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Food companies

derry60

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,200
Location
Bridlington Yorkshire
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Rudeness,people being unkind
I get really annoyed when I look online at low carb products. The amount of money that they charge taking complete advantage of people with pre diabetes or diabetics. They know that we are all desperate to find something that we can eat etc. The amount that they charge is quite frankly disgusting.

Why don't the supermarkets sell more low carb foods? I am sure that they would make a good prophet. Some do Lowcarb Zone products but not all. Here in the North of Yorkshire Bridlington, it is very difficult to get Lowcarb Zone products. They do a low carb rye bread for 3 grams a slice. You can buy it on Amazon but you pay silly money. 6 quid for three slices, then you have to buy 24 quids worth before Amazon will deliver. I am hoping that the supermarkets will get their act together and start to sell more low carb products for us.
 
Unfortunately, it is down to demand. It is not commonly known or understood that low carb is good for us - just look at how many people on this forum argue with their GPs about eating low carb. Therefore, only a few people want these low carb product. Therefore, there is no cost reduction due to mass production and mass distribution.
A supermarket is far more likely to attract more customers (or customers who buy more) if they sell (and advertise) bottles of Coke at a lower price as a loss leader than selling low carb rye bread.
Large food producers, food distributors and food sellers are businesses. Their shareholders invest in them to make money. Not to improve the health of a small number of people with diabetes who understand the value of low carb.

I believe the root to low cost low carb products is to get the health benefits better understood which will attract more people which will make the supermarkets, etc sell more products which mean they can sell them at a cheaper price.

My argument is not with food companies.
 
I get so frustrated with the high carb products that I find and deceptive advertising. A product here in the US can say sugar free if it does not have table sugar, so you can get the idea that it is lower carbs, but it is loaded with high fructose corn syrup or other such junk. Reduced sugar jam has 4 cups of sugar to 4 cups of fruit as compared to 4.5 cups of sugar. I make my own with NO added sugar and it tastes so much better to taste the fruit rather than bucket loads of sugar. Foods labeled diabetic are twice as expensive and very often have the same carb content and sometimes more than their non diabetic counterparts. Low fat is pushed like crazy and sugars are added to compensate. Junk foods and sodas take up about a fourth of the store isles. I agree that the food industry places profits above healthy products. The American Diabetes Association advocates way more carbs that I could possibly want or feel good eating. For that reason, I try to prepare meals myself when I can to control the carbs. Of course, it is not always possible to have the time and energy to prepare home cooked meals, but as much as possible it is worth the extra effort. Done fussing
 
They sell loads of stuff - meat, fish, eggs, butter, cream, veggies etc etc - ok I'm being pedantic but you are never gonna get specialist foods in supermarkets although they are seeping through such as the protein breads and today I bought a chicken Caesar salad in Tesco on my way to a hospital app hat had a big sticker on saying "no pasta!" - it was 13g of carbs - probably less as I didn't add the croutons.
 
Coincidentally, I emailed M&S a few days ago asking if they stock any low carb products. I got a very polite reply saying they didn't but they did stock "Low fat and Low calorie products for a healthier, balanced diet".
Ho Hum, I will keep searching.
 

M&S have loads of stuff I am ha[[y to eat as part of my low carb lifestyle. What were you hoping for from them?
 
I find loads of low carb things at the supermarket.
Cheese
Beef
Pork
Chicken
Turkey
Greek yogurt
Cream
Seafood fresh and canned
Nuts

And then all the veggies.
My take on LCHF is as fresh as possible.
I have no interest in low carb processed food.
 
Hotpepper20000 said:
I find loads of low carb things at the supermarket.
Cheese
Beef
Pork
Chicken
Turkey
Greek yogurt
Cream
Seafood fresh and canned
Nuts

And then all the veggies.
My take on LCHF is as fresh as possible.
I have no interest in low carb processed food.
Click to expand...

Definitely agree about the processed food. Low carb or not, nobody should eat much of it if they care about their health.

I find almost all the low carb food I need in the meat department.
 
DCUKMod said:
M&S have loads of stuff I am ha[[y to eat as part of my low carb lifestyle. What were you hoping for from them?
Click to expand...
I asked for low carb products for diabetics. Wasn't specific, I was hoping to save time by not having to read every label as my eyesight is quite poor and some of the print sizes are miniscule. I was particularly interested in whether they stock a protein bread/roll as there is an M&S Food locally but Lidl is a fair distance away.
 
Spud Lite potatoes are low carb, and are no dearer than normal spuds.
 
I have to agree with the others here. There are literally thousands of low carb combinations available for meals, but they're usually single ingredients in their own right. If you're wanting to find low carb versions of high carb foods, then you're not going to have much luck. The reasoning behind that: demand and also the overall appeal of the product. Low carb varieties of high carb foods almost always lack the properties that make the former appealing. Texture, flavour and general satisfaction. It would only be the minority of low carbers who would choose these products and as such, the profit margin for the manufacturers would be less than that of the high carb varieties for the masses.

Low carb varieties of breads are generally poor in respect to what they're mimicking and that's why you don't see them often. They're also a lot more expensive and a lot more difficult to produce to a decent standard and that's why they're thin on the ground or highly priced.

I agree with you on the "diabetes friendly" gimmick front. But the food industry has been at it for years. The worst example in my opinion are the low fat products. Stripped of fat and replaced with sugar to make up for lost flavour. I in no way support a lot of the quantities of fat I see consumed by members of this forum, but I certainly wouldn't chose sugar laden low fat products over the full fat versions.
 
I have some sympathy with manufactures and the higher prices charged for what are specalist products such as low carb breads as it all comes down to unit cost of production. Where a product like white bread has been made for many years in high volumes, it can be knocked out for peanuts. Low volume products are very expensive to make on modern production lines, and supermarkets have to use valuable shelf space for slow moving lines, hence the high prices.
 
One of my supermarkets has a whole aisle of freezers dedicated to potato and Yorkshire pudding type products, i,e, alphabites, chips of all sorts, . The next aisle is dedicated to Pizza products. I use a low cost discounter for my LC products. They stock spiralised squash, sweet pot and courgetti. along with Cauli rice. They stock aubergine, avacado, fresh cauli, and spinach . watercress with good salad range too. Stirfry veg paks ready to wok and woll. Yes they have the pizza section, etc, but not so big a selection ( one freezer unit per, not aisle per.) They do gluten free too, and specialist products that can be lowish carb. They are also half the price of the larger supermarkets, and my weekly family shop works out at less than £80 per week, whereas it was running at £120+ pw before I went LC. I hate seeing row upon row of packaged veg in plastic cartons with virtually every item priced at £3 each. Whereas my discounter might charge 69p for same item. I eat better for less nowadays
 
Oldvatr said:
Stirfry veg paks ready to wok and woll.
Click to expand...
That has to be phrase of the day!

Out of curiosity, how do you find the "prepped" foods vs the raw (dare I use that term).

I've noticed the horrendous price differential between grated cheese against the block, diced onion vs whole, etc.

Glad that your weekly shop is working out less, every penny is a pound in my book. Waiting on @therower to chime in with a Scottish joke now
 
Good morning @GrantGam . It pains me to say this but I have to agree with you. There I've said it!!!!!!!!!!!
A walk around our house would reveal:
18 toilet rolls under bed. On offer.
9 radox shower gel. 2 for £1. We're getting low on them.
6 large protein whey. Buy 1 get 1 for a penny.
Fish in freezer, to much to list, but yesterday 4 plaice fillets 1/2 price.
Steak in freezer, again all with stickers either half price or short use by dates.
I could carry on but my Fortnum and Masons delivery is due
Have a good day. We have sunshine here at the moment please don't tell me it's raining up there.
 
As a LowCarber, I find even some 'raw' foods are messed around with. The grated cheese you mention is probably sprayed with starch to stop it clumping together. Even fresh veg like lettuce, watercress, cannabis that are produced hydroponically are fed on molasses. Chicken products are often injected with water to make them more moist and 'cheaper' i.e. plumper. As for steaks that are 'grown' by taking offcuts and glueing the bits together to give 'true' marbelling effect are becoming the norm. I find my discounter supermart to be quite good in the getting fresh department.

Certainly the more obvious processed meals tend to use reconstituted protein, and chicken dippers are a well known no-no for many. I think the late Bernard Matthews made this into an artform. I remember a well known and well loved fast food outlet got done for selling fries that had never seen a potato, and were in effect made of plastic. Even baby foods can be bulked up with mylar.

Because of my diet, I now control the buying, hunting, gathering, transport and preparation, cooking, washing up etc since my 37 yer old daughter will have nothing to do with it except complain if it is not up to standard or liking. However lack of carbs funnily enough is rarely expressed as a problem, so I am doing something right there. And I thought retirement would be a walk in the park, but then I had my strokes, so it is more like a stagger in the park nowadays.
 

Cannabis??
 
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