Food labelling

[Fifichef]

Would I be right to assume that the majority of MN's are not bothered about what's written on food labels?

why do you assume that?

The majority of UK consumers are not that bothered when interviewed so, if MN users are a fair cross-section of society generally, you may be right. However, MN-ers posting on a 'Food' message board are almost certainly going to be more nutrition-aware than the average consumer or even the average MN-er.

Yes I agree that those who post a food thread are most likely to have an interest in food. It's just that I feel that there is never much on here about the quality of food generally. There's very little discussion about how we are manipulated into buying food by misleading 'sales talk' and 'dodgy' labelling. I can never fathom out why some of Mums aren't that concerned about feeding their children decent food. Don't come on to me about this because I know that this need not cost alot!!
There has been plenty in the media about this recently and it appears that finally there may be some sensible legislation on the distant horizon to curb outrageous claims and to ensure honest labelling.

I think that people posting on a 'Food' board are, like myself, not big fans of stuff in colourful packets where it's all marketing over substance.. If you look at the typical questions here they're mostly about how to turn simple basic foods into delicious meals... saving money, planning a menu, using up leftovers, food safety etc. A head of broccoli or a packet of spaghetti comes with zero 'sales talk' on the packet because there's no margin in that kind of basic food for a manufacturer - it's not worth their while. I don't see too many threads here asking how to mix up a Pot Noodle. And whilst you could argue it's manipulative to call a chicken 'Happy Leafy Meadow' brand, it's not really in the same league as the iffy junk that makes its way into a processed product which is then slapped with multiple health claims. In short, I think the people posting on a 'Food' board are already wise to the cons and give big sections of the supermarket a wide berth.

But if you can't fathom why more Mums aren't more concerned you really have to take food labelling in context. In a society where the truly nasty block capital messages on a packet of cigarettes don't deter many from smoking, is it all that surprising that some are not going to spend an age scanning through nutrition panels, scratching their heads, wondering if 20% fat in a product they're going to buy anyway is a good or a bad thing?

You would be wrong to assume that.

I'm not keen on overloading my offspring with E codes. So I know how to make ice cream, bread, yoghurt from scratch and do that occasionally, and most of our meals are home cooked. However, I hold a job and have a social life as well. So I'm not a food fanatic. Fair enough?