Since Sunflower started working at a "whole grain" mill, the question of what constitutes "whole grain" comes up. I find the labeling of some products to be either misleading or downright lying. See these two "whole grain" stamps and see what you think: http://www.wholegrainscouncil.org/whole-grain-stamp
To me, if it ain't 100%, it ain't whole!

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Originally posted by Asa Lovejoy:
I find the labeling of some products to be either misleading or downright lying.

I agree. This reminds me of a similar ploy used in meat labeling around here. What does "all-beef sausage" say to you? That the sausage you're about to buy is 100% beef? Think again. It really means that all the meat in the sausage is beef, but says nothing about what percentage of the sausage is beef or the percentage of other ingredients.

Does "Fat Free" mean it has no fat, or does it mean you pay for the other ingredients but the fat is free of charge ??

I dunno, Jerry, but I think "high fibre" means you have to eat the box.

The daily consumption of fiber should be about 25-35 grams a day. Look about a third of the way down on this site to see the fiber content of foods. It would be 25 servings of cheerios, though only 7 servings of 40% Bran flakes. Or you might want to have 26 cups of lettuce. I was impressed though that you'd only need 9 cups of strawberries, 4 and a half cups of raspberries, or a little over 2 cups of raisins. Baked beans are great...only about a cup and a half and you're there! Lentils, kidney beans and Navy beans also keep those bowels in shape. Twenty four or so slices of that whole grain bread and there you are!

BTW, if you choose to go on their sample menu, drink your water or let's just say you'll be clogged up.

In the UK all foodstuffs, with (presently) the exception of alcoholic beverages, must show all their ingredients, listed in decreasing order of their proportions, on their container.

It's quite interesting to see how many foodstuffs list, as their primary ingredient, aqua (aka water). Sugar and fat often come high up the list as well.

There are also rules about the naming of foodstuffs. For example, a drink can only be called "orange juice" if that is all it contains. If it has additives or dilutants then it must be called something else - for example, "orange drink".

Alcoholic drinks have always been excluded because of pressure from the drinks lobby. Their (spurious) reason is that the process of fermentation causes changes to the ingredients and any listing would thus be inaccurate. There are several ways in which this problem could be dealt with and I suspect that the real reason is that the chemical fizz brewers don't want people to learn just how many artificial additives are incorporated into their productions.

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In the UK all foodstuffs, with (presently) the exception of alcoholic beverages, must show all their ingredients, listed in decreasing order of their proportions, on their container.

The same is true in the US, but the big label in the front doesn't necessarily agree with what is written on the back.

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The same is true in the US, but the big label in the front doesn't necessarily agree with what is written on the back.

One can understand this to an extent - but that is why there are rules about what the "big label on the front" calls the item.

Orange juice, as I said, could not be made from artificial orange flavourings and colourings - even if this were to be declared in the "small print" on the back.

U.S. laws make the same distinction between juice and drink. Dave Chappelle comments on the sociological aspects.

That was great, neveu!