3 ms·

The test seems absurd, but here is what I'm finding strange about US food (I've been living for more than 10 years in US , I was born and lived all my childhood

by malkia 17y ago

The test seems absurd, but here is what I'm finding strange about US food (I've been living for more than 10 years in US , I was born and lived all my childhood in Bulgaria): - Cheese can sustain really long in the freezer. Bulgarian cheese won't - you have to eat soon. - Same with milk. In Bulgaria (well many years ago, now you can find the same crap) - you have to drink the milk max 1-2 days after it was bought. Same with yogurt. - Bread back in Bulgaria couldn't stay for a long time, you have to eat it too. I can't say whether food getting rot quickly is testament for it's quality or not. Just observations.

spazmaster 17y ago
Oh it definitely is! The reason why food preserves so well in the States is because of all the additives. Most US food if prepackaged and processed, its' all about hassle-free eating. Preserves well, easy to prepare, looks good etc. All the shit in the food in the US is really unhealthy. The reason it could happen is because of corporate interests meddling with regulatory bodies. The US government is letting it happen.
hackermom 17y ago
I'd say it is a testament to its quality, because the less preservatives the food is stuffed with, the better it is for the consumer. US regulations are close to none today, as the food industry manages to lobby for their wallets time and again by raising the bar of what's ok to put in food. I'm happy that I live in Scandinavia and not in the US. addendum: it's entertaining to see the rabid downvoters in action on this and the post below me. I think it speaks a loud and clear message.
- ig1 17y ago
  Saying preservatives are bad is like saying fats are bad. Yes some preservatives are bad for you, but equally well some are good for you. It also depends on the quantity. Also you need to consider that unpreserved food costs a lot more (delivery, spoilage, etc). Using preservatives means that people from low incomes can often afford healthy food products which would otherwise be outside of their price range. Avoiding food with preservatives for these groups would often mean a far more restrictive and unhealthy diet. Repeating urban myths about foods (like "preservatives are bad") are dangerous because "popular knowledge" is often decades behind scientific research and can cause people to adopt behaviours which are actually bad for their health. If you want to say "x is bad" then make sure you actually have the research (ideally a randomized trial or a Cochrane meta-analysis) which backs up what you're saying.
  - hackermom 17y ago
    You are leaping to conclusions here about my statements in order to make your points seem stronger. No one here said that fats are bad, and I never implied that I was in blissful ignorance of the reasons behind adding preservatives to food. Really..... I am willing to make a good bet that you have no nutritional studies what so ever behind you, whereas I, being half a "health freak", have a total of a bit more than 2 years of dietary studies, of which 1 full year had metabolical context. And, please, no vacuous remarks or accusations of being zealously blindsided just because of my use of the term "health freak".
    - ig1 17y ago
      You'd make a stronger counter argument if you provided evidence of your claim ("the less preservatives the food is stuffed with, the better it is for the consumer") rather than just saying people should trust you because you studied diets for 2 years. Vitamin C is a preservative, are you arguing that it's bad for you ? Or are you saying some specific subset of preservatives can be bad for you ? - in which case you should be specific about which preservatives you're talking about rather than talking about them in a generic way.
Murkin 17y ago
Cheese and Milk get a MUCH longer shelf life with "Pasteurization" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasteurization http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasteurization) which has nothing to do with additives. (Basically intense heating for a very short period of time)
- wazoox 17y ago
  Not really. Real cheese lasts long, that's precisely why it has been invented. A good Comté must be 2 years old before being eaten. A true Camembert gets out the doors of the fabric at age 15 days, and can be consumed for at least 2 or 3 months. Even butter can be kept out of the fridge for several weeks. Actually pasteurised cheese tends not to last as long as raw milk cheese, because it doesn't carry the proper fauna and flora, that prevents the "bad guys" from thriving.

by malkia 17y ago

spazmaster 17y ago

Oh it definitely is! The reason why food preserves so well in the States is because of all the additives. Most US food if prepackaged and processed, its' all about hassle-free eating. Preserves well, easy to prepare, looks good etc. All the shit in the food in the US is really unhealthy. The reason it could happen is because of corporate interests meddling with regulatory bodies. The US government is letting it happen.

hackermom 17y ago

I'd say it is a testament to its quality, because the less preservatives the food is stuffed with, the better it is for the consumer. US regulations are close to none today, as the food industry manages to lobby for their wallets time and again by raising the bar of what's ok to put in food. I'm happy that I live in Scandinavia and not in the US. addendum: it's entertaining to see the rabid downvoters in action on this and the post below me. I think it speaks a loud and clear message.

ig1 17y ago
Saying preservatives are bad is like saying fats are bad. Yes some preservatives are bad for you, but equally well some are good for you. It also depends on the quantity. Also you need to consider that unpreserved food costs a lot more (delivery, spoilage, etc). Using preservatives means that people from low incomes can often afford healthy food products which would otherwise be outside of their price range. Avoiding food with preservatives for these groups would often mean a far more restrictive and unhealthy diet. Repeating urban myths about foods (like "preservatives are bad") are dangerous because "popular knowledge" is often decades behind scientific research and can cause people to adopt behaviours which are actually bad for their health. If you want to say "x is bad" then make sure you actually have the research (ideally a randomized trial or a Cochrane meta-analysis) which backs up what you're saying.
- hackermom 17y ago
  You are leaping to conclusions here about my statements in order to make your points seem stronger. No one here said that fats are bad, and I never implied that I was in blissful ignorance of the reasons behind adding preservatives to food. Really..... I am willing to make a good bet that you have no nutritional studies what so ever behind you, whereas I, being half a "health freak", have a total of a bit more than 2 years of dietary studies, of which 1 full year had metabolical context. And, please, no vacuous remarks or accusations of being zealously blindsided just because of my use of the term "health freak".
  - ig1 17y ago
    You'd make a stronger counter argument if you provided evidence of your claim ("the less preservatives the food is stuffed with, the better it is for the consumer") rather than just saying people should trust you because you studied diets for 2 years. Vitamin C is a preservative, are you arguing that it's bad for you ? Or are you saying some specific subset of preservatives can be bad for you ? - in which case you should be specific about which preservatives you're talking about rather than talking about them in a generic way.

Murkin 17y ago

Cheese and Milk get a MUCH longer shelf life with "Pasteurization" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasteurization http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasteurization) which has nothing to do with additives. (Basically intense heating for a very short period of time)

wazoox 17y ago
Not really. Real cheese lasts long, that's precisely why it has been invented. A good Comté must be 2 years old before being eaten. A true Camembert gets out the doors of the fabric at age 15 days, and can be consumed for at least 2 or 3 months. Even butter can be kept out of the fridge for several weeks. Actually pasteurised cheese tends not to last as long as raw milk cheese, because it doesn't carry the proper fauna and flora, that prevents the "bad guys" from thriving.