When does "added sugar" not count as "added sugar?"
Posted: Sat Apr 09, 2016 4:55 pm
When does "added sugar" not count as "added sugar?"
When it is a WFPB restaurant.
I had a conversation today with the chef and/or owner of a fairly new WFPB restaurant chain. Overall, I think they are doing a great job offering food that is much healthier and cleaner.
However, they posted today on FB about their WFPB, no added oil, no added sugar food, which showed up in my newsfeed, and that all their food was prepared with out any added oils, or any added sugars.
I went and checked their menu, nutritional info, ingredients, etc and saw this claim was impossible to be true and so, posted, asking a few questions. The owner responded and admitted that *they" did not add any "added sugars" during *their* in-house cooking process but did admit that the bread products did come with some small amount of added sugars in them (NOTE: from my perspective, quite a bit) but it was required in some cases to get the yeast to work. Some of the bread products list up to 17 grams of sugar per serving with many between 10-14 grams per serving (which is listed at their website).
I said, this was misleading and if you said your food was "no sugar added" then as a customer who is caring about my health, I expect that to be true 100%, not to be a misleading claim based on a technicality of words (or semantics).
He said, he was doing the best he could, was unable to find any commercial products that were 100% and, he had approval from one of the WFPB docs who said it was acceptable. To me, the issues is not whether the amount is acceptable, but whether the claim is true.
I told him that there are commercial products that are 100% compliant and that there are Artisan Bakers popping up all over that will make breads that are 100% complaint. I have a local baker here who makes a full variety of them, all 100% whole grain, gluten free, no sugar added, very low sodium (which was another issue we can save for another day). I told him my background, my experience, my work with all the leading WFPB programs and that most all of them use guidelines that were developed by me, and that I was willing to help him. I also said, I would like to know how they sweeten their BBQ sauce if there are no added sugars in it. (my guess is that it is the same issue, or they are using a sugar like maple syrup, which they are not counting because some think it is "natural.")
My concern was not whether the amount was acceptable or not but that the claim he was making was misleading and false, 100%.
I explained that years ago, when Fast Food restaurants had to stop using trans fats, they stopped using oils with trans fats to fry in and made claims that their fries were "trans fats free." However, an investigation into them, found that while they did stop using oils with trans fats in them, they were buying frozen french fries that were pre-fried (blanched) in oil that had trans fat in it so the french fries came with trans fats in them. Analysis of the french fries showed this to be true. These restaurants were forced to change their ways as their claim was not accurate, their fries were not trans-fat free.
Again, I think they are doing a great job but I think this situation with the statement, "no added sugars" needs to change.
However, the thread was deleted.
Moral of the story... Just because they promote themselves as WFPB, Vegan, Vegetarian, Local, Organic,(even use the name of one of the WFBP MD's), etc etc, doesn't mean they are telling you the whole story. Ask, ask again, and double and triple check. These restaurants also have to make profit and survive in one of the toughest industry there is with a very high failure rate.
In Health
Jeff
When it is a WFPB restaurant.
I had a conversation today with the chef and/or owner of a fairly new WFPB restaurant chain. Overall, I think they are doing a great job offering food that is much healthier and cleaner.
However, they posted today on FB about their WFPB, no added oil, no added sugar food, which showed up in my newsfeed, and that all their food was prepared with out any added oils, or any added sugars.
I went and checked their menu, nutritional info, ingredients, etc and saw this claim was impossible to be true and so, posted, asking a few questions. The owner responded and admitted that *they" did not add any "added sugars" during *their* in-house cooking process but did admit that the bread products did come with some small amount of added sugars in them (NOTE: from my perspective, quite a bit) but it was required in some cases to get the yeast to work. Some of the bread products list up to 17 grams of sugar per serving with many between 10-14 grams per serving (which is listed at their website).
I said, this was misleading and if you said your food was "no sugar added" then as a customer who is caring about my health, I expect that to be true 100%, not to be a misleading claim based on a technicality of words (or semantics).
He said, he was doing the best he could, was unable to find any commercial products that were 100% and, he had approval from one of the WFPB docs who said it was acceptable. To me, the issues is not whether the amount is acceptable, but whether the claim is true.
I told him that there are commercial products that are 100% compliant and that there are Artisan Bakers popping up all over that will make breads that are 100% complaint. I have a local baker here who makes a full variety of them, all 100% whole grain, gluten free, no sugar added, very low sodium (which was another issue we can save for another day). I told him my background, my experience, my work with all the leading WFPB programs and that most all of them use guidelines that were developed by me, and that I was willing to help him. I also said, I would like to know how they sweeten their BBQ sauce if there are no added sugars in it. (my guess is that it is the same issue, or they are using a sugar like maple syrup, which they are not counting because some think it is "natural.")
My concern was not whether the amount was acceptable or not but that the claim he was making was misleading and false, 100%.
I explained that years ago, when Fast Food restaurants had to stop using trans fats, they stopped using oils with trans fats to fry in and made claims that their fries were "trans fats free." However, an investigation into them, found that while they did stop using oils with trans fats in them, they were buying frozen french fries that were pre-fried (blanched) in oil that had trans fat in it so the french fries came with trans fats in them. Analysis of the french fries showed this to be true. These restaurants were forced to change their ways as their claim was not accurate, their fries were not trans-fat free.
Again, I think they are doing a great job but I think this situation with the statement, "no added sugars" needs to change.
However, the thread was deleted.
Moral of the story... Just because they promote themselves as WFPB, Vegan, Vegetarian, Local, Organic,(even use the name of one of the WFBP MD's), etc etc, doesn't mean they are telling you the whole story. Ask, ask again, and double and triple check. These restaurants also have to make profit and survive in one of the toughest industry there is with a very high failure rate.
In Health
Jeff