Rant.. sugar content

[daisyduck]

I don't often buy processed food now, but was shopping today. Bought some chicken thighs to spice up and cook later. I saw a pack of Colmans Piri Piri spice mix and cooking bag, and thought.. hmm, that might save some time.
I was absolutely gobsmacked when I looked at the label and saw that the second ingredient was sugar, the first ingredient was salt ! and that the carb content was 50g per 100.. WHY ?? Needless to say I'll make my own.
Shows how much we have to look out for hidden sugars

 

[Gadget_man]

I don't often buy processed food now, but was shopping today. Bought some chicken thighs to spice up and cook later. I saw a pack of Colmans Piri Piri spice mix and cooking bag, and thought.. hmm, that might save some time.
I was absolutely gobsmacked when I looked at the label and saw that the second ingredient was sugar, the first ingredient was salt ! and that the carb content was 50g per 100.. WHY ?? Needless to say I'll make my own.
Shows how much we have to look out for hidden sugars

Presumably because sugar is a cheap bulking agent???

 

[Soplewis12]

I don't often buy processed food now, but was shopping today. Bought some chicken thighs to spice up and cook later. I saw a pack of Colmans Piri Piri spice mix and cooking bag, and thought.. hmm, that might save some time.
I was absolutely gobsmacked when I looked at the label and saw that the second ingredient was sugar, the first ingredient was salt ! and that the carb content was 50g per 100.. WHY ?? Needless to say I'll make my own.
Shows how much we have to look out for hidden sugars

I know! I've bought some & thought just herbs & spices & then looked & thought eh? Just shows you everything needs to be checked (not a happy bunny, lol)

 

[BrianTheElder]

I don't often buy processed food now, but was shopping today. Bought some chicken thighs to spice up and cook later. I saw a pack of Colmans Piri Piri spice mix and cooking bag, and thought.. hmm, that might save some time.
I was absolutely gobsmacked when I looked at the label and saw that the second ingredient was sugar, the first ingredient was salt ! and that the carb content was 50g per 100.. WHY ?? Needless to say I'll make my own.
Shows how much we have to look out for hidden sugars

That is quite extraordinary, scarcely believable!
But I already knew that Colman's Mustard was high in sugar, so I checked - 13g/100g. Why on earth would you put sugar in mustard?

 

[daisyduck]

Ingredients:
Salt, Sugar, Starches (Corn, Potato), Paprika (10%), Garlic, Tomato Powder (5%), Toasted Onion Powder, Red Bell Pepper (4%), Yeast Extract, Flavourings, Palm Fat, Cayenne Pepper (2%), Coriander, Chilli (1.7%), Maltodextrin, Herbs (Marjoram, Parsley, Rosemary), Pepper, Vinegar, Mustard Seeds, Lemon Juice Powder, Nutmeg, Turmeric , Caraway, Sunflower Oil, Smoke Flavouring, Modified Starch


Energy 1600kJ/ 704kJ/ 8%
- 300kcal 166kcal -
Fat 5g 4.2g 6%
of which saturates 2g 1.5g 8%
Carbohydrate 50g 3.6g 2%
of which sugars 32g 2.3g 3%
Fibre 9g 0.7g -
Protein 9g 26.8g 60%
Salt 19g 1.7g 28%

 

[Brunneria]

I do get what you mean. I do.

But you know this is a 29g packet, intended to feed four.
So that is 7.25g per person...

Would I use it? Probably not. I would make my own or use something else.
But if it was in a meal with protein, fat and fibre, (chicken, plenty of veg and oil) and i don't see 7.25g as an issue.

But then, sugar spikes me less than wheat.

 

[Bluetit1802]

I do get what you mean. I do.

But you know this is a 29g packet, intended to feed four.
So that is 7.25g per person...

Would I use it? Probably not. I would make my own or use something else.
But if it was in a meal with protein, fat and fibre, (chicken, plenty of veg and oil) and i don't see 7.25g as an issue.

But then, sugar spikes me less than wheat.

Yes, I agree it is terrible there is so much sugar in it, but as Brunneria says, you are only supposed to be eating a quarter of it along with fat, fibre and protein, and that may be OK for you. My secret vice is HP sauce when I have sausages. It is 28% carb of which 21% is sugar. But I am never going to eat 100g of it at one go. The bottles hold 425g and last me all year, so it isn't a problem.

 

[daisyduck]

Thanks @Bluetit1802 and @Brunneria .. Yes, I do accept the fact that I would only eat a small amount but my frustration is in why it has to have sugar in anyway ?
At the moment I'm pushing for weight loss and sticking to 20g carbs so that is over a third of my daily allowance !
My vice, when I'm not ultra low carbing, is chilli and red pepper burger relish, I do accept that has some sugar but I ignore that in an oopsie bun with a juicy burger.

 

[Resurgam]

The sugar is a preservative. Years ago there used to be preservatives added to the mixture, but there was pressure to remove them, after which they should be kept refrigerated. The shelf life was much reduced, so things were reformulated to improve that, and added sugar was one way of achieving that - salt would have been an option if there wasn't also a push to reduce the salt intake at the same time.
I used to work for Allied Lyons and there were constant tweakings to cope with changes in government guidelines and customer complaints.

 

[DavidGrahamJones]

Shows how much we have to look out for hidden sugars

I sometimes buy meat from our butcher that might be in a sauce, looks great and brain is thinking "chuck in oven for 40 minutes, that's good". While I'm using the Libre i can see that's there is obviously a considerable amount of sugar. At least I know now, NO SAUCE.

 

[MikeTurin]

I think sugar is put on processed food because acts as a preservatives and rounds the taste. I've found LIDL pickled ginger that has bot sugar and aspartame, that made no sense for me.
But I've found that is used everywhere. Yes a consumer may read about the sugar added, but because there's no campaign against sugar, but there's a campaign aginst salt and forbids it Exxx addictives, reading that there's E223 on red peppers or gurkins is seen as bad.

 

[Pinkorchid]

I don't often buy processed food now, but was shopping today. Bought some chicken thighs to spice up and cook later. I saw a pack of Colmans Piri Piri spice mix and cooking bag, and thought.. hmm, that might save some time.
I was absolutely gobsmacked when I looked at the label and saw that the second ingredient was sugar, the first ingredient was salt ! and that the carb content was 50g per 100.. WHY ?? Needless to say I'll make my own.
Shows how much we have to look out for hidden sugars

Because the majority of food stuff is not made to be diabetic friendly and why should we expect it to be it is made for the majority of the population who can eat it who do not worry about sugar and carbs. Food prices would rocket if manufacturers had to make everything suitable for us as well so we do what we do and read labels

 

[BrianTheElder]

Because the majority of food stuff is not made to be diabetic friendly and why should we expect it to be it is made for the majority of the population who can eat it who do not worry about sugar and carbs. Food prices would rocket if manufacturers had to make everything suitable for us as well so we do what we do and read labels

Yes, I agree that we shouldn't expect most food to be made specifically for us T2Ds (and it isn't). But my heart sinks when I read the labels.. Surely 50% sugar is too much for a sauce? It is obvious that the government message of low fat, high carbs has worked really well. Just look at the yoghurt section in the supermarket, it's all low fat! And the backs of cereal packets are just horrifying. I also get this in everyday life where reaction to eating fat is "yuk" and products like tomatoes are advertised as "intensely sweet".
Yes, things have moved on with some of us, but I fear we are losing the battle for the population as a whole.

 

[Granny_grump_]

Hi again I said watch this space just tested after evening meal 5.8 thank goodness it's on the way down again