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SephieG · Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2007 12:20 am Post subject: Zebu n' Chips anyone?

Well I guess you've all seen or heard of the furore about the steaks served in various outlets being 67% Zebu DNA - Zebu having been interbred with beef cattle to produce cheap but substandard meat products.
This kind of stuff isn't new really - donkey meat is common in salami, whale oil in biscuits and the like.

I foolishly bought some chicken nibbly things to add to tonight's salad which stated "Made with 100% chicken breast". I did check the label ingredients, but after tasting them I thought they certainly ain't made from 100% chicken breast. I mean - "with" could mean anything. The 100% chicken breast might just have been in the proximity during manufacture (like "I'm with my friend") or in the tiniest proportion to the rest of the content, soya etc- misleading but legal.
It seems it's not enough just to read the labels these days, we have to interpret them too.

Recommended reading:
Your Daily Food by Doris Grant ISBN 0571103766 - This book was published the 70s and foresaw a lot of the nutritional problems we have today.

Not on the Label by Felicity Lawrence ISBN 0141015667 - Undercover horror stories including pre-packed salad.

What the Label Doesn't Tell You by Sue Dibb ISBN 0722534973

L is for Labels by Amanda Ursell ISBN 1401903657

The Great Food Gamble by John Humphrys ISBN 0340770465

Fast Food Facts by Tim Lobstein - out of print I think but all his books are worth a look.

Bad Food Britain ISBN 0007219946 and The Food we Eat ISBN 0140273662 both by Joanna Blythman - again, she has other titles.

Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser ISBN 0141006870

dingsy · Moderator Joined: 29 Apr 2007 Posts: 931 Location: Devon

Am always very sceptical/wary of pre-packaged food. On closer examination, a lot of it is appalling-as you said, "made with", tends to mean, "has had a nodding acquaitance with at some stage".Think the chicken produce, which is coated in breadcrumbs etc, are possibly amongst the worst offenders-seem to recall that they taste as if they're heavily spiced with sage to mask the taste.

sparkymarky · Celebrity Chef Joined: 29 Apr 2007 Posts: 154

at first i thought that said zebra..........

SephieG · Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2007 11:26 pm Post subject:

That wouldn't surprise me either, except zebra are probably a protected species - (like our flippin' seagulls).