Cally's working title

You’d think a strawberry milkshake was fairly innocuous when it comes to added ingredients. After all, it mainly consists of milk, a bit of ice cream and a few strawberries. A reasonably healthy, cheap and filling meal. The truth however, is a little more alarming.

Although the big fast food manufacturers should be applauded for publishing the ingredients that make up their foods, a view of these lists makes grissly reading. A medium Burger King milkshake contains a whopping 590 calories, and the following ingredients: milkfat and nonfat milk, sugar, sweet whey, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, natural and artificial vanilla flavour, guar gum, mono and diglycerides, cellulose gum, sodium phosphate, carrageenan and natural flavours from plant sources. Phew! And that’s just the milkshake.

The strawberry shake syrup contains: corn syrup, water, high fructose corn syrup, citric acid, artificial flavour, sodium benzoate (preservative) and coloured with red #40. For a simple food like a milkshake, this list is nothing short of monumental. But if you take a closer look it contains the all too familiar ‘flavour’, both natural and artificial.

In his book Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser looks at the typical ingredients in a Burger King strawberry milkshake: amyl acetate, amyl butyrate, amyl valerate, anethol, anisyl formate, benzyl acetate, benzyl isobutyrate, butyric acid, cinnamyl isobutyrate, cinnamyl valerate, cognac essential oil, diacetyl, dipropyl ketone, ethyl acetate, ethyl amyl ketone, ethyl butyrate, ethyl cinnamate, ethyl heptanoate, ethyl heptylate, ethyl lactate, ethyl methylphenyl-glycidate, ethyl nitrate, ethyl propionate, ethyl valerate, heliotropin, hydroxyphenyl-2-butanone, a-ionone, isobutyl anthranilate, isobutyl butyrate, lemon essential oil, maltol, 4-methylacetophenone, methyl anthranilate, methyl benzoate, methyl cinnamate, methyl heptine carbonate, methyl naphthyl ketone, methyl salicylate, mint essential oil, neroli essential oil, nerolin, neryl isobutyrate, orris butter, phenethyl alcohol, rose, run ether, y-undercalctone, vanillin and solvent.

It would appear that underneath the natural and artificial flavours, an abundance of compounds lay. There is nothing illegal going on here. This is all within the law. Likewise with food labels, they too can include all these ingredients and place them under the umbrella term of ‘flavourings’. It’s really rather frightening.

The value of flavourings is of tremendous importance to the fast food industry, which require their foods be standardized, and flavourings can offer a standardized product. In order that artificial flavourings are made believable, the correct ‘mouth feel’ must be gained. This is achieved by the addition of starches, emulsfiers, stabilizers, sugars and fats (Marsili, 1993, Food Product Design).

So next time you pop into your favourite fast food outlet for a milkshake, take a moment and think about what’s really in this stuff.

(Burger King has been used as an example simply for ease of obtaining information. They are not out of the ordinary … any other fast food company could easily be substituted.) www.bk.com/food/nutrition/ingredients.aspx

Hands up all those out there who know what high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is. Any takers? It’s not surprising not too many know, since there hasn’t been a huge amount of publicity surrounding it, at least not in the UK. On the other hand, it is extraordinary that this is so, since HFCS is in many processed foodstuffs and its use as a sweetener is widespread in the soft drinks industry, including Coke Cola.

So, what is it and where does it come from? A few decades ago, food scientists in Japan discovered a way to process a very sweet product out of corn. They called it HFCS. To the food manufacturer it has many attributes… a high level of sweetness; low costs; retention of moisture; gives products a longer shelf life; gives baked goods a freshly baked appearance; controls crystallization in ice cream and has a low viscosity.

Essentially, HFCS has revolutionized the fast and processed food industries, and enabled it to sell the inexpensive food we see today. Although it’s sweeter than sucrose, proportionately more of the product is required to provide a good ‘mouth-feel’, and that means more calories.

There is great debate as to whether this new product is good or bad for our health. Manufacturers say there is no difference between it and sugar, while some studies say HFCS favours lipogenesis, which to you and me means the deposition of fat.

The worrying aspect of HFCS is that its increased use in the United States exactly mirrors the rise in obesity. This may be coincidence … or not. If there’s a slight possibility that HFCS is contributing towards enhanced calorie consumption, more money should be put forward to research this product.

www.food.gov.uk

Bray 2004 Consumption of high-fructose corn syrup in beverages may play a role in the epidemic obesity, Am. J Clinical Nut.
Critser 2003 Fat Land
Oregon State University 2004

Trans fatty acid, also known as (partially) hydrogenated fat, are in many prepared foods we buy. They are good for the food industry (they increase shelf life), but are bad for us (they decrease OUR shelf life!)

Trans fats are the stealth bombers of the food world. They are not fully understood, but it is known they raise LDL cholesterol (the bad one) while lowering HDL cholesterol (the good one). They also promote blocked arteries leading to heart disease, high blood pressure and many other diseases. There is also a link between trans fats and type II diabetes. In short, they are a hidden killer.

Denmark has banned them in all food manufacture, including fast food. A common philosophy of McDonald’s is that a McDonald’s product can be bought anywhere throughout the world and it will taste the same. And guess what? Danish consumers cannot taste the difference. The point is - when it’s removed, no-one can spot the difference.

Unfortunately the UK government has no plans to address such an issue. Indeed the EU think it sufficient to tackle the problem with comprehensive labelling and allow the consumer to decide. Try explaining to a child the next time they want a biscuit or snack that they must read the label and reject it if there’s trans fats in the product! Don’t think that one will work for many shoppers. This is simply another example of the power the food industry has on politics.

So, congratulations to both Asda and Marks & Spencer for taking a progressive step forward in removing trans fats from their products. Asda says that by Autumn there will be no trans fats in ready meals, chilled and frozen pies and quiches. Likewise, Marks and Spencer say that 98% of their ready meals are free of hydrogenated fat, while at the same time they are also minimizing saturated fats.

For more information visit the Campaign against trans fat in food:
http://www.tfx.org.uk
http://www.marksandspencer.com
http://www.asda..co.uk

As we all know, the media tend to embellish new discoveries. The headline ‘Clever capsules that boost young brains’ is much more attention grabbing than ‘Fish oils may or may not have an effect on cognitive function - it’s too early to tell’. Scientific studies are not all they might appear to be. www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/health/dietfitness.html?in_article_id=388428&in_page_id=1798&in_a_source=

To the consumer it’s very confusing and misleading. In a recent advertising campaign, an eminent physician helped promote St Ivel’s ‘clever’ Advance milk. He is a much loved and respected television personality. Viewers believe what he says. Whilst this forum does not in any way imply this physician is lying, the wording of these commercials very often skates on thin ice, and the science behind these claims may be used inappropriately. Indeed enough so that the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) have criticised the advertisement. As a result Dairy Crest, one of Britain’s largest milk processors, has agreed to stop making these claims. www.foodnavigator.com/news/ng.asp?id=68579-dairy-crest-omega-milk

So, where do we stand - where’s the science behind the St Ivel ‘clever’ claim?
The Oxford-Durham Study looked at Omega-3 supplementation on children who experienced learning difficulties. They found that supplementation appeared to help - it’s as simple as that. However, even the makers of the supplements were not happy with the St Ivel claim. The formulation and amount of Omega-3 in Advance milk is different to the study. The makers Equazen told the ASA that for children to get the same amount of Omega-3 from Advance milk they would have to drink at least 5 litres a day. “The campaigns were completely misleading and offered false expectations and hopes to consumers, and particularly parents, that one or two glasses of so-called clever milk would make their child cleverer,” said Kelliher from Equazen.

This is very sad because to the general public, it may negate the positive research on Omega-3 and other beneficial effects such as in heart disease. To many it is simply another case of conflicting information, not knowing who or what to believe.

The bottom line is that research in the effects of Omega-3 and intellect is still in its infancy, but that should not stop people from including 2-4 portions of oily fish in their diets each week. There may be no ‘proof’ that it enhances brain power, but it is still good for us in other ways. www.guardian.co.uk/life/badscience/story/0,,1868532,00.html