OneGuyFromBarlick

We all instinctively knew this but at least there is now sound evidence...
`Ultra-processed foods 'make you eat more'' LINK

And unfortunately, because we have ceased teaching kids how to cook, the poorer you are the more likely you are to be eating bad food.

More on ultra processed foods emerges this morning. See THIS BBC report of a study carried out by researchers in France and Spain which goes further than the link with obesity (although it does acknowledge that this is almost certainly a factor). The conclusion is that the less processing food undergoes the better it is for us.
I think anyone who takes an interest in nutrition already 'knew' this but it's handy to have confirmation even if it can't be definitive.

Seen on the Microsoft internet news, can't offer up a link so here is an excerpt on US food preparation standards.

Quote.. Fox says UK could accept chlorinated chicken in post-Brexit trade deal with US without affecting food safety standards (The Independent)
As normal in the US, the chicken is washed in chemicals – a practice banned in the UK under EU law because scientists fear it does not remove bacteria and simply masks safety failures.
Nevertheless, the US has made clear it will demand the UK accept chemical-washed poultry in any trade deal – and Liam Fox, the international trade secretary, has suggested a ban will be impossible.

Safe in their hands?

In practice, in the present toxic political climate, a trade deal will trump all regulations if necessary and Trump knows this. All he is after is enhancing US trade overseas and of course that is just code for extracting profit from other countries. Old fashioned Economic Imperialism, but it's not fashionable to use that term these days.
Ironic really when you consider that this was always the driver in our exploitation of the empire......

I've been watching THESE reports about the deaths in hospital from sandwiches infected with Listeria. We find that the company who made the sandwiches and sold them to the hospital say that they rely on the supplier of their fillings to maintain quality. They in turn blame the next firm in the chain who sold them the base ingredients. This last firm has been found to be the source of the infection. All three firms have ceased production until they can pass stringent inspections.
This case is of interest to me as it reinforces my belief that the more a food is processed the greater the risk of reduced quality compared to my method of buying raw ingredients, particularly meat and fish, and cooking them myself to my standards. This avoids the perils of a 'food chain' over which the consumer has no control. One fundamental flaw is the time factor, how old are these ingredients when they reach the consumer? How long is the shelf fife.
Sorry, include me out!

What makes that worse is that the chain isn't simply one company supplying the next company. It's more like a pyramid. Each company will be supplied by more than one company so by the time you reach the retailer the product has depended on the hygiene in a large number of other companies.

When we were on holiday last week in Cornwall we bought our full-fat milk from a Co-op supermarket. We were surprised to find that through the week the milk on sale only ever had two days to go before being past its use-by date. Is it the same at the Barlick co-op? We're used to buying milk with a much longer `use-by' life.

Our top ups from the supermarket (We get bottled from our milkman through the week) usually have a week or so to go on the clock. You can always make a batch of scones if it's turned slightly anyway.

The one we got from our local Tesco Metro today has 7 days to go. Perhaps it takes 5 days to deliver the milk to St Agnes!

We got a 4 pint full cream on Friday, it's OK until the 19th so that's 11 days.

Once the big 4 pint plastic bottles are open they don't last very long...

Full Fat does seem to be short life, the amount which must be wasted as people buy big bottles as price/ltr is cheaper but then they chuck out must be quite high. Supposedly you can freeze milk but it always looks and tastes odd to me if in tea, - maybe ok in a pudding mix. One of my fridges is colder and I can get semi a day beyond BB/UB date- normally the last qtr of the bottle- which I water down anyway it goes only in tea and cerals anyway.

Good point Tiz. Remember the condemned meat scandals and the horse-burgers? The defence used by the supermarkets was that they had to trust their suppliers.
Shelf life of liquid milk has increased by leaps and bounds with better regulation and bulk milk collections from refrigerated holding tanks at the farm. Probably the only processed food I trust. Problem is of course that we have forgotten what milk still warm from the cow tastes like! Light years away from our sterile milk now.
UHT milk has replaced Sterilised Milk now but I can remember I quite liked the taste of paralysed milk in rice puddings. The process of sterilising in the bottle in autoclaves gave it a pleasant nutty flavour.
I can remember when our APV (Aluminium Plant and Vessel Company) pasteuriser at Marton was 'improved' by adding a homogeniser to break up the fat and get rid of the cream line. Prior to that the customer could assess the richness of milk by the cream line. Then better control gear meant that we could pasteurise at higher temperatures for a shorter period which speeded production. We never got into Ultra High Temperature (UHT) processing at Marton but I saw some horrendous waste when it was being perfected at Settle Creamery for producing UHT cream.
The definitions of semi-skimmed and skimmed for retail sale came in as an extension of the practice of standardising the cream content of non Channel Island milk by making it all 3% fat.
One thing that isn't fully appreciated is that the fashion for low fat dairy products such as yoghurt, cottage cheese etc. was a cunning wheeze by the industry to get increased profit from the glut of skimmed milk that resulted from rising cream consumption. Prior to that the only market was as liquid stock feed or vacuum dried skimmed milk powder. It was a brilliant success as it coincided with the rise of the supermarkets and increased demand for low fat foods stoked by the saturated fat canard.
Incidentally I was party to contamination of food when I used to deliver skim milk to pig farms from Marton Dairy. It was standard practice at the farm to dose the milk with pure Formaldehyde before pumping into their holding tanks. If this wasn't done it solidified in the pipes from the tanks which were only cleaned occasionally. Everyone knew that this was a bad thing as it affected the quality of the fat in the pigs but it was seen as essential.

Stanley wrote: ↑10 Jun 2019, 03:54 Good point Tiz. Remember the condemned meat scandals and the horse-burgers? The defence used by the supermarkets was that they had to trust their suppliers.

In the current `Listeria in hospital sandwiches' issue the hospitals blame it on the suppliers and the Chilled Foods Association blames it on the hospitals. I suspect both are to blame. Back in 2017 Plaques pointed out the resistance of Listeria to chilling...

plaques wrote: ↑25 Sep 2017, 11:46 Also a note on listeria. Be aware that Listeria monocytogenes can grow in foods in the refrigerator. Use an appliance thermometer, such as a refrigerator thermometer, to check the temperature inside your refrigerator. The refrigerator should be 40°F or lower and the freezer 0°F or lower.

Listeria growth is slowed down at fridge temperature but it will still grow slowly at 4C. I'll bet the hospital food storage fridges are not as low as 4C , or at least not that low everywhere in the fridge. Fridges are often run at more than 4C. When we go to holiday cottages we usually have to turn down the fridge temperature. Having said that, I wouldn't be surprised if the sandwich suppliers don't always have adequately low storage temperatures. Also, mass production of foods is always fraught with the risk of bacterial contamination - a small amount of infected food gets spread through tons of finished product.

I see that there are now more cases than they at first thought..... See THIS BBC report. But if you outsource food preparation and go for the cheapest tender you loose control and are in the same position as a household living on takeaways.... Look at what happened when cleaning was outsourced and the present problems with outsourcing finance by using PFI. When will they learn? (it won't get any better if we let US health industry in no holds barred as part of a trade deal......)

The Listeria outbreak does not subside. I wonder how long it will take them to 'consult' and decide what to do?
Adding full cream to vegetable dishes may not sound like a ploy for eating less but it works. Meals are more satisfying and you eat less!

It now emerges that the FSA warned some years ago about the danger of providing sandwiches for hospital patients but then a year or so later it revoked the warning and said it was OK. The food regulators seem to be going the same way as the financial regulators - toothless!

It's no wonder we have an obesity problem when some newspapers have ads like these almost every day on their front page...

Stanley wrote: ↑18 Jun 2019, 05:33 Adding full cream to vegetable dishes may not sound like a ploy for eating less but it works.

It's gone spooky again. Coincidence time . . .

I returned next door's hospitality just a few days ago, and gave them a roast beef dinner. I served chopped root veg - carrot parsnip and swede - and on impulse (I'm like that) added as well as the usual butter a good slug of double cream.

There were no complaints - just a lot of people having seconds.

Always the best evidence David. Chefs like clean plates!
Watched pie competition last night, a Vegan Pie won it!

Speaking of pies, I think I will get a few spuds when I bring your coil back Stanley. A session of steak and potato pies is in the offing with yesterdays slow cooked steak, enough to fill the three pie trays I have and maybe a bit left for a meat and potato stew with a few veggies.

Stanley wrote: ↑25 Jun 2019, 02:15 Always the best evidence David. Chefs like clean plates!

All went well. Four guests - three of them were published lady poets. Two with MA's in English, All perceptive, and worldly wise, with very good appetites. there wasn't a vegetarian or vegan among them - no sign of any allergies or food intolerances either. I think their age may have had something to do with it.

"The last healthy generation"?
Andrew Marr gave poetry a good coat of looking at on Start the Week on R4. There was a wonderful woman from a multi-ethnic school in the NE who has made poetry central to the school. Fascinating to hear her talking about the pupil's achievements. I recommend it to you. A good topic of conversation for you and the poets!

Taken from Wiki, The original list is in the form of a chart so the alignment of Max / min may be out of alignment. These are for each adult per week. I seem to remember an allocation of one egg a week. Never bought 4 oz of bacon it was always 2 oz.
Price was always a big factor so you made do with potatoes and other root vegetables.

Good old days????

Standard rationing during the Second World War
The standard rations during the Second World War were as follows. Quantities are per week unless otherwise stated.[28]

Food rations
Item Maximum level Minimum level April 1945
Bacon and ham 8 oz (227 g) 4 oz (113 g) 4 oz (113 g)
Sugar 16 oz (454 g) 8 oz (227 g) 8 oz (227 g)
Loose tea 4 oz (113 g) 2 oz (57 g) 2 oz (57 g)
Meat 1 s. 2d. 1s 1s. 2d. (equivalent to £2.31 in 2016)[a 1]
Cheese 8 oz (227 g) 1 oz (28 g) 2 oz (57 g)
Vegetarians were allowed an extra 3 oz (85 g) cheese[29]

Preserves 1 lb (0.45 kg) per month
2 lb (0.91 kg) marmalade 8 oz (227 g) per month 2 lb (0.91 kg) marmalade
or 1 lb (0.45 kg) preserve
or 1 lb (0.45 kg) sugar
Butter 8 oz (227 g) 2 oz (57 g) 2 oz (57 g)
Margarine 12 oz (340 g) 4 oz (113 g) 4 oz (113 g)
Lard 3 oz (85 g) 2 oz (57 g) 2 oz (57 g)
Sweets 16 oz (454 g) per month 8 oz (227 g) per month 12 oz (340 g) per month

China has just banned pork imports from Canada for containing Ractopamine residues.

Ractopamine use is banned in the European Union, mainland China and Russia[3][4] while 27 other countries, such as Japan, the United States, and South Korea, have deemed meat from livestock fed ractopamine safe for human consumption.

Part of the proposed American trade deal???