Deceiving Food Labels
I have to share my frustration about deceiving food labels. I was recently at my favorite health food store in NYC,Westerly Market, and came across a bottled green smoothie that looked pretty appetizing. I needed a snack and thought it was the perfect thing. The front label showed that the only ingredients were vegetables so I bit my lip at the $11 + price tag and threw it in my cart. As I began drinking I noticed an interesting flavor that I didn’t recognize so I turned the bottle around to notice that there were extra ingredients on the back that weren’t stated on the front label! Before purchasing I would typically turn the bottle around to read everything inside, but these fresh juices usually show it all on the front. Boy was I wrong… the drink also contained lecithin in it, which is a fat that helps to emulsify and keep the ingredients from separating. Is that really necessary? It doesn’t even say what kind of lecithin is used, soy? Egg? It’s an unnecessary ingredient and I was duped. I hate to put down a small company, but to charge that much for a smoothie and then find out that not everything inside is fresh… Awful. Maybe some of their other juices are actually fresh – but definitely read all labels before purchasing. I know I learned my lesson.
