Crisps
Let’s get things straight – crisps are not health foods. They are not naturally occurring; they are snack foods, or junk foods. Crisp manufacturers love to market their products, especially targeting youngsters but they tend to stay very quiet when asked about what goes in to the products that they are supplying to the kids.
From the health aspect we can already take a look at how insidious the marketing strategies of certain crisp companies embed the image of the crisp within the ideal of a successful national hero. By associating such an unhealthy product with the aspiration to be a sporting hero the crisp companies are creating a paradox, whereby the more crisps you eat, the less likely you are to ever become a successful athlete due to the amount of fat, additives and other nasty ingredients found in a bag of munchies.
Baby Organix recently undertook a survey which found that children are consuming more than twice the amount of salt recommended by the government. The UK Asthma and Allergy Research Centre says that ‘significant changes in children’s hyperactive behaviour could be produced by the removal of colourings and additives from their diet.’ Alongside fairly well-known additives, monosodium glutamate is the most controversial given its links to:
burning sensation in the back of the neck, forearms and chest
numbness in the back of the neck, radiating to the arms and back
tingling, warmth and weakness in the face, temples, upper back, neck and arms
facial pressure or tightness
chest pain
headache
nausea
rapid heartbeat
bronchospasm (difficulty breathing)
drowsiness
weakness.
This despite its being banned from inclusion in baby foods.
If you absolutely have to buy crisps, go for certified organic crisps – they are always totally GM free. Additionally a lot of supermarkets are now selling self-branded organic crisps which are manufactured on their behalf (before being relabelled) by companies such as Stour Valley Foods, Jonathan Crisp and Tra’fo crisps, as well as Kettle.
On the packaging side of things the biggest culprit of wastage has to be Pringles – which with their hugely wasteful tins use six different materials including steel, aluminium and others – and when you consider that Pringles now make up at least 10% of the UK ‘bagged snacks’ market, they are responsible for much of the landfill waste currently plaguing our country.