Fw the ribena thread lets educate into the world of food labelling

[jellyjelly]

I Dont know that much about food labelling, but would like to know more so lets pool our knowledge and try to get wise to the food giants so we know what is in the food that we eat.

What is Aapartamine - I know it is a sweetner, artificial but what is so bad about them.

What is malic acid?

Xanthan gum the list goes on. If you know what a ingrediant is on a label, can you share it if it isnt obvious anything at all.

Read NOT ON THE LABEL by Felicty Lawrence..... very thought provoking!

So Aspartame (of course it depends where you get your info from!)
Check \link{http://66.249.93.104/search?q=cache:mV-0j0yqouIJ:www.theecologist.org/archive_detail.asp%3Fcontent_id%3D451+aspartame&hl=en&gl=uk&ct=clnk&cd=10\this page}

\link{http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4970406.stm\this was reported re aspartame last week}
Still generally cautious about the stuff but you'd have to consume loads of the stuff to even exceed the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI)

Just searched Malic acid :
Malic acid is a tart-tasting organic acid that plays a role in many sour or tart foods. In its ionised form it is malate, an intermediate of the TCA cycle along with fumarate. It can also be formed from pyruvate as one of the anaplerotic reactions.
Apples contain malic acid, which contributes to the sourness of a green apple. Malic acid can make a wine taste tart, although the amount decreases with increasing fruit ripeness. The process of malolactic fermentation converts malic acid to much milder lactic acid. Malic acid, when added to food products, is denoted by E number E296.

Malic acid is the source of extreme tartness in so called "extreme candy", for example Mega Warheads. It is also used with or in place of the less sour citric acid in sour candies such as Jolly Ranchers and SweeTarts. These candies are sometimes labeled with a warning that excessive consumption can cause irritation of the mouth.

and then....
Because of lack of long-term safety studies, supplementary malic acid should be avoided by pregnant women and lactating mothers.

And this is what BOTHERS me.... most of these things are not tested... let alone pregnant women but what about the rest of us LOL

Well aspartame (IMO) taste foul!

Zanthan Gum or Xanthan Gum is a powder milled from the dried cell coat of a micro-organism called Xanthonomonas campestris, grown under laboratory conditions. It replaces the gluten in yeast breads and other baking. It is available in health food stores and specialty grocery stores.

ok what about other food labels stuff, i really couldnt find much in my house.

Modifies starch was the others.

I challenge you to search your cupboards, get odd looks from your partners, like i did sitting next to a can of tuna in the living room and fill us in on what you find.

I cook from scratch just about everything (out of love for cooking not martyrdom ) so would not find many additives in my house !

This is too confusing, has aspartame always been in drinks? I'm guilty of not looking at ingredients

Aspartame is used on "sugar free" food and drinks for at least 15 to 20 years.

It's also known by its various brand names - nutrasweet is one I think.

Is splenda one?

I had a recent battle with our local playgroup over aspartame. They were insisting that they bought sugar free squash as it was "healthier" - yet happy to offer aspartame loaded alternative.
Personally I am lucky that mine will happily drink water from choice at home but will readily drink the squash if offered it.
I have won the fight and at last they offer water, milk or juice rather than just milk or squash. Made to feel a paranoid worrier though!

I don't think so :SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener tastes like sugar because it's made from sugar. SPLENDA® Products contain sucralose, a sweetener that is derived from sugar and is 600 times sweeter than sugar, but isn't recognized by the body as a carbohydrate.

These were brought out as sugar substitutes why are they in drinks, what did they put in them before

sugar....

whats wrong with that (in small amounts!)

sorry missundersoood your question. They were invented to replace sugar.... that' s it!

I know that it has been linked to breast cancer and i think gulf war syndrome but i dont know why i think that.

It's never in small amounts people have incredibly sweet teeth!
Do you know how much sugar cubes are in a glass of wine ? Or in a coke bottle ?

I'm a convert back to good old sugar - at least it grows in a field and passes through your digestive system - unlike aspartame which enters your bloodstream.

I am with you Roobie.... and anyway we don't have to aim to have too much sugar !

One can of coke contains nearly 10 teaspoons of sugar or the
entire daily recommended amount of calories from sugar

apparently people in the US navy or something are banned to drink stuff with aspartame in it!

or could be the air force. i read it somewhere ages ago.

This is about the US Navy :
www.holisticmed.com/aspartame/suffer.faq

That's bizarre I wonder why?

What can I give instead of squash, he doesn't live off it but likes it with food, I sound really unclued up, if that's a word.