy to continue to approve this crap for the American public, because they are in the pockets of the big food companies, who don't care at all about the health of their consumers, because their only focus is profit, profit, profit.
Every thing is a Chemical..
Stop eating crap, please. Your body will thank you for it. The "food" listed here is mostly junk, ok for rare treats, but harmful if eaten on a regular basis.
soda is just no bueno in the first place
Food Babe is neither a nutritionist nor a food scientist. What she does is use pseudoscience to spread fear and misinformation.
Detailed ingredient lists is a good thing when you have several food allergies. I always read them and sometimes it's a good read: allergic or not, I don't want to eat weird ass chemicals.
This is a great favor to people who care about what they put in their mouths. The American consumer has been poisoned for many decades by the American food producer who is interested only in shelf life and artificial flavoring. The proof is on the label, and later on in the state of your health...disbelief in this at your own risk.
how many people are really reading all the poisonous ingredients, if yes obesity will not be a problem in the US
Seems like a lot of added sugars for no reason over here. Very bad for us Diabetics. Smh.
Well it's very simple. Just stop buying that shit! I can't understand parents fighting to get 'better' frooty loops.. common! In Europe people just don't buy this crap and that is why it doesn't work here, it has nothing to do with regulations. Just with customer choices!!
For most of you saying that the US version of a processed food is worse, you really need to look at the ingredients, and realize that the FDA requires all ingredients to be listed unless it is something like natural flavors, which might be a trade secret. You might also mistake nutritional additives because they can't just call them vitamins and nutrients. For instance, potassium chloride is used to increase the potassium delivery from a certain meal. It is also used in hospitals as an IV method to provide potassium to patients with deficiency. However, we do allow certain unsafe food additives as in the case of Mountain Dew, which has a fire retardant in it.
There is not actually that much differences. The UK original oatmeal was compared to a fruit flavored one. The UK Mountain Dew left out the orange juice and especially the Frosted Flakes. All of the additives listed were vitamins, identical except the US list named the form not just the name of the vitamin. If you don't want additives, boil your own rolled oats and you can add your own sugar, salt and milk.
I am Australian and I know it kinda doesn't include me but I have compared Australian and American foods....exactly the same product and it is shockingly different in taste
Yeah no. If it comes from the Foodbabe it's just automatically trash and not worth reading. She's scientifically illiterate and really stupid. Just look at some of her quotes.
I'm concerned that the Quaker Oats left the glyphosate off of the ingredient list!!!
Regardless, we should be eating whole natural foods. Anything thats been processed is a gimmick to scam money out of the lazy cook.
I stay away from Kelloggs, steer clear of GM products.
I gawp at the UK list. My countries would be half of the UK list. Although even for McDonalds everything is made in my country. And we have incredibly strict laws on food. (Sweden) for the curious.
That goes for Denmark too.McDonalds had to cut 35% of the fat content in their Burgers(if I am not mistaken) before being allowed to establish in Dk
Consumers in the US have many choices. Not just the ones that are shown. Heinz Ketchup for example, offers a product called Simply Heinz that has no HFCS. The price is comparable to the regular bottle. Ingredients: tomato concentrate from red ripe tomatoes, distilled vinegar, cane sugar, salt, onion powder, spice, natural flavoring.
Having tried a few US/UK products of the same name, the main difference for me was that the US versions were a lot sweeter and often had a syrupy feel on the mouth - probably why the US mountain dew has a little vegetable oil and the UK version does not. Both sets of food pale in comparison to Mediterranean and middle eastern food though, so its like comparing mush and slightly sweeter mush.
The Food Babe is no one to listen to. She loves junk science, makes ridiculous claims (passengers getting on to planes are sprayed with pesticides), and so on. She’s full of crap. https://gawker.com/the-food-babe-blogger-is-full-of-shit-1694902226
In the UK, food industry is bound by law (strict European food regulations) to list all ingredients and some European countries make it mandatory to label fat, sugar and caloric content green, orange, red. This is scary, non the less
Food labeling laws are rather different in the US. Food Babe is not a scientist. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/sep/08/food-labeling-us-fda-eu-health-food-safety
haha
Corn syrup is sooo bad, no wonder they have an obesity problem.
There is a difference between food and edible products. This post does not include any food. Its all edible products.
Rapeseed (UK) and Canola (US) are the same oil. Stop being stupid.
American junk food and food chains has destroyed so much. You can make better burgers than McDonalds, You can make better coffee than Starbucks. Think local – that original Café round the corner in Stockholm with good "Fika" is so much better. If I go to Paris, I certainly don't want to eat american junkfood. Oh, but it's all about the money.
Honestly? Not surprising for me. I've had an American friend amazed by the fact that I could cook pasta from scratch.
Wow I can't believe all the hate comments on here about Americans. Which is funny because most of "American" ancestors came from Britain. We are not "stupid" because of our food. The only people that are "stupid" is the government who PURPOSELY make un healthy food cheaper so that is what is bought more. For example an average hamburger is a couple dollars where as a healthy salad is over 7 dollars. So if you're on a fixed budget, you pay for the food you can afford. That doesn't make us unintelligent it makes us stuck.
Although there is a real problem in areas without grocery stores, most Americans do have access to fresh food that is inexpensive, purchasing raw and cooking it yourself creates healthier food at a lower cost-per-serving than anything you get at a fast food place.
"This brings into focus the question of whether the extra ingredients are having an effect on Americans and what it might be." ....well, reading those comments I might have an idea...
If you want to eat healthy mac n cheese, just get a hand of mac and mix it with some healthy cheese and stop complaining that 1 dollar boxed food is bad for you.
Or do yourself your sandwitch. This isn't haute cuisine, everybody knows how to do it and it's faster that waiting for it and pay in a mac thing.
Writer Jonas - you consider "hydrogenated soybean oil" NATURAL?? Try crushing soybeans and tell me how much oil comes out. Canola oil is " natural?" Have you ever seen a vegetable called canola? Do you eat rapeseed? Well sir, you should do some research and correct your article.
Cottonseed oil is used entirely too often in the US, too. One of the most repugnant tastes.
Wow America. What the hell is wrong with you people?
All this hubbub about the differences, yet look at the overall health of Americans vs English. Americans have a longer lifespan in average than Europeans, Are basically tied in numbers of obesity among teens and young adults. Have the approximate same % of those who eat out especially at fast food joints. And foods on average have a longer shelf life in the United States and equal costs.