The long weekend marks the beginning of this year’s barbecue season, and if you’re like most Americans, there will surely be some form of frankfurter sizzling away on your grill.

Hot Dogs are a big business (billions of dollars a year), and as the weather heats up, so do the marketing battles between the market players.

As food companies like to sue each other every once in while in turf wars, how timely it is to read about a weiner war, with Kraft’s Oscar Meyer Brand getting sued by Sara Lee (Ball Park brand) over “We are tastier” claims.

From a nutritional standpoint, the products are very similar, and sadly, very poor in nutritional value.  Read more…

It’s not the most important meal of the day. And it’s not the heartiest either. Lunch, the get-it-on-the-run or have-it-at-the-computer meal doesn’t get enough respect. And how could it, when products like Oscar Meyer’s Lunchable’s take its name in vain.

We tried and tried to find something healthy and nutritious among the dozens of Lunchable products. Unfortunately all we encountered was a nutrition desert, left in shambles by sodium blizzards and trans fat torrents.

Read on for an analysis of Oscar Meyer’s Lunchables Turkey & Cheddar Cracker Stackers… Read more…

Lean Cuisine, A Nestle brand of frozen dinners, is very popular with dieters. “Lean Cuisine” is considered a nutrient content claim by the FDA, so all products under this brand are required to meet the “lean” criteria per serving: less than 10 grams of fat, less than 4.5 grams of saturated fat, and less than 95 mg cholesterol.

We decided to take a look at Lean Cuisine’s Shrimp and Angel Hair Pasta described by Nestle as:

Shrimp and angel hair pasta in a creamy seafood sauce with accents of sherry, tossed with red peppers.

Read more…

flickr photo : PinkMoose

“No additives or preservatives” sounds like a promising claim on a food label. But you’ll be hard pressed to find products in the supermarket that don’t contain at least one food additive. Even organic products use them, and unless you bake your own bread, avoid all processed snacks, and drink nothing but water, you won’t be able to avoid them.

Food additives are natural and artificial substances added to food in order to improve and preserve its flavor and appearance.

Some additives, such as salt used to cure meats, have been around for millennia. In the 20th century, advances in chemical and food engineering brought endless innovations in additives, resulting in the products currently lining supermarket shelves all around the globe.

Below the fold is a rough categorization of additive types. Some additives belong to more than one category. For example, sugar is both a preservative and a sweetener. All additives are safe for consumption, according to the FDA. Consumer groups, though, are concerned about the effects of some artificial additives on human health. Read more…