Help at the supermarket

We really don’t have the time and money to go to the delicatessen, greengrocer or butcher every day for the best products. The supermarket it is.

Unfortunately, the supermarket shelves are packed with all kinds of recognisable and unrecognisable junk. Here are a few things to look out for, if you feel like it.

Pre-packaged fruit and vegetables

This is of course an obvious one, but sometimes pre-cut and pre-packaged fruit is simply very convenient. Just bear in mind that these products are washed in fruit acids, chlorine and other ingredients that can extend their shelf life to 21 days. Pre-cut apples do not turn brown and salads do not wilt. Super fresh, ahem.

Natural flavourings and extracts

Don’t be fooled by names such as artisanal sourdough bread, luxury Belgian chocolates or traditional Italian sausage. An example? Organic salami containing rosemary extract. The extract is another word for the chemical oxidants BHA and BHT, which keep a product’s flavour good for longer.

Starch

Starch is not merely ordinary potato flour; it is a kind of umbrella term for all sorts of chemical substances. For example, it may refer to carrageenan (E407) or modified starch (E1422).

Naturally matured cheese

It may be less natural than you think, because it refers to cheese that is transformed into matured cheese within 24 to 72 hours. It seems reasonably abracadabra and hocus-pocus, but adding enzymes such as lipases and proteases gives the cheese its ‘delicious’ matured flavour.

Added vitamins

Healthy? Not really. Artificial vitamin C is derived from modified starch and artificial vitamin E from petrol. Need to say more? Just go for an apple or banana (and not the pre-cut version).

Packaged under a protective atmosphere

This food has been gassed in a chemical atmosphere to extend its shelf life.

Text: Nora van den Heuvel
Source: The Guardian
Image: Andreas Gursky, 99 Cent, 1999