Food Labels

[Suzanne_H]

My initial post to another thread on 1 carb a slice bread was perhaps poorly worded... I just wanted to express frustration with the typical "low-carb" products I see on the grocer's shelves. Time after time I check the label and find that the front label advertising a net carb number doesn't match the nutritional info I read when I turn the package over.

It's frustrating.

Then there's low-carb flour. The manufacturer states this flour is made of enzyme modified wheat, plant fiber, wheat protein, "unique conditioners, enzymes, and emulsifiers". Such descriptors as "enzyme modified" and "unique" set my teeth on edge. Naturally I still have a tin of it in the back of a cabinet somewhere. I thought I'd use it for pizza dough... and wound up continuing to make flaxmeal pizza dough instead.

As to the 1 net carb per slice bread... when I read the list of ingredients and looked them up I found that not one single ingredient is anything close to 1 net carb, not one... yet they magically bake up together to come up with 1 net carb a slice. To my limited understanding it simply just doesn't add up. Do the "seeds" not digest? Why be so vague by using the term "whole grain" as a first ingredient? I mean grass seed is technically "whole grain". I dunno. I remain sceptical.

I recently purchased mass marketed low-carb tortillas at the grocery store. No, I'm not on the grains rung yet. Yes, it's a cheat. Anyhow, the package lists specific ingredients, specific grains, specific sources of fiber... and the package I'm reading here lists 5 net carbs per serving both front label and back nutrition info. I thought it might be a healthier alternative to the one carb a slice bread, that's all.

Sitting here just now discussing this with my DH, and he tells me the USDA is only concerned with meat and dairy products. He says the FDA doesn't have strict guidelines on food labeling. It's pretty much only when a case of food poisoning comes along that they step in. Manufacturers can pretty much label foods however they please until someone files a lawsuit and forces them to do otherwise. I do love this man.

So I'll give my oopsie rolls a little loving pat and think sweet thoughts about the boxes of flaxmeal in the cupboard that provide my morning muffins. I'm not going to worry about how the carbs are modified in wheat products to render them "low-carb". One of these days when I make it to maintenance I may enjoy a thin slice of true Kansas grown and milled 100% whole wheat bread.

[atkinsgal08]

Re: Food Labels

Yep ... the FDA allows "rounding":

Low-Carb Pavilion -- Nutrition Labels

Food Labeling Guide

Labeling & Nutrition

That's one reason I rely on the list of ingredients ... that tells the tale about what's really in the food at least!

[mizski]

Re: Food Labels

My initial post to another thread on 1 carb a slice bread was perhaps poorly worded... I just wanted to express frustration with the typical "low-carb" products I see on the grocer's shelves. Time after time I check the label and find that the front label advertising a net carb number doesn't match the nutritional info I read when I turn the package over.

It's frustrating.

It sure is! My switch to whole foods began when I could no longer have soy and I started really reading ingredient labels. Besides all the junk and chemicals in so many products, manufacturers play games with our food by adding soy (it's a cheap filler) to almost everything including meat products to cut down on the amount of meat. Another trick I've noticed is with fiber and net carbs. Very often inulin is added to increase fiber which artificially makes the net carbs lower. This is done a lot with commercial bread products. Instead of using a lot of genuine whole grains/seeds, they use the bare minimum and add inulin.

As to the 1 net carb per slice bread... when I read the list of ingredients and looked them up I found that not one single ingredient is anything close to 1 net carb, not one... yet they magically bake up together to come up with 1 net carb a slice. To my limited understanding it simply just doesn't add up. Do the "seeds" not digest? Why be so vague by using the term "whole grain" as a first ingredient? I mean grass seed is technically "whole grain". I dunno. I remain sceptical.

Julian's Bakery has been put under the microscope over on LivinLaVidaLowCarb and other low carb sites. They are one of the few commercial bakeries that offers real whole grain, sprouted grain and seed bread products with no fillers or junk.

There is no magic. It's fiber in whole grains and seeds. I don't think they are trying to be vague in their labeling and I guess they presume people have read their website regarding the grains they use. More specifically, the whole grains used are kamut, spelt, wheat, rye, millet along with sprouted whole grains of the above with the addition of various seeds and oat bran depending on the bread product (flavor/type).

Whole grains contain the bran, germ and endosperm of the grain. The bran (or outer shell) as well as seeds are insoluble fiber and no, they really don't digest.

And yes, grass seed is technically a whole grain although people usually sprout the seeds for wheat, rye and barley grasses rather than eat the seeds. Don't know why. Maybe the seeds taste as funky as the grasses do.

One of these days when I make it to maintenance I may enjoy a thin slice of true Kansas grown and milled 100% whole wheat bread.

I really think that's the way to do it. Pre-Atkins I started baking my own breads (with a bread machine) with the exception of Julian's sprouted breads. It was the only way I could make sure I was getting real ingredients.

Most of the commercial products in the grocery stores are such a disappointment and they don't have to be that way. But they are. Some are fortunate to find bakers that still make real bread...they are surely treasures! Like you, I look forward to the day that I can enjoy real bread again.